Lorna Webb joins the podcast for a look at how women are represented in Early Medieval/ Old English literature for Women's History Month! We talk about Beowulf (obviously) and Lorna makes host Emily try to answer some rather rude riddles. You might be surprised at the breadth of female representation on display!

You can find more Medieval musings from Lorna in her Medieval Corner: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/archaeology-south-east/lornas-medieval-corner

Transcript: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/archaeology-south-east/sites/archaeology_south_east/files/asedd_ep11_lorna_webb_transcript.docx

In this special episode we’re taking you behind usually closed doors for a fascinating discussion about heritage loss, as part of The Seaford Head Project. It features leading heritage practitioners from Historic England, the National Trust, the South Downs National Park Authority and Archaeology South-East, and local councillors from Seaford, East Sussex. We discuss responding to coastal erosion and prioritising at-risk sites, the grieving process of letting go of what cannot be saved, and how we might move forward as a profession and a public to a more nuanced understanding of heritage permanence.

If you’re from Seaford or the surrounds we particularly want to hear from you, so let us know what you think by leaving a comment or emailing us [email protected].

You can find out more information about this project and a transcript of the podcast on the project website: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/archaeology-south-east/seaford-head

The Seaford Head Project is funded by Historic England with contributions from the South Downs National Park Authority.

It’s Pride month! And we’re so happy to welcome Drew Lingham to the podcast, a non-binary trans feminine bisexual archaeologist, currently working with our field team in Essex. They talk about what it’s like to explore your gender identity while working in archaeology and what a unique perspective this gives them when thinking about the past. We also talk about gender non-conforming historical figures and some of our favourite sites and archaeological periods.

A note that Drew goes by Sylvia nowadays but still uses Drew as a middle name!

Some of the LGBTQ+ resources we talk about in the podcast are below:

Out @ UCL: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/human-resources/equality-diversity-inclusion-committees-and-networks/outucl

This episode we welcome ASE’s Director Dominic Perring to the podcast! He talks about his new book ‘London in the Roman World’, the power of tree-ring dating, and the essential contribution of development-led archaeology to this sort of research synthesis.

You can order Dominic’s book from Oxford University Press: https://global.oup.com/academic/product/london-in-the-roman-world-9780198789000?lang=en&cc=us

UCL Institute of Archaeology third year student Alex joins the podcast to talk about the placement year he is currently undertaking with us at ASE. We talk about his degree so far, how it prepared him for his year-long introduction to commercial archaeology, and what he’s been up to with us since September! And host Emily spends the whole episode getting increasingly jealous.

Find out more about the BA Archaeology with Placement Year at UCL’s Institute of Archaeology:

https://www.ucl.ac.uk/prospective-students/undergraduate/degrees/archaeology-placement-year-ba

And you can read about our placement students from previous years in these blog posts:

Neehaarika (2019-2020):

https://www.ucl.ac.uk/archaeology-south-east/news/2019/sep/ioa-placement-2019-20-welcome-neehaarika

https://www.ucl.ac.uk/archaeology-south-east/news/2020/feb/ioa-placement-2019-20-boxes-x-rays-and-conservation

Iva (2018-2019):

https://www.ucl.ac.uk/archaeology-south-east/news/2019/aug/year-commercial-archaeology-student-placement-complete

Project manager Jon Sygrave is on the show to talk about the Whitehawk Camp Community project. This exciting project, based in Brighton, East Sussex, focussed on archaeological finds excavated nearly a century ago from this Neolithic (c.3500BC) Causewayed Enclosure.

As part of the project, a series of volunteering opportunities, workshops and events were run at Brighton Museum & Art Gallery, Whitehawk Hill and other venues. Volunteers learnt how to catalogue and examine archaeological finds, undertake geophysical survey, excavate archaeological remains and undertake conservation work to the monument. A series of outreach events also examined themes such as our relationship with food, the bio-diversity of Whitehawk Hill and Whitehawk Hill's relationship with the wider Downland landscape.

Find out more about the project here: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/centre-applied-archaeology/whitehawk-hlf

For some really in-depth information, read the project reports here: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/centre-applied-archaeology/whitehawk-hlf/Projectreports

And check out this 3D model of an incised stone found at the monument here: https://skfb.ly/6TZYr

Episode Image including Google Earth ©2012. Data S10, NOAA, U.S. Navy, NGA, GEBCO

This episode welcomes two(!) guests to talk about the Delphi Project! This is an Erasmus+ project dealing with the Development of Continuing Professional Development (or CPD) for Heritage Interpretation to facilitate Lifelong Learning for Social Inclusion and European Cohesion (phew!). Sarah Wolferstan and project participant Jelena Wehr talk to our host Emily about the project's aims, achievements, and plans going forward, and using heritage as a context for people to tell their own stories.

For further information about the project, click the links below:

https://www.ucl.ac.uk/centre-applied-archaeology/DELPHI

https://delphi-eu.org/

This episode we welcome Kayt Hawkins to talk to us about the BAJR (British Archaeological Jobs Resource) RESPECT campaign, which tackles sexual harassment in the workplace. Kayt talks about how she came to co-write the RESPECT guide, what the guide is, and how it can help institutions tackle harassment. We reflect on the effectiveness on the guide and look to the future – what still needs to be done to make archaeology a safe workplace – for all?

Here are some links to organisations and resources Kayt mentions in the episode:

BAJR Respect page including link to the survey presentation http://www.bajrfed.co.uk/bajrpress/respect-campaign/

BAJR Respect FB page (for joining the Womens/LGTBQ+ FB groups) https://www.facebook.com/The-BAJR-Respect-in-Archaeology-Campaign-107437390987794/

CIFA/FAME/Prospect Joint statement https://www.archaeologists.net/news/cifa-fame-and-prospect-release-joint-statement-bullying-harassment-and-discrimination

CBA Equality & Diversity hub https://new.archaeologyuk.org/equality-and-diversity-hub/

Prospect Archaeologists Branch survey results https://members.prospect.org.uk/your-prospect/branch/181/public/p7

Twitter accounts to follow: @Bajr4Respect @MentoringWomen1 @prospectarchs @CIFA_Equality @archaeowomen

What makes an Iron Age warrior? In this episode, Teresa tells us the circumstances of finding the 'warrior' burial near Walberton in 2019, which gained a fair bit of media attention when the story was released to the public. We talk what was in the grave - notably weapons, pots, and a lack of skeleton! - and how the former occupant fitted into and reflects Iron Age society at the time in Southern England.

In the heart of modern Brighton sits the complex of buildings known as the Brighton Dome arts venue. In advance of renovation works, ASE were called in to excavate and record archaeological features of the Corn Exchange, and in their investigations uncovered the many lives of this building. Michael takes us through its occupants, from a Quaker cemetery to a prince regent, to Victorian roller-skaters to WW1 soldiers and finally, to ABBA.

Make sure you listen to Part 1 where we talk about how to record and capture the ‘spirit’, as well as the structure, of historic buildings.