“A few filthy features”
As archaeologists we almost exclusively describe and interpret the physical evidence of past human activity in visual terms, through maps, photos, and descriptions of what the archaeological features...
View ArticleIn which the emanation of effluvia is offensive to one’s senses
Continuing on from last week’s blog, today’s post takes a look (or a sniff, if you will) at the aromas of everyday life inside a Victorian house. Smell is such an intrinsic part of human life, yet so...
View ArticleNo poo in the sewers, please…
In previous blog posts we’ve touched upon the smells of 19th century Christchurch and how, in the absence of an organised sewerage and rubbish disposal system, early Christchurch was, at the best of...
View ArticleEverything’s coming up roses (and lilies and jasmine and violets)
It is a truth universally acknowledged that a man or woman in possession of natural body odour is most definitely in want of something to cover it up. At least, in today’s society, it certainly seems...
View ArticleSo, hair’s the thing…
As one 19th century advertisement begins, “in every civilised country throughout the world the human hair is always found to be a subject of peculiar attention.” For centuries, millenia even, we have...
View ArticleGood beard, bad beard, red beard, blue beard: facial hair in Victorian...
Part the First Movember is upon us once again, and to celebrate Undershaved Overgrown Archaeology brings to you a brief history of facial hair in Aotearoa. Movember is all about men’s health, and we’ve...
View ArticleToilet humour
This week on the blog, a selection of chamber pots for your perusal, ranked according to my entirely objective, and not at all arbitrary, assessment of how fancy they are. This is accompanied by my...
View ArticleLong-drops from long ago
It’s something so mundane that it forms a part of our everyday lives and it’s as inescapable as death and taxes. Even though we spoke of it last week on the blog, it’s something people don’t often...
View ArticleUp in smoke: Christchurch Destructor
At the turn of the 20th century, Christchurch’s rubbish disposal underwent a fiery transformation. After 50 years of settlement, Christchurch was facing a rubbish crisis that was starting to get people...
View ArticleLife’s a beach
It’s that time of year again, the summer season is upon us, and this year has really has brought the heat! With much of the country sweltering in the late 20s and early 30s lately, it’s made us...
View ArticleCocaine Cough Medicine and Liquid Mercury Eye Drops
It’s that time of year again. The days are getting shorter, the nights are getting colder, and the number of people coughing and sneezing in the office is increasing day by day. Flu season is here, and...
View Article70 years of quarantine: the archaeology of Ōtamahua/Quail Island
Today Aotearoa continues to take tentative steps back into level 2 of the Covid-19 response, so you might think it strange that I would be voluntarily stepping back into quarantine. But we’re the...
View ArticlePrivies, Water Closets and Pan Closets: Sanitation in 19th century Christchurch
Toilet, loo, lavatory, water closet, restroom, bathroom – no matter what you call it, they all refer to the same thing: the porcelain throne on which we spend an average of three hours and nine...
View Article
More Pages to Explore .....