And so the curtain rolls back to reveal your favourite archaeologists standing upon stage and blinking nervously in the spotlight. Will we be able to remember our lines? Will we fumble and gurn and just end up embarrassing ourselves, our mothers and our institutions?

Highly unlikely, for we are in fact consummate professionals, brought up to tread the boards and amuse the public with our antics. We are archaeologist. What is more, we are the best kind of archaeologist – the historical kind.

Over November 2026, we’re unleashing our powers of archaeology on the unsuspecting green paradise of Norfolk Island. Funded by an Australian Research Council Discovery grant, we’ll be working in tandem with the managers of the Kingston and Arthur’s Vale Historic Area (KAVHA) in an archaeological programme that will rewrite how we view the entirety of human history. A month of excavation, artefact and archaeobotanical analysis, historical and landscape research will provide all the answers to all the questions.

So, follow along as we get down and we get dirty from November 9. Through this irregular missive we’ll share some of our research methods and results, as well as our more sordid unformed musings. Don’t expect to learn too much. But do expect to be amazed and astounded at what archaeologists get up to when they are allowed out and about.

Norfolk Island archaeological team 2026 

Roomba at work