The Archaeology Show

4.1 (129)
Science
Updated Weekly

The Archaeology Show is produced by the Archaeology Podcast Network. It's hosted by archaeologist's Chris Webster and Rachel Roden. We will interview people from around the world in a variety of topics. Enjoy the ride.

Aug 17

The Mystery of Rongorongo, an Etruscan Well, and a Lost Convent - Ep 338

This week, we’re exploring three archaeology articles in the news this week. First, we head to Rapa Nui, where new research into the mysterious Rongorongo script could reshape our understanding of when and how writing developed on the island. Then, we examine an Etruscan ritual well filled with offerings to the goddess Uni—and later, human remains. Finally, we travel to Denmark, where plans for an underground parking garage led archaeologists to the unexpected discovery of a long-lost medieval convent. Links A New Discovery at Easter Island Could Rewrite History As We Know It Archaeologists discover Etruscan well that was ritually opened with offerings for a goddess — and 'closed' with human bodies Danish town plans for underground parking garage, finds long-lost medieval convent Contact Chris Webster chris@archaeologypodcastnetwork.com Rachel Roden rachel@unraveleddesigns.com RachelUnraveled (Instagram) ArchPodNet APN Website: https://www.archpodnet.com APN Discord: https://discord.com/invite/CWBhb2T2ed APN on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/archpodnet APN on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/archpodnet APN on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/archpodnet APN Shop Affiliates Motion Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Aug 10

Journal Club: July 2026 - Ep 337

Join the APN crew for a monthly discussion of recent news articles. This month we look into two very different questions about archaeology and how we interpret the past. First, we dig into the growing role of AI and large language models in archaeological research, discussing hallucinations, data ownership, consent, open access, and why critical thinking is more important than ever. Then, we examine the case of a man who survived a severe facial injury roughly 100,000 years ago—and ask whether the more interesting story is really ancient violence, or the care and community that allowed him to survive. Links Archaeology in the AI Era: Demystifying powerful and problematic systems shaping the future of the past Roughly 100,000 Years Ago, This Man Got Stabbed in the Face—and Survived. He’s Likely One of the First Known Victims of an Attack With a Sharp Weapon Contact Chris Webster chris@archaeologypodcastnetwork.com Rachel Roden rachel@unraveleddesigns.com RachelUnraveled (Instagram) ArchPodNet APN Website: https://www.archpodnet.com APN Discord: https://discord.com/invite/CWBhb2T2ed APN on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/archpodnet APN on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/archpodnet APN on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/archpodnet APN Shop Affiliates Motion Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Aug 3

Geoglyphs in Brazil, a Deadly Polish King's Tomb and a Fresco Reconstruction in Pompeii - Ep 336

This week we cover three new archaeology news stories! First up, a new LiDAR study in Brazil is revealing that the Amazonian ancient civilization of Aquiry may have been much larger than previously known. Then, a tomb in Poland that was opened in 1973 harbored a deadly fungus that caused the deaths of many of the researchers that worked on it, like a modern day Mummy’s Curse! And finally, archaeologists at Pompeii are reconstructing a ceiling mosaic piece by painstaking piece. Links Segment 1 Mysterious Shapes Hidden Beneath the Amazon Canopy Reveal a Sprawling Ancient Civilization Much Bigger Than Researchers Expected (Smithsonian) Over 20,000 precolonial earthworks in the Southwest Amazonia (Nature) Segment 2 Archaeologists Opened a 500-Year-Old King’s Tomb. Most Didn’t Live to Tell the Tale. Segment 3 See a Rare Ceiling Fresco From Pompeii That Archaeologists Are Carefully Reassembling, Piece by Piece, Like an Ancient Puzzle Contact Chris Webster chris@archaeologypodcastnetwork.com Rachel Roden rachel@unraveleddesigns.com RachelUnraveled (Instagram) ArchPodNet APN Website: https://www.archpodnet.com APN Discord: https://discord.com/invite/CWBhb2T2ed APN on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/archpodnet APN on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/archpodnet APN on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/archpodnet APN Shop Affiliates Motion Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Jul 27

Maya Astronomer Named, and Controversy Over Utah Monuments and Smithsonian Signage - Ep 335

In today’s archaeology news episode, we discuss three articles, starting with a discovery at the Maya city of Xiulán, Guatemala: a small room interpreted as a scribe/astronomer workspace with 11 hieroglyphs naming Sak Ton Wax (“white-chested fox”) and more than 50 mathematical “micro texts” tracking Venus and Mars as the author. We then cover a report that President Trump reduced Grand Staircase–Escalante and Bears Ears by nearly three million acres, opening lands to mining and ending the Bears Ears Commission’s tribal co-stewardship. Finally, we discuss a report on an executive order to post warnings outside the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History about “inaccurate information,” and we argue it politicizes history and promotes alternative narratives. Links Segment 1 Archaeologists decipher the name of a Maya astronomer for the first time Meet Sak Tahn Waax, a Maya Math Whiz Who Lived More Than 1,000 Years Ago and Left Behind a ‘Really Elegant, Complex’ Formula Segment 2 President Trump drastically shrinks 2 Utah national monuments — again Segment 3 Trump orders signage warning visitors of ‘inaccurate information’ at Smithsonian Contact Chris Webster chris@archaeologypodcastnetwork.com Rachel Roden rachel@unraveleddesigns.com RachelUnraveled (Instagram) ArchPodNet APN Website: https://www.archpodnet.com APN Discord: https://discord.com/invite/CWBhb2T2ed APN on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/archpodnet APN on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/archpodnet APN on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/archpodnet APN Shop Affiliates Motion Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Jul 13

Save Ancient Studies Alliance - Ep 334

On today’s episode Chris interviews Dr. David Danzig from the Save Ancient Studies Alliance. It’s a great website dedicated to education and outreach. They’ve got a conference coming up on July 19th and 20th for people listening in real time. It’s free and open to all. Check out the livestream options at the links below. Links Save Ancient Studies Alliance Virtual Conference Transcript For a rough transcript of this episode, head over to: https://www.archaeologypodcastnetwork.com/archaeology/334 Contact Chris Webster chris@archaeologypodcastnetwork.com Rachel Roden rachel@unraveleddesigns.com RachelUnraveled (Instagram) ArchPodNet APN Website: https://www.archpodnet.com APN Discord: https://discord.com/invite/CWBhb2T2ed APN on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/archpodnet APN on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/archpodnet APN on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/archpodnet APN Shop Affiliates Motion Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Jun 29

Timelines: 1450 - Angkor Wat, Machu Picchu, and Constantinople - Ep 333

In this “Timelines: 1450” episode, we travel across continents and centuries to see what was happening at the same time in different places around the world: Angkor Wat in the jungles of Cambodia, Machu Picchu in the Andes, and Constantinople in Turkey. Join us as we uncover their origins, uses, and the mysteries that still surround these awe-inspiring sites. Links UNESCO World Heritage Centre – Angkor Britannica – Angkor Wat History – Angkor UNESCO World Heritage Centre – Historic Sanctuary of Machu Picchu Machu Picchu’s Ancient Beauty Smithsonian Magazine – To See the Magnificence and Majesty of Machu Picchu Without the Hike, Check Out These Amazing Images Constantinople History - Constantinople Transcript For a rough transcript of this episode head over to: https://www.archaeologypodcastnetwork.com/archaeology/333 Contact Chris Webster chris@archaeologypodcastnetwork.com Rachel Roden rachel@unraveleddesigns.com RachelUnraveled (Instagram) ArchPodNet APN Website: https://www.archpodnet.com APN Discord: https://discord.com/invite/CWBhb2T2ed APN on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/archpodnet APN on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/archpodnet APN on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/archpodnet APN Shop Affiliates Motion Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Jun 22

Presenting: Journal Club - Ep 332

Each month on the APN Discord channel the management of the APN will get together and discuss an article or two from recent archaeology and scientific journal publications. You can join live and free on the Discord and see our shining faces! We thought we’d use this show to present the audio from that first recording. We’re aiming for the first Monday of every month. Let us know what you think! Links https://www.newscientist.com/article/2526391-ancient-teeth-hint-at-links-between-denisovans-and-homo-erectus/ Apple News: https://apple.news/AzsyzHT5XQyGJc7jweQl4mg Contact Chris Webster chris@archaeologypodcastnetwork.com Rachel Roden rachel@unraveleddesigns.com RachelUnraveled (Instagram) ArchPodNet APN Website: https://www.archpodnet.com APN Discord: https://discord.com/invite/CWBhb2T2ed APN on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/archpodnet APN on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/archpodnet APN on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/archpodnet APN Shop Affiliates Motion Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Jun 8

Did Archaeologists Find a Lost Incan City? - Ep 331

This week we cover three archaeology stories in the news recently. First, ancient and unusual rock art in the Caucuses. Then we head over to Spain where researchers have excavated several graves at a monastery, including the queen who founded it. And finally, Natianal Geographic's June cover story is all about a long lost Incan city that may (or may not!) have been identified in Peru. Links Scientists Found ‘Messages from the Dead’ on the Walls of an Ancient Tomb Skeletal remains of Queen Elisenda, one of the most powerful rulers in medieval Europe, unearthed in Barcelona — along with several others who bore unexplained stab wounds The Search for the Inca’s Lost Citadel Contact Chris Webster chris@archaeologypodcastnetwork.com Rachel Roden rachel@unraveleddesigns.com RachelUnraveled (Instagram) ArchPodNet APN Website: https://www.archpodnet.com APN Discord: https://discord.com/invite/CWBhb2T2ed APN on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/archpodnet APN on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/archpodnet APN on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/archpodnet APN Shop Affiliates Motion Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

See All (350)

4.1

out of 5

129 Ratings

Informative but not too serious

May 5

Tobias Cuypers

Very knowledgeable hosts that cover a wide array of topics and interesting news in the field. Their personal knowledge and humor really add to the show in a meaningful way
Good info, one host interrupts the other constantly, makes it hard to listen.

May 21

Clayclayclay37

Good show but the male host is very rude to the female host He constantly interrupts her and frequently interjects with less than informed "devils advocate" opinions. These interjections don't add context or information to the archaeology being discussed. His rudeness in certain episodes makes the show hard to listen to
Good info, poor podcasting

May 19

GhengisDong420

The show is so frustrating because the info is good, but the hosts cannot stop talking over each other, often with just the word “yeah” repeated constantly. I’m hoping they see this, because otherwise it’s be a good show- it’s just really hard to listen to. It should be more successful than it is, “yeahs” aside.
Archaeology in dicussion

Mar 30

You room

This is not an intensively serious information session but a rather fun, interesting and relaxed approach to archaeological discussion.

The Archaeology Show is produced by the Archaeology Podcast Network. It's hosted by archaeologist's Chris Webster and Rachel Roden. We will interview people from around the world in a variety of topics. Enjoy the ride.