First Published: 19/02/2017 Trade was extremely important for the city states of the Persian Gulf during the Bronze Age. Certain resources (copper and precious metals) were highly valued by these societies though were not easily available across the region, leading to a thriving trade network. The Mesopotamian royal cemetery of Ur is just one of many sites... Continue Reading →

The witches Mary, Winifred and Sarah, Hocus Pocus (1993) First Published: 05/11/2016 Books bound in human skin are interesting but macabre objects. For many, these are the stuff of myth or Hollywood. One of the most famous examples comes from the Halloween movie Hocus Pocus (1993). In this Disney classic, the three witches have their... Continue Reading →

First Published: 31/01/2016 Earlier this week I received a curious little manila envelope in the post. I wasn't expecting anything in particular so I opened it with a flash of excitement akin to receiving an unexpected present. The package was extremely light (around 20g), so I carefully unstuck the flap and gently tipped the contents... Continue Reading →

Channel 5 online screen grab:Fair use for review and reporting  First Published: 17/01/2016Reflections on the public response to Channel 5's 'Battlefield Recovery' Well it's been a busy couple of weeks at Archaeosoup Towers; not least because of the resurgence of footage from the canned series 'Nazi War Diggers' in the guise of 'Battlefield Recovery' on... Continue Reading →

First Published: 02/01/2016 Well it's that time of the year again. Christmas and New Year's Eve have come and gone and I am preparing to look back on 2015 in this year's Annual Round Up video. We had a lovely Christmas at Archaeosoup Towers. As always I'll be reflecting, along with the Archaeosoup team, on... Continue Reading →

First Published: 16/06/2015 Earlier today I came across a short news article about the destruction of two temples in the Walled City area of Old Jaipur to make way for the Metro system corridor proposed from Chandpole to Badi Chaupar. The temple sites were apparently centuries old and the destruction has been the focus of protests by local citizens.... Continue Reading →

First Published: 20/05/2015 Hello, my name is Mr Soup and it has been many days since my last confess... er... Blog post - haha. It has been a very busy time here at Archaeosoup Towers. However, the strange thing about being busy at Archaeosoup is the nature of the busy-ness. At times like this, there's... Continue Reading →

First Published: 26/03/2015, 11:57 AM Last Thursday I headed over to Cumbria to take part in a molehill survey with the group Altogether Archaeology. They focus largely on the archaeology of the North Pennines, which usually means about an hour's travelling for me (if not more) in order to reach a majority of the sites.... Continue Reading →

First Published: 03/03/2015, 9:34 AM Yesterday evening, I gave a lecture to Newcastle University Archaeology Society. I turned up (just about) on time and was warmly welcomed with a handshake, the offer of wine and... Some home-made banana bread! If there's one thing which will put me immediately at ease, it's banana bread haha. The... Continue Reading →

First Published: 27/02/2015, 8:20 PM So, today I attended the annual Archaeology Day at my old university, the University of Gothenburg. I sadly could only be there for two thirds of the day due to other work appointments, but it was an assorted collection of archaeology that I had to enjoy for the time I... Continue Reading →