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Bright lights, small city
Articles, Christchurch uncovered
Beware the darkness, children, for there be monsters We love to characterise the dark as something to be feared, the territory of nightmares, of ghouls and ghosts and things that go bump. In our collective psyche it belongs to the … Continue reading →
Ironing out the creases
Articles, Christchurch uncovered
Sometimes we come across such a spectacular artefact, that we are inspired to look a little deeper into the historical industry from which it was used. The discovery of a charcoal clothes iron got me thinking about the domestic lives … Continue reading →
And yet, she persisted
Articles, Christchurch uncovered
Many of you will already know that Christchurch has a fascinating political history, from labour movements to radical social reform to the campaign for women’s suffrage. It is to my eternal disappointment that this “great ferment of ideas”, as Jim McAloon … Continue reading →
Winter is coming…
Articles, Christchurch uncovered
The chilly weather in Christchurch of late has many of us dreaming of glistening seas, white sand beaches and pina coladas. A while ago, “winter is coming” gags were being fired about among the many Game of Thrones fans, and … Continue reading →
All things great and small
Articles, Christchurch uncovered
Here at Underground Overground Archaeology we try not to sweat the small stuff – particularly because the small stuff we find is often super cool and makes us say “aww, that’s cute!”, similar to the way many people react when … Continue reading →
Up in smoke: Christchurch Destructor
Articles, Christchurch uncovered
At the turn of the 20th century, Christchurch’s rubbish disposal underwent a fiery transformation. After 50 years of settlement, Christchurch was facing a rubbish crisis that was starting to get people worried. The council’s weekly kerbside rubbish collection service, which … Continue reading →
Long-drops from long ago
Articles, Christchurch uncovered
It’s something so mundane that it forms a part of our everyday lives and it’s as inescapable as death and taxes. Even though we spoke of it last week on the blog, it’s something people don’t often speak about and … Continue reading →
Keen to have a cuppa
Articles, Christchurch uncovered
This week on the blog, a bunch of teacups classified according to how cute I think they are. It won’t be as fun as talking to God on the porcelain telephone, but teacups also give us heaps of scope! Thinking … Continue reading →
A penny for your thoughts…
Articles, Christchurch uncovered
Money, as Liza Minnelli has told us, makes the world go around. It is such an intricate and constant part of the societies we live in, a factor upon which so many of our actions – collectively and individually – are … Continue reading →
Touring the past
Articles, Christchurch uncovered
It seems almost expected now that many of us will go on semi-frequent overseas jaunts and visit the spectacular local scenery that New Zealand has to offer. However, most of us probably don’t often think about when these destinations became … Continue reading →
2017: The year that was
Articles, Christchurch uncovered
Yet another year gone! It’s been a strange one, out there in the world, but here at Underground Overground it’s been a year of excavation, discoveries, stories and all things archaeological. In the proper spirit of history, let’s take a … Continue reading →
Life’s a beach
Articles, Christchurch uncovered
It’s that time of year again, the summer season is upon us, and this year has really has brought the heat! With much of the country sweltering in the late 20s and early 30s lately, it’s made us appreciate the … Continue reading →
Elixirs, Ointments and Tonics: Medicine in Nineteenth Century Christchurch
Articles, Christchurch uncovered
As part of the New Zealand Archaeology Week, Clara recently gave a talk entitled, Elixirs, Ointments and Tonics: Medicine in Nineteenth Century Christchurch. This talk was part of the event, Beneath Our Feet: Archaeological Stories of Place. The talks from … Continue reading →
Seize the means of production! The archaeology of tools and labour.
Articles, Christchurch uncovered
For a lot of us, Labour Day is celebrated in the same way as a lot of public holidays: not thinking about work, catching up the gardening and odd jobs around the house, going away for a long weekend, having … Continue reading →
The Risky Business of Exporting Beer in the 19th century.
Articles, Christchurch uncovered
During excavations under the floor of a house in Akaroa, we found a large assemblage of labelled bottles. Labelled bottles are always an exciting find, firstly because they tell us what the bottle held at the time of its disposal, … Continue reading →
Photograph by Neil Macbeth 181
Images, UC QuakeStudies
A team of Fire Service and Search and Rescue personnel using a crane to check the Forsyth Barr building for people trapped by the 22 February 2011 earthquake. A sign reading, "Help" has been stuck to a window in the floor below.
Church and Chocolate: A History of Easter in New Zealand
Articles, Christchurch uncovered
One of our final blog posts of 2016 took a look at the history of Christmas in New Zealand. In the same festive spirit, this week it seems appropriate to explore the tradition of Easter – from the time when … Continue reading →
A tea cup as a symbol of political change
Articles, Christchurch uncovered
As a 90s baby millennial, Helen Clark was Prime Minister from the time I started primary school to the time I started high school. I grew up in a world where in the eyes of a child there was never … Continue reading →
In which a teacup is smashed against a wall in a fit of rage
Articles, Christchurch uncovered
One of the most fascinating things about studying and interpreting the past is the possibilities it holds. Could the broken tea cup I’ve found been smashed against a wall in a fit of rage after a wife found her husband … Continue reading →
Black Beers and Ring Seals: the underdogs of the artefact world
Articles, Christchurch uncovered
This week’s blog was inspired by a Facebook comment on our previous blog post. You might remember that in the last blog we went through some of the artefacts we’ve uncovered over the past six months. One set of artefacts … Continue reading →
O flower of Scotland, when will we see your like again? Well, maybe in Chr…
Articles, Christchurch uncovered
Christchurch is rightly or wrongly traditionally thought of as an English city, but at every turn we can see a glimpse of England’s arch enemy…the Scots. While they may now technically be at peace, they do still meet annually on … Continue reading →
Canterbury Tales Photograph 2013:10:25 (14)
Images, UC QuakeStudies
A photograph of two people standing on Oxford Terrace during FESTA 2013. On the right, George Parker from Free Theatre Christchurch is holding a megaphone. On the left, a woman is reading from a piece of paper and holding a hard hat.
Photograph by Eroica Ritchie 127
Images, UC QuakeStudies
A wall on the former site of Piko Wholefoods has been painted with the address of their new premises. A damaged part of the wall is covered with a graffiti paste-up of an elastoplast, with a speech bubble reading, "You poor thing".
Photograph by Eroica Ritchie 171
Images, UC QuakeStudies
A woman in a wheelchair carrying a placard reading, "Save our cathedral. It will be cheaper. It will be safe," as protesters march down Worcester Boulevard during the Rally for the Cathedral. The rally protested the proposed demolition of the ChristChurch Cathedral.
Photograph of Gap Filler project 14 (64)
Images, UC QuakeStudies
The Buzz Coffee mobile coffee vender at Gap Filler's cycle-powered cinema. A sign stands next to it, reading, "Please, no parking. Feb 9.1911 - 15 - 18. Outdoor cinema and Gap Filler event here after 7pm those days with landowers' permission. Thanks".
70 years of quarantine: the archaeology of Ōtamahua/Quail Island
Articles, Christchurch uncovered
Today Aotearoa continues to take tentative steps back into level 2 of the Covid-19 response, so you might think it strange that I would be voluntarily stepping back into quarantine. But we’re the stepping back into the history – all … Continue reading →
The changing face of a 19th century farmstead
Articles, Christchurch uncovered
We have published previously on the importance of buildings, be they residential or commercial, as an artefact in understanding 19th century culture in New Zealand. While it’s easy to overlook the humble cottage as a source of archaeological data, houses … Continue reading →
Under the ground, over the ground and under the floor
Articles, Christchurch uncovered
Underfloor deposits are as exasperating as they are exciting. Exasperating because the context is not particularly secure: objects usually accumulate under a house over time (thrown or swept from the outside, lost or dropped between the floorboards, dragged in by … Continue reading →
Put this in your pipe and smoke it!
Articles, Christchurch uncovered
A few weeks ago, there was an interesting interview on Radio New Zealand with historian Jock Phillips, on the history of tobacco use in New Zealand. In the interview, Jock talked about the ways in which people consumed tobacco in … Continue reading →
No poo in the sewers, please…
Articles, Christchurch uncovered
In previous blog posts we’ve touched upon the smells of 19th century Christchurch and how, in the absence of an organised sewerage and rubbish disposal system, early Christchurch was, at the best of times, a dirty old town. Inadequate drainage … Continue reading →