ULAS News

Digging Into 2025: A Year of Discovery, Innovation, and Celebration at ULAS

A Year to Remember As 2025 draws to a close, we thought we’d pause to reflect on a busy year. From uncovering secrets buried for millennia to celebrating our 30th anniversary, this year has showcased the very best of archaeology, storytelling, and community engagement. Join us as we journey through the highlights of a year…

A Village Through Time

Loddington Archaeology Fieldschool This year, students at the University of Leicester’s School of Heritage and Culture (SHAC) had a unique opportunity to gain hands-on experience in archaeological fieldwork as part of their undergraduate degree. Many of these practical skills are developed through SHAC’s immersive fieldschools, expertly run in partnership with the University of Leicester Archaeological…

Pits, Enclosures and Barns – Excavations by The Soar, North of Quorn

In 2021, ULAS excavated 96 trenches on land north of Quorn in Leicestershire ahead of proposed development of the site which sits on the floor of the Soar valley, immediately west of the river’s current course. The evaluative work highlighted the presence of archaeological deposits across the site with finds dating to the Middle to…

Never mind the Bollards, here’s the Archaeology!

If you’ve been in Leicester’s city centre recently, you will have noticed the newly installed bollards. When Leicester City Council set out to install the bollards, they weren’t just reshaping traffic flow—they were opening a window into the city’s ancient past. In this blog, ULAS Project Manager Gavin Speed takes a look at what was…

Shelter from above!

Today we mark the 80th anniversary of VE Day. It is a reminder that history is not just about the distant past, it also has a tangible connection with living memory. Our archaeological work is also not solely devoted to ancient remains, and over the past decades we have been involved in several projects which…

‘We have just three days to find out!’

Since its original broadcast in January 1994, Time Team has brought amazing archaeological stories into the homes of millions and is rightly well-loved across the world for its informative and engaging format. What the programme has always excelled in is pushing new methods and ideas, and most importantly, encouraging people to get directly involved in…

Reburying Richard III: 10 Years On

It really doesn’t feel like it was 10 years ago when, on a chilly March morning, we were standing outside the Fielding Johnson Building at the University of Leicester watching a 21st-century hearse depart campus bearing the mortal remains of a medieval king of England. That short, solemn ceremony on 22 March 2015 marked a…

Replicating a unique Roman key handle

A unique – and fragile – Roman key handle portraying a ‘Barbarian’ grappling with a lion will soon go on display in the newly refurbished Jewry Wall Museum in Leicester. It was once a high-status Roman item, and no other quite like it has ever been discovered. Because it is so rare, and very fragile,…

The archaeology of menstruation

The theme of this year’s International Women’s Day is ‘accelerate action’ and emphasises the importance of taking decisive steps to achieve gender equality. It calls for increased momentum and urgency in addressing the systemic barriers and biases that women face, both in personal and professional spheres. With this in mind, two of our staff, Isobel…

Kathleen Kenyon and the Jewry Wall

Today we celebrate the renaming of the Archaeology and Ancient History Building at the University of Leicester after the pioneering archaeologist Dame Kathleen Kenyon. The Kathleen Kenyon Building is the first academic building to be named after a woman on the University of Leicester’s campus. To mark the occasion, archaeologist Mathew Morris, revisits a blog he first wrote in 2019,…

Monument, Memory and Myth

On 25 January 2025, a new exhibit celebrating identity, memory and community opens at Charnwood Museum, inspired by the amazing Bronze Age Cossington Necklace. The necklace was found by ULAS archaeologists in 1999. To coincide with the exhibition, ULAS Deputy Director John Thomas explores the Bronze Age setting of the discovery. Use and re-use of…

Leicester Cathedral Revealed – Secrets from the Cess Pit!

When most people think of archaeological excavations, tangible artefacts such as pottery and coins spring to mind. Also of importance, yet often overlooked, are plant remains, such as cereal grains and seeds, and the remains of wood and charcoal. These can survive by mineralisation, charring or waterlogging, and are vital for archaeological study as they…