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Chennai: Archaeology and the City

Chennai: this hot, humid city on the eastern coast of India is fit to bursting with historic and prehistoric archaeology. But the authorities are about to build a much-needed metro line right through it…

Can Heritage Costume Dramas Ever Be Truly Authentic?

Intrigue and drama carried out in period attire is a winning formula for any production company, and Downton Abbey is just one such show that has captured the minds of a global audience and…

Fresh from the lab: Pottery

To accidentally smash a piece of crockery in your kitchen is frustrating, but finding a piece that once held a medieval stew? That, as anyone who’s ever dug up a bit of old pot…

Climate Change and the Collapse of the Assyrian Empire

There’s more to the decline of the once mighty ancient Assyrian Empire than just civil wars and political unrest. Archaeological, historical, and palaeoclimatic evidence suggests that climate change and population growth also came into…

How the Gurkhas Joined the British Army

Gurkhas have been part of the British Army for almost 200 years, with thousands serving during WW1. But who are they and how did they end up fighting for the British? The Gurkhas trace…

Tlachtga: The Birthplace of Hallowe’en?

Hallowe’en is said to have originated from the Celtic festival of Samhain. One archaeological site that has been closely linked to this festival is that of Tlachtga in Co. Meath, Ireland, now known as…

10 Photos that Show Us What We Can Learn By Digging Up the Trenches of WW1

This week, the news broke that archaeologists have re-discovered a system of World War One trenches on the Isle of Sheppey, an island just off the coast of North Kent, that had been totally…
Black Shuck at Leiston Abbey

DigVentures and the BBC One Show: Devil Dog Black Shuck Returns!

DigVentures’ massive media moment began this past June with a throw-away comment in a parish newsletter, which grew into a tongue-in-cheek story in the local paper, and then matured into a fully-fledged monster tale…

Highest altitude archaeological sites in the world explored in Peruvian Andes

Archaeologists investigate human capacity for survival in extreme environments at the highest altitude Pleistocene site yet identified in the world. If you think a day’s digging is hard work, then spare a thought for…

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Breakfast of Champions… Roman Gladiators Ate Vegetarian Diet Washed Down With Plant Ash

These days, city workers power through the day fuelled by caffeine, athletes by energy drinks, body builders by protein shakes and celebs by an endlessly bizarre combinations of super foods and crazy diet regimes….

Why was this 13-year-old girl buried face down?

The skeleton of a teenage girl has been found buried face down in Italy. Archaeologists think they know why this mysterious ‘witch girl’ was given a deviant burial. Even today, a person’s social and…

Is this the political centre of one of Europe’s first urban societies?

Archaeologists have uncovered a densely populated urban settlement centred around a meeting hall capable of seating up to 64 people and believe this 4,000 year old complex could be one of Europe’s first purpose-built…

Podcast: Crowdfunding Archaeology… Is It Worth It?

Yesterday we joined Chris Webster, Doug Rocks McQueen and Russell Alleen-Williams for a very special episode of the CRM podcast. In the show, we tackle one of the biggest questions facing archaeology and heritage…

New Stone Age Site Challenges Old Archaeological Assumptions

With each new archaeological discovery comes the opportunity to reinterpret our understanding of the past. And that’s certainly what seems to have happened when archaeologists studied thousands of Stone Age tools from a site…

The Inspiring Life of John McIlwaine, Forensic Archaeologist

During the Troubles in Northern Ireland, 17 people were ‘Disappeared’ – abducted, killed and secretly buried. From exposed mountainsides to peat bogs, John McIlwaine was the Forensic Archaeologist who led the painstaking searches for…

Raiders of the Lost Ark Recut

Steven Soderbergh really digs Raiders of the Lost Ark. And not just for Indiana’s famous one liners. Having semi-retired from film-making, Steven Soderbergh is now free to tinker in his garden shed. His latest…

Some Lovers Try Positions That They Can’t Handle

According to some headlines, this is more than a pair of skeletons lying side by side; this is a couple who ‘Have Been Holding Hands for 700 Years‘. Except… hold on a second… take…

Alpine Archaeologists Hold Mini Exhibition in a Fridge

In the Swiss canton of Grabünden, the ice fields are melting. In the grand scheme of things, this is a ‘bad thing’. But for now, it’s good, for archaeologists at least. Except they’re running…

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