News
Structure is Structure is Structure
This is the first column I write from my new and — being frank, somewhat more sparse — desk space, following the rearrangement of the office by my truly wonderful editor Síri Ospley, who never ceases to amaze. As explained elsewhere, Síri has found it necessary to escape our glass ceiling. I for my part […]
Backlog – Another Day Down the Drain
Another Day Down the Drain Ballerina shoes. Knee-length woollen socks. Cloche hat. Back in the day, archaeologists certainly knew how to dress in the field. ‘The field’ here being the city of Ur in southern Iraq, known for summer temperatures of well over 45°C. You will be relieved to hear that the excavations at Ur […]
All Roads Lead to Rome!
Stratigraphies are amazing. They tell you all sorts of things you did not know about the past — things both big and small, and important in understanding how the world worked. The dense, fine-meshed layers in the accumulated urban stratigraphies hold immense amounts of information about important developments, many of which are simply waiting to […]
JUA 4 submission deadline is approaching
1 February is the deadline for submitting articles to volume 4 of Journal of Urban Archaeology. Check the tab ‘Submit an article’, and you’ll find more information as well as our guidelines. Do get in contact with the editorial team, if you have any questions.
Substratum – Rapid dissemination of excavation results
Artist: Janek Sundahl
Backlog – Keep on smiling
Another Day at the Outdoor Office in Palmyra Harald Ingholt, a widely famed and globe-trotting Danish archaeologist, who met his American-wife-to-be on a boat trip from Japan to China on his world tour, and who came to hold a chair of archaeology at Yale University, worked at the oasis-site of Palmyra in the Syrian Desert […]
Trowel Experiences
A part of my vocation, which I always enjoy, is going around the world to visit sites in the field and to attend conferences. I like speaking to locals, and taking in the new perspectives on professional matters that can arise from unexpected situations. On a recent flight, I was redirected to Leeds-Bradford International Airport […]
Substratum – Keep it private!
Substratum by Janek Sundahl and the Backfill editorial team.
Poetry Corner – Yesterdays
Nothing grounds the truth like good poetry. Here, compliments of the Backfill editors, (and with apologies to the Beatles) is a piece of ground-truthing truth-grounding, free to enjoy at your end-of-season party, at a barbecue with the research team, on a Friday night out, or to contemplate in a soul-searching moment alone. Yesterdays Yesterdays All […]