In the 1st century BC, a Roman force advanced into Switzerland from Italy. We cannot yet be sure whether these soldiers were tasked with conquest, or mounting a punitive expedition to cow the inhabitants of the Alps. But we do know that members of this force were drawn from three different legions, and that they were making for a key Alpine pass. Ahead of them lay at least one battle. Over the last two decades, a remarkable range of finds associated with this incursion has been identified. In our cover feature, we follow in the footsteps of these legions.
It is settlements that are being sought on the Yucatán Peninsula, Mexico. While this region is renowned for the Maya city-states that once flourished there, significant gaps exist in the archaeological map of the region. One conspicuous example is a remote area of some 3,000km2, where until recently no ancient sites were known at all. Skilfully targeted survey by air and ground has answered the question of whether urban centres lay concealed beneath the jungle.
Former execution sites have been under examination in Sweden. Although surviving historic documents set out rules for administering the death penalty, excavation has shown that these were not always followed. Instead, the results reveal the gritty realities of crime and capital punishment over several centuries in the country.
Different perspectives of a more literal kind can be found among archive images. While collections of physical photographic formats are at risk of being judged obsolete and junked in the digital era, a project seeking to preserve the images they hold illustrates how much can be gained from seeing the past in the past.
Finally, in our travel section, Richard Hodges explores an extraordinary Renaissance garden filled with fabulous sculptures at Bomarzo, Italy. More remarkable examples of rock carving, this time stretching back to ancient times, help tell the story of the surrounding countryside.
FEATURES
Ocomtún
Discovering a Maya city
On the trail of the legions
A Roman conflict landscape in Switzerland
Execution in the absence of imprisonment
An archaeology of capital punishment in Sweden
Spotlight: Seeing the past in the past
The Historic Environment Image Resource – a rescue mission
NEWS
- A spectacular painted throne room
- Uncovering a Celtic chamber tomb
- Early cocaine use in Europe
- Discovering a new Neolithic society in Morocco
- Armenia’s earliest church
- Japanese sword found in Berlin
- Sweet potato in Polynesia
- A Neolithic cellar?
NEWS FOCUS
Exploring Arctic burials
CHARLES HIGHAM
The salt sellers
HORIZON
A city of temples by the Pacific Ocean
TRAVEL
CULTURE
MUSEUM
A new exhibition tells the story of the Dacians through their spectacular treasures
REVIEWS
How the World Made the West; Dolia: the containers that made Rome an empire of wine; Women in the Valley of the Kings; The Bell Beaker Phenomenon in Europe
RUBINA RAJA & SØREN SINDBÆK
Dispersed ancient Mediterranean cities
SPECIAL REPORT
Europe’s earliest inter-regional conflict?
CHRIS CATLING
Feats of engineering
FORUM
Letters, crossword, cartoon
OBJECT LESSON
Rune-inscribed knife