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…
Tag: Leicester
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…
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,…
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,…
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…
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…
Leicester Cathedral Revealed – Animal Bone Discoveries
In our latest blog from the Leicester Cathedral Revealed project, Environmental Supervisor William Johnson-Moss, tells us about the assessment of the animal bones and what they tell us about life in Leicester in the past. During the excavations at Leicester Cathedral a total of 10,516 fragments of animal bone were recovered. These came from features…
Leicester Cathedral Revealed – St Martin’s and the 1645 Siege of Leicester
Our team are nearing the end of their assessment of the archaeological material from the Leicester Cathedral Revealed excavation and will soon have lots of new information to share with us. In the meantime, excavation director Mathew Morris, takes a moment to reflect on the anniversary of one of the most violent events in the…
Leicester Cathedral Revealed – The story is in the stratigraphic sequence
Saying it’s been a wet winter is an understatement! It’s been terrible for archaeological excavations, with flooded sites, high water tables and mud, glorious mud! For Leicester Cathedral Uncovered, this has been a bit of a blessing, with staff, rained off other projects, devoting a considerable amount of their winter cleaning the skeletons from the…
‘With luck and good management’: Jean Mellor and the transformation of Leicester’s archaeological landscape
International Women’s Day has been celebrated on the 8th of March each year since 1911. The theme for 2024 is #InspireInclusion. The day promotes equality and illuminates women’s achievements in many different fields. In this blog, ULAS Project Officer Jen Browning celebrates the career of one of Leicester’s great archaeologists, Jean Mellor. Archaeologists aren’t alone in…
Leicester Cathedral Revealed – Discovering more about John Wilson Ottey (1810 – 1851)
Over a year ago, we learnt about John Wilson Ottey (1810-1851) and uncovered what historical records can tell us about his life. John Ottey, one of a few of the named dead excavated from Leicester Cathedral, is well documented in newspapers for his youthful indiscretions. However, his death, many years later, marked him as a…
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