Dr Louise O'Brien

The skull of a saltwater crocodile in a glass display case.

🚨I’m recruiting!🚨

We’re looking for someone with a passion for and good knowledge of Natural Science collections. They will be running regular workshops in Colchester’s Natural History Museum!

Part time (18 months)

findajob.dwp.gov.uk/details/1773...

A classical-looking bust of a woman who is clearly utterly utterly horrified. We don't know whether she's been listening to the news, but all evidence suggests she has.

Profile update.

If you’re wondering why your friends in academia are a little on edge right now, it’s because an eighteen-year-old who hasn’t done the reading, doesn’t look at the assignment, and has does no critical thinking skills more complex than “because I think it’s in the Bible” can literally end your career

In 2024, the Liverpool Institute of Archaeology celebrated its 120th birthday.

In this podcast Gavin Freeborn is joined by Professor Larry Barham, Dr Ceren Kabukcu and Rachel Stokes from @livancworlds.bsky.social to discuss their work.

www.spreaker.com/episode/7-ar...

The cultural impact of Rob Reiner cannot be understated. Legend isn't big enough a word. It goes to 11. You can't handle the truth. As you wish. I'll have what she's having. I'm your number one fan. You guys wanna see a dead body? The very idea of a bucket list. The West Wing.

All from his movies.

My photo shows the front side (recto) of an ancient Egyptian administrative document written by the scribe Amunnakht in hieratic script (cursive writing of hieroglyphics). It is written in black ink on papyrus by the scribe Amunnakht. The papyrus is now a yellowy-brown colour and is worn in places. The document is known as the ‘Strike Papyrus’ and recounts that in November of Year 29 of the reign of Ramesses III, the royal tomb workers of Deir el-Medina stopped work for the first time and spent several days at the Theban necropolis in the temples of Tuthmosis III and Ramesses II. They demanded that the grain ratians for their work be distributed, and the authorities subsequently disbursed the grain rations. However, a few days later, the workers went on strike again, this time finding refuge in the temple of Seti I. Their refusal to retum to work stemmed fram the precarious working conditions, a situation they wanted to bring directly to the pharaoh. The last strike documented here was in January of the following year.

Labour strikes aren’t new!

The first recorded strike in history took place in Egypt some 3,200 years ago!

The ‘Strike Papyrus’ records that tomb workers of King Ramesses III downed tools over pay and conditions circa 1157 BC!

Museo Egizio, Turin 📷 by me

#Archaeology

When will this crisis get any attention whatsoever!? A THOUSAND ACADEMIC STAFF AT ONE INSTITUTION SERVED REDUNDANCY RISK NOTICES! And that's not counting what's surely being visited on professional services staff too. This is an economic catastrophe, to say nothing of the intellectual catastrophe!

🌲 THE BIG CHRISTMAS GIFT THREAD! 🌲

If you are a creator or small shop/business, reply to this post with:

- pics and a brief description of what you do (don't forget the alt text!)
- a link or details on how people can buy

I will boost you!

Everyone else: buy the cool things! Repost this post! ⛄

Dura-Europos: Past, Present, Future | Studies in Classical Archaeology

Dura-Europos: Past, Present, Future / Lisa Brody, Anne Hunnell Chen (eds) #openaccess @brepols.net
www.brepolsonline.net/action/showB...
@julietsamsonconlon.bsky.social @jenbaird.bsky.social
@lrbrody.bsky.social

It’s too warm. It’s too warm for November and it’s too warm to wear the knitwear I want to wear and I hate it

Click here to support Chance Bonar's story *AncientGazanLitTranslation *spotfund is the easiest place to create beautiful and free online fundraisers. It takes just minutes to start raising money today.

🗣️ PLEASE SHARE 🗣️

I'm writing an intro & sourcebook on late ancient Gazan literature for Dar al-Kalima University Press. The press and I plan to produce an Arabic translation to make Gazan literature more accessible to Palestinians. Help me compensate the Gazan translator!

spot.fund/dn8t744sc

Are you a student at a UK university and looking for support to come to TAG York? Did you know the Royal Archaeological Institute Cheney Bursary is available to support you?

You can find more details here: www.royalarchinst.org/grants/bursa...

@royalarchinst.bsky.social

Maybe tomorrow will be good

Another powerful blog post and kudos @wadehistory.bsky.social

I don’t think “ECR” works as a meaningful label any more

E - “early” is based on an out of date PhD➡️ postdoc➡️ permanent timeline
C - “career” is wildly optimistic for most of us
R - how many of us in teaching jobs get paid to research?

UK universities cut back on crucial research because of reduced funding One in five institutions spending less, including in areas such as cancer and heart disease, says report

Oh
www.theguardian.com/education/20...

Dura-Europos: Past, Present, Future | Studies in Classical Archaeology Abstract:This volume brings together an international and interdisciplinary host of scholars to reflect on the complicated legacies of exploration at the archaeological site of Dura-Europos, situated on the western bank of the Euphrates River near modern Salihiyeh (Syria). A chance discovery after World War I kicked off a series of excavations that would span the next century and whose finds are today housed in collections worldwide, including the Yale University Art Gallery, the Louvre, and the National Museum in Damascus. Dura-Europos exemplifies a multiethnic frontier town at the crossroads of major trade routes. Its textual remains and remarkably-preserved Christian, Jewish, and polytheist religious sanctuaries provide key resources for the study of antiquity and attest to the cross-cultural interconnectivity that was demonstrably central to the ancient world but which has been too often obscured by Eurocentric historiographic traditions and siloed disciplinary divisions.Foreign-run, large-scale archaeological campaigns of the early twentieth century, like those at Dura-Europos, have created narratives of power and privilege that often exclude local communities. The significance of these imbalances is entangled with the destruction the site has experienced since the 2011 outbreak of conflict in Syria. As a step toward making knowledge descendant of early excavations more accessible, this volume includes Arabic summaries of each paper, following up on the simultaneous Arabic interpretation provided at the 2022 hybrid conference whose proceedings form the core of this publication. The papers address topics connected to essential themes in relation to Dura-Europos: long-distance trade relations and cross-border interactions in antiquity, including the exchange of technologies, people, and materials; Christianity, Judaism, and other religious practices, and their relations to one another; contemporary trafficking of looted artifacts; cultural heritage and the Islamic State; and the evolving role of museum collections, technologies, and archival materials for research.

I’m delighted that my chapter, ‘The Bone Dolls from Dura-Europos: Embodying Childhood Experience’, has been published by Brepols in ‘Dura-Europos:Past,Present,Future’,available open access, www.brepolsonline.net/doi/book/10..... Special thanks to Lisa Brody,Anne Hunnell Chen, @jenbaird.bsky.social

lot of people out here laboring under the misapprehension that uni is just further high school and there is some higher authority on content than the professor who is a live, working researcher in the field

I don't feel like I should have to 2FA to look something up in my university's library catalogue.

Egypt Unearths Its ‘New Rosetta Stone’
Complete Canopus Decree Stela Discovered in Sharqiya by Egyptian Archaeologists. More details shorturl.at/W5SEJ @flintdibble.bsky.social @ticiaverveer.bsky.social @debborahdonnelly.bsky.social @egypto-lou-gist.bsky.social @hypatiaheuresis.bsky.social

XVII CONGRESSUS INTERNATIONALIS EPIGRAPHIAE GRAECAE ET LATINAE The 17th International Congress of Greek and Latin Epigraphy will be held in Bologna from August 30 to September 4, 2027

The 17th International Congress of Greek and Latin #Epigraphy will be in Bologna (30 August–4 September 2027)

site.unibo.it/epigrafia-gr...

Honest Academic Job Postings English department seeks a tenure-track assistant professor specializing in Shakespeare, Romanticism, Victorianism, modernism, post-modernism, post...

"The Department of History invites applications for an assistant professor who will make enough leftist remarks to annoy conservative talk radio hosts but whose politics will ultimately support the neoliberal mission of the university."

www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/hon...

Attention #AcademicSky Everyone is talking about books, but thousands of academic journals were also pirated and are entitled to up to $3,000 *per pirated volume!!!* if editors submit titles to join the suit. Incredible opportunity for underfunded journals to get some $$! #SkyStorians #MedievalSky

Book Series Published by Edinburgh University Press ​The study of ancient Greek religion stands at a critical methodological juncture. While foundational frameworks like the polis-religion model have yielded...

Well. It’s official. You can now submit your proposals to the New Perspectives on Ancient Greek Religion book series, published by Edinburgh University Press!

#ClassicsBluesky 🏺

Devoured R F Kuang's Katabasis today and wow what a *perfect* post-PhD read! Fascinating concept, slightly more familiar than expected, and somewhat cathartic in subject matter!

Clay figurine depicting two toads joined side by side, with rounded bodies and simple carved features. The toads have slightly smiling faces and wide-set eyes, giving them a stylized, almost playful appearance. The surface shows signs of age and wear, with an earthy brown tone.

We all need a timeline cleanse!

A recent discovery made in Peru: a figurine depicting two #toads.

Happy Sunday! 😃

newsweekespanol-elsalvador.com/2025/08/29/h...

Katabasis - a journey to the underworld TW/CW: Death, grief, sexual referencesThe wine-dark sea stretched out for what seemed like an eternity, broken in places by the white foamy excess of Neptune’s fury. Lifeless, empty, cold and yet some...

In light of R.F.Kuang’s latest book (which I cannot wait to read!), I thought I would share my own short story of the same name. About 5 years ago, a group of us from the Queer Heritage Forum each wrote a queer horror story and this was mine. Slightly edited since. www.ben-paites.com/post/katabas...

This just made it move to the top of my TBR list!