2023 news

Research by a team, including former MA student Lewis Tomlinson and several members of department staff, has identified an unusual object found by a metal detectorist in East Anglia: a rare type of Viking comb, made of reindeer antler.

Research by University of York staff and students has contributed to a project by Durham University, identifying pauper apprentices in rural post-medieval Yorkshire.

Professor John Schofield, of the University of York, has been invited to deliver the prestigious 2023-24 Dalrymple Lectures in Glasgow.

It is with great sadness that we write with news of the recent passing of Penelope Walton Rogers, a long-time friend, collaborator and Honorary Visiting Fellow of the department

The University of York’s Archeology Data Service has been accredited by The National Archives, the first digital-only archive to receive the award.

The former BA Historical Archaeology and MA Medieval Archaeology student has published a book on the history and archaeology of the Isle of Axholme in northwestern Lincolnshire.

Digital Archaeology MSc student Benedict Dyson worked with archaeologists at the Environment agency to create a 3D model of Bransholme Castle for an interpretation board.

Researchers in the department of Archaeology conduct the first large-scale investigation into the eating habits of the Guarani.

For many people seaweed holds a reputation as a superfood, heralded for its health benefits and sustainability, but it appears our European ancestors were ahead of the game and were consuming the nutrient-rich plant for thousands of years.

Postgraduate researcher Jan Dekker has won a ‘Future Fellows’ prize at the 10th International Society for Biomolecular Archaeology conference held in Tartu, Estonia in September 2023.

The Department of Archaeology has placed 5th in The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2024 for the subject of Archaeology and Forensic Science.

Analysis of hair combs made from deer antler has shed new light on the trade routes of Vikings - revealing connections between northern Scandinavia and the edges of continental Europe.

Congratulations to Jessica Hendy and co-authors Matthäus Rest, Mark Aldenderfer and Christina Warinner, who have been awarded the Cross-Fields Scholarship Prize from the General Anthropology Division of the American Anthropological Association.

The Department of Archaeology has placed 8th in the Guardian University Guide 2024 for the subjects of anthropology and archaeology.

We are inviting expressions of interest for the Leverhulme Early Career Scheme.

Green sea turtles have travelled to the North African seagrass meadows to feed for approximately 3,000 years, a new study has shown.

The YUSU Excellence Awards give students the opportunity to show their appreciation to staff across the University, and thank them for their hard work.

Lessons from the High Streets Heritage Action Zones.

Elizabeth Hicks was awarded First Prize in the SAfA Student Paper Competition at the 26th Biennial Meeting of the Society for Africanist Archaeologists, held at Rice University, in Houston, Texas.

Professor Nicky Milner has been awarded an OBE for services to archaeology and higher education in the King’s Birthday Honours.

Archaeology at York ranked 8th in the UK according to the latest release of the Complete University Guide league tables (2024).

Researchers have found evidence that small brained hominins buried their dead and carved engravings into cave walls associated with the deceased - behaviours thought to be unique to large-brained humans and their ancestors.

An international team of Archaeologists lead by Masaryk University, Czechia, have discovered a previously unrecorded pottery style dating to before the arrival of farming.

Archaeologists in York have used 3D scans to study the Roman burial practice of pouring liquid gypsum over the bodies of adults and children laid to rest in coffins - the first time this cutting-edge technology has been applied to Roman burials of this type anywhere in the world.

Scientists have unearthed a story of forgotten children of the past, providing the first direct evidence of the lives of early nineteenth-century ‘pauper apprentices’.

Sophy Charlton and Michelle Alexander have been successfully awarded a Research Grant from the Society of Antiquaries to undertake state-of-the-art isotopic methodologies which have yet to be applied to British early prehistoric assemblages.

Research into grape pips found from an excavated Byzantine monastery in Israel hints at the origins of the ‘mysterious’ Gaza wine and the history of grapevine cultivation in desert conditions.

A new £8.8 million research project aims to discover how societies across the Western Mediterranean overcame environmental challenges and inspired a ‘green revolution’ over the course of 1,000 years.

Dr Lara González Carretero of the Department of Archaeology has been named as a recipient of a 2023 Trail-Crisp award from the Linnean Society of London.

People living on the ‘Swahili coast’ - the Indian Ocean coast of eastern Africa - have African and Asian ancestry according to new research on ancient DNA.

Archaeology at York placed 5th in the UK and 20th in the world according to the latest release of the QS World University Rankings by subject (2023).

A new study has found evidence of cheesemaking, using milk from multiple animals in Late Neolithic Poland.

New research has revealed humans living on the Mediterranean coast 9,500 years ago may have relied more heavily on a fish diet than previously thought.

Researchers have used specialist imaging techniques to map proteins in ancient human teeth to study the preservation of proteins in archaeological remains.

Archaeologists have found what they say is the first solid scientific evidence suggesting that Vikings crossed the North Sea to Britain with dogs and horses.

A University of York academic was part of an international team of researchers who have shed new light on the chemical substances used by the Egyptian embalmers.

The Yorkshire Museum in York has in its collections 16 Roman gypsum burial casts created from the ancient Roman practice of pouring liquid gypsum or plaster over the corpses of adults and children in stone or lead coffins before deposition in the ground.

The archives of the world-famous megalithic monuments at Avebury in Wiltshire are to be digitised and made available online.