2018: We Out

Articles, Christchurch uncovered

And just like that another year has passed us by. 2018 has been a year of changes here at Underground Overground. It’s with a very heavy heart we’ve said a few goodbyes to some tremendously talented archaeologists; Chelsea, Shana, Matt, … Continue reading →

Around the world in seven plates

Articles, Christchurch uncovered

Have you always wanted to travel the world? See the famous cathedrals of Europe? Smell the streets of China? Taste the spices of India? But travelling is expensive and everything’s just so damn far away, right? Well have we got … 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 →

Doe, a Deer, a (Possibly) Female Deer

Articles, Christchurch uncovered

Bones, of the animal variety, are a common find on historic archaeological sites in Christchurch. The vast majority of the bones we come across are sheep and cattle, with the occasional pig and chicken showing up as well. From these … Continue reading →

Maids of Misfortune

Articles, Christchurch uncovered

Every year on the 14th February we celebrate St. Valentine’s day with the exchanging of small tokens of our love and affection with our significant others. As so often is the case, the exact origins of this holiday are clouded … Continue reading →

New Year, New Me

Articles, Christchurch uncovered

Every January I find myself saying the phrase “new year, new me” any time I do anything remotely healthy or out of the ordinary. Ate a salad: new year, new me. Went to the gym: new year, new me. Read … Continue reading →

Cocaine Cough Medicine and Liquid Mercury Eye Drops

Articles, Christchurch uncovered

It’s that time of year again. The days are getting shorter, the nights are getting colder, and the number of people coughing and sneezing in the office is increasing day by day. Flu season is here, and with it comes … 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 →

‘Archaia’ and ‘Logos’, what even is archaeology?

Articles, Christchurch uncovered

The word archaeology comes from the Greek archaia (“ancient things”) and logos (“theory” or “science”). So, archaeologists study past societies through the material culture. In other words, we write the history analysing what people threw away or left behind. That’s … Continue reading →

Early Christchurch women, breaking the rules: the exhibition.

Articles, Christchurch uncovered

The ideal Victorian woman In Victorian society, a woman was to be meek, mild, virtuous and peaceful (Whiteside 2007). She was expected to marry and have children. She would stay at home, looking after her children and her husband and … Continue reading →

Discovering Christchurch’s Classical past

Articles, Christchurch uncovered

Being a Roman archaeologist by trade, wherever I go in the world I seem to sniff out some classical antiquities. Some call it a talent, some call it an obsession (I’ll leave that to you to decide…). There’s something about … Continue reading →

The bitter waters of archaeology

Articles, Christchurch uncovered

This week on the blog, we delve – or dive, even (sorry, I can already tell you that this post will be filled with water puns) – into the bitter waters of the 19th century, by which I mean mineral … Continue reading →

Black deeds in Draper Street

Articles, Christchurch uncovered

Today, through the wonders of archaeology and Papers Past, we bring you the story of Charles Henry Cox, a man whose crime has been buried – literally – for over 100 years. But let’s not get too carried away. As … Continue reading →

2021: A Busy Year

Articles, Christchurch uncovered

If there was one word to describe 2021, then it would be busy! It’s been a hectic year on all fronts this year. Thinking back to March-April we were definitely like ships in the night, with everyone coming and going … Continue reading →

There’s Gold in Them There Hills!

Articles, Christchurch uncovered

Today on the blog the lure of gold is taking us over the Southern Alps to the wild West Coast. Anyone who is a fan of The Luminaires is aware of the thrill, drama, and hardship that was a day … Continue reading →

2022 – Turns out it can get worse.

Articles, Christchurch uncovered

With the dawn of a new year (yes, we know it’s already April May June July, no we are not accepting constructive criticism at this time) the Under Over team has hit the ground running. The dream of a leisurely … Continue reading →

Picture perfect – a gallery of archaeologist’s art

Articles, Christchurch uncovered

Today we would like to take you through some art work created by our team over the years. But this isn’t for your local charity art auction – these images illustrate the archaeological process we undertake on a daily basis. … 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 →

Enterprise in a New Street

Articles, Christchurch uncovered

**TRIGGER WARNING: This blog talks of infant death and sex work**   Time forgives and forgets, dulling the harsh effects of first-hand accounts of shocking life events to a point where one can laugh at unfortunate events, or even become … Continue reading →

2023 Wrapped

Articles, Christchurch uncovered

And just like that, somehow we’re only three sleeps from Christmas and another year has flown by. It always seems like time speeds up once we hit September and that the final three months of the year disappear in the … Continue reading →

“A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words” -Alfred Charles Barker and his photo…

Articles, Christchurch uncovered

When it comes to researching properties and places around Christchurch, we historians review and compare a wide range of resources in order to figure out exactly what was happening there during the 19th century. By far one of the most … Continue reading →

Displaying Wealth and Status in Buildings: Part Two

Articles, Christchurch uncovered

Welcome back to Part Two of ‘displaying wealth and status in buildings’. Now, before we get into the interior of the building, I want you to use your imagination when looking at the upcoming photos. Prior to taking these photos, … Continue reading →

Displaying Wealth and Status in Buildings: Part One

Articles, Christchurch uncovered

The act of showing off wealth and status through material is a concept that has been happening throughout human history. This does not necessarily mean that the person had the wealth and status they were portraying, instead some people just … Continue reading →

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.

Walk this way

Articles, Christchurch uncovered

Lyttelton is a fun and exciting place to do archaeology. I’ve been lucky enough to get to do a bit of archaeology in Lyttelton in the last few months, mainly out in the road, because of the digging that’s been … Continue reading →

Toys through the years

Articles, Christchurch uncovered

“It must have been a happy household,” was the remark made by one of our team members when she saw the artefact assemblage we are discussing on today’s blog post. Whilst children’s artefacts are relatively common finds on New Zealand … Continue reading →

The human power behind the industrialisation

Articles, Christchurch uncovered

Some of the most common archaeological finds related to the European settlement of New Zealand during 19th century are usually from residential occupation. Features like rubbish pits, underfloor deposits, wells (brick and artesian), cesspits, soak pits, post holes and drainage … Continue reading →

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 →