Archaeology is Rubbish. A Beginner's Guide

by Tony Robinson, Michael Aston

This new offering from the Time Team duo of Robinson and Aston brings another entertaining and light-hearted book to our shelves. `This is the story of a fantasy dig readers undertake in their back gardens to find out what bits of rubbish are buried there'. What starts out as a small hole grows into a full-scale excavation involving mechanical diggers, and reveals the remains of a Roman villa under a proposed supermarket. In amongst this story, the authors answer many of the frequently asked questions about archaeology and archaeologists, about the history of the discipline and about how a dig works. Robinson and Aston are entertaining and amusing as always.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Archaeology

216 pages, Paperback

First published October 11, 2002

About the author

Sir Tony Robinson is an English actor, comedian, amateur historian, TV presenter, author and political activist. He is known for playing "Baldrick" in the BBC television series Blackadder and for hosting Channel 4 programmes such as Time Team and The Worst Jobs in History.

Reviews

[Mrs B · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding -- and frequently amusing -- step-by-step introduction to field archaeology, timescales, and the basics of digging, with many less-obvious or less-well-known facts about the nature of British finds, archaeology as a career, and the rights and wrongs of snooping in the earth. Loaded with diagrams, it seems greedy to say that I could even have benefitted from a few more. Tons of photos, not so much for beauty as for pertinent illustrations. All-round, a terrific book and I would love to see one day a new edition, brought up to date. (Archaeology is these days a rapidly developing discipline.)

[Lee Broderick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Humorous introductory text to field archaeology, which nevertheless manages to convey all the basic principles better than some more scholarly textbooks. Uses a fictional case study (in your own back garden!) throughout to illustrate points.

[Mark Barnes · Rating 4 out of 5]

8/10 (very good): Easy to read and surprisingly practical, Archaeology Is Rubbish treads exactly the right line between too much and too little detail. A great read for all serious fans of Time Team.

[Dio Moore · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very enjoyable, amusing, easy to read book! Loads of interesting pictures. Definitely worth a read if you're interested in archaeology, as it takes you through the process of discovering and excavating a site, outlining what you need to do in the process.

[David Cooke · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well worth a read if you're at all interested in the subject

[Cheyvonne Bower · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great for beginners. Educational and entertaining.

[Turtleback · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it!

[Beorn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought I might be interested in archaeology because I have a passion for history.
This book pretty succinctly brought me to the realisation that I'm not.
Which is awkward as I'm enrolled on an 'Introduction To Archaeology' course due to start in a few weeks.

I can easily enjoy episodes of Time Team - of which this book is arguably a straight spin off from - but after a while this book just began to bore me,

Even if you think you're interested in archaeology, this book might change your mind.

3 out of 5 for the fact it's a good book it just didn't do much for me.

[Eleanor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderfully informative and practical...and funny. Hope Mick Aston lives forever!!