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…
Tag: Medieval
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…
‘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…
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 – Leicester Uncovered
It’s been a while since we posted about the archaeology at Leicester Cathedral. The digging is now done and the project has moved into its post-excavation phase, and the Cathedral has reopened its doors to the public again. This is a good time, then, to resume our regular posts on the archaeological discoveries. In this…
Coventry Charterhouse – A tale of two trenches
In this month’s instalment from Coventry Charterhouse we move clockwise around the footprint of the former monastery and move from the eastern range of cells to the southern range. Site director, Andrew McLeish tells us more… While geophysical survey can often give us an idea of what might be under the ground it has its…
Globalisation: The Republic of Venice in Tudor Leicester
The history of Leicester contains a great variety of different stories, peoples, and historical events. Archaeologist Joshua Cattermole investigates the Tudor town’s links with the Republic of Venice. During the transition from the medieval to modern era we see much tumult, including some of the great national events of the age: the Wars of the…
Coventry Charterhouse – If you want answers dig holes!
We return to the Coventry Charterhouse and in this blog, site director Andrew McLeish takes a look at the (re)excavation of two of the monks’ houses on the eastern range of cells in the summer of 2020 and how archaeology has progressed in forty years. The title of this particular post I can attribute to…
Coventry Charterhouse – The World Is Your Oyster
In our second blog from Coventry Charterhouse, site director Andrew McLeish and environmental archaeologist William Johnson introduce us to an often-overlooked aspect of archaeological projects but one which can contribute greatly to them… In our last blog we talked about the discoveries made during the excavation of the area forming the extension to the new…
Coventry Charterhouse – a project in retrospect
With our excavation at Leicester Cathedral now finished, we are going to move away from Leicestershire and focus on another National Lottery Heritage Funded project that we have been involved with, the Coventry Charterhouse. This is the first of a series of blogs over the forthcoming months which will catching you up on our excavations…
Leicester Cathedral Revealed – archaeological excavation begins at Leicester Cathedral
University of Leicester Archaeological Services (ULAS) are delighted to announce that we have been appointed archaeological contractors for the Leicester Cathedral Revealed project. Now that the Old Song School has been demolished we have a team of archaeologists on site monitoring ground works including the removal of old foundations and the installation of trench sheeting and the contiguous piled…
New book explores life in Roman and Medieval Leicester
The most comprehensive book ever written on the archaeology of Leicester has been published by University of Leicester Archaeological Services (ULAS). Walking through Leicester today it is difficult to appreciate that beneath its streets lie the remains of a 2,000-year-old settlement; beginning in the late Iron Age and subsequently re-shaped by a succession of Roman,…
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