Gypsum proves to be a remarkable preserver of Roman history
Gypsum proves to be a remarkable preserver of Roman history
Liquid gypsum is used today to improve the quality of clay soil, but in Roman times, it had a quite different application.
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Burn time
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Burn time
Another summer has left its legacy of sunburn as skin cancer warnings lose a battle with online influencers.
Scrolling in a sewer
Scrolling in a sewer
What do teenage boys see on TikTok?
Food for exercise
Holistic fitness: Food for exercise
If we think of fats, proteins and carbohydrates as the building blocks of our food, then vitamins and minerals are the nuts and bolts.
Recognising the impact of female archaeologists
Recognising the impact of female archaeologists
As I am writing this it is International Women’s Day, and how appropriate to look back on the many contributions that women have made to understanding our human past.
Slow down for secondhand style
Slow down for secondhand style
There is a pair of jeans in my wardrobe I have worn and patched and worn again more times than I can count.
Visitors among us
Visitors among us
Every now and then an astronomer finds themselves asking a question that sounds faintly ridiculous but is, in fact, perfectly reasonable.
Working together to learn more
Working together to learn more
On calm nights in Middlemarch, when the wind drops and the paddocks fall quiet, my usual practice is to step outside before bed and gaze upwards.
Setting suffrage story straight
Setting suffrage story straight
The role of leading Dunedin suffrage campaigner Harriet Morison has been cancelled, Jane Tolerton argues. It is past time the fervent unionist and feminist was given her due.
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Heading north to meet his mum
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Heading north to meet his mum
Reet enough, the Yorkshireman and I are off to the north, the far north and Scotland in a couple of months to meet his mum.
Splashing out of the gene pool
Splashing out of the gene pool
Whenever we have out of town visitors staying, I take them on an expedition to the Aramoana mole, at the mouth of Otago Harbour. There, without fail, we can see New Zealand fur-seals on the rocks...
Steam dreams roll out at scale
Steam dreams roll out at scale
Steam didn’t get the traction in the South that some expected, Peter Read writes. But for some it was still the very model of progress.
Virtual museums make finds more accessible
Virtual museums make finds more accessible
When I began studying archaeology nearly 70 years ago, my professor illustrated his lectures with the aid of glass slides projected through an antediluvian machine known as an epidiascope.
Days of the pioneers
Days of the pioneers
Long before the likes of Lord of the Rings and The Power of the Dog discovered the stunning backdrops of Otago’s outback, there was a locally made TV drama that set the benchmark of what was to follow.
Parasitic wasps make it a bad day to be a spider
Parasitic wasps make it a bad day to be a spider
Dr Keith Probert took this excellent photograph of a bright red female spider wasp.
Lunar eclipse glows in South
Lunar eclipse glows in South
It's the celestial highlight of the year: a total lunar eclipse - and sky watchers in the South were out to capture it.
Embracing indigenous leadership
Embracing indigenous leadership
In a new collection of essays penned by a wide range of New Zealanders, Kiwis in Climate, Prof Jacinta Ruru writes about "Giving voice to iwi in caring for lands and waters".
A stranger to sleep
A stranger to sleep
A restless night might be nothing to lose sleep over, write Charlotte Gupta and Dayna Easton.
Lunar eclipse perfectly placed
Lunar eclipse perfectly placed
On Tuesday evening, as the last light fades over Otago Harbour and the first stars appear, something rather wonderful will begin.
Honouring our animal companions in death
Honouring our animal companions in death
In a recent "Faith and Reason" column, David Tombs wrote about Gravedigger Bob, a Brazilian dog that so missed its master that it camped out in his cemetery and was ultimately buried there.
