ULAS News

Unique Iron Age shield found by Leicester archaeologists

The 2,300-year-old bark shield is the only one of its kind ever found in Europe A unique bark shield from the Iron Age has been discovered by archaeologists from the University of Leicester, the only one of its kind ever found in Europe. The shield, which measured 670 x 370mm in the ground, was found…

The Charterhouse Project: The dig so far…

We are halfway through our dig at the Coventry Charterhouse, and despite some rather difficult weather conditions, fascinating new insights into this Carthusian monastery are being revealed. Read on to find out about the dig so far, or visit us this Saturday March 16, 12pm-4pm and find more out about the site at out open…

Kathleen Kenyon and the Jewry Wall

This year is the 80th anniversary of the final year of Kathleen Kenyon’s seminal excavations at Jewry Wall. For International Women’s Day, we take a moment to reflect on the significance of her work in Leicester… Kathleen Kenyon (1906-78) was a gifted archaeologist and pioneer of excavation methodology who made an important contribution to our…

The Charterhouse Project: An Introduction

For the first three weeks of March a team from University of Leicester Archaeological Services will be working in partnership with Historic Coventry Trust, Coventry City Council and Historic England to learn more about Coventry’s Carthusian Monastery – St. Anne’s Charterhouse. The monument is situated alongside the River Sherbourne, just outside the city centre, and…

Roman and medieval discoveries: Waterside, Leicester

A major excavation in north-west Leicester features in the Leicester Mercury, with a video and interviews with some of the team working on the site. The Waterside Project has revealed fresh discoveries into the city’s Roman and medieval past on land to the west of the city centre bordering the River Soar.

Digging for Britain

A University of Leicester Archaeological Services (ULAS) excavation, will feature on BBC4’s Digging for Britain on Wednesday 19 December at 9.00pm. Over the winter of 2013 and 2014, ULAS excavated an archaeological site at Glenfield Park, Leicester. As well as being an important site locally and nationally, the discovery of a large amount of metalwork, including 11…

2018 in 12 Images: Year in Review

We’ve excavated on a wide range of projects in 2018. Here we showcase 12 images taken throughout the year, highlighting our main discoveries, click on the images to read more from each project.

New book on life in Roman Leicester launched

Through a combination of narrative and new archaeological research Life in the Roman World: Roman Leicester by Giacomo Savani, Sarah Scott and Mathew Morris explores the nature of everyday life under the Romans.

Bosworth Links 2018 Test-Pit Results Announced

New evidence of Neolithic, Roman and Anglo-Saxon activity found in community archaeological dig at Market Bosworth. In 2016, the Bosworth Links project set out to reveal the, then, poorly understood development and habitation of Market Bosworth. The main research goals, to learn more about what was going on in the area before the town was…

Summer Roundup: Outreach Activities

ULAS are always busy with various public outreach activities, whether site open days or talks to local schools and clubs. Over summer 2018, community involvement by ULAS staff engaged with over 5,000 people across the counties of Leicestershire and Rutland, and further afield. Key projects include… Bradgate Park Fieldschool The Bradgate Park Fieldschool is a major ULAS…

Summer Roundup: Leicester Excavations

This summer (2018) ULAS has been extremely busy on many archaeological projects, here’s a roundup of our key discoveries from three large excavations in Leicester, producing some significant new Roman and medieval discoveries. The Waterside project A major redevelopment of north-west Leicester is the Waterside project. In advance of redevelopment a series of archaeological evaluations…

Stibbe Roman mosaic to go on public display for first time

Free exhibition showcasing Leicester’s Roman past will take place at BBC Radio Leicester studio between 16 – 27 July University of Leicester Archaeological Services (ULAS) in partnership with BBC Radio Leicester are putting on public display for the first time, the newly conserved ‘Stibbe’ Roman mosaic. The FREE exhibit has been organised as part of…