ULAS News

Welcome to the news blog ULAS News

Welcome to the news blog for University of Leicester Archaeological Services (ULAS), sharing the latest archaeological discoveries from the University of Leicester. Out aim is to provide an emersive news magazine highlighting important and interesting discoveries made in Leicestershire and the Midlands, and anywhere else our work takes us. We have already created a small archive…

Evidence of Ice Age hunters found in Bradgate Park, Leicestershire

In February, Bradgate Park Trust commissioned ULAS to investigate remains found at the Little Matlock Gorge site – a project that, by its conclusion two weeks later has revealed that Ice Age hunters targeted Bradgate Park as an ideal hunting ground. The gradual erosion of a footpath at the eastern end of the site in…

Archaeologist of the Year 2014

ULAS can add another distinction to its list of successes as co-director Richard Buckley has been named Current Archaeology’s ‘Archaeologist of the Year’. He receives the accolade for his work on the Dig for Richard III – which won the ‘Research Excavation of the Year’ award last year from the same publication. The winners of…

ULAS collects Queen’s Anniversary Prize

On 27 February, ten members of the university led by the Chancellor Lord Grocott and the Vice-Chancellor Professor Sir Robert Burgess received the Queen’s Anniversary Prize for Higher and Further Education at a ceremony at Buckingham Palace. These prestigious biennial awards are the highest form of national recognition open to a UK academic or vocational…

Roman ‘smoke-house’ found at Pineham, Northamptonshire

From April to November 2013 one of the largest (7.5ha) single-phase ULAS excavations took place at Pineham, Northamptonshire. Directed by James Harvey and Dr Gavin Speed the site is located in the Nene Valley, 4km south-west of Northampton. The excavation revealed evidence for human activity from Upper Palaeolithic artefacts through to post-medieval ploughing, with the…

Iron Age activity found near Broughton Astley

Roger Kipling has recently completed a 71 trench evaluation of two areas to the east and west of Broughton Way at Broughton Astley, Leicestershire. As anticipated by a previously undertaken geophysical survey, a small ditched enclosure of Iron Age date was located in the central eastern area. Its fourth (eastern) side was absent, likely due…

Investigating lime production at Barrow Upon Soar

Grizzled veterans Leon Hunt and Jon coward (assisted by young upstart James Harvey) decamped to Barrow Upon Soar, Leicestershire for a few weeks to evaluate a large field (‘The Breaches’) where a recent geophysical survey had located a few dozen kilns or dumped material associated with kilns, along with many pits and other anomalies including…

Romano-British occupation found at King Edward VII School, Melton Mowbray

Fresh from Greyfriars II and making a point of only undertaking digs with a monarch in the title, Leon Hunt and Mathew Morris found themselves in the playing fields adjacent to the now disused King Edward VII School (where Monty Python’s Graham Chapman went, no less) for a 20 trench evaluation. A geophysical survey had…

Medieval Wellingbrough unearthed

Wayne Jarvis has recently completed an archaeological excavation at The Dun Cow Public House in Wellingborough (Northamptonshire), following on from a programme of trial trenching earlier this year. The site lies in the area of the former medieval settlement of Wellingborough, within a tenement group fronting Broad Green which forms part of the northern gateway…

Burrough Hill 2013

Earlier this summer, John Thomas and Andrew Hyam got the 2013 season of fieldwork at Burrough Hill Iron Age Hillfort underway with a survey of areas of erosion around the earthworks; before Natural England and other interested parties attempted to restore them. Following on from that, preparation began to machine two new areas of study…

Christian burial found in Roman cemetery at Oxford Street, Leicester?

First published 13/09/2013, Updated 03/01/2024 In 2013, ULAS carried out an excavation of part of a Roman cemetery between Oxford Street and Newarke Street in Leicester. Excavation director John Thomas reports: The site lay in the town’s south suburb, adjacent to one of the main routes into Roman Leicester, about 130m outside the town’s south…

Iron Age comb found at Brackley, Northamptonshire

A large forty-three trench evaluation carried out by ULAS off Thurweston Road, Brackley was very much hampered by the weather conditions during January and February. James Harvey reports that concentrated Mid-Late Iron Age settlement activity was recorded on the higher ground within the northern area of the site that included possible enclosure ditches, a roundhouse…