Craig Barker

Banner outside the Museum of Sydney for the Unearthed exhibition featuring images of objects excavated from the site 1983-1991.

The interior gallery of the exhibition with visitors looking at displays.

It was a great privilege to attend the opening of the Museum of Sydney’s new exhibition “Unearthed” and the launch of the kids interactive “Dig It” game tonight. A wonderful celebration of the archaeological excavation of First Government House & a remarkable insight into Sydney/Warrane’s history.

Archaeological Advent Calendar Day 4

Red Polished I Ware cultic vase, Early Cypriot I, c. 2400-2150 BCE.
Vounous Tomb 155

National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne D134-1969
Felton Bequest, 1968

www.ngv.vic.gov.au/explore/coll...

Archaeology Advent Calendar Day 3

Sgraffito bowl from Cyprus, 14-15th centuries CE. Probably a marriage bowl.

Fitzwilliam Museum OC.87-1938

data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/77...

3. In Rainbows - Radiohead
2. Odyssey No. 5 - Powderfinger
1. Back to Black - Amy Winehouse

Here is a bonus one from Tomb 50 at Enkomi of the same date

British Museum 1897,0401.976

www.britishmuseum.org/collection/o...

Archaeology Advent Calendar Day 2

Cypriot Base Ring I double juglet,
Late Cypriot I, c. 1650-1550 BCE.

Found in a tomb in Lahun, Egypt in 1890.

Ashmolean Museum AN1890.857

www.ashmolean.org/collections-...

That has always made sense to me; particularly with the early example from Shillourokambos in Cyprus - the long history of human and cat interaction before domestication

Roman military helped bring cats to Europe Military roads helped the felines domesticate about 2,000 years ago.

All roads lead to cats....
"Roman military helped bring cats to Europe"

A big week for cat #archaeologynews 🏺🐈

www.popsci.com/environment/...
and connectsci.au/news/news-pa...

Winners 2025 - MGNSW 2025 IMAGinE awards winners and highly commended recipients.

Congratulations to my CCWM colleague Marika Duczynski for winning the ACHAA Award for Excellence by an Aboriginal Curator and the team winning for the exhibition Mungari at this year's Museum & Galleries NSW Imagine Awards!!

mgnsw.org.au/sector/progr...

Archaeology Advent Calendar Day 1

Terracotta bird-shaped vase, Cypro-Geometric III, ca. 850–750 BCE

Metropolitan Museum of Art 74.51.813

www.metmuseum.org/art/collecti...

One-time Atlantis seeker is back in Cyprus The world is filled with sunken cities. One study has counted 2,600 in 19 countries – victims of the Great Flood myth that permeates various ancient cultures from the Sumerians to the Bible – or coast...

‘One-time Atlantis seeker is back in Cyprus’

Spoilers: Cyprus is not Atlantis.

And the new book’s cover is nightmare inducing…

cyprus-mail.com/2025/11/30/o...

Bronze Age Workshop Unearthed in Cyprus Reveals Rare Industrial Complex - GreekReporter.com Bronze Age workshop uncovered at Kissonerga-Skalia in Cyprus reveals large ovens, industrial activity, and rare food remains.

'Bronze Age workshop unearthed in Cyprus reveals rare industrial complex'.
More media coverage of the most recent season at Kissonerga-Skalia #archaeologynews 🏺

greekreporter.com/2025/11/29/b...

3. Elephant - The White Stripes
2. Hail to the Thief - Radiohead
1. Street core - Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros

Trowel and Error A Public User Needs Survey for Archaeology

New report on how people engage with archaeology is out - Trowel and Error: A Public User Needs Survey. Lots to digest but key conclusions are: 1) archaeologists risk undervaluing and hiding ourselves, our practices and the role we play in society... www.archaeologyuk.org/our-work/tro...

What an amazing presentation last night was. Wendy’s podcast will be live in a few weeks. And this ends History Now 2025.
Thank you @historynsw.bsky.social

A colourful depiction of Hadrian’s Wall rolling across the Whin Sill on an old map of the Wall.

The beautiful cover art for a tourist booklet, Tynedale and the Roman Wall, produced by British Railways (the Railway Executive N.E. Region) in 1950.
It lies on a copy of the 1964 edition of the OS map of Hadrian’s Wall.
#RomanFortThursday

3. Back to Black - Amy Winehouse
2. Whatever People Say I Am - Arctic Monkeys
1. Black fingernails Red Wine - Eskimo Joe

Looking forward to tomorrow night’s talk - the final History Now for 2025

Did you see the full moon last night? If not, tonight's nearly full moon should be almost as good. Because full moons are opposite the Sun, they are visible in the sky when the Sun is not -- which should be nearly all night long tonight, clouds permitting. One nickname for June's full moon is the Strawberry Moon, named for when wild strawberries start to ripen in parts of Earth's northern hemisphere. Different cultures around the globe give this full moon different names, though, including Honey Moon and Rose Moon. In the foreground of this featured image, taken yesterday in Cape Sounion, Greece, is the 2,400 year-old Temple of Poseidon. Next month will the 50th anniversary of the time humans first landed on the Moon.

NASA Astronomy Hourly Picture - 2019-06-18: Strawberry Moon over the Temple of Poseidon
#Astronomy #NASA #Space

Cypriot antiquity repatriated from Britain

Cypriot antiquity repatriated from Britain

Limestone funerary stele with a painting of boy holding a bird Limestone stele with pedimental top, with painted decoration showing a young boy holding a bird, probably a dove. The stele is a tall narrow slab with plain sides and a molded pedimental top, with thr...

The Cyprus stele had additional birds at the boy's feet when it was first excavated when the pigments were nearly intact. The pigments have since faded and the birds can no longer be seen.

#ancientbluesky

flic.kr/p/2rH9d8E

3. About A Boy - Badly Drawn Boy
2. Polyserena - george
1. Come Away With Me - Norah Jones

Archaeologists uncover giant Bronze Age “mega-oven” dating back 4,500 years Archaeologists working north of Paphos have uncovered the remains of a substantial Bronze Age settlement at Kissonerga-Skalia, shedding light on a long-lived community active from roughly 2500 BC unti...

'Archaeologists uncover giant Bronze Age “mega-oven” dating back 4,500 years'
More reports on the most recent season of excavations at Kissonerga in Cyprus
#archaeologynews 🏺

knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/arch...

Outcry in Cyprus as Tourists Climb Onto Roof of Ancient Greek Sanctuary of Apollo for Photos - GreekReporter.com Tourists sparked outrage after climbing on the historically significant, protected monument of Apollo Hylates Sanctuary in Limassol, Cyprus.

'Outcry in Cyprus as Tourists Climb Onto Roof of Ancient Greek Sanctuary of Apollo for Photos'
#archaeology 🏺

There has been much discussion about this through the week; how do we do site visitor education better?

greekreporter.com/2025/11/20/c...

Also: cyprus-mail.com/2025/11/17/e...

Ancient church and lost pottery workshop rewrite Cyprus’ early Byzantine story Archaeological work in the Kophinou–Agios Herakleios and Menogeia–Limnes areas of Larnaca has uncovered major evidence of religious and industrial activity spanning roughly a millennium.

'Ancient church and lost pottery workshop rewrite Cyprus’ early Byzantine story'
Archaeological sites reveal over a thousand years of worship, burial, and daily life in the Xeros Valley.
#archaeologynews #archaeology🏺

knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/anci...

Bronze Age craft settlement uncovered in Kisonerga Archaeologists have uncovered a Bronze Age settlement of artisanal character at the Kisonerga–Skalia site in Paphos, dating back to around 2500 BC. The excavations, directed by Dr Lindy Crewe, directo...

‘Bronze Age craft settlement uncovered in Kisonerga’

Announcement of the results of the most recent season at Kissonerga - congratulations @caari-cyprus.bsky.social
#archaeologynews 🏺

cyprus-mail.com/2025/11/20/b...

Get ready for 2026 International Festival of Ancient Greek Drama

Get ready for 2026 International Festival of Ancient Greek Drama

Ancient mask reliefs unearthed at Roman-era theater in southern Türkiye Ongoing excavations in 2,700-year-old ancient settlement in Kastabala, Osmaniye, currently focus on theater area, believed to have been built in 1st century AD during Roman Empire - Anadolu Ajansı

'Ancient mask reliefs unearthed at Roman-era theater in southern Türkiye'
#archaeologynews 🏺

www.aa.com.tr/en/culture/a...

The latest publication from the Paphos Theatre Archaeological Project out now.

J.R. Green, “An Athena in Christian Paphos”, Mediterranean Archaeology 38, 2025, 95-106
#archaeology 🏺

meditarch.com/meditarch-36/

3. Funeral - Arcade Fire
2. Franz Ferdinand - Franz Ferdinand
1. A Grand Don’t Come For Free - The Streets