NEWS

How do you conserve a pair of 200-year-old slippers?21 Aug


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Food or foe? Exploring unusual plant foods along the A14 Cambridge to Huntingdon improvement scheme12 Aug

MOLA Headland Archaeobotanist Lara Gonzalez Carretero studies botanical remains from A14C2H (c) Highways England courtesy of MOLA Headland

Archaeobotanical remains, from prehistory to the post-medieval period have been uncovered along the A14 Cambridge to Huntingdon improvement scheme. We know that cereal crops such as wheat and barley were staple plant-based foods at ancient settlements and sites along the route, and we uncovered the earliest physical evidence of the…


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Self-guided walking tour of Digbeth, Birmingham22 Jul

A self-guided walk through Digbeth

As archaeological excavations of Park Street burial ground for HS2 come to a close, MOLA Headland Community Engagement Officer, Andy Sherman, explores the hidden historical treasures of the immediate area in this blog. If you’d like to explore the often-forgotten gems of Digbeth for yourself, then download our self-guided walking…


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Digital recording: Advancing archaeological practice for HS212 Jul

Yesterday evening, the team behind the St James’s burial ground excavation for HS2, celebrated at construction industry awards, the CN Awards, as finalists in the category Best Use of Technology. The multi-disciplinary team – made up of archaeologists from MOLA Headland, expert engineers, archaeologists and construction professionals from Costain Skanska…


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The value of excavating Park Street to understanding the development of Birmingham05 Jul

Josephine Adams is a historical researcher and specialist in burials in 19th century Birmingham. In this blog she explores past excavations in Birmingham and the potential of the Park Street burial ground excavations, being undertaken by MOLA Headland on behalf of LM for the HS2 project, to allow a better…


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Ask the Expert: Anglo-Saxon textile making on A14C2H03 Jul

Anglo-Saxon shears (c) Highways England courtesy of MOLA Headland

Across the scheme we’ve uncovered items which relate to Anglo-Saxon clothing and textile production, sometimes in small amounts, and sometimes in larger, more concentrated amounts. In this blog, MOLA Headland finds expert Lyn Blackmore comments on the evidence we have so far… Q: To make clothes, Anglo-Saxons would first have…


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The artists of St James’s burial ground revealed05 Jun

MOLA Headland archaeologists excavating the burial of Lucy Lawrence, mother of Sir Thomas Lawrence PRA FRS, a leading English portrait painter and the fourth president of the Royal Academy (c) HS2, courtesy of MOLA Headland

Robert Hartle, Senior Archaeologist for MOLA Headland Infrastructure is currently working on the archaeological excavation of the 18th and 19th century St James’s burial ground at Euston for Costain Skanska Joint Venture (CSjv) on behalf of HS2. In this blog Robert delves into the burial ground’s artistic connections and what…


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Assessing human remains during an archaeological excavation: What can we learn?29 May

Don Walker is one of the Senior Osteologists undertaking archaeological excavation and research at Park Street burial ground on behalf of LM for HS2. In this blog he explores what happens on site and what we can learn from excavating and assessing human remains. Archaeologists undertaking burial ground excavations take…


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Rare Roman coin depicting ill-fated emperor Laelianus identified on A14C2H20 May

MOLA Headland numismatist Julian Bowsher studies the coin (c) Highways England courtesy of MOLA Headland

In the last #A14Archaeology blog, we looked at Iron Age coins in Cambridgeshire and found out from our numismatist, Julian Bowsher, about the significance of one particular Iron Age coin discovered along the route. In this blog, we’re taking a closer look at a rare coin with a more dramatic tale…


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Ask the Expert: Iron Age coins in Cambridgeshire17 Apr

Detail of horse on Iron Age gold coin discovered on A14C2H (c) Highways England courtesy of MOLA Headland

The study of coins, and currency more generally speaking, is known as numismatics. In archaeology, numismatics can help us to ascertain precise dates and find out who occupied or passed through a particular site. They can also tell us about trade networks, belief systems and leadership. In this blog, find…


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