Science Communication

Videos

"The Bones in the Scout Hut: An Archaeological Detective Story" play was inspired by real events! I presented on this topic at TAG in Bournemouth and then in Copenhagen in 2025. Here, short video on the story is posted on the Council for British Archaeology's YouTube cannel.

This video on the problems associated with the failure to report failed analyses was part of my graduation "exam" for admission to the Danish Royal Academy of Science and Letters' Science Communication Academy in 2024. I based it on research with colleagues from the COREX project, enthtitled "The BIAD Standards"

"Through the Archaeologist's Eye" is an online exhibition which includes editors' picks from several years' entries to the "Photojournalist of the Year" competition organized by The European Archaeologist (TEA).

Popular science articles

Below find a selection of recent work. For a full list, please see my Publications page.

Excerpt: While it is a well-established fact in museum circles that taste and smell are huge triggers of emotion and memory and can greatly enhance visitor experiences, it remains uncommon to see historians reach out and transform modern food trends by means of inspiration from the past. Nevertheless, this is exactly what has happened in eastern France! Just over a decade ago, one of our colleagues visited the town of Langres in the region of the Upper Marne. Though Langres is known as the home of Denis Diderot, author of France’s first encyclopedia, the historian was visiting the region for another reason entirely; as a specialist in medieval food, he was on a quest to educate his palate! His stop in Langres was centered around his search for a local medieval specialty known as the ‘ouyette de Langres’, a pastry stuffed with a ragout of goose meat simmered with shallots, parsley, nutmeg, four spice and white wine and baked until golden. Here, we trace the fascinating story behind this unusual delicacy and provide an up-to-date recipe for the modern kitchen!

Jean-Luc Renaud & Samantha S. Reiter 2026. "From France: Historian inspires medieval food revival" The European Archalogist 86

Samantha S. Reiter 2026. "How much is your body worth?" ArchaeoSnack

Exceprt: The importance of bodies—and control thereover—has been recognized much longer and holds more sway than you would think. Habeus corpus (lit. “you shall have the body”) is a foundational concept of many legal systems, and is intended to guard against the physical detainment of a (living) body without just cause. But even dead bodies have power. In fact, there is even a term for battles fought over corpses—Leichenkämpfe. Homer’s description of the Leichenkampf over the corpse of Achilles’ companion Patroclus during the siege of Troy suggests that the impulse to control bodies predates even the arrival of the written word…and still makes headlines today. Would you do battle over a dead body?