In the year 1725 William Stukeley entered into correspondence with the eminent Scottish antiquary, Sir John Clerk of Penicuik. 'It has been a frequent matter of wonder to me', wrote Stukeley in his first letter, 'that so many monuments of Antiquity as Scotland may justly boast of, should for ages past lye exposed to the sun, neglected and untouched, whilst every corner of Italy is ransacked and threadbare, we waste away immense sums of our treasure for some abject gleanings there, overlooking a rich and ripe harvest at our own doors.

Pantelleria is a small island, 34 square miles or so, lying south of the western end of Sicily and within sight of Cape Bon, the projecting tip of the African coast (FIG. I). Though every ship through the Sicilian straits passes close by, it can be extraordinarily isolated, as we found to our cost on a visit in November, 1962. Winter storms can, and occasionally do, cut it off for days at a time. Despite its archaeological wealth, recorded by Paolo Orsi in 1899 (n. 1), it seems that its isolation has discouraged archaeologists from visiting it since the days of Peet and Zammit, early this century. Its ‘sesi’ have become almost a myth.

In many countries of east Asia, archaeological knowledge is frequently used in the construction of ethnic histories, and the discipline of archaeology is often employed to emphasize ethnic and cultural identities (Fawcett 1995; Nelson 1995). It is thus important for archaeological research in this region to understand how archaeological knowledge is used in each country to establish national identity, to promote national solidarity, to delineate various ethnic groups and to proclaim ancestral territories, cultural antiquity and unbroken cultural and ethnic continuity.

The history Curriculum for Wales is a distinctive and politically sensitive document that has attempted to highlight features which will be of cultural relevance to those in the Principality. Unlike the English curriculum, there is a clear opportunity to consider some elements of prehistory, and this has been seized with enthusiasm by schools at Key Stage 2, for children aged between 7 and 11 (Welsh Office 1991; Howell 1994). Study Unit 1, the Earliest Peoples, runs up to the Bronze Age, but it is provision for Study Unit 2, The Celts, which is of particular interest here.

The Treasure Trove system in Scotland operates to protect portable antiquities and ensure their preservation in perpetuity for the benefit of the nation. A broad interpretation is taken of ‘portable antiquities’, encompassing those items of past material culture to which archaeological, historical and/or cultural importance may be attached. Objects which are ‘museumworthy’ might be another way of expressing this, though ‘worthiness’ applies not just to items with obvious display potential but also to those likely to reside in study collections as reference material.

A new technique of radiocarbon dating is presented, offering at modest expense the means to a determination that is good to the ‘first order’ of magnitude

An important addition to knowledge of the medieval topography of Glastonbury, Somerset.

In the Kumaun region of Uttar Pradesh, India, on the southern slopes of the Himalaya are cist burials, as well as megalithic monuments. Radiocarbon dates from the cists now hint at their going back to the 3rd millennium BC, and linguistic affinities would associate them with early Indo-European migrations into the western and central Himalaya regions.

The archaeological survey of the Fenlands around the Wash in eastern England was completed in 1989. This note summarizes the results in terms of knowledge and conservation needs that emerged from the subsequent Fenland Evaluation Project.