A recent survey of the fortified site of Takht-i-Sulayman situated some distance south of Tabriz and near the northwest comer of Iran has brought to light architectural remains of the Parthian, Sasanian and Islamic periods? A plan of the entire area is given in FIG. 2. Among the numerous ruined structures are two buildings of the Parthian period; the larger of them has already received brief mention by earlier visitors to the site. These two buildings can now be described in detail and an attempt be made to establish their place in the history of architectural development.

Apparent deficiencies in Irish legislation for the protection of archaeology have been much commented on (e.g. ANTIQUITY 62: 4–5); here, the Keeper of Irish Antiquities at the National Museum points also to some of its strengths – for example, in protecting artefacts and non-artefactual material as well as sites and monuments – and explains the vigorous measures now taken to bring the law and the penalties up to date.

The Late Palaeolithic and Mesolithic resettlement of northern Britain, as glacial conditions receded, has a n obvious local interest and raises wider questions for the region. Here is a significant new find from northwest England.

As any parent knows, a metal saucepan turned upside down makes an admirable drum. This simple observation has implications for the evolution of one of the more splendid kinds of ancient bronze artefact.

The last 25 years has been a period of rapid change in the approach to archaeological fieldwork in Britain and this has been reflected in the development of survey within the Royal Commission on the Ancient & Historical Monuments of Scotland (RCAHMS), the government financed body responsible for maintaining the national record of archaeology and architecture. The monolithic county-based inventory approach of RCAHMS' first 60 years has been replaced by a more broadly-based archaeological strategy founded on programmes of work that range from national overviews and regional surveys to individual site plans. Archaeological mapping has superseded monument planning as the key field objective, and all survey, whether terrestrial, aerial or desk-based, is underpinned by the RCAHMS Geographical Information System (GIs). The radical changes in field data-capture have been mirrored by parallel developments in making that data accessible once it has been collected.

In a letter to Dr Mead in 1738, Francis Wise discussed the location of Alfred's famous battle-ground of Ashdown and described it as ‘containing large tracts of down and sheep pasture where the great Western road passes at this day, being called the Rudge or Ridgeway’ (Wise, 1738). Sir Richard Colt-Hoare rode along the Ridgeway in 1815 and wrote ‘these ridgeways were the roads made use of by the earliest inhabitants of Britain as lines of communication between their different towns and villages. They generally followed the highest ridges of land on which also we find their habitations: they were not paved with stone and gravel as in later times by the Romans but their basis was the firm and verdant turf’ (Colt-Hoare, 1819). His description is the first itinerary of the route now followed with delight by thousands. He passed Wayland's Smithy, and Uffington Castle, following then with a long and speculative account of the battle of Ashdown. He was not immune to the enjoyment of a view. ‘Hitherto the ridgeway had afforded no attraction with respect to country or view, its chief interest was from a recollection of the important historical events which had transpired on its borders, but on proceeding eastwards the eye was continually amused by an extensive prospect over a rich vale extending to Oxford on the left, with numerous church turrets peeping forth amidst the dense foliage with which the country is overspread. The scenery at the right exhibited an open and cultivated extent of land. A few barrows occurred occasionally alongside the trackway but I did not see any other marks of ancient population.’

The Naveta of Els Tudons (Boat of the Wood-pigeons) is the name of a prehistoric tomb whose shape resembles an upturned boat, situated on the estate of Els Tudons about 4 km east of Ciudadela. On one of the walls of Mahon Airport is shown a greatly enlarged reproduction of the engraving of it from Die Balearen in Wort und Bild (II, 1897, 419) by the Archduke Louis Salvator. This monument, and a Taula, are indeed the symbols of Menorca's past and have to some extent been recently adopted as emblems for Menorcan tourism.