Revealing the past – for everyone’s benefit

During excavations at Wendover`s new cricket ground, we excavated a nine-month-old infant placed inside an upside-down pottery vessel with the remains of a mature hen and a small songbird.

Chickens are quite commonly found in Roman burials. They were considered a luxury food item and may have served as food for the dead or as a votive offering.

More unusually, the practice of burying infants in pottery vessels is much more common in the Mediterranean region and is rarely seen in Britain. Could the child`s parents have originated from warmer climates and been following a burial tradition familiar to them?

Want to find out more about the burials from our excavations at Wendover? Comment "Wendover" and we`ll send you our latest article.

#CASiteTeam #CAArchTeam #Archaeology #Roman #Wendover #Buckinghamshire

(Note: the photo shows the vessel with chicken bones at its entrance)

Tonight, millions of people across Britain will gather to burn effigies of Guy Fawkes on bonfires, a tradition future archaeologists will probably conclude is "ritual" 🔥🎆

While bonfires and pyres seldom survive in the archaeological record, gatherings around fire would have played a central role in important rituals, particularly cremations. We can learn more about the ceremonies surrounding these by looking at the grave goods recovered alongside cremation burials.

At Barnwood, Gloucestershire, burnt broad beans and peas found with a Roman cremation suggest food offerings formed part of funeral rites. At Eynsham, Oxfordshire, a rare Bronze Age golden eagle bone pin found with cremated remains may reflect beliefs linking eagles with death and rebirth. And at Lawn`s Farm, Lancashire, and Chippenham, burnt worked flints appear to have been deliberately placed on the funeral pyre as part of the ceremony.

#CAArchTeam #Archaeology #BonfireNight #GuyFawkes #Roman #BronzeAge

We found 29 cremation burials, including urned burials and accompanying accessory vessels during our excavations at Lydney.

This cemetery`s focal point may have been a cremation buried within a stone-lined cist. The earth beneath the cist was scorched… could it have been constructed over a funeral pyre?

We also found ten burials of burnt wood with no cremated bone, suggesting that the charcoal itself may have held significance.

🖥️ These results are hot off the server! Comment "Lydney" and we will send you the link to explore the full details on the Archaeology Data Service.

#CASiteTeam #CAArchTeam #Archives @archaeologydataservice #Archaeology #BronzeAge

𝗛̶𝗮̶𝗿̶𝗽̶𝘆̶ – 𝘀𝗼𝗿𝗿𝘆! – 𝙃𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙮 𝗛𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗻! 🎃 Allow us to introduce a fantastical beast and where we found it… A harpy! A grotesque human-headed, eagle-like creature, which is said to have served as an unsettling warning to all those who looked upon it 🦅

In medieval literature and heraldry, harpies were usually depicted as monstrous bird-women, so this unique fragment of a glass harpy, from Winchcombe Abbey in Gloucestershire, has caused quite the flap… Its appears to be masculine, sporting a styled and flowing beard, with a prominent nose and mouth that emphasise the creature’s beastly nature 👹👻

Grotesque beasts frequently appeared in the margins of medieval manuscripts and on embroideries, where they provided a contrast to central scenes of saints and martyrdom, but they also provoked fear, encouraged religious obedience, and reminded people of the consequences of sin….

Brave enough to find out more? Comment "𝗛𝗔𝗥𝗣𝗬" and we`ll send you a treat…. #DefinitelyNoTricks #Archaeology #Halloween #SpookySeason #FantasticBeasts

For the 5th and final week of Inktober here at CA we asked the entire #CAArchTeam to get involved and send us in their interpretations for the prompt ‘COOKIE’ so please enjoy a selection of our best bakes… 🍪

#Inktober2026 #Inktober2026COOKIE #InktoberCOOKIE #Archaeology #CASiteTeam

🖼️ Sophie Walker, Krissy Moore, Niki Wachtel, Indie Jago-Werling

Meet Sophie, one of our Heritage Consultants, and Ciar, a Finds Officer – both have #ADHD 👋

When people talk about ADHD, they often focus on the challenges, but as Ciar puts it: "𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘪𝘵." From creativity and curiosity to resourcefulness, ADHD can put some powerful tools in an archaeologist`s toolbox.

That doesn`t mean it comes without difficulties. Timesheets and emails, spreadsheets and forms – archaeology still has an ADHD house of horrors! So what adjustments can help, and why might someone hesitate to ask for them?

Comment "𝗔𝗗𝗛𝗗" to read Sophie and Ciar`s experiences – from finding adjustments that work for them, to the very real fear that can come with handing your boss a list of all the things you`re struggling with.

#ADHDAwarenessMonth #NeurodiversityAwarenessMonth #Neurodiversity #MentalHealth #Archaeology #MindsOfAllMinds #InclusiveWorkplaces

𝗕𝗿𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗹 & 𝗚𝗹𝗼𝘂𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗔𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗲𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗦𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗲𝘁𝘆 𝗶𝘀 𝟭𝟱𝟬 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀 𝗼𝗹𝗱! 🎉

To celebrate this milestone, a day of talks will highlight the latest archaeological and historical discoveries from across the south-west – including aDNA and isotope studies, revealing Early Neolithic female mobility – alongside the insights gained from decades of research in Bristol and Gloucestershire 🕵️‍♀️

🗓️ 𝗦𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝟳𝘁𝗵 𝗡𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿, 10:00 – 16:30
🎟️ 𝗙𝗥𝗘𝗘 𝙄𝙣 𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙤𝙣 and 𝙤𝙣𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙚tickets are both available.

To book, simply reply `𝗕𝗚𝗔𝗦` in the comments

@bristolmuseums #Archaeology #Gloucestershire #History #Talks #ArchaeologyTalks #ChedworthRomanVilla

Across the country, there`s a crisis facing many museums: they are running close to capacity and, in some cases, have already reached it. Gloucester is no exception. So how is the @museumofgloucester tackling its storage problem..?

We`ve been working with them over the past 𝟯 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗵𝘀, with the help of 𝟰𝟬 𝗱𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘃𝗼𝗹𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗲𝗿𝘀 contributing more than 𝟮,𝟭𝟬𝟬 𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀 of their time (well done, team! 👏), to reduce 𝟭,𝟮𝟬𝟬 𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗯𝗼𝘅𝗲𝘀 𝗯𝘆 𝗮𝗹𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝟱𝟬%!

Our Archives team ensured collections were carefully reviewed, catalogued, and repacked. It`s a time-consuming process – literally working one box at a time – but it`s helping to ensure the future of Gloucester`s archive. And we haven`t just increased valuable storage space – an inventory of the artefacts has brought previously overlooked finds back into the spotlight, including 41 Roman stamped tiles that didn`t feature in the site`s publication.

Want to find out how it was done and discover some of the finds we`ve unboxed? Comment "STORE" and we`ll send you a link to the full story 📦

@heritagefunduk #Archaeology #Heritage #MuseumCollections #Volunteering #Gloucester #Museum #Archive