ULAS News

Never mind the Bollards, here’s the Archaeology!

Blog by Gavin Speed. 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…

Shelter from above!

Blog by Mathew Morris. 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…

‘We have just three days to find out!’

Blog by John Thomas. 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…

Reburying Richard III: 10 Years On

Blog by Mathew Morris. 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…

Replicating a unique Roman key handle

Blog by Gavin Speed and Andrew McLeish. 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…

The archaeology of menstruation

Blog by Isobel Johnson-Moss and Rachel Small. 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…

Kathleen Kenyon and the Jewry Wall

Blog by Mathew Morris. 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…

Monument, Memory and Myth

Blog by John Thomas. 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….

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…

The Midlands – Birthplace of the 1605 Gunpowder Plot

Blog by Robbie Mabbett. “Remember, remember, the 5th of November, gunpowder, treason and plot.” Tonight is Bonfire Night, the annual commemoration of the foiled plot to blow up King James I and the House of Lords during the State Opening of Parliament in London on 5 November, 1605. It was hoped it would be a prelude…

Leicester Cathedral Revealed – The Living Churchyard

We have talked a lot about the remarkable archaeological discoveries from Leicester Cathedral. About the Roman cellar ‘shrine’ and the altar stone, and about the thousand medieval and post-medieval burials, and we will talk about them further as new information comes from the analysis of the archaeological material and the human remains. Meanwhile, the assessment…

Leicester Cathedral Revealed –Roman pottery discoveries

During the excavations at Leicester Cathedral, a total of 5,540 sherds of Roman pottery were recovered dating from the beginning of Roman Leicester during the 1st century, through to the 4th century and the end of the Roman town. The pottery has all been assessed to determine how it can contribute to our understanding of…