Posts by Jon Henderson
Underwater archaeology documentary wins global prize
May 1, 2018
A documentary following the research of Dr Jon Henderson of the Department of Archaeology and Classics has been awarded the Gold Medal for best documentary in the History and Society section at the 2018 New York Festivals World’s Best TV and Film awards ceremony, which was held in Las Vegas this month. The National Geographic documentary Drain the …
Finding Atlantis
October 14, 2015
I’m just about to give a lecture to the first year on the subject of Atlantis and it reminded me of something that happened a few years ago when I appeared as a guest on the BBC Breakfast sofa. I did three live five minute interviews in the studio each hour in the ten minute …
Rome’s Titanic
October 5, 2015
The first year of controlled excavation at the Antikythera wreck has just been completed and the joint Greek-American team have announced their findings. I recently wrote in The Times about the return of archaeologists to Antikythera – the site which produced one of the richest cargos ever recovered from an ancient wreck when it was …
Underwater Archaeology in China
November 26, 2014
Last month I was in China as I was invited to present a paper at the First Ningbo Forum of Underwater Archaeology held to mark the opening of a new National Underwater Cultural Heritage Conservation Base in Ningbo and the official opening of the China Port Museum. As luck would have it Nottingham has a …
The Last Battle of the Vikings
December 14, 2012
Over the summer I got the chance to work on a BBC documentary looking at the events around the Battle of Largs in 1263. It’s a subject that’s close to my heart as I grew up near Largs and although I was always aware that the battle had taken place there (thanks in no small …
Bringing a 3600 year old city back to life
October 14, 2011
The Pavlopetri documentary we have been working on over the past year came out on BBC 2 on 8pm Sunday night (repeated on Wednesday 11.20pm). I hadn’t seen the final cut so I watched it for the first time along with everyone else with some nervousness – would I still have an academic career at …
Underwater Archaeology: discovery, preservation and treasure hunting
October 6, 2011
I have just returned from the IKUWA 4 conference in Zadar, Croatia. IKUWA (the International Commission for Underwater Archaeology) usually turns out to be the largest gathering of underwater archaeologists from around the world though usually with a European focus. I always enjoy it because it’s a chance to catch with friends and colleagues and …