00:00.00 archaeoteacup Hello and welcome to episode 22 of t break time travel I am your host matilda ze today I'm savoring an orange chai roy bos t I couldn't decide which one to put first. It's like 1 of those and naming lists where you have to have different adjectives is in a certain order. But I'm going with orange chai roy bosti. Um, and joining me on my t break today is archaeologist and presenter. Natasha Bilson so welcome Natasha and are you also on tea today. 00:23.92 NATASHA BILLSON Hello yes I am I'm having just a box standard english breakfast tea nothing special but it's yorkshire good old Yorkshire tea. So on a no with milk with milk and I'm going through a phase of having sugar again which is quite rare for me I mean i. 00:28.93 archaeoteacup I Mean fair and of course and is that then black is it with milk with milk. 00:43.89 NATASHA BILLSON Have not had sugar in my tea for 1015 years and I don't know it's all about the sugar at the moment it yes. 00:49.65 archaeoteacup Sometimes we just need that little sweet sweet savory. Ah you know thing and I'm curious so I'm not a big black tea drinker I just sort of drink whatevers. Black tea is given to me but I did a poll on my Instagram at some points recently to say what is your favorite kind of tea and so many people said Earl Grey and then we sort of say god not that english breakfast rubbish Earle gripe. 01:03.81 NATASHA BILLSON Um, O Oh no there different there's difference. No way English breakfast is basically a standard black tea I mean I mean you're more a tea. You don't know more about tea than I did. But for me, it is like black tea. Um, and it could be stronger maybe bit weaker. 01:06.68 archaeoteacup No, there was that much of a difference. Yeah. 01:13.84 archaeoteacup Ah. 01:21.67 NATASHA BILLSON Depending what type of leafs you have and then you have L Grey which like a sweeter black tea. So by itself you don't actually you don't need sugar if for's someone who likes sugar in their tea. You could substitute maybe for an L gray because it's just naturally sweeter and it's very nice. Yes. 01:25.26 archaeoteacup Oh. Come without Grey Oh I think I did not know this I like ah yeah I think maybe that's some why I didn't because my parents always used to drink English breakfast. So That's why I didn't really drink black tea growing up because it was always a bit too bitter for me like. 01:39.58 NATASHA BILLSON Now. 01:47.38 NATASHA BILLSON Yeah I mean I personally don't I need milk in my tea I do need milkg. Yeah unless I'm unwell like we only have black tea with sugar if you're sick. You know that's the only time you drink black tea. That's how I associate black tea with myself anyway I was forced to drink black tea. 01:49.00 archaeoteacup The place. Yeah I've started having milk in my tea. 01:58.53 archaeoteacup Oh okay, okay, fair enough fair enough Thursday I think I drink black tea now because I don't really drink coffee. So I drink black tea at the boarding if I need to wake up. But yes anyway. 02:07.25 NATASHA BILLSON Toast. Yeah. 02:13.90 NATASHA BILLSON Um, who. 02:16.62 archaeoteacup Good. Well, that's good I've learned something already I'm I'm going to go and try some l gray because I don't think I've ever tried it? Yeah interesting I will go try that today. But anyway we I didn't tell you to come out here for your tea expertise. Even though that's apparently um, endless um I came on to ask you about your archaeological. 02:22.10 NATASHA BILLSON It's lovely. You need some elgrain in your life. Yes. 02:30.38 NATASHA BILLSON I Have not. 02:37.42 archaeoteacup Expertise Um, and one of the things I ask all of my guests and everyone's given such a different story is the kind of road that they took to get to an archaeological sort of specialization or focus. So what was it about archeology that made you want to be an archaeologist. 02:54.14 NATASHA BILLSON Um, yeah, great question. How am I feeling today. Let's see well well as a commercial filled archeologist having a background in that that does cover every few years you do you do crush your life choices. Yes. 02:54.48 archaeoteacup Or how did it come about I guess. 02:59.27 archaeoteacup I I hate archaeology I don't afford to be an archaeologist together. 03:07.80 archaeoteacup Your knees could play. 03:11.98 NATASHA BILLSON Honestly today today is one of those days when my wrists are just like what have I done in my life and my back but you know that's that's the sacrifice you make for understanding the past and following your passions. So for me I would say that I've been quite fortunate to always be surrounded with the curiosity to. 03:14.69 archaeoteacup Oh. But. 03:31.68 NATASHA BILLSON Learn about our past and what connects us in today's society through shared heritage. So you know growing up. My mother was fascinated with ancient egypt. We had tons of ah pitches and random little. Um you know, brick and brack artifacts that you know. 03:46.61 archaeoteacup And. 03:49.93 NATASHA BILLSON Kind of based on those things that you you have in people's houses. So my mom has loads of those and then in my ah primary school. It was bombed in model one or world war two and we had um this memorabilia covered in the corridors I just always had this memory of walking from 1 class to another and having just these corridors filled with all these. 03:52.10 archaeoteacup Yeah. 04:09.45 NATASHA BILLSON Random artifacts of memorabilia from from the war. So I think having those 2 kind of contrasts with modern history versus ancient history as well as being you know in England where we have all these historic churches and landscapes buildings all around us. You're constantly reminded of the past. 04:27.16 archaeoteacup Ah, who yeah. 04:28.70 NATASHA BILLSON In a positive way I would say so like the local park again, you have ah a lovely church that was recorded from doomsday so 1066 we have this consensus that's made in england once we have the the normans come into power. We see everything basically be documented so we have this record of churches. For instance. 04:45.79 archaeoteacup Ah. 04:48.34 NATASHA BILLSON Um, around England So I think all of these aspects have really ignited that passion and desire to know more about the past. 04:58.16 archaeoteacup Okay, and you mentioned like you say sort of ancient history More modern history. Do you have ah a preference in terms of I mean would you you do commercial archeology but would you also call yourself a bit of a historian. 05:08.83 NATASHA BILLSON Yeah, this is a weird one I feel like in the public sphere I've like I would say and on social media and things I would say like ah a public Historian Sometimes I would use quite loosely because I feel that there is this thin bridge between both. 05:22.11 archaeoteacup Um, a. 05:24.49 archaeoteacup Yeah. 05:26.33 NATASHA BILLSON In the public space. Um, obviously like academically it is different. We look at we look and we interpret things in in a different light but I don't know maybe maybe public Historian maybe because I don't feel like I I don't specialize in one area. 05:41.34 archaeoteacup The. 05:43.21 NATASHA BILLSON And particular and that is because of being a commercial archaeologist you have to have a breadth of knowledge about about everything you have to know how to identify something just looking at it spot dating having characteristics of each time period. Everything has like a telltale sign whether it be that the smell that I know smell is kind of a weird thing to say but sometimes there's a smell. 05:46.96 archaeoteacup Yeah. 05:56.44 archaeoteacup Ah, yeah. 06:02.55 NATASHA BILLSON When something changes in the deposit actually that tells you nothing you just know something's like oh that smell? Yeah yeah, ah but you know there's like and it feels different and you excavate something layer upon layer the compaction the inclusions these all are telltale signs of. 06:05.99 archaeoteacup Ah I'm going to break someone else could take over in this pit. 06:21.97 NATASHA BILLSON Something being different so you have to know a bit about everything and I don't I don't really have a passion error I would say it changes all the time like every six months to a year it just changes depends what I'm doing I was saying it inspires curiosity to research that area. 06:30.00 archaeoteacup Ah. 06:35.88 archaeoteacup Ah. 06:38.76 archaeoteacup I Guess would there be a maybe a favorite kind of period or or region or area that you would want to excavate more than anything else. So not necessarily have an interest in but kind of the physical excavation. 06:50.17 NATASHA BILLSON Ah, see I This is difficult as well. You know because I've I've worked on a lot of different archeological sites around the world I've been very fortunate um to have that experience. 06:56.29 archaeoteacup Yeah. 07:04.59 NATASHA BILLSON Not only be international filled expeditions led by actual local archaeologists I'm just joining their team as the 1 foreign person. Um, which is good in itself. But great experience to ah you know, learn language on the spot being anyone who doesn't speak that that said language. 07:14.69 archaeoteacup Um, ah yeah. 07:23.93 NATASHA BILLSON Um, you know I don't know because I've done. Ah I've done a bit of everything I would like to go back and do a bit more maritime archeology I would say because I haven't done that for a while. That's one thing I haven't I would like to have done more of I did that during my undergraduate originally. 07:31.35 archaeoteacup The that would be really cool. 07:39.63 archaeoteacup Ah. 07:42.20 NATASHA BILLSON When I was Goingnna do archeology at bornout university which is just amazing for archaeology I didn't realize how good it was. They're they're brilliant I mean and I would say did Romans Roman Archaeology was kind of my thing and still is my thing. 07:45.54 archaeoteacup Well Also maritime archeology right? They have a big. Yeah, they have a big. 07:56.70 archaeoteacup Hey this is right? We've got it. We've got a whole podcast episode to discuss the answer to this this question. Maybe if we can talk about the object at some point that would be cool as well. But you know. 07:59.70 NATASHA BILLSON I Can't answer this you know? yeah I'm interested in everything is the show answer. Um. 08:13.56 archaeoteacup Ah, so but that's really interesting as well. I think a lot of people assume that they have to specialize So it's nice to hear that you can still be. You know have have broad interests and still make a career out of it like it's not a a limiting factor in that respect. So um. 08:26.19 NATASHA BILLSON Ah, tree. True true tree. 08:30.90 archaeoteacup So vs cool. Thank you for sharing. Um the other question that I always ask all of my guests. Of course this is tea break time travel. We will be traveling back in time today. But today we have a set course. But if you could travel back in time to anywhere in history. Where would you go or when would you go I should say and why. 08:47.48 NATASHA BILLSON I'm thinking because we're talking about Suton who helmet it'll be great to actually go back in time and see what was happening the atmosphere of how the locals were feeling prior to this individual who was laid to rest actually I want to see who this person was so maybe. 08:56.63 archaeoteacup That. 09:05.43 NATASHA BILLSON Bit further back in time give me mail at least 1 year not as you know six months six months before no I'm actually scared of over six months I probably die and let's try like a week no No no, he'll probably they'll probably be dying as well. But I think I want yeah who are you? where do you come from like. 09:08.67 archaeoteacup Ah. 09:14.55 archaeoteacup Ah, ah, the second that they die go and quickly say who are you. 09:24.80 NATASHA BILLSON Um, what life lessons could you give you'll be great to document this person because they're their burial as we will discuss in this episode is just so fascinating and I think actually ah I think for the fact that we're talking about this I'd love to go back in time and see what was happening how this ship burial was even. 09:34.17 archaeoteacup Um, is it. 09:42.49 NATASHA BILLSON Done like how they maneuvered it how they built the ship I Want to see how they built the ship. You know I want to see everything about this burial site I'm I'm kind of worried to go that far back in time though because I honestly think I would die I don't think I could survive. 09:46.81 archaeoteacup So so before like 6 March 2 year. But fourth. 09:58.20 archaeoteacup Well if we did it as sort of a fly on the wall type thing like we go in our little bubble. We don't actually interact or would you want to interact. 10:04.29 NATASHA BILLSON Yeah, then oh this is a hard one. Okay have you seen have you read the book. Um voice that book called where it's about like witches and vampires my jam. Yes, that's the one there you go have you. 10:13.48 archaeoteacup Ah, Discovery of which is I've actually literally just started reading the first one. So no spoilers. Well I do know already that in the second one It's set in the Elizabethan era. So I imagine this so good. 10:19.96 NATASHA BILLSON Oh okay, Okay, oh damn it I can't take basically like that That's true, but how she's able to jump back and forth. You know, not really jump. But actually you know what she lives I can't tell I can't I can't say it now kind of like that. But anyone who's read the book kind of like that I wouldn't mind. 10:31.28 archaeoteacup Ah, okay. 10:38.99 NATASHA BILLSON But even that is quite close and personal idea of jumping in and out when I want to so I'm safe maybe have like a magic ring or talk or something and I just like rub it and then I'm back. Yeah, yes, it is. 10:43.57 archaeoteacup Ah, back home and just hope that the magic doesn't wear out at a really awkward moment like okay, okay, well. 10:57.58 NATASHA BILLSON Yeah. 10:59.54 archaeoteacup It is convenient that you said ah you wanted to to go back that far. We're not going back. Well maybe we're going back. We're but keeping it very vague. Ah because before we talk a little bit more about yes indeed the sudden who burial um been been the teasered already. Um, let's first journey back to the early seventh century very vague. Um, in what we now call england it's a sunny day but the air above the watching crowd is sombre all eyes on the huge twenty seven meter long ship that lies before them still being filled with cases of gold jewelry bags of rubies stacks of silver plates at last the stackers move aside to make room for 4 men carrying a stretcher. 11:18.89 NATASHA BILLSON Um. 11:36.23 archaeoteacup On which lies a richly dressed figure hands clasped over their chest eyes closed if possible the Hush falls even more the crowd watching in silent respect as the figure is maneuvred into the central Chamber of the ship on their right hand side is lain a sword and a selection of spears on their left a beautifully decorated helmet. Is wrapped carefully in a cloth before being set gently down. It takes a long time for the burial mound to be built over this ship even longer before the weight of the mound eventually crushes the central Chamber so that when it is finally excavated in 39 All that is left of that wonderful Helmet. Ah hundreds of rusted fragments. 12:12.79 archaeoteacup So indeed today we'll be looking well at the Sutton who helmet but also the the rest of the burial in general and we'll get into the details very soon. But first of all, let's have a very quick break.