Glastonbury fieldtrip

Last week we took the first year anthropology students to Glastonbury. Our archaeology expert, Dr. Stuart Prior, guided them through the archaeological context so they could understand the site's rich history. The region's legacy informs many aspects of everyday life and this was explored under various themes (food, ritual, commodities, etc.) - students were divided into fourteen groups and conducted their own research throughout the day.

I documented the experience and made a short video - check it out!

Big booms and salty tears

Shall we start with the big news, and get it out of the way? Only the little fact that our excavations on Hatteras Island have been covered by NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC. Seriously, natgeo, the legends themselves hopped over to see what we've been working on, and they loved it.

Check out the story here

In other news, we were back at Berkeley Castle yesterday to do a little filming with Dr. Ruth Farrar of SheExtreme.

The greatest joy of sound recording? You get to tell other people to be quiet and don't get in trouble for it ;-)

Meanwhile, the PhD is ticking along and progress has been made with significant rewrites and pushing myself boldly where I really don't want, but need, to go.

In June, I hosted my favourite ninja friends on a visit from Ireland. Last month, was full of ups and downs.  I helped out with the National Sustainable Schools SEED Conference, doing bits of filming for their online content. I got a chance to work with the Realising Opportunities students I am tutoring. A bunch of archaeology students led an interactive bonanza of archaeological goodness for all the family as part of the Festival of Archaeology. Unfortunately, the month also marked the passing of my ever-vivacious granny Nancy, a fine woman who reached the grand age of 97 with all her own teeth and a wicked sense of humour. Card shark, messer, shenanigans-instigator... we will miss her forever.

Tierney Towers will probably be very quite for the next couple of months as I gradually build a cocoon filled with papers, books and calcified tears - that's right folks - the final months of the PhD are upon me and I am rightly TERRIFIED!

Sustainability and cake

My sustainable development education role at the University means a lot to me. I've been working at it for over 3 years and, while it's not archaeology *my one true love*, the subject is worthy of the attention it is starting to get nationally. Plus, I'm constantly finding new and exciting ways to re-assess archaeology and anthropology by reflecting on broader issues of ESD (Education for Sustainable Development). So, you can imagine my surprise and glee when I got nominated and then shortlisted for a Sustainability Award, part of a larger annual Awards programme run by the Bristol Students' Union.
You can see all the categories and shortlisted people here:
https://www.bristolsu.org.uk/news/article/UBU/Bristol-SU-Awards-the-shortlist-is-announced/

This comes quick on the heals of the accreditation received institutionally as part of the NUS's "Responsible Futures" initiative, in which thirteen other universities participated. We were delighted to have all our hard work acknowledged. For us, this wasn't some tick-box exercise or agenda-laden league  table. It was more important as a means of showcasing the large-scale team effort and successes across the whole institution and the Students' Union, and also serves as a transparent benchmarking trial.
Read the Uni's press release on this student-led social responsibility and sustainability scheme:
http://www.bristol.ac.uk/news/2015/june/responsible-futures.html

There won't be a cake left in sight.

In other news, things are moving along nicely at Berkeley with all my engagement projects. Today brought a massive burst of joy onto site when legendary archaeologist and BAJR leader, David Connolly, gave us £100 to spend on cake to thank the community of Berkeley for their participation in the Town Museum project. We're just winding down on the project now, but the feedback we've received so far has been immensely positive. Critically for me, the students have seemed to love it too, learning and developing an arsenal of transferable skills.

Tomorrow's task - buy all the cake.

Back in time at Berkeley

We are gearing up for another student-training and research excavation at Berkeley Castle, starting from 18th May. While going through the archive I found some pics back when I did some digging in the churchyard in 2011 (new toilet pipe was going in, so glamorous). Don't forget to catch up with us during this season- facebook - twitter - blog.

They keep us working fast by threatening diggers with machinery (not really, they are all very lovely)

A difficult spot to dig, I can promise you!

Where spelunking and speleology meet

Not really, but I love those words, spelunking and speleology. Rolls off the tongue better than "archaeological site recording at a listed artificial commercial cave site".

I was recently back at the Hell-Fire Caves to make some additional notations to my laser scan data. Thanks to fellow PG Charlie Goudge for bed, board &; survey assistance (and photos!). Her granny joined us half way through for a visit, which was a first. More fieldwork should feature grannies.

The more times I'm in the "Childrens Cave", the creepier it gets

Dig Hatteras

Since late March, I have been helping out on Prof. Mark Horton's excavations on Hatteras Island, North Colony. The site is tied to the lost colony of America, so there is lots of excitement and intrigue. Catch up on the project here: www.facebook.com/dighatteras.

Student Rock Art

Did you ever wonder what would happen if you asked your students to express their own narratives in the style of ancient rock art? I did. And there was a point to it.


The exercise allows them to express any story, be it their adventures at the weekend, travel experiences, a fairytale, or a soap opera issue. Whatever they like.

They draw the image(s) and then swap with their peers. The group tries to figure out what the story was about. It can be much more difficult that you might think, and misunderstandings are almost guranteed.

Students quickly see that even within their own broadly culturally homogenous group, interpretation is fraught with difficulties. Which leads them to understand how tricky interpretation of (particularly prehistoric) material can be.

Plus, it's lots of silly fun! The prefect lesson to finish off the term before the holiday break.

Check out the first batch of uploaded images here:

http://studentrockart.tumblr.com/

Stanton Drew fieldtrip

Just a short drive outside of Bristol are the beautiful stone circles of Stanton Drew. I accompanied Prof. Mark Horton and our enthusiastic third years on a fieldtrip that introduced secondary school students from Merchant's Academy to the world of Archaeology.

It was cold and windy, but nothing could dull Mark's excitement as he raced through thousands of years of history in just an hour. Students got hands on with the stones, climbing on top of the monuments and seeing the scale in person was quite impressive. They were amazed to hear how far away the source of the stonework was, and surprised to hear that it was once filled with timber posts. They ventured their own ideas on interpretation, and I must admit we were very impressed with some of their ideas - a bright bunch this lot!

Pof Mark Horton

Merchant's Academy students at Stanton Drew

As the sun set we headed to three stones behind the Druid's Arms pub. One appears to have fallen down over the ages. Mark tried out some experimental archaeology and his idea that the semicircular shape could have acted as a sound projection (video footage, below). Great fun and especially engaging as it was interactive. We also have plans to try and get students from the school to come on site to Berkeley during the summer.

Mark Horton laughing in front of a giant straw Minion... of course

Teaching Archaeology & the Media

This year, my supervisor and I were very excited to receive funding from the University of Bristol to conduct some innovative teaching approaches on concepts around "Archaeology and the Media" including social media. The first two sessions took place over the last couple of weeks and student feedback was very promising.

The aim of teaching was to provide students with competencies, strategies and ethics in how to deal with media channels, journalists, social media, etc. (I wasn't teaching them "how to do a tweet"!).

I've adopted a crowdsourcing activity I saw at a HEA workshop earlier this year and mixed up my lecture delivery style with interactive elements. Students responded to both the break of lecture (*brain relief*) and the chance to discuss and hash out what they just learned in small groups, and then bring it back to the larger group.

It's difficult to prove, unless I tie this in to examinations, but I think this process helps with retention of information. It's well understood that we only retain a small precentage of what we hear and write down, but by bolstering this with discussion and reflection, learning is reinforced immediately. By interacting, students also feel more involved, and participation can enhance enjoyment and enthusiasm for the subject.

In addition to one of the lectures, I was also given blocks of seminar time to further develop ideas grounded on the case study of the Berkeley Castle Excavations social media project. I created a loose frame within which the students were encouraged to work independently and collaboratively, at their own speed, following their own interests, with me placed to provide direction and support as required. Again, this was highly effective and many students commented on how they enjoyed this relaxed environment where any idea was welcomed. The added bonus was that students became even more encouraged to join the social media team this summer (hooray!).

In the coming weeks and months, I will be further developing my approaches and writing up my findings. After the summer excavation period, I will produce a report for the University which will contain a model of my approaches that can be lifted and applied to a wide range of subjects (especially those that conduct fieldwork) - this will be made available freely once internally approved. 

Remembering the Great War

Back in May/June, the University asked me to plan and manage the Colston Research Symposium: "Remembering the Great War: Perspectives from the Local to the Global". We invited the finest speakers from across the land, see below, and the attendees were just as important!

Hosted at Wills Hall on 23 October, the atmosphere was excited and expectant. Check out the social media buzz, along with photos: https://storify.com/tierneae/colston-research-society-2014#publicize

Afterwards, we travelled the Wills Memorial Building, up to the Great Hall to hear from Sir Max Hastings on "Catastrophe 1914". The massive room was packed to near full capacity as hundreds of people sat for the powerful talk.

Dinner at Merchant's Hall, Clifton, Bristol

I was fortunate to then be invited along with speakers and select guests to Merchant's Hall for a very fine dinner. All in all, a very long, busy and rewarding day!

RENKEI Review

Have a read of the blog I wrote for the Cabot Institute, University of Bristol.
It's all about my experiences during the RENKEI Summer School, Japan, focusing on Energy and Sustainability:
http://cabot-institute.blogspot.co.uk/2014/11/energy-supply-experiences-of.html

September in Japan

It finally happened - a dream came true - I got to travel to Japan. As one may expect, I was overly excited by this occurrence. I have my sustainability work to thank for the opportunity, as I went to take part in a week long summer school in Tohoku University, part of the RENKEI programme which is a UK-Japan effort. This summer's theme was on Energy Supply within Traditional and Environmentally Conscious Growth Models. I am forever indebted to the University of Bristol for helping make it happen (PVC Nick Lieven for funding provided and Chris Willmore for accepting my application).

Prof. Nakata of Tohoku University presented on Energy and Communities, and acted as our lead academic for the week

While in the city of Sendai during my academic week, I travelled to the local incinerator plant (my first, and super clean), toured the local Toyota factory (very interesting), partook in lots of group work, attended a vast assortment of excellent lectures, and, on the last day, toured tsunami devastated regions to the north.

The best way to explain how incinerators work is, apparently, to use moving light up dinosaurs

We got behind the scenes at the Toyota factory and had talks by leading engineers and directors within the company

The tsunami devastation was contrasted with the scenic beauty that survived

After the week of serious learning, I took off on a roaring tour across Tokyo, Kyoto and Hakone with the fella. Madness ensued. Friends were made. We even invented a new game "Yoshi Soccer"* in a tiny tavern. Used tree-top-skimming glass boxes as transport. Ridiculous boats across volcanic lakes.Endured the Robot Restaurant (so shiny). Geeked out. Cuddle the cat café cats. Were *maid* to feel weird in the Maid Café. Climbed sky trees. Walk under bamboo groves. Witnessed the bling of the Golden Pavillion. Sank into steaming mountain water pools. Dressed in the finest kosode. Drank purple sweet potato milkshakes. Ate lots of things that we didn't understand. Galavanted around castles. Toured Buddhist shrines. Saw open air sculptures. Laughed at swan boats. Museumed. And other things.

Blingtastic. The Golden Pavillion, Kyoto

Bristol Archaeology & Anthropology

I've just created the Bristol Archaeology & Anthropology Facebook page. We have private groups, but they are not really suitable for public consumption - too many shenigans - so now we have a delightful new welcoming page for new researchers, staff and students, full to the brim with recent news stories. I imagine it will evolve in response to how the Bristol gang use it.
But if you don't like the page, you'll never find out!

https://www.facebook.com/bristolarchanth

Everyone likes to be liked....

Good News!

I am very very very lucky to have just been awarded the Read-Tuckwell Scholarship from the University of Bristol. Given that I am self-funding this makes a massive difference for me as I head into the last year of my studies. Hooray!

Department news post: http://bristol.ac.uk/archanth/news/2014/01190814

#PhDFTW

#AWESOME

#HAPPY

#EXCITEMENT

June is for winning and scanning

Last week I conducted a 3D laser scan of the Hell-Fire Caves at West Wycombe. We took millions upon millions of data points and the full extent is so epic it deserves proper reflection and a proper write up - so expect that soon. And again, a super huge thanks to the British Geological Survey for making my laser scanning dreams come true! They are absolute legends and a pleasure to work with. And to the cave owners and staff - a massive thanks for allowing me unfettered access and for being so welcoming.Here's a teaser behind the scenes shot:

Lee from the BGS using the Faro 3D laser scanner at the Hell-Fire Caves

June was also a good month for awards - my supervisor and I were just awarded a University Teaching Development Grant for my projects involving social media embedded within the annual Berkeley Castle Project. This follows an award from the University's Green Apple Scheme for a community engagement and ethics project (also embedded within the BCP) - I'm in the process of drafting the evaluation for this and the second part of the award will see me set up a temporary exhibition around the town of Berkeley.

Plus, (yes, even more!), I was shortlisted for a University Award for Enhancing the Student Learning Experience - and received a commendation. Quote from Professor Judith Squires, Pro Vice-Chancellor (Education):

"...you clearly have excelled in your role and the contribution you have made in promoting the University theme of Education for Sustainable Development, in both transformative and innovative capacity, is very much appreciated. On behalf of the University I would like to formally commend and convey our gratitude to you."

I've also joined the REACT team and will be testing a multimedia object box in a school next week. Read more about the project here: http://www.react-hub.org.uk/objects-sandbox/projects/2014/reflector/

The story of ESD at Bristol so far - my perspective

This is a short report of my reflections on my internship with the University of Bristol - looking at Education for Sustainable Development. I wrote this storify as part of the online course E-learning and Digital Cultures (Coursera), it's my digital artefact assignment - hope you enjoy it!

Catch up photos from Berkeley Castle excavations

I had a chance to get out to Berkeley Castle last month during the University's excavations (run by the astoundingly good archaeologists Emily Glass and Sian Thomas). While the weather didn't hold the entire time, the students really got stuck in and did a fantastic job. I also got to run the one-day post-excavation session with a local school - those kids were a bunch of bright sparks and picked up the run of things quick smart.

Undergraduate students excavating:

Maritime Archaeology survey: interview with Sam and Tom

Check out this quick interview with University of Bristol Maritime Archaeology MA graduates who are working on their NAS (Nautical Archaeology Society) training -
Maritime Archaeology: interview with Sam and Tom

Photos from our productive day of survey work at Purton on the Severn (15/07/2012):

Spreading the Word - Theology and Religious Studies Conference

A special thanks to the organisers of the recent Religion and Theology Conference for all their hard work this year! Here's an informal chat, reflecting on the conference:

Disseminating Theology and Religious Studies: Conference Reflections - Part 1

Follow the conference and get ready for next year:
http://twitter.com/#!/pgTRSconference

http://www.facebook.com/pgTRSconference

BBC 5 Live Interview with Giles Dilnot and Win Scutt

You can listen to my recent BBC 5 Live interview here (if the below file doesn't work, try this link http://soundcloud.com/tierneae/bbc5live-13-dec-2011-hfc-with)
BBC5Live 13 Dec 2011 HFC with Win Scutt. Presented by Giles Dilnot by tierneae
 I discuss my PhD research on the Hell-Fire Clubs.