The Acholla Archaeological Project is an international collaboration at the site of Acholla (Tunisia) between the Institut National du Patrimoine (INP), Dickinson College and the University of Oklahoma, with additional support from the University of Leicester and the Endangered Archaeology in the Middle East and North Africa (EAMENA) project. The first season of the project took place in June 2025, focusing on three main tasks: fieldwalking, topographic survey and architectural documentation. Over a period of two and a half weeks, an area of over 25 ha was covered by a fieldwalking team and nearly 40,000 finds were collected for study and analysis. Topographic and architectural surveys were also undertaken to begin the process of creating an updated plan of the site. The work accomplished this season has already yielded new information about Acholla and has provided a strong foundation for future fieldwork campaigns and further research at this important coastal site.

Newsround offers a platform for new discoveries that do not appear within the specialist contributions of this year’s Archaeological Reports, but which nevertheless warrant emphasis, either as a result of their particular characteristics or for the contribution they make to broader archaeological narratives. This section is not intended to be exhaustive, but rather an overview of archaeological research in Greece. It comprises largely preliminary reports (results of excavations that took place up to and including June 2025, where possible) that complement the digital content made available through Archaeology in Greece Online (https://chronique.efa.gr). Due to the diachronic nature of a number of the sites, and for ease of reference, the material is organized geographically in the first instance and then chronologically (earliest to latest) within each section as far as possible.

The study of Byzantine sculpture in Greece made significant progress during the first quarter of the twenty-first century. The beginning of this period was marked by the first international conference on this subject, held in Athens in 2000, as well as by several monographs published by Greek scholars, which sparked renewed interest in the field. Greece is quite rich in sculptural material, much of which is still waiting to be studied and published.

This renewed research interest is mainly expressed in a series of publications of new material. Monographs, doctoral dissertations, and articles by Greek and foreign scholars have provided a large amount of new data covering various chronological periods and geographical areas of the country. The general trend in this activity is to offer well-documented groups and catalogues of sculptures, while there are fewer integrative works. What is missing from this production is interdisciplinary approaches and, in particular, laboratory analysis of the origin of marble and other stones used in sculpture.

Meanwhile, during the last quarter of the century, the Greek Ministry of Culture changed its attitude towards Byzantine sculpture. Two new museum collections dedicated to this art were inaugurated in Arta and Chalkida, while many works of sculpture were incorporated into new thematic Byzantine museums and archaeological museums throughout the country. In line with this policy, Byzantine sculptures are no longer neglected and overlooked in the gardens and storerooms of museums and archaeological sites, but play an important role in the narrative of permanent exhibitions.

Future challenges include documenting the hundreds of spolia scattered throughout the country, further studying unpublished material, interdisciplinary approaches, and further measures to protect sculptures that are still exposed outdoors and suffer from erosion and other dangers.

Caves have long been valued in archaeology for their exceptional preservation of stratified deposits and other finds (e.g. palaeontological), making them vital sites for chronological sequencing and interpretive analysis. While some cave sites exemplify the value of stratigraphic integrity, many cave contexts present methodological and epistemological challenges due to palimpsest layers, complex usage histories, and symbolic dimensions. This paper critically examines the multifaceted nature of caves with particular focus on southern Greece. It is based on some of the most recently available data, exploring their archaeological, cultural, and environmental significance from the Palaeolithic to medieval periods. Given the extensive number of cave sites in Greece, this paper argues that caves are case-specific sites characterized by the implementation of specific archaeological research and conservation strategies, and that they are critical loci for interpreting human–environment interaction and cultural expression across millennia.

Between 2023 and 2024, the Endangered Archaeology in the Middle East and North Africa (EAMENA) project, in collaboration with the Libyan Department of Antiquities (DoA), organised and conducted a series of training workshops and fieldwork campaigns in Libya, funded by the British Council’s Cultural Protection Fund (CPF). The workshops provided training to over 20 members of the DoA in a newly-developed Machine Learning Automated Change Detection (MLACD) tool. This remote sensing method was developed by the Leicester EAMENA team to detect landscape change and aid heritage monitoring efforts. The MLACD method was applied to four case studies in Libya: Lefakat (Cyrenaica), Bani Walid (Tripolitania), the region south of Derna (Cyrenaica) and Jarma (Fazzan). Each of these case studies was followed by a survey campaign by Libyan archaeologists to validate the results of the method, survey the archaeological sites identified, record their condition and assess the disturbances and threats affecting them. This article will provide an overview of the aims and successful outcomes of the EAMENA-CPF training programme, as well as an introduction to the MLACD method and its application to Libyan heritage, providing background and context for the individual case studies, which will be published more fully in separate articles.

This article offers a critical synthesis of recent archaeological research on Byzantine Thrace (seventh–fourteenth centuries), emphasizing work undertaken in Bulgaria, Greece, and Türkiye over the past decade. Drawing on systematic excavations, regional surveys, and interdisciplinary projects, we highlight how new discoveries and re-examinations of legacy data have significantly reshaped our understanding of the landscape, settlements, and modes of connectivity in this strategically vital region. Key themes include long-term human–environment interactions, settlement hierarchies, and the interplay between urban and rural landscapes.

Case studies of fortified centres such as Skopelos, Philippopolis, and Karasura reveal Thrace’s integration into imperial defence and trade networks, while investigations of port landscapes at Firuzköy, Ainos, and sites along the Black Sea coast underscore the centrality of waterways in structuring economic and social life. Research on monastic landscapes, from Mount Papikion to the Kosmosoteira monastery at Bera, demonstrates how religious communities functioned as hubs of economic production and aristocratic patronage. Parallel studies of rural and rupestrian sites highlight the dynamism of the countryside, challenging urban-centric models and foregrounding the adaptability of local populations to political and environmental change.

Beyond individual sites, these findings reframe Thrace not as a peripheral hinterland but as a mosaic of interconnected microregions, each shaped by distinct ecological, cultural, and geopolitical conditions. They reveal both resilience and innovation in the face of shifting imperial borders, foreign incursions, and long-term environmental transformation. Yet the study also underscores the need for greater cross-border collaboration, as modern political boundaries continue to fragment the region’s archaeological record. By integrating diverse datasets and advocating for a transnational approach, this review situates Byzantine Thrace within broader Mediterranean discourse and highlights its potential to illuminate processes of connectivity, resilience, and change across the Byzantine world.