Events archive

Marking the 40th anniversary of Professor Niall Sharples excavations in 1985–1986 this is an opportunity to consider research into focussed on Maiden Castle, its archives and its place in Iron Age and Hillfort Studies.

Deep within Ardales Cave in southern Spain, in its most secluded chamber, someone dragged their pigment-coated hands downwards for over a metre, leaving behind two striking markings. Such gestures are not unique to Ardales—they appear across Europe and beyond. In the Middle Palaeolithic, humans began to explore underground spaces, leaving painted traces of their bodies, often in hard-to-reach places. Smeared or traced with hands and fingers or sprayed with the mouth, these markings reflect a deep connection to the body—not only in form, but in gesture and technique. They show how humans engaged with surfaces not to depict, but to touch.

In 2015, archaeologists from the Cambridge Archaeological Unit began excavating a site that would uncover one of the best-preserved Bronze Age settlements ever found in the UK. The Must Farm pile-dwelling settlement, located in Whittlesey, consisted of stilted roundhouses built above a river and surrounded by a palisade. 

The Melsonby hoard is a vast deposit of Late Iron Age horse harness and vehicle remains found in North Yorkshire and recently declared Treasure. Discovered and reported by detectorist Peter Heads, it was investigated by Durham University and The British Museum, with support from Historic England. The excavation revealed an incredibly well-preserved metalwork assemblage. 

FULL PROGRAMME NOW AVAILABLE

The Prehistoric Society Europa Conference 2025: Landscape connectivity in Prehistory will be held at the University of Reading on Saturday 7th June 2025. This year the conference honours the achievements of Prof. Martin Bell, Professor of Archaeological Science at the University of Reading, in the field of European Prehistory. 

The final instalment in our series on the past, present and future of prehistory, looks forward to the future. By engaging with the latest research and future thinking ideas we will explore how the discipline might develop over the coming years. 

Speakers include Prof. Linda Hurcombe, Dr Seren Griffiths, Prof. John Schofield, Dr Fabio Silva and Dr Susan Greaney.

PLEASE NOTE: This is an online only event and the day will not be recorded

In South Africa today, the word ‘prehistory’ is problematized for its implied labeling of ‘pre-literate’ peoples as insufficiently cultured, yet the subcontinent preserves a visual literacy of a different order in its quiet places, outcrops and rock shelters.

Children are the vital but hard to find voices of deep history. This talk tells the story of a recently excavated grave from Burton Agnes, East Riding of Yorkshire, containing the remains of three small children.

The purpose of the conference is to explore recent research on prehistoric Cumbria and Cumbrians. Recent research undertaken in Cumbria and the immediately adjacent area has provided important new insights into prehistoric communities, where they came from and how they interacted with their neighbours and pre-existing groups. 

The prehistoric settlement of at Kynance Gate is first recorded on the 1st edition Ordnance Survey 25in: 1 mile map (c 1880) and was visited by members of the RIC  following a heath fire in 1896.