Editor’s letter ditor’s letter
Happy New Year! Our cover story takes us to Snettisham in Norfolk, where a single field has yielded at least 14 Iron Age metalwork hoards. This unique collection has the potential to transform our understanding of ancient artistry and ceremonial practices – and, with analysis of the hoards now published in exciting detail, we explore what has been revealed.
From long-buried metalwork to long-buried stories, we next examine what archives and archaeology can tell us about female experiences and aspirations in medieval England and Wales, drawing on a new exhibition that defies stereotypes of women leading marginal lives during this period.
Remaining in the Middle Ages, we then learn what Berwick-upon-Tweed’s largest modern excavation has revealed about this influential border town and how it was defended during episodes of bloody Anglo-Scottish conflict.
Pausing for refreshment, our next feature traces the evolution of oast houses, their role in the history of brewing, and their residential afterlife.
Our penultimate piece draws on a site visit to Caistor St Edmund, where long-running investigations continue to reveal evidence of the Iceni people who once inhabited this landscape, and the cultural impact of contact with Rome. We close with a short follow-up to last month’s feature about the excavation of a monumental Roman building at Carlisle. In CA 418, we explored ideas of its construction being inspired by an imperial visit by Septimius Severus. Now, we discuss what historical evidence says about the emperor’s itinerary.
Finally, I would like to flag that this issue contains Joe Flatman’s 100th ‘Excavating the CA archive’ column. A marvellous milestone – thank you, Joe!
Contributors
News Rebecca Preedy Rebecca is Acting Assistant Editor at CA, and graduated in 2022 with an MA in Ancient Visual and Material Culture of Rome from Warwick University. She has experience from several UK museums and heritage sites.
Fields of gold Dr Julia Farley Julia is a curator at the British Museum. She is an archaeologist by training and now plays a leading role in the Reimagining the British Museum project: the redisplay of the Museum’s permanent galleries in Bloomsbury.
Fields of gold Dr Jody Joy Jody is a Senior Curator at the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Cambridge. A specialist in the European Iron Age, he is passionate about communicating knowledge about the past through museum display.
Under the infirmary David Fell Operations Director for Ecus (now Cura Terrae Land and Nature), David was previously an archaeologist and manager at NAA, where he is known for the Scotch Corner finds. He is an advisor to the Thornborough Archaeology Group in North Yorkshire.
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Editorial Editor: Carly Hilts carly@currentpublishing.com Deputy editor: Dr Kathryn Krakowka On maternity leave Assistant editor: Rebecca Preedy rebecca.preedy@currentpublishing.com Editorial assistant: Amy Brunskill amy.brunskill@currentpublishing.com Contributing editor: Christopher Catling chris@archaeology.co.uk Contributing editor: Joe Flatman Art editor: Mark Edwards mark.edwards@currentpublishing.com Designer: Emma Morgan Subeditor: Simon Coppock Editor-in-chief: Andrew Selkirk andrew@archaeology.co.uk Tel: 020 8819 5584 Publisher: Maria Earle maria@currentpublishing.com Managing director: Robert Selkirk
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