For the second year running a project led by University of Leicester archaeologists has been nominated in the Current Archaeology Awards, this year in the category ‘Rescue Project of the Year’. The project, Buried between Road and River: Investigating a Roman cemetery in Leicester (reported on in Current Archaeology Issue 319), investigated part of a…
Category: Projects
Castle Hill Community Dig Blog 3: What we know so far…
Well that’s it for this year. Excavation is complete, records are finalised, finds are washed (mostly), we’ve bid a sad farewell to our fantastic volunteers, packed everything up, backfilled the site and gone home. It has been a very productive second week. With the trenches cleaned up, the focus this week has been on recording…
Castle Hill Community Dig Blog 2: A successful first week…
The first thing to say is, we have archaeology, lots of archaeology. Last Thursday, in thick fog I supervised the digger machining open the three trenches that we will be investigating over the next couple of weeks. This is a tense moment. Before you break ground, you have no idea what you’re going to find…
Castle Hill Community Dig Blog 1: A bit of background
Hi everyone, welcome to the first blog for the Castle Hill Community Excavation. Over the next couple of weeks we will be posting updates here and on Facebook (www.facebook.com/ulasnews) to keep you up to date with what we are finding. First, a little bit about what we will be doing. What is happening? Leicester City…
New dig will explore story of Castle Hill
University of Leicester Archaeological Services will be working with Leicester City Council to explore an enigmatic monument in one of the city’s Country Parks. The ancient monument at the heart of Leicester’s Castle Hill Country Park is due to be investigated later this month as part of a community archaeological project. Leicester City Council and…
Injured soldiers work with ULAS staff in unique Cypriot archaeological project
UK Forces personnel, who have been injured mentally or physically on operations or in other circumstances, join university students and staff at ancient Roman harbour. A unique collaboration between archaeologists and injured Service personnel sees them pitted in a race against time to discover the secrets of an ancient Roman harbour in Cyprus before they…
Bronze Age barrow and Anglo-Saxon cemetery discovered at Rothley, Leicestershire
ULAS project investigates how different generations have re-used ancient sacred places. Archaeologists from the University of Leicester have recently excavated a Bronze Age barrow and Anglo-Saxon cemetery under former allotments at Rothley in Leicestershire. The project has offered a rare opportunity to investigate how different generations have re-used ancient sacred places, with Iron Age and…
Rare discovery of late Roman official buried in Leicester
Archaeologists from ULAS have recently excavated a late Roman cemetery at Western Road in Leicester’s West End. Amongst the eighty-three skeletons recorded by the team, one burial is proving to be very exciting. The simple grave in question had been dug into mudstone on the west bank of the River Soar, to the south-west of…
New discoveries made at Jewry Wall Museum
ULAS archaeologists discover more hidden history at Jewry Wall Roman Baths. Archaeologists from the University of Leicester have uncovered a wealth of history hidden beneath the earth around the Jewry Wall Museum. The team from ULAS, led by Gavin Speed, has already unearthed Roman walls, pottery and human remains during exploratory work at the popular…
Iron Age settlement found near Welford, Northamptonshire
ULAS archaeologists have recovered Iron Age pottery and found evidence of a roundhouse at Welford in Northamptonshire. Last year, an initial nine trench evaluation of a site at Newlands Road in Welford identified several features of Iron Age date including ditches, pits and a narrow gully. The site has now been stripped of soil under…
University archaeologists nominated for national research award
Burrough Hill Project up for Current Archaeology Awards. University of Leicester archaeologists are in the running for a hat-trick of awards having been nominated in the ‘Research Project of the Year’ category for the prestigious Current Archaeology Awards for the second time in recent years. In 2013 the award was won by the Greyfriars Project…
New evidence of Roman and medieval Leicester revealed beneath former city centre bus depot
University of Leicester team reveals insights into Roman and medieval domestic life beneath former city centre bus depot. Archaeologists from University of Leicester Archaeological Services (ULAS) have unearthed new evidence of Roman and medieval Leicester after recently completing the excavation of two areas at the former Southgates Bus Depot, on the corner of Southgates and…