Islamic 12th-century bathhouse uncovered in Seville tapas bar

The bathhouse was discovered in a popular tapas bar in the heart of Seville. 

Photograph: Paco Puentes/El Pais 

Dazzling geometric motifs dating from Almohad caliphate discovered during renovation of city’s bar

A magnificently decorated 12th-century Islamic bathhouse, replete with dazzling geometric motifs and skylights in the form of eight-pointed stars, has emerged, a little improbably, from the walls and vaulted ceilings of a popular tapas bar in the heart of the southern Spanish city of Seville.

Last summer, the owners of the Cervercería Giralda – which has been pouring cañas and copas near Seville’s cathedral since 1923 – decided to take advantage of local roadworks and the coronavirus pandemic to set about a long-delayed renovation.

Although local legend and the odd historical document had suggested the site may once have been an ancient hammam, most people had assumed the Giralda’s retro look was down to the neomudéjar, or Islamic revival style, in which the architect Vicente Traver built the bar and hotel above it in the early 1920s.

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Archaeology dig at Caernarfon Castle offers new history insight

The year-long dig began in January 2019 CADW

The largest archaeological investigation at Caernarfon Castle has uncovered clues that will change understanding of the World Heritage Site's early history, experts say.

Among the excavation's finds included sherds of 1st century Roman pottery along with tiles and animal bone.

Researchers also uncovered clues to the history of the site before the castle.

Ian Miller, from University of Salford, said it has a "huge impact on the way we understand the history of the site".

The castle, which staged the investiture of Prince Charles in 1969, was built by Edward I in 1283 on the site of what was once thought to be a Roman fort.

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Unusual burial discovered in Leith

More than 350 skeletons were recovered during recent excavation in Leith.
CREDIT: City of Edinburgh Council

A recent excavation along Constitution Street in Leith, in advance of an extension to the Edinburgh tram line to Newhaven, has uncovered hundreds of human remains from a late medieval cemetery and, underneath it, a mysterious standalone burial.

The cemetery was first discovered back in 2008, during the initial construction of this section of the tram line, which was subsequently cancelled later that year. It came as a complete surprise to archaeologists, as previously no burials had been recorded under Constitution Street since its construction in 1790. Although the street was built through church property, the Leith Kirk session regarded the land as out of use and not part of the graveyard associated with the nearby St Mary’s.

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A stained glass graphic novel about medieval belief and the cult of Thomas Becket

Miracle window, Canterbury Cathedral, early 1200s. The first story in these panels concerns a man with leprosy called Ralph de Longeville. © The Chapter, Canterbury Cathedral.

From castration to leprosy, the Thomas Becket window going on show at the British Museum is like a medieval graphic novel

The British Museum’s long-awaited and much-delayed Thomas Becket exhibition promises a deep delve into the medieval world via a dizzying array of medieval objects, ranging from reliquaries and reliefs to illuminated manuscripts and ampullae.

But it is the extraordinary display of an entire medieval stained-glass window from Canterbury Cathedral that will provide the spectacular centerpiece of the exhibition, which marks 850 years since the former Archbishop of Canterbury was killed.

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Metal detectorist finds £2million centrepiece jewel of Henry VIII's lost crown buried under a tree after it had been missing for 400 years

A metal detectorist has found the centrepiece jewel of Henry VIII's lost crown buried under a tree 400 years after it went missing. 

Kevin Duckett, 49, made the startling discovery while walking through a field near Market Harborough in Northamptonshire. 

The two-and-a-half inch jewel, which could be worth up to £2million, is now at the British Museum.

Mr Duckett said he first thought the jewel was some crumpled tin foil from the wrapping of a Mr Kipling cake. 

He told The Sun: 'It was lodged in the side of a hole just a few inches down. I carefully removed it and knew by its colour and weight that it was solid gold.'  

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Murder in the Middle Ages: British Museum to tell story of Thomas Becket

Reliquary casket showing the murder of Thomas Becket.
Photograph: Richard Davis/Victoria and Albert Museum, London 

London exhibition marks 850th anniversary of archbishop’s murder in crypt of Canterbury Cathedral

One of the most shocking chapters of medieval history, embracing royalty, power, sacrilege and bloodshed, is to be told through the UK’s first major exhibition on the life, death and legacy of Thomas Becket, opening at the British Museum this spring.

Its centrepiece is a stained glass window from Canterbury Cathedral, the scene of the priest’s brutal murder by four knights loyal to King Henry II in 1170. The 6-metre-high window, originally one of 12 ”miracle” windows created in the early 1200s, has never before left the cathedral nor been seen at eye level by the public.

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Archaeologists on HS2 line uncover grounds of perfectly preserved 16th-century manor gardens

The ornamental garden was completely unknown until excavators recently uncovered its 300-metre foundations. (SWNS)

One of the best-preserved gardens ever discovered in Britain has been uncovered by archaeologists working on the HS2 train line.

Historians have been left stunned by the ancient discovery near Coleshill, on the outskirts of Birmingham, which has been dubbed "Warwickshire's answer to Hampton Court".

The ornamental garden does not appear in any historical records and was completely unknown until excavators recently uncovered the 656ft foundations.

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