Discover how archaeologists relocate cemeteries—exploring the science, history, and ethics of moving the dead.
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Guest Infohttps://www.linkedin.com/in/leigha-williams-ma-rpa-70310919a/

MusicDanse Macabre by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?collection=005Artist: http://incompetech.com/

What if archaeology could heal the living? In this episode of The Resurrectionists, osteoarchaeologist Giselle Kiraly joins Megan to explore Operation Nightingale — a groundbreaking project where war veterans recover and reconnect through archaeology. Discover how digging up the dead is helping soldiers process trauma, rebuild community, and find peace through the past.

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Guest Info

https://www.instagram.com/awanderingarchaeologist/

https://x.com/gisellekiraly

https://www.gisellekiraly.com/

Resources

Osgood, R. (2023) Broken Pots, Mending Lives: The Archaeology of Operation Nightingale, Oxford: Oxbow Books

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w7o3fVYTafs

Music

Danse Macabre by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?collection=005Artist: http://incompetech.com/

What can children’s bones reveal about life and death in the past? In this episode of The Resurrectionists, host Megan McGrath speaks with Isobel Grimley, a PhD researcher at the University of Bradford, about her groundbreaking work on frailty in children and adolescents from medieval and post-medieval England.Discover how skeletons challenge the myth that children were simply “little adults,” what their remains tell us about resilience, disease, and survival, and why studying young individuals transforms our understanding of history. From hidden stresses written in bones to the ethical questions of studying child remains, this episode uncovers the secret lives of children long gone, but never forgotten.🎧 Love mysteries? Watch more episodes and dive deeper into the stories! https://bit.ly/resurrectionists 👉 Explore more mysteries and exclusive content here! https://linktr.ee/theresurrectionists 💡 Got a case in mind? Suggest new episode ideas here! https://bit.ly/episodesuggestionsGuest Info:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/isobel-grimley-379325223/BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/isobelgrimley.bsky.socialUpcoming Publications:Grimley, I.J., Koon, H. and Curtis-Summers, S. (in prep.) The Developmental Frailty Index: A Novel Method to Assess Frailty in Non Adult and Young Adult Human Skeletal Remains. Submission as a Brief Communication to the American Journal of Biological Anthropology, likely Spring 2026.Grimley, I.J. and Craig-Atkins, E. (in prep.) Harnessing the Concept of Frailty to Investigate the Impact of Physiological Stress on Past Pubertal Timing. Submission as a Research article to the International Journal of Paleopathology, likely Autumn 2025. King, J., Weale, M. C., Jennings, B., George, S. Grimley, I.J, Castells Navarro, L., Sutton-Butler, A. (inprep) Redefining Teaching and Learning in Archaeology from the Perspective of a Visually Impaired Student and their Supporting Academic Staff. Invited book chapter (Archaeology to Transform andDisrupt), currently under review by book editors.MusicDanse Macabre by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?collection=005Artist: http://incompetech.com/

QnA special episode answering your questions!

Discover how Paris’s ancient quarries, once used to build the city, transformed into one of the world’s largest underground graveyards. From collapsing streets to overcrowded cemeteries, uncover the chilling history behind the Paris Catacombs and the millions of skeletons resting beneath the City of Lights.

Deps, P. D., Collin, S. M., Robin, S., & Charlier, P. (2020) “Leprosy in skulls from the Paris Catacombs”, Annals of Human Biology, 1–6. doi:10.1080/03014460.2020.171

Lau, R., Bellido, M., Reichert, A., & Leung, E. Y. C. (2017). “Transforming Catacombs and the City of Paris: The Spatial Relationship Between the Home for the Living and the Dead”, Dynamics of Community Formation, 237–248. doi:10.1057/978-1-137-53359-3_12

Schmeidler, K. (2022) “Prevalence of Wormian (Sutural) Bones in the Paris Catacombs Ossuary”, The FASEB Journal, 36. 10.1096/fasebj.2022.36.S1.R5654.

Willsher, K. (2024) “‘Bodies were dropped down quarry shafts’: secrets of millions buried in Paris catacombs come to light”, The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/oct/19/bodies-quarry-shafts-millions-buried-paris-catacombs

Explore the fascinating story of a disabled teenager who lived in Roman Britain nearly 2,000 years ago. Through the osteological study of their remains, we uncover how they adapted to life with impairments and what their care reveals about attitudes toward disability in the ancient world. Discover how this young individual’s life challenges our modern assumptions about Roman society and the treatment of people with disabilities.

Castells Navarro, L., Southwell-Wright, W., Manchester, K. and Buckberry, J. (2017) Interpretation of a probable case of Poliomyelitis in the Romano-British social context.

Nagouse, E. and Jenner, G. (2021) "Disability in the Ancient World", You're Dead to Me Podcast. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p0b0wd4p

Roberts, C.A., Knüsel, C.J. and Race, L. (2004) "A foot deformity from a Romano-British cemetery at Gloucester, England, and the current evidence for talipes in palaeopathology", Int. J. Osteoarchaeol., 14: 389-403. https://doi.org/10.1002/oa.723

Tilly, L. (2012) "The Bioarchaeology of Care", The Society of American Archaeology Archaeological Record 12 (3), 39-41.

Music

Explore the mystery behind Saint Valentine’s relics, scattered across Europe from his skull in Rome to a vial of blood in Dublin. Are these bones really his, or is the story of the patron saint of love more fiction than fact? Join us as we uncover the truth behind the relics and the man behind Valentine’s Day.

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Delve into the tragic final hours of Herculaneum, the wealthy Roman town buried by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD. Once thought to have escaped, over 300 victims were found centuries later, waiting for a rescue that never came. Discover how this extraordinary archaeological find sheds new light on ancient Roman life and the catastrophic event that sealed their fate.

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References 

Author Unknown (2024) "Herculaneum", Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/place/Herculaneum

Author Unknown (2024) “Archaeological Areas of Pompei, Herculaneum and Torre Annunziata”, UNESCO World Heritage Convention. https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/829/

Author Unknown (2024) Parco Archelogico di Ercolano. https://ercolano.cultura.gov.it/?lang=en

Bisel, C. (1991). The human skeletons of Herculaneum. International Journal of Anthropology, 6(1), 1–20. doi:10.1007/bf02447284

Bisel, S. C. (1987) Human Bones at Herculaneum, Rivista di studi pompeiani, I, 123-129.

Capasso, L. (2000). Herculaneum victims of the volcanic eruptions of Vesuvius in 79 AD. The Lancet, 356(9238), 1344–1346. doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(00)02827-0

Martyn, R., et al. (2020). A re-evaluation of manner of death at Roman Herculaneum following the AD 79 eruption of Vesuvius. Antiquity, 94(373), 76–91. doi:10.15184/aqy.2019.215

Martyn, R. E. V., Garnsey, P., Fattore, L., Petrone, P., Sperduti, A., Bondioli, L., & Craig, O. E. (2018). Capturing Roman dietary variability in the catastrophic death assemblage at Herculaneum. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, 19, 1023–1029. doi:10.1016/j.jasrep.2017.08.008

Petrone, P. (2019) The Herculaneum victims of the 79 AD Vesuvius eruption: a review, Journal of Anthropological Sciences, 97, 1-22. doi 10.4436/jass.97008

Discover the chilling history of Kilkenny Union Workhouse, where over 1,000 forgotten souls were unearthed beneath a modern shopping center. In this episode, we delve into the tragic impact of Ireland's Great Famine and the significance of this shocking discovery. Join us as we uncover the untold stories of those who suffered and explore what their experiences reveal about the famine's impact on Irish society. Don’t miss this poignant journey into the past that brings to light the lives behind the lost names.

In 1933, Arthur Kingsley Porter, a renowned Harvard professor and art historian, vanished from the cliffs of Inishbofin, sparking Ireland's first inquest without a body. Was his death a tragic accident, a carefully planned escape, or something more sinister? Explore the mystery surrounding the real-life "Indiana Jones" and the decades-long debate over his mysterious disappearance.