Career in Ruins
Career in Ruins is a British archaeology podcast and digital media project presented by archaeologists Derek Pitman and Lawrence Shaw. Established in 2019, it covers archaeology, heritage and archaeological careers through interviews, discussions and field-based programmes. The project later expanded into video and documentary production. [1]
In 2025, Career in Ruins was shortlisted in the Public Dissemination or Presentation category of the Council for British Archaeology's Archaeological Achievement Awards.[2][1]
History
Career in Ruins was established by Pitman and Shaw in 2019. [3] The programme developed around informal discussions about archaeology and interviews with archaeologists and heritage professionals. In a 2022 profile, the Council for British Archaeology described the programme as offering a behind-the-scenes perspective on how histories are constructed and how the past is interpreted in the present.[4]
Pitman and Shaw had worked together on archaeological projects since 2013 before establishing the podcast.[4] The programme subsequently expanded beyond its original audio format to include video interviews, visits to archaeological and heritage sites, fieldwork and documentary films. Swanage News reported in 2025 that the project had developed from its original podcast into a YouTube channel featuring archaeological fieldwork and heritage content.[1]
Format and content
Career in Ruins focuses on archaeology and heritage from the perspective of people working within the discipline. Episodes feature discussions between the presenters and interviews with archaeologists, researchers and heritage professionals.[4]
Notable guests have included numerous members of the Time Team cast, including Carenza Lewis, Cat Jarman, John Gater, Stewart Ainsworth, Helen Geake and Mike Parker Pearson, as well as cultural historian and museum director Gus Casely-Hayford and classicist, author and comedian Natalie Haynes.[5]
Video and field documentaries
As the project expanded into video production, Pitman and Shaw began producing field-based programmes about archaeological sites and investigations. Swanage News reported that its output included fieldwork at Wytch Farm in Dorset and a visit to the Purbeck Mining Museum.[1]
In 2025, Pitman returned to an archaeological site near Poole Harbour in Dorset that he had first investigated during a Bournemouth University student training excavation in 2018. The original investigation had uncovered substantial stone walls whose date and function remained uncertain.[6]
The renewed project brought together archaeologists and heritage professionals from Bournemouth University, Forestry England, Wessex Archaeology, the National Trust and TCMS Heritage. The team concluded that the remains were likely to represent a medieval farmstead thought to have been recorded on a local map dating from the 15th century.[6][7]
Pitman and Shaw produced a documentary following the excavation and investigation of the site's history.[6] The project and documentary also received coverage from the Bournemouth Echo, ITV News, Times of India and Greatest Hits Radio.[8][9][10]
Recognition
In 2025, Career in Ruins was shortlisted in the Public Dissemination or Presentation category of the Council for British Archaeology's Archaeological Achievement Awards.[2] The CBA described Career in Ruins on the shortlist as an archaeology podcast and multimedia content creator using interviews, humour and storytelling to communicate archaeology to public audiences.[2]
The nomination was the subject of an article by Swanage News, which covered the origins of Career in Ruins, its development from an audio podcast into video production and examples of its field-based content.[1]
Presenters
Derek Pitman is a British archaeologist based at Bournemouth University. His archaeological research has included ancient production, resource use, human habitation and landscape archaeology.[4]
Lawrence Shaw is a British landscape archaeologist whose work includes remote sensing, archaeological survey and community engagement.[4] He works for Forestry England and is a visiting researcher at Bournemouth University.[6]
Both Pitman and Shaw have appeared as archaeological experts on the revived Time Team.[1]
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Smith, Andrew (27 November 2025). "Corfe Castle podcasters up for national archaeology award". Swanage News. Retrieved 24 August 2026.
- 1 2 3 "2025 Archaeological Achievement Awards Shortlist". Council for British Archaeology. Retrieved 24 August 2026.
- ↑ "Episode 1: A career in ruins". Amazon Music. 27 April 2019. Retrieved 24 August 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 5 "Career In Ruins – Podcast". Council for British Archaeology. 13 October 2022. Retrieved 24 August 2026.
- ↑ "Career in Ruins — podcast episodes". Podnews. Retrieved 25 August 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 Modak, Naj (24 August 2026). "Hidden structure may solve years-old mystery". BBC News. Retrieved 24 August 2026.
- ↑ Families flee homes after fire rips through high street block of flats | ITV Meridian (Thames). ITV News. Event occurs at 16:09. Retrieved 27 August 2026 – via YouTube.
- ↑ https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/rest-of-world/archaeologists-solve-dorsets-7-year-mystery-after-discovering-a-medieval-farmstead-beneath-walls-that-once-had-no-explanation/articleshow/133568267.cms
- ↑ Simpson, Fraser (21 August 2026). "Medieval mystery buried beneath Dorset field revealed by BU". Bournemouth Echo. Retrieved 24 August 2026.
- ↑ "Bournemouth University archaeologists have returned to a mysterious Dorset site". Greatest Hits Radio. Bauer Media Group. Retrieved 24 August 2026.