Haircombs and Vikings: The Archaeology of Everyday Life

Dr. Steve Ashby, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Archaeology at the University of York, discusses his fascinating research into the archaeology of everyday life in Viking-Age England, Scotland and Scandinavia. Join in as Drs. Schuldenrein and Ashby investigate the everyday objects that help to elucidate a people and a bygone age.

April 5, 2017 • 56 mins

Clearing the Mists of Time: Archaeology at the Irish Royal Site of Dun Ailinne

Irish archaeologist Dr. Susan Johnston joins us to talk about her work at the royal site of Dún Ailinne, located southwest of Dublin. The site has yielded evidence of wooden circular structures as well as ritual feasting and ceremony from the pre-Christian period. Join us as we attempt to de-"mistify" Irish archaeology, and find out what really happened.

April 27, 2016• 53 mins

Vikings: An Epic Recreation

Between the 8th and late-11th centuries CE, Viking raiding and trading spearheaded an expansion of culture that had profound developmental implications for Britain and many other parts of the world. Though archaeologists are able to hold and analyze artifacts left behind by this enigmatic culture, we are not able to actually experience the past. This is where Mr. Tom Conroy, creator of the History Channel series "Vikings", comes in. Join in as we discuss recreating history. 

April 8, 2015 • 58 mins

The Odyssey of Artifacts: Unraveling the Herculaneum Scrolls

The eruption of Mount Vesuvius that decimated Pompeii in A.D. 79 also preserved numerous papyrus documents in nearby Herculaneum. Though these texts have been known since 1752, no one has been able to read them. Until now.  University of Michican professor Dr. Richard Janko and Dr. Vito Mocella from the Institute for Microelectronics and Microsystems join us to discuss the technology that lead to the scrolls' first ever unraveling and translation. 

February 4, 2015 • 57 mins

Christmas Special: The First World War and The Plugstreet Project

To commemorate the centenary of the WWI, we bring you one of the Great War's most popular stories: the Christmas truce. Mr. Martin Brown joins Dr. Schuldenrein to talk about WWI heritage management, battlefield archaeology, and the No Man’s Land Archaeology Group and Plugstreet Project. 

December 24, 2014 • 58 mins

Royal Sites and Geophysics : an Irish Iron Age Case Study

In this episode, Dr. Pam Crabtree joins us to talk about Dún Ailinne, a large ceremonial Iron Age site in Ireland. Together we delve into the purpose of the site's symbolic structures and how ritual performance can be uncovered through geophysical analysis and excavations.

December 3, 2014 • 58 mins

A Transformative Force: The Environmental Impact of the Baltic Crusades

In the 12th-13th century, christian crusaders launched a holy war against the pagan societies of the Eastern Baltic.  Dr. Aleks Pluskowski and Dr. Alex Brown, members of a multi-disciplinary research team, discuss the profound cultural and environmental impact the crusades had on the region and its pre-Christian inhabitants.

May 28, 2014 • 58 mins

Of Traders and Raiders: Viking Archaeology in the UK

Norse archaeologist Dr. Julian Richards illuminates the world of Viking-age England in this episode through a discuss of his work at sites like Torksey, where the 9th century Great Viking Army camped during winter months. Dr. Richards confronts common stereotypes and misconceptions of Vikings by revealing a complex society of people whose presence contributed to the growth and development of urban settlements in England.

December 18, 2013 • 57 mins

“Bring me the body of Richard III”: When Reality Meets Myth in Archaeology

Recently, a team of British archaeologists from the University of Leicester Archaeological Services discovered a body in the church choir of a Franciscan friary. Richard Buckley and his team, through historical documentation, state of the art testing methodologies, and DNA, confirmed that the body was of the 15th century King Richard III. Listen in as Mr. Buckley recounts the story of this remarkable find. 

March 27, 2013• 54 mins

Stonehenge Redux: Towards a New Perspective on a World Monument

Dr. Schuldenrein and special guest Dr. Mike Parker Pearson, Principal Investigator of Stonehenge Riverside Project, explore evolving concepts of Stonehenge and new interpretations based on Neolithic adaptations to landscape and geography.

March 12, 2013 • 55 mins

The Good Witches of Cornwall, UK: The Saveock Water Archaeology Project

Though this particular Cornwall, UK site has existed since the Mesolithic period, Dr. Jacqui Wood and her field school unearthed a series of animal pits dating to between A.D. 1640-1970. For Halloween, join is as Drs. Schuldenrein and Wood uncover the secrets of the pits and track down their witchy contemporary analogues.

October 31, 2012 • 57 mins