ULAS News

Thrown to the Lions? New evidence revealed for the use of lions during executions in Roman Britain

Archaeologists in Leicester have discovered an elaborately-decorated Roman bronze key handle portraying the execution of captives in the arena by throwing them to lions. The handle portrays a ‘Barbarian’ grappling with a lion, together with four naked youths cowering in terror. The key handle was discovered by University of Leicester Archaeological Services (ULAS), buried below…

Castle Hill Field School – Week 1 update

Welcome to the first blog update from the 2021 Castle Hill field school. Project director Mathew Morris reports: We have now been digging for six days, the 1st year archaeology students have finished their first week, we have welcomed 26 young archaeologists from the Leicestershire Young Archaeologists’ Club to site for a day’s digging and…

Archaeology students to explore historic monument linked with the Knights Hospitaller.

Throughout June, archaeology students from the University of Leicester will be excavating at Castle Hill Country Park in Beaumont Leys. The dig will continue the exploration of Castle Hill, a large, enigmatic monument believed to be the remains of a manorial site linked with the medieval Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John…

The Iron Age landscape of Leicester City’s new football training ground

In 2018, University of Leicester archaeologists carried out excavations at the former Park Hill Golf Club in Seagrave, near Loughborough, in advance of Leicester City’s redevelopment of the site as a new football training ground. Site director Leon Hunt reports: Little was known about the archaeology of the area prior to this work. The Historic…

The real Peggy Piggot

International Women’s Day (IWD) is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women. Following the release of Netflix’s ‘The Dig’ earlier this year, it seems fitting to celebrate an archaeologist from the story of Sutton Hoo, that some have argued may have been misrepresented in the film – esteemed female…

Modern Women in Archaeology: Views from 2021

International Women’s Day has been celebrated on the 8th of March each year, since the first gathering was held in 1911. The theme for 2021 is #ChooseToChallenge. The day is used to promote equality and illuminate women’s achievements in many different fields. Last year ULAS took a look at two pioneering female archaeologists who were…

Burrough Hill Iron Age Hillfort Self-Guided Walk

Location: Burrough Hill Country Park, Somerby Road, Burrough on the Hill, LE14 2QZ Walk length: 1.2 miles / 1.9 km Gradient: Moderate, farm track from Car Park and pasture inside the hillfort (the route can be muddy, so appropriate footwear is advised) Parking: Yes, car park accessed from Somerby Road, toilets available, £2.50 charge NB:…

Secrets from the Soil – new book launched!

Our new book celebrates our 25th Anniversary and presents the best archaeological discoveries in Leicestershire and Rutland from the last quarter century.

Searching for the Knights Hospitaller Self-Guided Walk

Welcome to Castle Hill Country Park. This walk will guide you around Castle Hill, the main archaeological site in the park, and tell you what is known so far about its history and archaeology.

Boundaries and roundhouses at Enderby

In 2016, ULAS carried out work on a large five-hectare excavation at Leicester Lane, Enderby, on the western edge of Leicester close to the M1. An extensive and rich Prehistoric site was identified. Project Officer Wayne Jarvis reports: The site covered an area of land that included lower lying flat ground and a slope up…

New Roman Leicester website launches

ULAS and the University of Leicester School of Archaeology and Ancient History are pleased to announce the launch, today, of a new website romanleicester.com. Walk through Leicester today and it is often hard to imagine that we are treading on over 2,000 years of history. But now, with more than 80 years of archaeological excavations…

ULAS director Richard Buckley retires

31st May 2020 marks the retirement of Dr Richard Buckley, Director of University of Leicester Archaeological Services after 40 years as a professional archaeologist. Nick Cooper, Project Manager at ULAS reflects on the career of Leicester’s foremost expert on the City’s Roman and medieval past. Richard’s career has encompassed all the large-scale excavations that have…