Abstract:

In this video from the British Museum's dig house in southern Iraq, senior producer Nick Harris uses the unusual discovery of a 90-year-old pair of French underpants to tell the story of the 4,000-year-old Sumerian city of Girsu and the evolution of archaeology itself. He recounts the history of Girsu, a major religious capital that thrived on innovation before its decline due to climate change, and its rediscovery by French archaeologists between 1877 and 1933. These early excavations, described as an "adventurous" period focused on finding treasures, left behind poorly documented spoil heaps filled with objects deemed uninteresting. The modern British Museum project is now sifting through these same heaps in a practice of "the archaeology of archaeology" to find crucial context. The underwear, found alongside a pipe and a trowel, serves as a tangible link to these past excavators and symbolizes the profound shift in archaeological philosophy: what was once discarded as garbage is now considered invaluable data for understanding the complete history of a site.

The Archaeology of a Pair of Pants: Uncovering the History of Girsu

• 00:00:04 Introduction from the Field: Nick Harris introduces the episode from the British Museum's excavation site in southern Iraq, home to the ancient Sumerian city of Girsu. He frames the story around a peculiar find: a pair of 90-year-old French underpants.
• 00:01:16 A Day in the Life of an Archaeologist: The daily routine at the Girsu dig is formulaic and demanding, starting at 4 a.m. and ending excavation work at midday due to extreme heat (35°C by 10 a.m.). The afternoon is spent processing finds.
• 00:02:42 The Importance of "Boring" Finds: Everyday discoveries consist mainly of animal bone and pottery sherds. While not glamorous, these items are crucial for archaeologists to date the many layers of the city, which was inhabited for at least 3,000 years.
• 00:04:58 The Rise and Fall of Ancient Girsu: At its peak, Girsu was a major religious capital and a hub of innovation, seeing the emergence of cities, large-scale agriculture, writing, and sophisticated canal systems. The city was abandoned around 1750 BC as the Tigris and Euphrates rivers shifted, causing a drought.
• 00:07:54 The French Rediscovery: French archaeologist Ernest de Sarzec began excavations in 1877. This work, lasting until 1933, introduced the previously unknown Sumerian civilization to the world.
• 00:08:45 "Adventurous" Archaeology: This early period of archaeology was focused on finding "shiny" objects like statues and royal burials, with very poor record-keeping and often destructive methods. The French excavators discarded anything they deemed uninteresting, including pottery and other contextual items, into large spoil heaps.
• 00:11:33 The Archaeology of Archaeology: When the British Museum returned to the site in 2016, a key goal was to excavate the spoil heaps left by the French to find the lost context for their discoveries and to conserve deteriorating structures like the world's oldest known bridge.
• 00:13:22 The Story of the Underwear: The 90-year-old underpants, pipe, and trowel were found in a French spoil heap dated between 1929 and 1933. They belonged to a French archaeologist and were likely discarded after being ripped or soiled and hidden in the one place no one would look: the pile of "garbage."
• 00:17:35 Garbage to Gold Dust: The pants symbolize the evolution of archaeological practice. Objects once considered worthless are now seen as invaluable sources of information, providing context about the people who excavated the site and the methodology of the time.
• 00:18:38 The Pants' Final Destination: Since the artifacts are not of interest to the Iraq Museum, the team humorously proposes sending the well-packaged underpants to the Louvre in Paris with a note: "We believe you forgot something."