Detectorists vs Time Team

Cursed Objects

Recorded on a hungover rainy Sunday, it's a history-on-TV episode, and it's an episode about HISTORY IN THE FIELD. Literally in the field, or rather in a field: metal detecting, archeology, and a little bit of mudlarking on the side. Don't we all want to find some buried treasure?

This week, Dan and Kasia talk about the sweet and gently profound Mackenzie Crook sitcom Detectorists, and what a powerful case it makes for 'ordinary civilians' doing grassroots history as a hobby. Maybe we all have a Saxon burial ground underneath our feet? Isn't that a thrilling thought? Can even a ringpull from a can of Tizer help bring the 1980s to life? Then there's Time Team, the show responsible for bringing archeology to the masses and making it sexy - how did it end up as a YouTube show, and what became of the anti-establishment hero at the heart of it (we're not talking about Tony Robinson, sorry Tony).

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Theme music and production: Mr Beatnick

Artwork: Archie Bashford