Part 3
Interviewer: My guest today’s the archaeologist Julian Radwinter, who works at Dunstan University. Julian, welcome.
Julian: Hi.
Interviewer: Tell us about how you first got involved in archaeology – what attracted you to it.
Julian: Well, it all started when a team of archaeologists came to dig up the field next to my parents’ farm one summer. It was an exciting prospect for a teenager and despite strict instructions from my father not to make a nuisance of myself, it wasn’t long before I was roped in to lend a hand – on a purely voluntary basis, of course. There’s always a need for someone to do the fetching and carrying on such digs – and I was full of questions. That’s the sort of boy I was, and I guess it broke up the day for those involved in the more tedious work! Anyway, I was in my element and from then on, there was no question what subject I was going to study at university. [15]
Interviewer: And does the subject still hold the same fascination?
Julian: Well yes. I mean, on that dig some strangely shaped metal objects were unearthed, clearly carbon dateable to the time of the buildings they’d already found traces of. But this object didn’t seem to fit in with anything they’d found. And this is exactly the kind of puzzle that makes the subject so gripping – you have a fragmented object and some contextual information but clearly pieces of information are missing and need to be filled in by the archaeologist. [16] You have to make assumptions – interpretations based on the evidence you’ve got – and that often involves eliminating possibilities – ticking off the things it might be, but clearly isn’t. At the end of the day it’s still mostly conjecture – so the debate continues.
Interviewer: Do you think archaeology gets the recognition it deserves as a profession?
Julian: Well, people think of archaeology and they think of ancient civilisations, buried treasure and all sorts of romantic notions, often stemming from the mythology surrounding startling twentieth-century discoveries in the eastern Mediterranean and the Nile valley. All that’s fueled by the image projected by certain feature films – that beguile people into the idea that archaeology’s a glamorous discipline. I have no problem with any of that, but everyday archaeology actually involves a lot of painstaking gathering of data, often in far from romantic surroundings – you get cold, wet and dirty – and the discoveries are mostly small and cumulative rather than dramatic [17], which is the point that the world at large really tends to miss. Nonetheless, it is a science, and it has a lot to tell us and the data is actually surprisingly accessible to ordinary people in the way that a lot of science isn’t.
Interviewer: Which brings us neatly on to your own current research post. Why have you decided to concentrate your efforts on southeastern England?
Julian: Well, most of my colleagues are jetting off around the world – digging in remote spots in faraway places. It calls for a lot of organisation and involves all manner of setbacks and frustrations, not to mention tedious long-haul flights and endless inoculations. But I have none of those problems. Indeed, now that archaeology is becoming much more oriented towards the collection and analysis of data, rather than the just locating and digging up key sites, we come to realise just how much England has to offer. Basically, with a relatively modest budget, we can gather far more relevant data here than in many of the places that have been the typical focus of archaeological activity. [18]
Interviewer: But why is that, and what is it that you’re hoping to find?
Julian: Well, for the last two thousand years, and probably long before that too, southeastern England has undoubtedly been one of the most densely inhabited parts of the world. There was a lot of human activity here and the evidence is to be found beneath our feet. The land’s been intensively farmed since the Iron Age and most modern-day villages have been continuously inhabited for over a thousand years – some much longer. But I find it tantalising to think that you’ve only got to dig a hole somewhere in a settlement, and you’ll probably uncover data that’ll reveal how people lived and the way different things influenced their way of life – be it political changes, climate change, disease or whatever. [19]
Interviewer: Finally Julian, you’re taking part in a project that looks at the role of humour in archaeology. That sounds intriguing – tell us a bit about that.
Julian: Well traditional storytelling, the passing on of ideas and deep cultural knowledge is one of those things that we’re tending to lose with the digital age [20] – and it struck me that it’s there in archaeology itself. There’s often a mismatch between the dry reports written up after successful digs and the warmth and intimacy that is built up within a team. Basically, you’re all living and working cheek by jowl for long periods and a kind of camaraderie develops – the telling of anecdotes around the campfire after a long day’s digging is full of humour – but also full of the folk memory of archaeology itself. The project I’m involved in seeks to capture and preserve some of that rich fund of humour and anecdote – so that it can be preserved for future generations along with the archaeological evidence itself.
Interviewer: Fascinating, thank you very much…
Part 4
Speaker 1
You see clubs advertised on the college noticeboard, but joining one’s never appealed to me really. On the whole, my friends are more into music and going out than joining stuff. I only really went along to the salsa group to keep my boyfriend company [21]. His sister back home had told him it was great fun, but he didn’t fancy going alone. And I got quite a shock. I mean, it’s quite laidback the way it’s organised; you don’t have to go every week or anything and everyone was really giving it their all. I could’ve done with someone telling me how I was doing actually, because nobody seemed worried about my mistakes [26]. But I’ll certainly go again.
Speaker 2
Lots of people at the drama club already had acting skills before coming to college, but I thought if I joined, it’d be a chance to pick some up [22]. I mean, it’s a nice group of people, the whole thing’s very professionally organised, and they’re always giving me positive feedback at the rehearsal sessions, but I haven’t made much progress. And I think it’s because I only get very small parts to play in our productions. I think everyone needs to be given something to get their teeth into. I mean I don’t mind the draughty hall and giving up two nights a week to it, but I want to feel I’m getting somewhere. [27]
Speaker 3
People always say that you make new friends if you join a club, try something new. But for me it was the other way round. With my mates it was a case of ‘we’re doing golf this term; are you up for it or not?’ So I went along with the idea [23]. I guess the exercise doesn’t do me any harm, but I do find some of the people you meet there a bit superior [28]. So what if I haven’t improved my handicap or whatever it’s called? Anyway, the course isn’t far from the college, fortunately, and it’s a stunning location overlooking the sea, so I’m quite happy to do a round on my free afternoon – nice walk really!
Speaker 4
At first, I couldn’t find anybody else interested in badminton, so I put an advert on the college website. I’m not that skilled myself, but you can’t play on your own, and I thought a club would be a way of getting in touch with like-minded students on other courses [24]! I got a few replies, mostly people looking for a new way of getting some exercise. Trouble is, they don’t all turn up that regularly [29], so I feel kind of duty bound to be there to make sure there’s always a match. It’s a bit of a drag week-in, week-out, and we pay to hire the court – it’s not much, but it’d be a shame to waste it.
Speaker 5
I’d have done yoga if the sessions on campus had been at a more convenient time, but studying medicine you have more commitments than students on some other courses. So when a doctor I met at the hospital said they did Tai Chi at lunchtimes there, why didn’t I give it try, I thought ‘why not? [25]’ I have to pay, which wouldn’t be the case on campus, but that doesn’t matter, and I’ve met new friends as well as getting some exercise. I just wish they’d run a session at the university, then some of my friends might come along too [30]. I’m going to put an announcement on the website to see if anyone’s interested.
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