It is good to see an issue (July 2023) discussing archaeology and using Indiana Jones as a way into the subject. As a ‘scientist’ (I have a BSc so I must be), I have always had an open mind. I have grown up reading books by Graham Hancock, Robert Bauval and local hero Andy Collins, who have studied in depth the evidence from physical remains and ancient astronomical alignments. Extinction events that are now being accepted by mainstream archaeology have been written about by these ‘pseudo-scientists’ but dismissed. But, like it or not, their arguments are now being validated by ‘proper, real’ scientists.

Evidence has recently been discovered of a mass extinction event that wiped out perhaps 80% of life on Earth around 250 million years ago. New evidence is always coming to light. The lesson is to keep an open mind and not close yourself off to new ideas or discoveries. Scientific paradigms are difficult to overturn, but inevitably it...