recent archaeological discoveries 2021 uk

Although there was anticipation among archaeologists that Prehistoric and/or Roman remains would be found at the site, there was great surprise upon the excavation of the ground plans of a hodge-podge multi-building complex. In Northern England’s seaside resort town of Scarborough, land was slated for real estate development plans to construct up-to-date modern living accommodations for young families, first-time buyers, and professionals. Just these discoveries alone offered a multi-perspective insight into the day-to-day lives, occupations, and funereal customs of this once-thriving Roman community.Īpril 2021: Scarborough, North Yorkshire, EnglandĪbove ground view of the excavated building layout. Corn-drying ovens, bone combs, surgical instruments, pottery shards, and a cemetery of over forty graves added to the notability of this archaeological dig. Of note, this dwelling was designed according to the winged-corridor layout, which was a distinct type of Romano-British domestic architecture that featured a portico (colonnaded porch) and wings that expanded the size of these homes. Although much of the walls have undergone extensive damage likely from its over thousand-year long burial, there is still a clear indication of the villa’s ground plan. During excavations near an Iron Age hillfort, the ruins of a Roman villa were revealed underneath the landscape. Southern England’s Wittenham Clumps have been well-known for their rich deposits of Prehistoric Bronze and Iron Age and Ancient Roman objects and buildings. Wittenham Clumps, Thames Valley, Oxfordshire, England, UK. Such discoveries have substantially increased our understanding of life in Ancient Britain.įebruary 2021: Wittenham Clumps, Thames Valley, Oxfordshire, England

For almost every month, extraordinarily intact full-size or partially preserved architectural sites, artworks, and material objects have been uncovered. Over 1600 years after the end of Roman rule in the British Isles, vestiges of Rome’s imperial dominion remain and have become associated with British national identity and culture, including: surviving Roman baths in the English city of Bath, Somerset Emperor Hadrian’s titular defensive wall along the England-Scotland border and, preserved remains of a military bath house, amphitheatre, fortress walls, and legionary barracks in Newport, Wales.Ģ021 was an exceptionally fruitful year for specialists in the archaeology of Roman Britain. Their power and influence spread from England north and westwards into Wales and Scotland the Romans never successfully colonized Ireland ( Hibernia). The British Isles, or Britannia, represented Rome’s northwesternmost territorial possessions from the mid-1st Century BC to the early-5th Century AD. A case in point lies in the myriad archaeological discoveries that occurred in the British Isles throughout 2021.

And, of course, Rome’s artistic contributions inadvertently became a major driving force in how artists post-Antiquity sought to capture truthfulness and beauty in their environs.Īlthough the Roman Empire’s might and prowess is worthy of admiration, yearly archaeological excavations signify that there are always new details about Roman life that remain shrouded in mystery, require clearer insight, or have been misinterpreted in the modern era. Rome’s civic engineering and architecture could rightfully be boasted as the finest and most durable by contemporary standards given its continued application around the world in roads & bridges, governmental & educational building constructions, and concrete-based designs. Latin, the Romans’ mother tongue, laid the groundwork for the gradual evolution of modern Romance languages. Modern political ideologies and legal codes were borne out of the tribunal and senatorial atmospheres of Rome’s governing elite.

The official death knell of the Ancient Roman Empire may have been in the latter half of the 5th Century AD, but its legacies as a formidable agent of change in Antiquity echoes across dozens of modern-day countries in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia.

Recent archaeological discoveries 2021 uk