Historic England

Two exceptional metalwork deposits, discovered at Melsonby, North Yorkshire, together constitute one of the largest Iron Age hoards recovered in Britain. Dominated by ornate horse harness and vehicle parts, these first-century AD assemblages provide possibly the first evidence for four-wheeled wagons from Iron Age Britain. Associated geographically and temporally with another hoard found in 1843 and with the Late Iron Age ‘royal site’ at Stanwick, these deposits have the potential to broaden our understanding not only of the varied forms of wheeled transport but also of expressions of wealth, status and elite mortuary practices in Iron Age Britain.

This is the English translation of the academic-divulgative article originally published in Spanish under the same title. It explores the historical, genealogical, and symbolic dimensions of a carta ejecutoria de hidalguía, integrating personal lineage, archival documentation, and contextual analysis. The original Spanish version is available as Version 1 of this record. This translation maintains the same structure, footnotes, and illustrative materials, adapted for an international audience. The article contributes to the documentation and interpretation of noble heritage in early modern Spain, offering insights into dynastic identity, visual culture, and historical memory.

A Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) survey was conducted within the Walled or Kitchen Gardens of Somerleyton Hall, Somerletyon, Lowestoft, Suffolk. The aim of the survey was to investigate the potential remains of the original Victorian heating system extending from the two ridge and furrow glasshouses and to identify any further structural remains associated with additional glasshouses or the putative heating supply for the peach frames built on the south wall of the gardens. The survey was requested by the Historic England East of England regional team to support the successful application for a Heritage at Risk Repair Grant to repair and conserve the standing glasshouses. The survey aimed to investigate the remains of the Victorian heating system associated with two ridge and furrow glasshouses currently undergoing restoration work. It was also hoped the survey might identify the remains of any additional glasshouses and the possible extension of the heating system to the peach frames on the south wall of the kitchen garden. The geophysical survey identified linear anomalies suggesting the presence of pipes and possible vaulted brickwork extending to the south of the ridge and furrow glasshouses. These may provide evidence for the presence of heated planting beds, known as 'hotbeds,' which appear to vary in design between the two glasshouses. Tentative evidence for small former structures has been identified, together with anomalies suggestive of landscape design associated with the maintenance and development of the garden. Possible pipes have also been identified across the survey area.

Abstract The development of reinforced concrete through the 20th century has resulted in a wealth of historically and culturally significant concrete structures around the world. However, the durability and deterioration mechanisms of this new material were not well understood and, as a result, many historic reinforced concrete structures require ongoing maintenance and repair. Patch repairs are common during repair campaigns. However, balancing traditional conservation principles, such as minimal intervention and retreatability, with the best practices of contemporary concrete repair and the need to provide repairs which do not affect the historic aesthetic of the structure can be challenging. Three institutions, the Getty Conservation Institute (GCI), Historic England (HE) and Laboratoire de Recherche des Monuments Historiques (LRMH) are collaborating on the research project, ‘the Performance Evaluation of Patch Repairs on Historic Concrete Structures (PEPS)’, which aims to provide guidance on this issue. Over the course of the project, historic structures in the USA, France and England, which have been repaired previously have been assessed. This paper presents a comparison of the preliminary results from two case studies from England and discusses the different repair approaches that were implemented.

The theme of the conference of the International Federation for Theatre Research in Stockholm in June 2016 was ‘Presenting the Theatrical Past: Interplays of Artefacts, Discourses and Practices’. As part of the conference, the research group ‘Performing Premodernity’ organised a panel debate about performance paradigms, and about how different approaches and practices represent different ways of ‘realising’ cultural heritage. A group of theatre scholars and theatre practitioners were invited to talk about the challenges and potentials of performing in historic theatres.

<p>The UK Marine Area covers 867,400 km2, 3.5 times the terrestrial extent. Our marine heritage is extraordinary. Shipwrecks from the Bronze Age to the World Wars bear testimony to Britain as an island nation, a destination for trade and conquest and, in the past, the heart of a global empire. Coastal communities have been shaped by their maritime heritage with stories of loss and heroism. Deeper in time, what is now the North Sea was dry land, peopled by prehistoric communities. Our current land would have been distant uplands above hills and plains and rivers now lost and forgotten.</p>\n\n<p>Numerous collections represent this heritage, covering 23,000 years, including charts, documents, images, film, oral histories, sonar surveys, seismic data, bathymetry, archaeological investigations, artefacts, artworks and palaeo-environmental cores. These are unconnected and inaccessible. This matters because the story of our seas is of huge interest to the UK public, with millions visiting maritime museums annually, and marine exploitation increasing dramatically for energy, minerals, trade, food and leisure.</p>\n\n<p>To unlock new stories and effect sustainable management, we must join up our marine collections. Unpath’d Waters brings together universities, agencies, museums, trusts and experts to confront this challenge. AI is being applied to innovate searching across collections, simulations to visualise landscapes, and science to identify wrecks and research their artefacts. Unpath’d Waters will deliver management tools to protect our most significant heritage and invite the public to co-design new ways of interacting with the collections. The methods, code and resources created will be published openly so they can be used to shape the future of UK marine heritage.</p>