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Palaeolithic poisons: Why cleanliness is sometimes bad for archaeologists

A new forensic test suggests hunting with poisoned arrows might actually be much older than previously thought, but archaeologists have been accidentally getting rid of the evidence. We know that the Babylonians hunted with…

Not so vicious invaders? What genetic mapping tells us about our past

The first fine-scale living genetic map has big implications for archaeology. Last week, an international team of researchers released the very first ‘fine-scale’ genetic map of the UK. To make it, they took samples…

Melting Mummies: Why Climate Change is a Heated Issue for Archaeology

Climate change has been at the forefront of the world’s agenda for decades, but had you ever considered how it could be affecting archaeology? Last week you may have seen a story concerning the…

10 Surprising Ways World War One Changed Our Everyday Lives Forever

Sometimes, things become so common in our everyday lives that we forget to question where they came from. When we looked around us, we were surprised by just how many things we found that…

Why Archaeologists Think This Is The Body Of A Medieval Knight Who Died From Jousting Injuries

These days, it’s pretty rare to die from work-related injuries, but for a knight whose job it was to knock opponents off a charging horse or die trying, well, at some point one of…

Don’t Leave Your Dead Behind! How ancient Bolivians took their dead wherever they went

The burial practices of settled populations are rich and varied. Some bury their dead in cemeteries, separate from the places where domestic activities are carried out, others under the floor of a family home….

From Playtime to Wartime: How Children Experienced WW1

It’s easy to forget that children all over the world are raised in periods of war. In our series on the archaeology of WW1, we’ve discussed the impact of war on men, women, landscapes…

Haniwa: Death-Cult Pottery with Personality

Beginning around 300 AD., the archipelago we now know as Japan saw an explosion in the construction of large-scale burial mounds, and enigmatic ceramic figures called haniwa were produced to accompany the dead. But…

Interview with a Space Archaeologist

Boldly going where no man, woman, child or dog has gone before, Dr Alice Gorman has been involved in the establishment of Space Archaeology as a sub-discipline. She’s also an out-of-this world authority on…

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Digging the Crowd

Digging the Crowd – The Future of Archaeological Research in the Collaborative Economy

Organised by the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales, DigVentures were invited to deliver a Keynote lecture at their Digital Pasts Conference in Swansea.  Here’s the text in full… *  …

Neolithic Bowhunting Was a Social Activity in Spain’s La Draga

A study of some of Europe’s oldest hunting bows suggests that 7,000 years ago, early farmers were mostly using them just for fun. Hmm. So how do you tell whether people were doing something…

Does the Weather Make You Talk Different?

We love to talk about the weather, probably because it gives us plenty to whinge about. But does it affect not just what we talk about, but also how we talk? Ok, so we’re…

Victory in the Welsh Streets! Crowdfunding Saves Neighbourhood from Demolition

Civic crowdfunding has proved a powerful point: historic neighbourhoods can be saved from demolition and affordably regenerated, instead of expensively rebuilt. DigVenture’s crowdfunding partners SAVE Britain’s Heritage have won their hard-fought inquiry to preserve…

Healthcare for Pirates! Blackbeard’s Booty Includes Medical Supplies

We might think of those dismantling our NHS as little more than a posse of privateers (government sponsored pirates), but it turns out that actual pirates cared for the sick and injured by whatever…

How King Tut Got His Beard Back

King Tut’s beard didn’t get glued on until 1941 – 19 years after it was first excavated. If you think getting bubblegum in your hair is bad enough, then what about getting epoxy resin…

Death, Disgust and the Dead Man’s Penny

Every archaeologist will know that objects can rarely be taken at face value. Here’s how an object that was intended to bestow honour upon its recipients was for many a source of offence and…

How Ireland Started Dairy Farming – 6,000 Years Ago

As dairy farmers across Europe anxiously await the lifting of EU milk quotas in April this year, new research from the University of Bristol, UK has revealed the antiquity of dairy farming in a…

Archaeologists Taught 180 College Students How to Make Stone Tools. Here’s What They Learnt.

Teaching kids to make stuff without speaking is tough, but that’s what our Stone Age ancestors had to do when they first started making tools 2.5 million years ago. Being able to teach these…

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