The Archaeology Show

This week, the hosts are a little under the weather so we pulled a favorite from the archives for today’s episode. We hope you enjoy! With the recent release of The Dig, a Netflix film focused on the excavation of an incredible burial ship at Sutton Hoo, we decided it was the perfect opportunity to take a closer look at this site! Sutton Hoo is extremely important and interesting for many reasons...

Dr. Paul Zimmerman, also a host of the ArchaeoTech Podcast, is working with a team that's investigating the ancient city of Lagash in Iraq. We talk about the history of Lagash and it's place in the chronology of the area. We also talk about what the team hopes to find and what questions they hope to answer in the coming field seasons. For a more technical discussion of what Dr. Zimmerman is doing...

This is a special presentation from the Rock Art Podcast. On this episode Dr. Alan Garfinkel tells us about snake and serpent imagery in rock art. What does it look like and what could it mean? Start your own podcast with Zencastr and get 30% off your first three months with code TAS. Click this message for more info!m Links Rock Art Podcast Contact Chris Webster chris@archaeologypodcastnetwork.co...

This week we have 3 interesting archaeology news stories. First, researchers have discovered 2 well preserved shipwrecks off the coast of Ceasarea that are from two different time periods, but very close together on the sea floor. Second, a forgotten African American cemetery has been re-discovered under a parking lot and building in Clearwater Florida. And finally, new research shows that Neander...

This week we discuss three very different archaeological news stories! First, archaeologists in China plan to use Muons to “see” inside the unopened and presumably un-looted tomb of China’s first Emperor Qin Shi Huang. His tomb is protected by the famed Terracotta Army, but has remained unopened due to preservation concerns. The second article is about a European Mesolithic baby burial, and the gr...

In segment 1 we discuss a recent article about 25 burials found at the Chan Chan archaeological site in Peru, and the textile objects they were buried with. Segment 2 is all about new evidence for the type of material used to weave cloth at Çatalhöyük, 8000-9000 years ago. And finally, archaeological evidence in Britain shows how Neolithic weavers joined bast fibers using a splicing technique that...

Andrew Lawler is a journalist and an author with an interest in history and archaeology. In his latest book he looks at the history of excavations in Jerusalem. Andrew starts at the beginning in the 1800s and looks at many of the characters and excavations that have helped define the city. Andrew Lawler is author of the newly released Under Jerusalem: The Buried History of the World's Most Contest...

Sometimes modern humans just can’t resist the urge to falsify archaeological evidence - we don’t always know why, but sometimes it may be to support their own theory of history, or sometimes just for a joke. In this episode we explore 3 archaeological hoaxes, who the perpetrators were (if known) and why they did it. Links Segment 1 Spencer Lake Horse Skull Pseudo archaeological Claims of Horses in...

We've got three news stories for you again this week. The first is about a find at Pompeii, where they are always finding cool things, that's different from most. Archaeologists have found what they think are slave's quarters, an underrepresented group in the archaeological assemblage. Next we have some new thoughts after a recent reconstruction of the 300kyo Homo naledi. Finally, archaeologists g...

On today's show we have three news articles for you. The first is about pottery making styles were passed down in the Indus Valley in the 3rd millennium BCE. The second discusses new findings that suggest a European in 1690 wasn't the first person to set foot in the Falkland Islands. Finally, we talk about the re-opening of a Palace to visitors in Palestine that shows one of the largest floor mosa...

We've got three news articles for you this week. We start in Turkey with a discovery of a Roman mausoleum. We then head to Scotland and the Culloden Battlefield. Archaeologists hope to find out more personal details of some of the soldiers involved and to do some 3D mapping. Finally, it's back to Romans. This time their presence is found under a Norman church in England. Links Archaeologists revea...

In the wake of the new dating of a Viking settlement in North America we decided to discuss that article and two others about Vikings. They were explorers, conquerers, and very interesting people. Enjoy this episode! Links Viking Map of North America Identified as 20th-Century Forgery (Smithsonian Magazine) Evidence for European presence in the Americas in AD 1021 (nature) Goodbye, Columbus: Vikin...

With the definitive dating of the “human” footprints at White Sands pushing back the earliest human occupation of North America to 21,000 to 23,000 years BP, we decided to take a look at several well known pre-Clovis sites. These sites are often controversial and heavily debated amongst archaeologists. We’ll discuss the findings from each site, why they are controversial, and what we think. Links...

With the definitive dating of the “human” footprints at White Sands pushing back the earliest human occupation of North America to 21,000 to 23,000 years BP, we decided to take a look at several well known pre-Clovis sites. These sites are often controversial and heavily debated amongst archaeologists. We’ll discuss the findings from each site, why they are controversial, and what we think. In Par...

Released on Hulu in 2020, Ammonite is a fictionalized movie that portrays a few years at the end of Mary Anning's life. She was an amateur paleontologist and with her family discovered the first ichthyosaur fossils in England. We talk about the movie, what it got right and what it didn't, and about the real Mary Anning and her life, work, and discoveries. Links Ammonite IMDB Entry Ammonite movie r...

In this episode we interview Dr. Randy Daniel of East Carolina University about his new book: Time, Typology, and Point Traditions in North Carolina Archaeology. His research interests include the archaeology of prehistoric hunter-gatherers in the Southeastern United States, particularly hunter-gatherer adaptations at the end of the last Ice Age. Dr. Daniel recognized the need to update, revise an...

We’ve got three completely different news stories for you this week. We start with a site that was found in Croatia by basically looking at satellite maps and looking for interesting shapes in the water. We then go to Michigan in the USA and look at a Clovis site that was found by a self-taught researcher. Finally, we head to Poland where a farmer found, and reported, a unique hoard of metal artif...

This week we interview Jason Cooper, an archaeologist with the Washington DOT, the current president of the Association for Washington Archaeology, and former archaeologist with the environmental firm, AMEC. In 2008 we were lucky enough to work on an Olcott excavation with Jason, and now he has co-written a book about those findings. We discuss the significance of the Olcott tradition in Washingto...

Timelines is back, and this time we take a look at a time that is extremely significant to the United States: 1776, and the signing of the Declaration of Independence. We explore the events leading up the the Revolutionary war in America, as well as what was happening at the same time in other parts of the world: China and Africa. Links Timeline of the Declaration of Independence Declaration of In...

Your news for the week includes a Roman basilica, the largest found in Israel, uncovered in the city of Ashkelon. Next is a preserved, mummified, body of a freed Greek slave that lived in Pompeii. Finally, we go to England to find the remains of an Abbey that fell into disuse in the 1500s. Links 2000 Year Old Basilica Unearthed in Ashkelon Archaeologists find mummy, evidence of Greek in Pompeii Ar...

In this week’s episode of The Archaeology Show, we take a look at 3 recent archaeology news articles. First, a Roman graveyard containing an unusually high number of decapitated burials, indicating they may have been executed criminals. Second, lava tubes in Saudi Arabia with thousands of bones deposited by hyenas representing many different animals, including humans. Finally, we discuss spade sha...

On today’s show we start with an article that claims to “debunk” the Paleo Diet. However, what it really does is just talk about a lot of really cool food-related things in history. Next we go to Turkey and learn about a headless statue that was recently discovered. Finally, we end in an Iranian salt mine where naturally mummified sheep were found. Links The real Paleo diet: Scientists debunk anci...

On this weeks episode we have 3 interesting archaeology news articles. First up is the discovery of a Roman Pomerium marker defining the boundary of city of Rome 2000 years ago. Second, a 4000 year old city in Iraq has been discovered. And finally, a reanalysis of skeletons from a Pleistocene era graveyard in Sudan provide new insight into how the people buried there died. Links Ancient Rome's cit...

Paul Zimmerman from the ArchaeoTech podcast joins Chris and Rachel on their archaeological project in the high desert of Nevada. We talk about a dubious piece of Neanderthal art - I mean, art is art, right? We also look at a Nubian cathedral that was recently excavated. Finally, Paul helps us understand the Temple of the Winged Lions at Petra. He's actually worked there! Links A 51,000-year-old ca...

We have three great news stories for you this week. First, we talk about an article from Smithsonian about ancient tombs in Egypt. Check out the documentary coming out in 2021! Next we look at an experimental archaeology article looking at three different cave lighting systems and their effectiveness. Finally, we look at the oldest tattooing tools ever found in North America. Links Inside the Tomb...