British Archaeology 108

Short items on various current topics at the time of writing, including 'Major Slipware kiln found near Leeds' (6) relating to an eighteenth-century site at Lazencroft; 'Roman graves rescued: but cemetery doomed?' (6) about an inhumation at Beckfoot (Bibra) being among many finds to have been discovered as the site is being eroded - calls for immediate recording work; 'Isle of Man house is one of Britain's first' (9) arguing that flints and other artefacts suggest a Mesolithic structure has been discovered at Ronaldsway. JD

Report of fieldwork undertaken to research the moat at the ruined medieval mansion house near Aberdeen. The moat is placed in a local and international context and there is some discussion about the purposes of moats at sites of this type. JD

Account of research undertaken to record and interpret buildings from the ROF (Royal Ordinance Factory) in Staffordshire. There is an outline of how Featherstone relates to the 19 other ROF sites in the UK; speculates as to their various uses. JD

The article relates Charles Darwin's interest in archaeology and the way in which this informed his theories about natural selection. Darwin undertook excavations in Staffordshire and observed many others. His main interest was how worm action affected site formation. Includes article by Mike Pitts examining the excavations initiated and observed by Darwin at Abinger in Surrey (39). JD

Personal account of working as a forensic archaeologist in Lincolnshire during the later decades of the twentieth century. JD

Profile of BBC television series Coast, based upon interviews with presenters and crew members. JD