This week's episode is a site visit from my journey back to where it all began - the REAL Olympics at ancient Olympia. The bad news is it's a lesser-visited site in Greece. The good news is you'll have a lot of the place to yourself!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YAuXrSObhuY

#Ancienthistory #Olympics #Archaelology

Today we try to unpick palimpsests, drop ancient megalithic sites in Ireland and learn about a re-dating of hominin settlement in Europe thanks to advanced dating techniques.

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xg5C0v6PIbQ

#Archaeology #Ireland #AncientHistory

Learn about how archaeologists use bones to reveal ancient secrets, delve into some major ancient bling - the Tara Brooch, and catch up with the latest archaeology news. This week, we learn about an exciting new ancient DNA study of Neanderthals, stone circles in Saudi Arabia, and newly discovered cave art in Venezuela.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJHmtqvkNnI

#Archaeology #Ireland # AncientHistory

Today we take a deep dive into Neanderthal living, visit the vast megalithic field at Carnac in Brittany, and cover an intriguing hilltop find in Crete on Archaeology News.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rq41bGMx9e8

Join us on an extraordinary archaeological site visit to the Hunley in Charleston, South Carolina, where we delve into the history and mysteries of this remarkable Civil War submarine.

The Hunley, known for being the first submarine to sink an enemy ship successfully, is a marvel of naval technology and a fascinating piece of marine archaeology. This video explores its historical significance, the mystery of its sinking, and the incredible efforts to raise and preserve it. 

Discover how this pioneering vessel represents the human spirit's conquest of new frontiers and the relentless drive to push the boundaries of technology.

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MX5b7cQclkQ&list=PLcH4-BWqVM6KHP2Ih6UEq4_G1qRq8MgSn&index=13

#Archaeology #civilwar #travel

Do you want to make a difference in archaeology but don't know how? Let's get some inspiration going with a few exciting stories:

1) Ogham stone discovered while gardening
2) Helping out by doing remote archaeology - LIDAR and satellite imagery (https://digventures.com/)
3) Community archaeology in rural England

Watch the YouTube version of this podcast to get video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DM1lDYWshbw

#Archaeology #history #travel

Archaeology News

Given some ongoing projects, we'll be on a reduced output for the next few weeks, but I did still want to update on some fun news.

1) Preserved brains! Not normally something you'd expect to find in the archaeological record, but there are thousands of brains preserved, some as old as 12,000 years. We're not 100% sure how, but these brains can serve as a valuable resource for understanding neurodegenerative disorders and human evolution.

2) Incredibly detail-oriented experimental archaeology project to test Greek Mycenaean era armor with the help of some long-suffering Greek marines.

3) Establishing ancient human presence in Saudi Arabia's lava caves at Umm Jirsan

4) An update on the mega treasure ship the San Jose

#Archaeology #history #worldtraveler

In this episode, Jason goes through 3 segments – The ABCs of Archaeology, a special about a study of Avar DNA, and Archaeology News 

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m8U8IYIyz04&list=PLcH4-BWqVM6KHP2Ih6UEq4_G1qRq8MgSn&index=14

ABCs of Archaeology – M is for Microwear Analysis 

Sometimes when archaeologists find stuff, they aren’t sure what it was used for, if it was used, or even what it is. In this case, Microwear Analysis is our friend! By looking very closely at a range of materials – stone, bone, wood, teeth, and even fabric, for example – we can get some real clues into the life of an artefact and therefore the people who made and used it. Thanks to advanced microscopy and scanning techniques, archaeologists gotten even better at this type of analysis. Let’s see it at work at Vindolanda, a site we on this channel know well.

 Special Episode – Avar DNA

The Avars – who we briefly mentioned in our Scythian Archaeology Porn episode – were a mysterious group of people who made it all the way from Central Asia to Hungary in the Early Medieval era, becoming a scourge to their neighbors, especially the Byzantines. However, relatively little was known about them…UNTIL NOW! Thanks to a massive DNA project which sequenced the genomes of four entire Avar villages, we know much more about their family structure, immigration patterns, and social practices. This case study reveals how powerful ancient DNA analysis can be, and now that it is becoming so much cheaper and faster…buckle up! Archaeology and DNA together will increasingly reveal secrets of the human past we never thought it possible to uncover.

 Archaeology News – Zombie Archaeology

Archaeology can be spooky because it really just tells us the story of the human past, and that involves all kinds of ghosties, ghoulies, and things that go bump in the night. We talk about two recent discoveries: a revenant burial in Germany and a highway for the dead in Ireland. The dead walk the earth in this edition of archaeology news!

·       Sources

o   https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/archaeology/a60649902/zombie-grave-discovered/

o   https://newsweek.com/archaeologists-unearth-grave-zombie-ancient-folk-wanted-buried-forever-1894751

o   https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/antiquity/article/exploring-the-baltinglass-cursus-complex-routes-for-the-dead/81B05D3592918A99143EAE71B083B436

#archaeology #history #zombies

In this episode, Jason goes through 3 segments – The ABCs of Archaeology, Archaeology Porn, and Archaeology News 

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MX5b7cQclkQ&list=PLcH4-BWqVM6KHP2Ih6UEq4_G1qRq8MgSn&index=13

ABCs of Archaeology – L is for Landscape Archaeology

Archaeology isn’t just about artefacts and buildings and the environment separately. When you put those things together, you get a whole landscape – the place people inhabit which they shape…and it also shapes them! And it’s not only about the physical space, but how people socialize in that space and how they think about it. This all is called Landscape Archaeology, and it is increasingly a core part of the discipline. UNESCO has recognized cultural landscapes for over 30 years now. Let’s learn a bit more about how it’s done, how it started, and why it’s important.

Archaeology Porn – Scythian Treasures

Gold, fancy footwear and ermmmm, sheets of human skin? The Scythians are a mysterious group into which some of Ancient Greek historian Herodotus’ works give us a glimpse, albeit a likely exaggerated and biased one. Luckily, as they originated all the way in the eastern Eurasian Steppe and made it all the way to Europe, the Scythians left an amazing archaeological trail. Well, thanks to finds from some of their elaborate tombs preserved in tundra, we have learned they were prolific tattoo artists and makers of pretty bad-ass shoes. Their archaeological legacy is some of the best preserved and frankly most relatable that you’ll ever see from the ancient world. Or, actually it may be a long time before you ever see it considering most of the stuff is behind the Iron Curtain in St. Petersburg. Well, at least you’ll have this video!

 Archaeology News 

The legacy of slavery in the US is something that history has been actively exploring in recent years, but a lot of it can only be told by archaeology because enslaved people were deliberately written out of or simply overlooked in most written accounts – they were not viewed as “important” or fully human. So, a lot of what can be reconstructed about their lives is thanks to the material record – archaeology. Today, we explore two stories which reveal a bit about this legacy as well as some other more famous Americans.

Sources: 

·       https://www.livescience.com/archaeology/george-washingtons-stash-of-centuries-old-cherries-found-hidden-under-mount-vernon-floor 

·       https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2024/04/22/cherries-george-washington-mount-vernon-1770/ 

·       https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/11/us/politics/charleston-nc-slavery-black-history-dna.html

·       https://www.nytimes.com/2000/11/10/nyregion/anger-over-fate-resting-place-for-poor-blacks-church-fighting-town-for-ownership.html 

#archaeology #history #science

Episode 11 – K for Knapping, Alfred Jewel, and Archaeology News

 In this episode, Jason goes through 3 segments – The ABCs of Archaeology, Archaeology Porn, and Archaeology News 

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2NIqH-qEpw&list=PLcH4-BWqVM6KHP2Ih6UEq4_G1qRq8MgSn&index=12

ABCs of Archaeology – K is Knapping

Wow, who knew we could learn so much from a bunch of old stone tools?! Knapping (silent K) is the art of shaping stone into (hopefully) useful tools. Why is it some important? Being able to identify worked stone is critical to dating very ancient artefacts, especially as stone tools were used by early humans (and even pre-human hominids) just about wherever they lived. Identifying worked stone sounds simple, but it takes some time to learn. You need two out of three of these features: (1) A striking platform (2) A bulb of percussion and (3) Ripples. Believe it or not, a lot of people still pursue knapping as a hobby or even artform today.

 Sources

1.      How to identify worked flint

o   https://peterborougharchaeology.org/archaeology-skills-techniques/identification-of-knapped-flints/

o   https://projects.digventures.com/spodden-valley/timeline/diary/how-to-tell-if-that-flint-tool-you-found-was-really-made-by-humans/

o   https://www.cafg.net/docs/articles/FlintGuide.pdf

2.      Flint knapping courses

o   https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLEReutMt8Is04N4UxGS6J1Vu1fmEkWK-I

o   https://www.will-lord.co.uk/courses/flint-knapping-courses/

Archaeology Porn – The Alfred Jewel

The jewel of the collection at Oxford’s Ashmolean Museum, the Alfred Jewel is like nothing else you’ve ever seen. Luckily, this is one situation in which, regarding the history, I don’t have to keep saying “we just don’t know” over and over again. Between the written historical and archaeological evidence, combined with a good dose of common sense, we actually have a pretty good idea of what this thing is: an aestel, or pointer, to go along with a book King Alfred the Great of Wessex sent around to all the bishops of his kingdom. Let’s go through the evidence and admire this arresting and unusual artefact!

Archaeology News 

Genetic tests of feral grapes om Rapa Nui / Easter Island are shedding light on its 19th century history and helping modern economic development. Meanwhile, some interesting new research demonstrates how we can wring new insights out of old artefacts using modern-day technology. However, I’m not sure I’m totally on board with the findings…

Sources: 

·       https://www.foodandwine.com/news/easter-island-vineyard-winery#:~:text=A%20diverse%20group%20of%20entrepreneurs,on%20the%20island's%20southwestern%20tip.

·       https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/0028825X.2024.2332117 

·       https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S03054403