Every scientist knows that behind the dry figures in a table of data there are some good stories. When Joss Whittaker went to the Aru Islands for archaeological research, he brought a medium format camera, and a stockpile of 120mm film to document life in a society that has received little attention from the West. Things did not go as planned: the research ran into obstacles that ranged from amusing to hair-raising, the camera broke, and much of the film was ruined. Nonetheless, thanks to the support of local allies, in a seven-month stay Joss found fascinating details about past and present in a community that built massive monuments, fought the Dutch East India Company at its peak of power, and traded luxuries to remote places. The events around this research won't make it into a scholarly paper, but they are worth recounting. Here Joss shares photographs and stories from his field work: behind the scenes of a difficult archaeological journey.