The Archaeology Show

Dig into the world of archaeology with hosts Chris Webster and Rachel Roden. This show brings you the latest news, insights, and stories from the field and beyond. Whether you're a pro or just curious, there's something here for you. Enjoy the ride.

Treasures, Seated Skeletons, and Egyptian Receipts - Ep 325
Rachel Roden Rachel Roden

Treasures, Seated Skeletons, and Egyptian Receipts - Ep 325

This week on The Archaeology Show, we tour three very different windows into the ancient world: a 5,000-year-old tomb packed with remarkable treasures, a surprising discovery of upright-buried skeletons beneath a French school, and tens of thousands of Egyptian notes and receipts that capture everyday life in vivid detail. We unpack what these finds reveal about status and burial ritual, how archaeologists interpret unusual body positions, and what “boring” paperwork can tell us about work, money, and people behind the monuments. Three discoveries, one big question: what survives—and what it can still say.

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Blackened Teeth, Jaw Surgery, and Ancient Knitting - Ep 324
Rachel Roden Rachel Roden

Blackened Teeth, Jaw Surgery, and Ancient Knitting - Ep 324

This week we are back with some News stories! First, we discuss evidence from an Iron Age cemetery in northern Vietnam showing intentional, permanent tooth blackening dating back 2,000 years. Then, we cover a 2,500-year-old Pazyryk culture burial in southern Siberia where CT scans of a mummified woman’s skull suggest a severe jaw injury was stabilized with surgical sutures. And finally, we summarize Bronze Age textile finds from Anatolia dated roughly 1915–1745 BCE and later, including the earliest regional evidence of nalbinding (single-needle “knitting”) and an indigo-dyed hemp fragment identified as the oldest known blue-dyed textile in Bronze Age Anatolia.

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Early Human Footprints, Ancient Clothing, and a 150-Year-Old Drink - Ep 323
Rachel Roden Rachel Roden

Early Human Footprints, Ancient Clothing, and a 150-Year-Old Drink - Ep 323

From a 150-year-old alcohol bottle unearthed in Utah—where the “real treasure” might be what it once tasted like—to footprints in White Sands New Mexico which are more than 20,000 years old, this episode spans the surprisingly fragile side of archaeology. We also dig into a discovery being called the oldest clothing in human history, and what it can (and can’t) tell us about early humans, preservation, and the everyday technologies that rarely survive.

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Ancient Egyptian Rock Art, a Funeral Pyre in Africa, and an Animal Skull Collection - Ep 322
Rachel Roden Rachel Roden

Ancient Egyptian Rock Art, a Funeral Pyre in Africa, and an Animal Skull Collection - Ep 322

This week we deep dive three interesting archaeology news stories. First up, a rock art panel from Ancient Egypt depicts the conquest of the nomadic groups that lived in the Sinai peninsula. Then, we head over to Africa, where a burial that is the oldest example of intentional cremation with an intact funeral pyre has been found. Finally, Neanderthals collected animal skulls and placed then in a cave 43,000 years ago, and, as usual, archaeologists are baffled!

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Strat Chat: Troy – Digging Deeper into the Layers of Legend - Ep 321
Rachel Roden Rachel Roden

Strat Chat: Troy – Digging Deeper into the Layers of Legend - Ep 321

In Episode 321 of The Archaeology Show, we take a deep dive into the long and complex history of Troy. We discuss the stratigraphy of the site, starting from modern times and moving backward through key periods, including the famous era of the Trojan War as described by Homer. The episode covers the archaeological discoveries, the evolution of the city's fortifications, trade networks, burial practices, and cultural significance. We also delve into the early archaeological excavations and the ongoing debate about the historicity of the Trojan War.

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