Topic description and stories

Latest archaeological finds at Must Farm provide a vivid picture of everyday life in the Bronze Age

14 Jul 2016

Excavation of a site in the Cambridgeshire fens reveals a Bronze Age settlement with connections far beyond its watery location. Over the past ten...

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Dissected foetal skull dating from the 1800s, originally held in the University of Cambridge Anatomy Museum

Infant bodies were ‘prized’ by 19th century anatomists, study suggests

01 Jul 2016

A study of the University of Cambridge anatomy collection dating from the 1700s and 1800s shows how the bodies of stillborn foetuses and babies were...

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Youngest Ancient Egyptian human foetus discovered in miniature coffin at the Fitzwilliam Museum

12 May 2016

Tiny coffin excavated at Giza in 1907 is remarkable evidence of importance placed on official burial rituals in ancient Egypt.

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Neanderthal man

Neanderthals may have been infected by diseases carried out of Africa by humans, say researchers

11 Apr 2016

Review of latest genetic evidence suggests infectious diseases are tens of thousands of years older than previously thought, and that they could jump...

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CCCP Poster 1963

New undergraduate courses for 2017

16 Mar 2016

The University has launched three new undergraduate courses for 2017 entry - Single Honours Archaeology and two Joint Honours programmes: History...

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Excavation of Bronze Age Wheel at Must Farm one metre in diameter, with hub clearly visible.

Most complete Bronze Age wheel to date found at Must Farm near Peterborough

19 Feb 2016

The largest and best-preserved Bronze Age wheel in Britain has been uncovered at Must Farm, a site described as Peterborough’s Pompeii. The wheel...

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Tin toys from the 1930s–1950s.

The archaeology of childhood

30 Jan 2016

A sledge made from a horse’s jaw, the remains of a medieval puppet, the coffin of a one-year-old Roman child, and the skeleton of an Anglo-Saxon girl...

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Left: Skull of a man found lying prone in the lagoons sediments. The skull has multiple lesions consistent with wounds from a blunt implement. Right: The skull in situ.

Evidence of a prehistoric massacre extends the history of warfare

20 Jan 2016

Skeletal remains of a group of foragers massacred around 10,000 years ago on the shores of a lagoon is unique evidence of a violent encounter between...

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Skull of a man with multiple lesions on the side, probably caused by a club.

Opinion: Finding a hunter-gatherer massacre scene that may change history of human warfare

19 Jan 2016

Marta Mirazon Lahr (Leverhulme Centre for Human Evolutionary Studies) discusses the discovery, made by her and her team, of the oldest known case of...

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Bronze Age stilt houses unearthed in East Anglian Fens

12 Jan 2016

Large circular wooden houses built on stilts collapsed in a dramatic fire 3,000 years ago and plunged into a river, preserving their contents in...

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Left: Roman latrines from Lepcis Magna in Libya. Right: Roman whipworm egg from Turkey

Roman toilets gave no clear health benefit, and Romanisation actually spread parasites

08 Jan 2016

Archaeological evidence shows that intestinal parasites such as whipworm became increasingly common across Europe during the Roman Period, despite...

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Roman toilets

Opinion: Why the Romans weren’t quite as clean as you might have thought

06 Jan 2016

Piers Mitchell (Department of Biological Anthroplogy) discusses what Roman toilets did for the health of the population.

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