Introduction In 1848, antiquarian Charles Fellows began directing an excavation on the south-west coast of Turkey. Inspired by ancient literary descriptions of the socio-political influence of Lycia during the Persian Wars, Fellows began searching for material remains of the key Lycian settlement, Xanthos.[1] During the excavation, large stone fragments surrounded by the rubble of carved stones were discovered, just outside […]
In these already chaotic, pandemic times, the recent and unnecessary death of another black man at the hands of white policemen in the United States, has sparked protests across Europe and America. George Floyd was misidentified and after eight minutes of pleading for his life, suffocated beneath the bent knee of an officer, which was pressed upon his throat. The […]
Archaeology Grrl has been a little quiet recently. The pandemic chaos has halted all excavations and rearranging all teaching. It has produced an intense level of work and anxiety for all involved and so I thought now would be the ideal time to improve my online presence. And so, on this sunny afternoon in England, I am happy to announce […]
The following post was written but not fully published online in 2018. Enjoy! On 18th April I was invited to attend the Heritage and Culture Academic Forum 2018. The topic of focus was: Heritage in Times of Conflict and included talks, a film viewing and discussion with a panel of specialists. Chaired by Professor Roger Matthews an expert in Near […]
Let me introduce you all to https://archive.org/ This is a non-profit, online platform for free resources. They have everything from peer-reviewed papers to childrens films and it’s all for free. You can read old books in ancient languages and the latest magazine edition. They also have archivists writing interesting blogs. Here are some of the options they have suggested for the […]
Some spooky stories with a classical twist for you, from the genius of The Petrified Muse. Gory, gruesome, and grotesque: two ancient vampire tales
The 2019 excavation at Dunyvaig was immensely successful. The discovery of: new buildings, special finds, wall foundations, stairways, floor surfaces and middens allowed for some solid new theories on the chronological story of this important site. In Trench 2 specifically, the Sea Gate Crew had been working around the clock to uncover as much as possible of the new building […]
The University of Reading has kicked off its second field school of the year at the site of Dunyvaig Castle. The castle is situated on the South-East of the Hebridian isle of Islay and except for last years UoR evaluation, there have been no previous archaeological excavations on the site. So far, 6 trenches have been opened. The main trenches […]
Once again the University of Reading’s Archaeology Department has done a sterling job organising and running a field school for its students. Alongside undergraduate and postgraduate students, local residents, archaeology enthusiasts, A-Level students and long-time Silchester volunteers arrived to help excavate, record and decipher the Roman Bathhouse of Calleva. The areas opened in 2019 were a combination of extensions from […]
Upon my return from the Eternal City, I gathered my site-gear and head out into the fields of Silchester Roman town. Everyone has been working very hard and after setting up my tent and meeting this years students, I found myself in the midst of teaching in week 3 of the excavation. All three trenches are now well underway with […]