Articles
IDEAS,INSIGHTS & STORIES FROM THE PAST
In-depth articles on archaeology, history, waterways heritage, landscape and traditional crafts.
Featured Archaeology & History Articles
ARCHAEOLOGY
Long before Britain became an island, a vast prehistoric landscape connected it to mainland Europe beneath what is now the North Sea. This article explores the discovery of Doggerland and how rising seas erased an entire lost world.
LANDSCAPE HISTORY
2. Britain’s Oldest Words:
The Survival of Ancient River Names
Many of Britain’s oldest surviving words are hidden in the names of rivers such as the Thames, Avon and Severn. This article explores how ancient names survived migration, conquest and changing languages across thousands of years.
HISTORY & HERITAGE
3. When Britain First Appeared in History
An exploration of the earliest written references to Britain, from Greek traders and Roman writers through to the emergence of Britain as a known world beyond the edge of Europe.
FINDS & OBJECTS
4 How Stone Tools Changed Britain
A look at the development of stone tools in Britain, from the earliest hand axes to polished Neolithic axes, and what they reveal about changing prehistoric life and landscapes.
FINDS & OBJECTS
5 What Pottery Reveals About Britain’s Past
From the first Neolithic pots to Roman Samian ware and medieval glazed ceramics, this article explores how pottery helps archaeologists understand everyday life across thousands of years of British history.
Featured Waterways & Boatyard Articles
WATERWAYS HERITAGE
An exploration of the long continuity of Tooley’s Boatyard in Banbury, tracing more than two centuries of working canal history through documentary research, surviving structures and living industrial practice.
WATERWAYS HERITAGE
An exploration of Tooley’s Boatyard through the eyes of archaeology, examining how repairs, wear marks and working structures preserve the evidence of generations of canal labour.
TRADITIONAL CRAFTS
3. Roses & Castles at Tooley’s Boatyard:
Survival, Not Revival
A look at the survival of traditional canal painting at Tooley’s Boatyard and why Roses & Castles remained connected to a functioning working environment rather than becoming purely a heritage revival craft.
LANDSCAPE HISTORY
The story of how the landscape around Tooley’s Boatyard was shaped long before the canal arrived, from Banbury Castle and the Civil War through to the industrial transformation brought by the Oxford Canal.