The Whitehall Villa dig is under way in Northamptonshire, where the erudite and entertaining Jeremy Cooper will be recording events in his now-traditional blog. I’m looking forward to joining the usual suspects in the mud.

Meanwhile if you’re near the Lakes, this is the time to drop in on the Senhouse Museum at Maryport, where they’re at last digging up more of the Roman fort. Maryport is where Victorian farm workers found several altars so perfect that they looked as though they had been buried yesterday.  Details of how to see the latest finds are here.

And finally, a solution to the common problem of not being able to get the staff these days. Pop up to York this Saturday for the slave auction – part of their Roman Weekend.