CWA is celebrating its 10th birthday with a special anniversary issue: Editor in Chief Andrew Selkirk flicks back through the pages to take a fresh look at how the archaeology of the last decade has re-shaped our understanding of our past. But what of the future? We invited a panel of eminent archaeologists to share their thoughts not only on the last 10 years, but also on what we can expect in the next.

Ten years before CWA was launched, excavations at the Neolithic site at Çatalhöyük resumed after a 30-year hiatus, and the term ‘cyber archaeology’ belonged to science fiction. Today, cyber archaeology is very much a (virtual) reality. This year, archaeologists recorded the excavation of an extraordinary multiple burial using a 3D modelling process, giving a complete view of the excavation from every angle and at each stage of the investigation. Is this the future for excavations everywhere? Cutting-edge technology is making its mark in Egyptology: Manchester Museum’s mummy collection is being put through hospital MRI scanners, while, in Egypt,equipment designed to protect the Army’s bomb-disposal units is helping to hold up the ceiling of Djoser’s Step Pyramid at Saqqara.

Twenty years ago, excavations began at Butrint, an idyllic site on the Ionian coast. Richard Hodges recalls how, after his first visit to what Virgil described as ‘a Troy in miniature’, the Butrint Foundation was born. There followed two decades of excavation and discovery – with the promise of more yet to come.

Forty years ago, Brian Fagan needed a textbook. He couldn’t find one,so he wrote it himself. Four decades later, it remains a stalwart on every archaeology student’s bookshelf.

And 40 years before that, cartoonist Bill Tidy was born. Paul Bahn pays an affectionate tribute to his old friend and collaborator, whose irrepressible humour is matched by his passion for archaeology.

We also travel to Iraqi Kurdistan and to Serbia. Both countries enjoy a long,rich, and colourful heritage; and both have seen conflict in recent years. Now, however, peace has returned, and travellers can once again explore the fabulous sites that lie beyond the usual tourist route.

In this issue:

FEATURES

ALBANIA: An aerial view of the Hellenistic theatre at Butrint.

10TH ANNIVERSARY: Celebrating a Decade of Archaeology
– and looking to the future

TURKEY: Cyber Archaeology
3D modelling unpeels the Neolithic at Çatalhöyük

UK: Under the Scanner
Revealing the secrets of Egypt’s ancient dead

EGYPT: Saving the World’s Oldest Pyramid
A novel solution to an ancient dilemma

ALBANIA: Butrint
Finding a timeless oasis

NEWS

SPECIAL REPORT: Gobekli Tepe in eastern Turkey

Maya frieze frames political past
Oldest petroglyphs in North America dated
Early Roman grand designs
Roman chainmail shirt found on German battlefield
Regional differences in Neanderthal tools
Europe’s earliest specialised bone tools
Inca child sacrifice
Sourcing obsidian tools