Internet Abuse, Death Threats and Observable Truth.

The more dedicated Archaeosoup-ians among you may have noticed that I have not published 'Aspects of Archaeology: GIS', the 'Thank you' video for the Indiegogo campaign, an 'Archae-Facts' or even an 'Archaeoscoop' this week...

Indeed, I have been less prolific with my video publishing than usual for a couple of weeks now.

This is partly because I have been waiting for requests for GIS data to be answered. Happily on Friday some GIS data came through and will be employed as a case-study in the upcoming video.

It is in part because I have been busy. There is an ever growing demand on my time and I am happy to report that there are many projects on-the-go.

However, the main reason is because of a campaign of internet abuse which has been directed my way.

It began a couple of weeks ago with harsh comments on Youtube videos, ranging from calling me a liar to actually telling me to kill myself! Frankly, people say all sorts of random things on Youtube and I ignored the comments, deleting the most offensive and even blocking a couple of users (afterall who needs that in their life!?). I thought this would be the end of it... But...

Last weekend (17th & 18th) the archaeosoup@gmail.com email address (the account where you usually send your archaeology questions for me to attempt to research and answer in as useful a way as possible) received a deluge of abusive messages, rather than questions. This shook me up a little but I assumed that I had made it onto some forum where a moron had asked people to bombard me with abuse. Eventually, I resolved to delete the emails and watch the Wales Vs. Argentina Rugby match to relax - They lost :(

However yesterday it reached a whole new level with a package being delivered to Archaeosoup Towers. It had a strange foreign postmark and contained an abusive message, smeared in what appeared to be human excrement!

The most disturbing element of this development was that, yes bodily harm and murder were threatened - but Mrs. Soup was named! ! !

I never use my wife's name in Archaeosoup videos. This is partly because you guys started calling me and her Mr and Mrs Soup and the nickname stuck. Though it is primarily because we're both fairly private people and the Archaeosoup Videos are about Archaeology, the joy of studying the past and the way such study can enrich our lives! Archaeosoup is not a vlog of our lives and I am sure you appreciate those lines being maintained so that the content is always interesting and rarely banal.

Not only was Mrs. Soup named but where she works was mentioned and there was a threat to attack, rape - YES rape!!! and kill her too!

So - This is why I am taking the week away from making videos. We're in contact with the police and trying to relax after such a visceral threat was sent to our home at Archaeosoup Towers!

Don't worry - our address is no longer on Archaeosoup.com - It is a shame as I have received some lovely packages from followers of Archaeosoup... Perhaps a PO box is the way forward?

But why!? I hear you cry! Well all of the abuse has been with regards to a video I made examining the phenomenon of the pyramids in Bosnia. I have been accused of being a liar, in the pocket of evil powers and all the worst things which pseudo-archaeologists associate with so-called 'mainstream' archaeology.

The video in question, as ever, was carefully researched. I spoke to a professor of Balkan Archaeology, two post grads, rang a few Uni depts where I have good contacts and read 30 + news stories and articles... And the Wiki Page haha. I commended the question-asker for their interest and curiosity (afterall if true the Bosnian pyramids would be AMAZING) but I wasn't going to lie! These do not appear to be pyramids, rather they are natural geological formations which are vaguely pyramid shaped.

I am an Archaeologist and the burden of proof must be met by those who make claims, be it the location of a field boundary or the discovery of a pyramid complex!!! No recognized proof has been produced.

However there are those who have a near fanatical need for these phenomena to be real and they are apparently not afraid to make their point by invoking violence.

For our sense of security and sanity - this video is likely to be taken down in the near future. I do not like the idea of threats dictating honest inquiry but this threat was a little too close for comfort.

Both Mrs Soup and I will be taking the week to recover from the scare and, frankly, I need to de-fuse as yesterday I was VERY ANGRY - not to mention the continuing stress of the past couple of weeks.

I am sure you will understand this reasonable delay in scheduled programming ;p

News stories and visual witticisms will continue to be posted on the FB Page and Twitter feed.

The moral of the story... Don't be afraid to ask questions or answer them honestly and if someone bullies you online, at home, work, school or wherever. Tell someone! Share it! Don't let the prats affect more of your time than they're worth!

Take care,

Marc.x