Julian Richards

Julian Richards is best known as the TV archaeologist from Meet the Ancestors and Blood of the Vikings. He loves Stonehenge – and has even written a pop-up book about it!

Latest questions answered by Julian Richards

Have you ever found any gold and if you have how much was it worth? Piper (12)

No, I have never found any gold myself – possibly something to do with spending a lot of time digging Neolithic sites (Stone Age – before any metals […]

How do you date the objects that you find? Elsie (9)

Sometimes we date objects just by looking at them. Things like pots are very good for this as the sort of clay that they are made of, as […]

Can you compare and contrast the Bronze and Iron Ages. How are they alike? Kiyla Hill (12)

Oh this sounds like one of the questions I had to answer a long time ago when I last took exams – ‘compare and contrast’…! In some ways […]

How ‘old’ does a structure or hedge need to be, to leave a visible trace or ‘ghost’ line visible today? William Makeham

A structure doesn’t need to be very old at all before it leaves a visible trace on the landscape. That’s why archaeologists need to be very careful when […]

Is archaeology fun? Sarah Taylor

What a daft question….of course it’s fun! What could be more fun than spending time outdoors with a bunch of friends digging in the soil and finding fascinating […]

What kind of kit do you need to be an archaeologist? Jack Evans (10)

You don’t really need much kit to get started in archaeology. It’s important if you are going digging to wear the right clothes – nothing that you’re bothered […]

Is it good to do work experience in a museum even if it’s not an archaeology museum? What type of work experience did you do? Aiyesha (14)

I would always say that getting some work experience is a good idea – the key thing is that it’s experience of work, which is very different from […]

What is the best and most exciting object you have ever discovered? Jalil (8)

That’s a really difficult question as I have now been digging for 45 years (!) and in that time I’ve been lucky enough to find lots of exciting […]

What types of evidence do archaeologists use? Abraham (12)

Archaeologists aren’t fussy, they use any evidence that they can get their hands on. Even before you start to dig there is the evidence from earthworks, the humps […]

What tools do archaeologists use? Hugo Rail

Everyone thinks that archaeologists just use trowels and toothbrushes and larger tools like pickaxes and shovels when they are exploring a site, but these days there are lot […]

Can you list all of the objects that archaeologists may find? Karuna (19)

Probably not as it would be a very, very long list! Basically if it has been made then we should be able to find it given the right […]

When on a dig, what is the atmosphere like when the first artefact is recovered? Abigail Waller (13)

It all depends on the type of site that’s being dug and also on what that first artefact is. It’s always nice when you actually start finding something […]

My question is what should I be doing now if I want to be an archaeologist? Ben Broadbent (15)

I’m glad to hear that you want to be an archaeologist, Ben – even though you do like the Romans! As far as academic qualifications are concerned then […]

How much does an archaeologist earn per month? Tshedza Maradwa (13)

The answer is probably ‘not enough’ … but, as with any profession, earnings vary according to experience and qualifications. If you want to get an idea of what […]

How did Rome end? Toby (11)

This is a difficult one for me. As a prehistorian, it is my belief that civilisation in Britain ended with the arrival of the Romans in AD 43 […]

With all the new technology do you think that some day there will be no need for archaeologists to do hands on digging? I hope not! Aimee Baumanis (9)

I don’t know as I have seen so many changes to technology like geophysical survey in the (very) long time I have worked in archaeology that nothing would […]

What’s your favourite part of Stonehenge? Elizabeth Allen (9)

My favourite part of Stonehenge is the outer circle of huge sarsens as it is such an amazing structure. Not only have those massive stones been moved over […]

Who is the most famous archaeologist in the world?Seth Jackson (6)

That’s a difficult one….. there are lots of famous archaeologists, some famous because of the great discoveries that they have made and some famous as they have been […]

What is the oldest known fossil? Noah (6)

The oldest fossil in the world is a smelly little microbe that was found in Australia – and this is 3.5 billion years old. But archaeologists are interested […]

How long has Greenland been known? Lydia (7)

We know people have lived on Greenland for at least 4,500 years but it was probably known about long before that. The first Greenlanders were Arctic peoples from […]

In your opinion, what would you say is the worst part of being an archaeologist? Akosua Asomani

The worst (and really the only bad) part of being an archaeologist is having to deal with the weather. If it’s good then everyone is happy, you can […]

How does archaeology help show us what women’s lives were like before we had (many) written records?Dorothy Hakim (16)

I’m going to stick to prehistory here. This is a difficult one to answer as without written records we cannot be certain of which roles within society were […]

Do you like being an archaeologist? What is the best thing about it? Caoimhe Durkin

Of course I like being an archaeologist! I’ve been doing it all my life (first dig in 1970…..) and the best thing, which still makes me excited, is […]

How does skin disappear from human remains? Mimi

What a pleasant subject! Most of the time when we finds the remains of a person who died a long time ago all we will find is the […]

What skills do you need to be an archaeologist? Mia Carter

I’m not sure if you would class these as skills but the two things that I think you need to be an archaeologist are to be nosy, to […]

What things do you most often find on your digs? Grace Rawlinson (7)

It depends on the date of the site that you are digging and also what type of site it is. If it’s a Neolithic (late Stone Age) site, […]

Why did Mount Vesuvius erupt? Lydia (7)

I presume that you are asking about the famous eruption of AD 79 which buried the city of Pompeii under layers of ash, creating an amazing time capsule […]

Can you please tell me something about typology method in archaeology? Erestina

Typology is the study of ‘types’ .To put it simply, it’s a way of dividing ‘things’ (in the case of archaeology usually small objects like pots or flint […]

Have you ever found a mummy? Kallie (11)

No, I have never found a mummy because I have never dug in Egypt or anywhere where mummified remains have been found, usually very hot dry places. In […]

I live near Chichester in West Sussex. What Stone Age or Iron Age or Bronze Age stuff has been found near here? Alex Dipple (7)

That is a very big question…. What you need to do is to get someone to help you look on something called ‘Pastscape’, which is a great website […]

My question is, how long have you been an archaeologist? Louise

That’s an easy one to answer! I went on my first dig in my home town of Nottingham in 1970 – so I have been an archaeologist for […]

Why are old things sooo important? Brian (11)

Not all old things are important. A Roman coin that is found in an excavation so we know exactly where it came from could be very important in […]

Why did the Romans capture Boudicca and her tribe? Stacey (14)

The Romans did not capture Boudicca following her defeat after leading a revolt against them. It is not certain whether she killed herself to avoid capture or simply […]

How did the Jurassic end? Ricardo (12)

Sorry but this is not a question for an archaeologist – archaeologists study human history which even at the very earliest stretches back to about 2 million years […]

Is the Trojan horse a myth? Ricardo (12)

It’s a story, and a very good one, but we have no way of telling whether or not it was based on facts.

Were the Scythians important people? Kloe (12)

I’m not trying to get out of the answering the question (honest!) but I’m not sure how you define ‘important’. The Scythians were a nomadic people who, in […]

Is finding artefacts often hard? Kloe (12)

It depends on what artefacts you are looking for and where you are looking for them. Some are tiny (like Mesolithic microliths) so we have to sieve the […]

We are writing explanation texts about how to do an archaeological dig and we would love to know your best tip! Thank you! From the Lower School children at Cove Junior School

I’m sorry that this is a bit late but I have been away in Austria putting together an exhibition about Stonehenge – there is a connection! You asked […]

Is it easy to find a well-paid at least properly paid job in archaeology today? Whether in a museum or in the field? Juliette (15)

It depends what you mean by ‘well-paid’… There are properly paid jobs in archaeology, both in the field and in museums, but there are not that many, especially […]

Is it true that the word hieroglyphics means ‘sacred writing’ in ancient Greek, and why did people lose the ability to write hieroglyphs? Justin (11)

You are sort of right, Justin, ‘hieroglyphics’ means ‘God’s writing’ in Egyptian. I don’t think that people lost the ability to write hieroglyphs, they were used from around […]

When did the world start? Ewan (9)

This isn’t really an archaeology question. If you believe the ‘Big Bang Theory’ (the science not the TV programme!) then our universe came into being between 10 and […]

Why did Egyptians mummify the dead? Ella (10)

Like many societies, the ancient Egyptians believed in an afterlife, and that when someone died they would go on to another world. But they also believed that to […]

What’s the best thing you have dug up? Olivia (8)

When people ask me this question it’s always a difficult one to answer! Probably the best single object I have ever found as a bronze dagger from about […]

I’m currently in high school and would like to pursue a career as an archaeologist, however we are not exposed to it at school. How do I go about doing this? Chrish (17)

As you are already 17, you a bit too old to be a member of a Young Archaeologists’ Club. However, if you live in the UK and there’s […]

I have been watching a lot of documentaries, and is there actually a chance that humans have lived with dinosaurs? Valkyrie (12)

I am not sure what sort of ‘documentaries’ you have been watching, it wasn’t the Flintstones was it? I’m afraid there is no chance that humans ever lived […]

How do you think dinosaurs became extinct? Emma (8)

Sorry Emma this is one for a palaeontologist not an archaeologist! Archaeologists deal with human history which goes back at the very most 3 million years and the […]

I was wondering if you have dug up any weapons or toys used by people in Mesopotamia? Austin Edwards

Sorry Austin but most of my digging has been done in Britain (with a bit in Norway) so I haven’t ever found anything Mesopotamian.

How do you calculate the year of swords or crowns? Husni

The same as you calculate the age of any object, by comparing it to other examples that you know the date of. So, if you found a sword, […]

Who were Christian Jurgensen Thomsen’s students during the pioneering or speculative period? Daniel

I’m not sure what you mean by the ‘speculative period’ – Thomsen, a Danish archaeologist, was the first to divide up prehistory into three ages, of Stone, Bronze […]

Hi, I have been doing some of my own research into the field of archaeology and have come across the term PYF. I was hoping you could give me some insight into what it means. Duncan

I have to say that I have never come across the term PYF in archaeology – and neither has anyone else I have talked to. If you look […]