Book Feature: Carter, Carnarvon, Curses and Conspiracies

The circumstances of the discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun by Howard Carter and Lord Carnarvon, and the story of the curse placed on those who entered it, together form the basis of one of the greatest conspiracy theories in the history of archaeology. But is it just that - a theory? - or "one of the most daring hoaxes in history, devised by two Englishmen of repute"?! Two new books present different approaches to investigating the truth ...

Book Feature: Are you interested in rifling through garbage, or excavating a glass factory? Perhaps not, but the archaeology of our modern cities may still have something to offer you.

Sometimes I find the derelict remains of an old textiles factory strangely beautiful ... red brick and rust luminous in the evening light. And there is something compelling to me about disused railway lines overgrown with grass ... and the still head of an abandoned oil-pump. Have I been staring at too many photographs by Bernd and Hilla Becher recently? The fact that I found great pleasure browsing a new excavation report on Pilkingtons' glass factory at the 'Hotties' site at St Helens, Merseyside, UK was a bit disturbing, which got me to thinking about archaeology in modern cities ... it fascinates some, and bores others, but is there a middle ground?

Of all the new books that have passed over the desks of the Oxbow staff this month, these, for whatever reason, are the ones that grabbed their attention.

Meet the Editor: Daniel Miller and "Materializing Culture"

Daniel Miller is part of a small team of editors which produce the series Materializing Culture for Berg Publishers. The series has established a reputation for creative inter-disciplinary studies on material culture, so I made an attempt to disrupt Danny's busy schedule and to find out the secret of their success ...

Meet the Author: Sue Alcock

Issues of memory and commemoration have been at forefront of our thoughts (and newspapers) over the past year and more ... similarly, archaeological dialogue about the role of memory and monuments in the landscapes of the distant past seems to have picked up momentum. At the risk of exposing myself to accusations of favouritism, and worse, I have been pursuing Sue Alcock across the ether to ask her about her new book:

Archaeologies of the Greek Past: Landscape, Monuments, and Memories

Sue Alcock is John H. D'Arms Collegiate Professor of Classical Archaeology and Classics and Arthur F. Thurnau Professor at the University of Michigan and Curator in Michigan's Kelsey Museum of Archaeology. She was recently awarded a MacArthur Fellowship by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and has been commended for her outstanding contribution to undergraduate teaching. In this interview I discuss with Sue how she became interested in the theme of memory, and how her ideas have developed in the light of current events.