Dirt Bags: An Archaeology Podcast

DigVentures

Dirt Bags is a comedy archaeology podcast from DigVentures. In each episode, hosts Louise and Nat take a deep dive into the lives of archaeology's most legendary names and the stories behind its most iconic excavations. Expect wild stories, extraordinary discoveries, questionable science and lots of stolen credit.

Episodes

  1. 5d ago

    Tutankhamun, Curses and Bolt Cutters: Howard Carter

    A hidden staircase. “Wonderful things.” A mummy’s curse. You probably think you know the story of Howard Carter and Tutankhamun. But what about the furious French tourists, the secret visit to the burial chamber, or the Egyptian government changing the locks? This week, Louise tells Nat how a teenage artist became archaeology’s most famous name, via terrible accommodation, excavation-team betrayal and a very wealthy man from Downton Abbey. We get into the messy detail behind the discovery, the newspaper deal that helped fuel the curse story, the brutal treatment of Tutankhamun’s mummy, and the evidence that some objects left Egypt despite the governments best efforts Plus: Why Flinders Petrie has a cat name and why Carter would have to empty his pockets before leaving a DigVentures site. Dirt Bags is a comedy podcast about archaeology’s greatest legends, questionable methods and the bits that tend to get left out of the famous stories. Contains discussion of colonialism, racism, death and the treatment of human remains. Enjoyed the episode? Follow Dirt Bags, leave us a rating and tell someone who loves a good historical mess. Produced by DigVentures.Find out more: https://digventures.com SOURCES AND FURTHER READING Howard Carter and Arthur C. Mace, The Tomb of Tut.ankh.Amen, three volumes, 1923–1933. T. G. H. James, Howard Carter: The Path to Tutankhamun, 1992. Bob Brier, Tutankhamun and the Tomb that Changed the World, Oxford University Press, 2022. Griffith Institute, University of Oxford, Tutankhamun Spatial Archive: original excavation journals, photographs and object records. World History Encyclopedia, interview with Bob Brier about Tutankhamun and the Tomb that Changed the World, 24 October 2022. Metropolitan Museum of Art, statement recognising Egypt’s ownership of 19 objects from Tutankhamun’s tomb, November 2010. Mark R. Nelson, “The mummy’s curse: historical cohort study”, British Medical Journal, 2002. Howard Carter, letter to Helen Ionides concerning Arthur Weigall and the “Tutankhamun Curse”, 21 January 1934. Sold by RR Auction, 18 March 2026. Ellen Wexler, “Mysterious ‘Anomalies’ Have Been Detected Beyond King Tut’s Tomb. Could They Be Secret Passageways Leading to the Long-Lost Remains of Queen Nefertiti?”, Smithsonian Magazine, 25 September 2026.

  2. Oct 2

    Dogs, Deserts and Missing Toes: Aurel Stein

    An archaeologist, a manuscript forger and seven dogs called Dash. What could possibly go wrong? This week on Dirt Bags, Nat takes over the storytelling and Louise discovers she is very badly prepared for the emotional consequences of bringing dogs on archaeological expeditions. We’re following Aurel Stein across the Silk Roads, through desert ruins in pursuit of fake ancient manuscripts and a remarkable library hidden inside a cave at Dunhuang. There are donkey disputes, missing toes and some extremely questionable ideas about whose history you’re entitled to pack up and take home. Celebrated explorer or extraordinarily determined looter? There’s plenty to dig into. Once we’ve finished talking about the dogs. Enjoyed the episode? Follow Dirt Bags and recommend us to a friend. Word of mouth makes a huge difference to our little independent podcast. Sponsored by DigVentures, where archaeology is for everyone. Find out how to join a dig or explore the past from home: https://digventures.com Content note: discussion of colonialism, racism, looting and animal deaths. SOURCES AND FURTHER READING Main books used in this episode: • Jeannette Mirsky, Sir Aurel Stein: Archaeological Explorer (University of Chicago Press, 1977).Nat’s main source for Stein’s life, expeditions and correspondence.https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/S/bo5939923.html • Peter Hopkirk, Foreign Devils on the Silk Road: The Search for the Lost Cities and Treasures of Chinese Central Asia (John Murray, 1980).The international race for Central Asian antiquities, including Stein’s dealings at Dunhuang. Also quoted in the episode: • The British Academy, “Sir Aurel Stein, 1862–1943.”A contemporary biographical memoir reflecting the admiration Stein attracted in British scholarly circles.https://www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/documents/4737/29p329.pdf Further reading and collections: • International Dunhuang Programme, “Discovering Cave 17.”The discovery of the Library Cave by Wang Yuanlu, Stein’s negotiations and the dispersal of its contents.https://idp.bl.uk/discover/learning/dunhuang/dunhuang-articles/cave-17-the-library-cave/discovering-cave-17/ • Ursula Sims-Williams, “Islam Akhun,” Encyclopaedia Iranica.The manuscript forger, his invented scripts and how Stein exposed the operation.https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/islam-akhun/ • International Dunhuang Programme, Stein Collection.Explore manuscripts, paintings and other material collected during Stein’s expeditions.https://idp.bl.uk/discover/collection-categories/stein-collection/

  3. Sep 25

    Mules, Masons and Moo the Mayan Queen: The Le Plungeons

    In 1875, Augustus and Alice Le Plongeon travelled into the forests of Yucatán with 100 soldiers, a 200-pound box of photographic equipment and a plan to investigate the ancient Mayan city of Chichén Itzá. Their fieldwork produced an extraordinary photographic record and the excavation of a remarkable sculpture now known as a Chacmool. It all started so well, but then they started making stuff up. Their interpretation produced Queen Móo, her murdered brother-husband Prince Coh, the lost land of Mu and a theory connecting the ancient Maya with Egypt, Greece, India and Freemasonry. Louise tells Nat the story of two skilled photographers, two pioneering fieldworkers and two absolutely terrible historians. DIRT BAGS is the comedy archaeology podcast uncovering the rivalries, disasters, stolen credit and extremely questionable methods behind some of archaeology’s biggest discoveries. Sponsored by DigVentures. SOURCES AND FURTHER READING Lawrence G. Desmond and Phyllis M. Messenger, A Dream of Maya: Augustus and Alice Le Plongeon in Nineteenth-Century Yucatan, University of New Mexico Press, 1988:https://archive.org/details/dreamofmayaaugus0000desm Lawrence G. Desmond, Yucatán Through Her Eyes: Alice Dixon Le Plongeon, Writer and Expeditionary Photographer, University of New Mexico Press, 2009:https://search.worldcat.org/title/276228932 Sean McDaniel, “The Lure of Móo,” Archaeology Magazine, January/February 2007:https://archive.archaeology.org/0701/abstracts/plongeon.html Augustus and Alice Dixon Le Plongeon Papers, Getty Research Institute:https://www.getty.edu/research/collections/collection/113YAV Augustus and Alice Dixon Le Plongeon Photographs, Online Archive of California:https://oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/c8kp859t/ Stephen Salisbury Jr., The Mayas, the Sources of Their History; Dr. Le Plongeon in Yucatan, His Account of Discoveries, 1877:https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/29723 Alice Dixon Le Plongeon, Queen Móo’s Talisman: The Fall of the Maya Empire, 1902:https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/47842

  4. Sep 18

    Glastonbury, Ghosts and some Medieval Fat-Shaming | Frederick Bligh Bond

    In 1908, architect Frederick Bligh Bond was appointed to excavate Glastonbury Abbey. He made a series of remarkable discoveries, including the long-lost Edgar Chapel.  Then he revealed that dead monks had been telling him where to dig.  In this episode of DIRT BAGS, Louise, Nat and guest host Harriet investigate Britain’s most famous psychic archaeologist, his automatic-writing sessions with John Allen Bartlett and the mysterious voices that appeared to provide measurements, plans and extremely convenient excavation advice.  Along the way, we meet a medieval stonemason with strong opinions about beer, fishing and being fat-shamed by his fellow monks.  Was Bond receiving messages from beyond the grave, unconsciously drawing upon his considerable archaeological knowledge, or simply making the evidence fit a very good story?  DIRT BAGS is a comedy archaeology podcast sponsored by DigVentures.  SOURCES AND FURTHER READING Frederick Bligh Bond, The Gate of Remembrance (1918) Roberta Gilchrist and Cheryl Green, Glastonbury Abbey: Archaeological Investigations 1904–79, Society of Antiquaries of London, (2015) https://research.reading.ac.uk/glastonburyabbeyarchaeology/ “Glastonbury Abbey,” Current Archaeology. An overview of the modern reassessment, including Bond’s unsupported reconstruction of the apsidal Edgar Chapel:https://archaeology.co.uk/articles/features/glastonbury-abbey.htm Tim Hopkinson-Ball, The Rediscovery of Glastonbury: Frederick Bligh Bond, Architect of the New Age, Sutton Publishing, 2007. And a shout-out to Zakia Sewell, whose brilliant book helped send us down the Glastonbury rabbit hole. Zakia Sewell, Finding Albion: Myth, Folklore and the Quest for a Hidden Britain, Hodder Press, 2026:

  5. Sep 11

    King, Archaeologist, Ceremonial Slap-Dodger: Nabonidus

    Was Nabonidus, the last King of Babylon, also the world’s first archaeologist?  More than 2,500 years ago, Nabonidus excavated ancient temples, searched for foundation deposits and attempted to date buildings. Unfortunately, he was also supposed to be running a huge empire.   Instead, he disappeared off to another country for ten years, became deeply devoted to the moon god and repeatedly missed an important festival in which he was supposed to be publicly slapped.  In our new episode, Louise and Nat meet the man dubbed ‘the world’s first archaeologist’ and are probably about to annoy every West Asia expert on the planet with their comedy take on some very ancient texts.  Dirt Bags is a comedy archaeology podcast made by DigVentures  SOURCES AND FURTHER READING  BEAULIEU, P.-A. (1989). Reign of Nabonidus, King of Babylon (556-539 BC). Yale University Press.  The Nabonidus Chronicle, British Museum collection  The Nabonidus Chronicle, translated by R. J. van der Spek on livius.org  The Last King of Babylon. Archaeology Magazine, March/April 2022  Mirelman, Sam (2022) The Babylonian Akitu Festival and the Ritual Humiliation of the King. Ancient Near East Today, Vol 10.9  All inscription translations can be found at oracc.museum.upenn.edu

  6. Sep 4

    Pigs, Russian Steam Baths and the Hunt for Troy: Heinrich Schliemann

    Heinrich Schliemann is the legendary bronze age archaeologist who claimed to have discovered Troy, unearthed the treasure of King Priam and proved that Homer’s Iliad was based on real events. But before all that, he had already survived a shipwreck, joined the California Gold Rush, made a fortune supplying the Crimean War and conducted a surprisingly businesslike search for a new wife. From pigs and Russian steam baths to buried treasure and extremely questionable excavation methods, Louise and Nat dig into his extraordinary life. SOURCES AND FURTHER READING Heinrich Schliemann, Ilios (1880) and Ithaka, der Peloponnes und Troja (1869) Emil Ludwig, Schliemann: The Story of a Gold-Seeker (1932) David A. Traill, Schliemann of Troy: Treasure and Deceit (1995) Susan Heuck Allen, Finding the Walls of Troy (1999) Christo Thanos and Wout Arentzen, eds., Schliemann and the California Gold Rush (2014

  7. Season 1 Trailer

    Introducing Dirt Bags: An Archaeology Podcast

    Archaeology has given us some of the greatest discoveries in human history. It has also given us colossal egos, questionable science, bitter rivalries and lots of stolen credit (and objects!). In DIRT BAGS, Louise and Nat take a deep dive into that spoil heap to find out the truth behind archaeology's most legendary characters and most iconic excavations. This trailer gives you a first taste of Episode 1, featuring Heinrich Schliemann: millionaire, polyglot, adventurer and self-styled discoverer of Troy. Follow now. The first episode arrives on 4 September 2026.

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    6 Episodes

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Dirt Bags is a comedy archaeology podcast from DigVentures. In each episode, hosts Louise and Nat take a deep dive into the lives of archaeology's most legendary names and the stories behind its most iconic excavations. Expect wild stories, extraordinary discoveries, questionable science and lots of stolen credit.

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