This is Science Friday.

I'm Ira Flato.

Today on the show, to what length scientists will go to recreate what life was like long ago.

It was hot out, it was frustrating, it was tedious work.

There were flies biting me.

I was, you know, elbow deep in this mix of brain and water.

Archaeologists in movies have a reputation for being hands-on. I'm thinking of Indiana Jones, an earthing hidden treasure, or Laura Croft running through a temple.

Archaeology in real life tends to be a bit more sedentary, but not always.

They are archaeologists committed to getting their hands dirty,

like recreating the stinky, slimy, and sometimes tasty parts of ancient life.

My next guest enmeshed himself in the world of experimental archaeology for his new book.

Sam Keane, author of Dinner with King Tut, How Rogue Archaeologists are recreating the sight, sound,

smells, and tastes of lost civilizations.

Sam, welcome back to Science Friday.

Hi, thanks for having me back.

Nice to have you. What is experimental archaeology? Give us a little thumbnail about that.

Yeah, experimental archaeologists are trying to recreate things from the past, whether that is ancient tools, ancient foods, weapons, sometimes even ancient ships and they're sailing out on

the ocean. What I really appreciate about the field is how sensory rich it is. You get to taste

things, you get to smell things, you get to hear things. It's just a lot more exciting, I think,

than sort of traditional dirt archaeology. And at different points in the book, I got to

attend an authentic Roman banquet. There was a guy in Utah who built this giant catapults. We spent

a day throwing these huge stones around at this wooden palisade that he'd built. I got to give

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