Sheahan Bestel

Current position

Currently subcontracting on an historical archaeological excavation in Melbourne CBD.

Where did you study?

La Trobe University, Monash University, South China University of Technology.

How did you become interested in archaeology?

I grew up in a house that was built in 1856 and in old sheds there nearly 150 years of junk had accumulated. I could always find rusty nails, stones and pieces of broken ceramic as a child. It seems that the habits formed in childhood continue into adulthood ...

What archaeological projects are you working on at the moment?

I have been examining phytoliths (silica bodies that form in some plants, especially grasses) from the Hehuashan early rice domestication site in southern China. The site can tell us about what people were eating and how they were living (sedentary versus nomadic) at a time just before rice became domesticated. It's really exciting to work on sites that can tell you about the origins of one of the world's staple foods.

Tell us about one of your most interesting archaeological discoveries.

I found a pottery bracelet from a rubbish dump in central China many years ago: it would have been worn about 7000 years ago but was probably discarded when it broke.

Tell us about a funny / disastrous / amazing experience that you have had while doing archaeology.

We drove out to a remote site in Mongolia near the Russian border, following the traditional rutted cartways that pass as roads in that part of the world. We had to ford several rivers to get to site but the vehicle we were travelling in broke down mid-stream! Fortunately the water was relatively shallow, and our driver was very experienced at fixing these types of vehicles.

What’s your favourite part of being an archaeologist?

I really enjoy always being able to be there for the latest cutting edge research and discoveries.