Career in Ruins

Our first episode of 2024 is a fascinating chat with Karen Kirk. Karen has had a brilliant career which has spanned commercial archaeology, BBC drama productions and more recently, the production of archaeological TV programs. With shows and documentaries ranging from Digging for Britain, Time Team, Secrets of Stonehenge and Titanic’s Final Mystery, Karen talks us through how she got involved in working in such an important area which allows us to share and promote our incredible discipline.

The episode of Career Ruins features a conversation with Colm Donnelly, a Senior Research Fellow at Queen's University in Belfast. Derek and Lawrence reflect on the highlights of the year and discuss Colm's career journey in historical archaeology and community archaeology. Colm shares insights into his notable projects, including excavating medieval castles in Ireland and participating in post-ex Russia. The episode highlights the importance of combining historical records with archaeological evidence to understand the lives of ordinary people from the past. The conversation provides a deep dive into the world of historical archaeology and the significance of unearthing lesser-known aspects of history.

The podcast features an interview with Dr. Jim Leary, an archaeologist and author at the University of York. The trio discuss Jim's new book 'Footmarks' and, his experiences in commercial and curatorial archaeology, and his recent career move to part-time teaching. He also shares insights into his significant projects, including leading the excavation and stabilisation of Silbury Hill and investigating the Marlborough Mound.

In this episode Derek and Lawrence chat to Helen Geake, an archaeologist and member of the television show Time Team. She discusses her career in archaeology, starting from when she was unsure about what she wanted to do and eventually discovering her passion for the subject. She talks about her academic journey, including her research on Anglo-Saxon cemeteries, and her work at Norwich Castle Museum and the Portable Antiquities Scheme. The trio also reflect on the role of luck in her career and the importance of being open-minded and saying yes to opportunities.

Career in ruins are back in the saddle with their traditional interview format at the start of a very exciting new season. To kick us off we chat to the inspirational Gus Casely-Hayford, Director of the V&A East, and all round incredible person. We gain an insight into the motivation and application that has lead him to have such an incredible career in ruins. Catch Gus’s latest Radio series, Torn, on BBC Sounds https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/m001bbpf

To kick off the start of our new season we are sharing a special podcast about OUR careers in ruins. This first episode is a recording from a lecture we were asked to give to the Anthropology Society at Stony Brook University, New York, about science communication. We hope you enjoy it and a huge thank you to all the committee and members of the society for the invite and warm welcome. Keep an eye out for new episodes over the next month or so!

In this first episode of the long awaited season 6 of Career in Ruins Lawrence and Derek join in with the CBA's Festival of Archaeology by celebrating "20 years" (ish) of the Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS). Archaeology's Ant and Dec of the south coast are joined by three incredible guests; Michael Lewis, Head of the PAS at the British Museum, Emma Youell, metal detectorist and PAS self recorder and Neil Redfern, head of the Council for British Archaeology.

In this special episode, reporting from Niue in the South Pacific, Lawrence meets Moira Enetama who is the director of the Tāoga Niue (museum). The duo discuss the impact of the Cyclone Heta in 2004 and Moira’s role in promoting and protecting the cultural heritage of Niue.

This week we take a moment to pause and reflect on some of the problems facing members of our community. We are joined by Kate Geary (CiFA), Lu Stanton-Greenwood (StepChange/ BAJR) and David Connolly (BAJR) and discussions are centred on the recently released ‘Poverty Impact Report’. Some useful links below: For help and advice with debt, cost of living, benefits, hardship funds etc. http://www.bajrfed.co.uk/bajrpress/archaeologists-in-financial-crisis-bajr-survey-2022/ https://www.stepchange.org/ https://www.nationaldebtline.org/ https://capuk.org/ https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/ https://www.lightningreach.org/ For advice on housing, homelessness or tenancy https://www.shelter.org.uk/ For help with wellbeing and mental health https://www.mind.org.uk/. Text SHOUT to 85258 https://giveusashout.org/ https://www.samaritans.org/ Nearest foodbank https://www.trusselltrust.org/what-we-do/

A short message from Derek and Lawrence thanking you for listening

Join Lawrence and Derek for an additional podcast as they go for a ramble chat with attendees of the Festival of Archaeology event in Corfe Castle, hosted by the National Trust. This “explosive” conversation covers ancient technology, forestry, maritime archaeology, computer games and much more.

Welcome to this special episode which is brought to you by the Council for British Archaeology. This episode was recorded live at the Festival of Archaeology closing event at Corfe Castle, as hosted by the National Trust on 31st of July 2022. Derek and Lawrence are joined by a brilliant panel of archaeologists as they share their journey in archaeology and discuss several themes as well as advice to prospective future archaeologists. Panellists include Jeanette Plummer-Sires (Natural History Museum), Lucy Parker (Bournemouth University), Neil Redfern (Council for British Archaeology) and Tom Dommett (National Trust).

In this special episode, join Lawrence as he attends a Festival of Archaeology event being delivered by Forestry England at Sherwood Pines. Learn a bit about what Forestry England do, how they manage their historic environment and what they have been doing to promote it during the festival. Lawrence catches up with colleagues and living historians who have helped to bring to life a day where visitors can learn all about the sites First World War history.

We are back! And what better way to come back then to take a day out to visit the Durotriges Big Dig. Ran over 9 seasons, this research project focuses on Iron Age Dorset, examining the transition between the Iron Age and Roman Britain, and how this is represented in the archaeological record. Not only does the project offer up lots of interesting research questions and discoveries, but it also provides Bournemouth University students with an opportunity to participate in practical archaeological process. During their visit, Lawrence and Derek catch up with some of the lectures and students to find out more and learn what the field school is all about.

In this bonus episode Derek and Lawrence talk all things New Zealand archaeology. The duo are joined by New Zealand archaeologists Josie Hagan and Dr Andy Brown. The episode features a triumphant return of Monutrumps as well as a discussion of the range of sites in New Zealand and what you can expect during New Zealand archaeology week. New Zealand Archaeology Week is from 22 April to 1 May 2022. For more info see https://nzarchaeology.org/news-events/national-archaeology-week-2022

In this, the season 4 finale, Derek and Lawrence chat about sculptures in the Forest of Dean and the discovery of Shackleton’s ship. The final guest of the season is the incredible Dr Arwa Kharobi, a bioanthropologist who talks through her diverse and fascinating career in ruins and “tells” us about some of the sites she’s worked on.

In this week’s episode Derek and Lawrence talk to………. each other. The duo discuss orienteering, the human history of the landscape, and Time Team. They also talk about some of the results from their YouTube mini-series ‘Career in Ruins: In the field’.

This week we catch up with floatation queen and environmental archaeology professional Naomi Sewpaul. Naomie talks us through her career in ruins to date that has led to her into becoming a leading expert across the archaeological disciplines of academia, research and commercial investigations. Naomi helps us to understand how we can excavate with water and why the post excavation processes are just as valuable as geophysics or the process of excavation itself.

This week Lawrence and Derek talk about their adventures in the countryside and Lawrence’s long history of heritage crime. Their guest this week is curatorial legend and Twitter master Rob Symmons. Rob is the curator of Fishbourne Roman palace: the largest Roman building north of the alps! The trio discuss Rob’s career in ruins, from the early seeds of his interest in archaeology to the moment Tony Robinson took a stroll in Fishbourne’s hypocaust.

In this week’s episode Lawrence and Derek discuss the value of mentorship as well as the archaeological potential of shooting forests with drone-based lasers. Their guest this week is Time Team landscape superstar Professor Stewart Ainsworth. Stewart shares stories from his amazing and diverse career, from his work with the Ordnance Survey to his 20 years as a regular Sunday evening fixture on Channel 4.