Antiquity Journal

Antiquity Journal Antiquity is a peer-reviewed journal of world archaeology, founded in 1927 and edited in Durham Uni. Antiquity is a peer-reviewed journal of world archaeology.

Founded by O.G.S. Crawford in 1927, the journal reports new archaeological research, method and issues of international significance in plain language to a broad academic and professional readership. The journal is published six times a year in February, April, June, August, October and December. Antiquity is wned by the Antiquity Trust, a registered charity, with the editorial office based in the

Department of Archaeology at Durham University. The Editorial team comprises: Dr Robert Witcher (Editor), Dr Claire Nesbitt (Deputy and Reviews Editor), Professor Robin Skeates (Associate Editor), Lindsey Elstub (Editorial Manager), Ross Kendall (Production Team Leader), Frederick Foulds
(Assistant Editor) and Adam Benton (Public Engagement and Press Administrator). For enquiries about contributing to the journal email: [email protected]

For media enquiries, email: [email protected]

The journal is owned by the Antiquity Trust, a registered charity. The Trustees of the Antiquity Trust are Robin Coningham, Graeme Barker, Amy Bogaard, Barry Cunliffe, Roberta Gilchrist, Anthony Harding, Carl Heron, Martin Millett, Nicky Milner, Stephanie Moser, and Cameron Petrie. Antiquity is produced in partnership with Cambridge University Press. Please visit their website for subscription details: http://bit.ly/18pQgXF

Excavation at the Neolithic pile-dwelling settlement of Dunavec, Albania.Found at the bottom of a lake, researchers date...
25/07/2025

Excavation at the Neolithic pile-dwelling settlement of Dunavec, Albania.

Found at the bottom of a lake, researchers dated the waterlogged wooden remains, indicating Dunavec was occupied by some of the first farmers in Europe.

Learn more 🆓 https://doi.org/10.15184/aqy.2025.62

This amethyst, set in silver gilt, was found in the moat of the Castle Kolno, Poland Probably part of a brooch, it wa...
25/07/2025

This amethyst, set in silver gilt, was found in the moat of the Castle Kolno, Poland

Probably part of a brooch, it was likely lost by a 15th century noble when crossing into or out of the castle.

Learn more 🆓 https://doi.org/10.15184/aqy.2025.10097

Very exciting to hear that the megalithic landscape of Carnac in Brittany has been inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage ...
25/07/2025

Very exciting to hear that the megalithic landscape of Carnac in Brittany has been inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage list!

Explore the results of new excavation and radiocarbon dates at a previously unknown section of the complex in Antiquity 🆓 https://doi.org/10.15184/aqy.2025.10123

Got a burning question? Day is today!Head over to Twitter/X or Bluesky and ask a question using the hashtag Any arc...
25/07/2025

Got a burning question? Day is today!

Head over to Twitter/X or Bluesky and ask a question using the hashtag

Any archaeologist who has an answer is encouraged to respond.

This takes us back to the origins of capitalism through .Analysis of commercialisation suggests that, contrary to p...
24/07/2025

This takes us back to the origins of capitalism through .

Analysis of commercialisation suggests that, contrary to popular belief, economic development is not an inevitable, linear process, but a patchwork of social relationships.

Learn more 🆓 https://doi.org/10.15184/aqy.2025.70

📕 Maria Constanza De Simone (ed.)'s 'Remembering the “Nubia Campaign”' details many personal accounts of the ‘Internati...
24/07/2025

📕

Maria Constanza De Simone (ed.)'s 'Remembering the “Nubia Campaign”' details many personal accounts of the ‘International campaign to save the monuments’ of Nubia from flooding, forming a 'living historiography' of the campaign.

"Being published in the shadow of the ongoing conflict in Sudan and recent examples of extensive looting of the National Museum of Sudan in Khartoum, the volume’s critical consideration of cultural heritage and its loss remain as relevant and pertinent today as it was during the Nubian Campaign."

✍️ Robert J. Stark

Read the review (£) https://doi.org/10.15184/aqy.2025.10136

24/07/2025

Did Homo sapiens intermix with Denisovans in Island Southeast Asia? Were they hunting megafauna? How did the first seafarers make their boats?

Dylan Gaffney explores new research possibilities for understanding early humans in the Pacific.

Read the prize-winning research 🆓https://doi.org/10.15184/aqy.2024.83

Check out the full interview on our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQMXnbQygcc

24/07/2025

This isn't an upcoming video game, it's a digital reconstruction of the Sterkfontein Caves, South Africa, which played an integral role in human origins research.

This 3D visualisation will help increase global access to the cave, allowing people to 'visit' online.

🆓 https://doi.org/10.15184/aqy.2025.10141

Sterkfontein Caves Research

Examination of England’s only 13th-century shipwreck sheds light on the medieval kingdom's complex trade networks and di...
23/07/2025

Examination of England’s only 13th-century shipwreck sheds light on the medieval kingdom's complex trade networks and diverse livelihoods, all via their lucrative trade in a valuable stone.

Find out how in this ArchaeologyUK (literal!) Antiquity deep dive 🤿

The 13th century was a period of relative peace and stability in England, during which many large-scale construction projects, such as Salisbury Cathedral, took place.

Despite this, little is known about the trade networks that facilitated this construction, largely due to the scarce archaeological evidence of cargo shipping.

Thousands of tons of cargo were shipped daily around the shores and rivers of England during this period. Wrecks and shipping losses were common, but very little archaeological evidence survives.

Therefore, the Mortar Wreck: a shipwreck off the southern coast of England, provides a rare opportunity to explore trade in 13th century England.

The ship was transporting Purbeck stone and Marble, a type of dark-coloured limestone sourced from southern England that can be polished to give a marble effect.

These qualities made it desirable for decorative use in cathedrals. It was also in high demand for the production of high-status objects such as grave slabs and mortars, examples of which were found in the wreck.

This ship was operating during the ‘golden age’ of Purbeck Marble, with construction projects such as Westminster Abbey ordering entire shiploads of the stone. Almost every English ecclesiastical building built between 1170 and 1350 incorporated it.

Importantly, the grave slabs found in the wreck had not yet been polished. This suggests the ship may have been travelling to a large construction project, or specialist workshops in London where the polishing could take place.

Sourcing, transporting and working this marble would have provided jobs for many people, from its quarrying in Purbeck, Dorset, through its shipping across the continent via rivers and coasts, all the way to its processing and installation in castles, abbeys and churches.

This indicates large, multi-stage trading networks existed in England facilitating the distribution of Purbeck stone. The wreck provides a unique opportunity to examine not only the logistics of 13th century shipping, but also the livelihoods of many different people.

Want to learn more? Read the original research article 🆓 https://doi.org/10.15184/aqy.2024.82

And check out all the other great events going on during the : https://buff.ly/3ObiABb

It was an absolute pleasure to bump into Dr Lamine Badji at the Society of Africanist Archaeologists (SAfA) conference.H...
23/07/2025

It was an absolute pleasure to bump into Dr Lamine Badji at the Society of Africanist Archaeologists (SAfA) conference.

He took part in the programme last year, joining us in Nairobi for the writing workshop, and has just won a Postdoctoral position.

Congratulations Lamine!

NEW hints at the origin of Egyptian kingsAnalysis of a rock engraving near Aswan, Egypt, indicates it may depict an el...
23/07/2025

NEW hints at the origin of Egyptian kings

Analysis of a rock engraving near Aswan, Egypt, indicates it may depict an elite individual from the First Dynasty, shedding light on the formation of the state.

A powerful Antiquity deep dive 🤿

The late fourth millennium BC was a key period in Egyptian history which saw the beginning of political unification across Egypt, ultimately leading to the formation of the Egyptian state by the first pharaoh, Narmer, around 3100 BC.

However, little is known about how this pivotal process in prehistory took place.
“State formation in Ancient Egypt and the processes that led to it are still difficult to conceptualise”, states author of the research, Dr Dorian Vanhulle. “The rock art of the Lower Nile Valley has the potential to help identify and analyse the earliest forms of political power in this region and how the landscape was exploited to express and consolidate authority. However, the number of relevant examples is limited.”

Therefore, a petroglyph panel showing what might be an early example of an Egyptian political elite individual is a fortunate occurrence.

The engraving is well-preserved and seems to portray an ornate boat being dragged by five figures. A standing figure propels the boat with an oar, whilst another figure remains seated on a structure that is interpreted as a palanquin.

“Boats are among the most frequently recurring motifs in Egyptian iconography”, says Dr Vanhulle. “During the Predynastic and Protodynastic periods (c. 4500-3085 BC), the boat is ubiquitous and invested with complex ideological and symbolic meanings”.

To determine when this panel dates to, Dr Vanhulle compared the petroglyph to other examples of boats depicted in pre-Pharaonic art and craftsmanship.

Through this comparison, he was able to suggest that the rock art was made during the transition from the Protodynastic to Early Dynastic periods. This was the time during which the Egyptian state was first formed, centuries before the first pyramids.

Importantly, it appears that the panel bears strong stylistic and iconographic affinities with the official imagery produced at the end of the Protodynastic period, up to the reign of Narmer.

For example, the seated figure has an elongated chin, which may represent the false beards worn by Egyptian kings since the First Dynasty. This suggests the seated figure was a member of the ruling class at the dawn of the First Dynasty.

Furthermore, the high quality of the image suggests it was commissioned by an early political authority in Egypt, signaling that rock art was a key method by which early Egyptian elites communicated their power.

“The rock panel is an important addition to the existing corpus of engravings that can help us to better understand the role of rock art in the crucial events that led to the formation of the Egyptian state”, Dr Vanhulle explains.

It also indicates the importance of recording the rock art as quickly as possible.

“The landscape of the valley and its desert margins is currently being irreparably altered by, among other threats, mining and quarrying activities”, concludes Dr Vanhulle. “The urgency of conducting rescue missions such as the one that led to the discovery of the discussed panel cannot be underestimated.”

Want to learn more? Check out the original research in Antiquity 🆓 'An early ruler etched in stone? A rock art panel from the west bank of Aswan (Egypt)' – Dorian Vanhulle
https://doi.org/10.15184/aqy.2025.60

This may not technically be a hillfort, but Borgen on the Danish island of Bornholm is a likely prehistoric fort on a ...
23/07/2025

This may not technically be a hillfort, but Borgen on the Danish island of Bornholm is a likely prehistoric fort on a hill, so we think it counts!

The island was strategically important, but the role of fortifications on Bornholm has rarely been investigated.

Learn more 🆓 https://doi.org/10.15184/aqy.2025.51

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Antiquity is an international peer-reviewed journal of world archaeology. The journal was founded in 1927 by OGS Crawford and is currently edited in the Department of Archaeology at Durham University. The Editorial team comprises Dr Robert Witcher (Editor), Dr Claire Nesbitt (Reviews Editor) and Liz Ryan (Editorial Manager) with editorial assistance from Thomas Swindells and Dr Ross Kendall. For enquiries about contributing to the journal email: [email protected] For media enquiries, email: [email protected] The journal is owned by the Antiquity Trust, a registered charity. The Trustees of the Antiquity Trust are Robin Coningham, Graeme Barker, Amy Bogaard, Barry Cunliffe, Roberta Gilchrist, Anthony Harding, Martin Millet, Nicky Milner, Stephanie Moser and Cameron Petrie. Antiquity is produced in partnership with Cambridge University Press and available from Cambridge Journals Online. Please visit the CJO website for subscription details: http://bit.ly/18pQgXF