Steve Maslin

One of the many joys of becoming a Dad again aged 60 is that I get to dust off my old board games, in this case my 1967 edition of Ariel's Par Golf. Lost a keenly fought match play 2 up!

Hatfield Forest.

My photo collage shows four ancient ceramic vessels from Minoan Crete decorated with flower motifs. All on display at Heraklion Archaeological Museum, Crete. Top left: A one-handled pottery ewer decorated with a white, many-petalled flower on a black background. From Phaistos. Top right: A cream-coloured clay vessel with short brown spout and two small brown handles. The body of the vessel is decorated with a brown circle containing a white, many-petalled flower with an orange centre. From Phaistos, 1800-1700 BC. Bottom left: Luxurious black and white painted pottery tray richly embellished with a floral motif. The white base of the tray is decorated with a black six-petalled flower with white circular centre. From Phaistos, 1800-1700 BC. Bottom right: A one-handled conic-shaped cup with dark brown background decorated with a white circle containing a white-petalled flower on dark brown background.

🌸 Something blooming gorgeous for the weekend! 🌸

Minoan pottery decorated with flowers, from Bronze Age Crete c. 3,800 years ago!

Heraklion Archaeological Museum.

📷 by me

#Archaeology

Tell us, tell us!

@alastaircampbell2.bsky.social
For you.

Lunch.

Spring is here, yay!

Dartmouth, Devon

Thurlestone, Devon.

Great recommendation, on order.

My photos shows a well-preserved ancient Egyptian Wig, dated c. 1425–1353 BC. It is made of dark brown human hair. Wig dimensions 30 cm x 45 cm. The locks of human hair were sewn together and braided. The hair is parted in the middle and curled into ringlets that end with braids on either side of the face and on the back of the neck. This type of hairdo was often decorated with flowers and diadems, which were very fashionable in the mid- 18th dynasty, as can be seen in paintings and statues of the period. The wig belonged to a high-ranking lady called Merit, who was the wife of Kha, ‘chief of works’ (foreman) who supervised the royal tomb construction workers. The intact tomb of Kha and Merit (TT8) was discovered in 1906 by Italian archaeologist Ernesto Schiaparelli, at the Theban necropolis at the workers village of Deir-el-Medina The wig was contained in a shrine-shaped wig box crafted from acacia wood with Merit’s name written in hieroglyphs on the outside.

An astoundingly well-preserved 3,400 year-old ancient Egyptian wig made from human hair!

Worn by a lady called Merit, it was placed in her tomb for use in the afterlife. I saw this remarkable artefact last week at the Museo Egizio in Turin. 📷 by me

#Archaeology

My photo shows an ivory handle of a small whip or fly whisk carved in the shape of a horse. The horse is seen in profile with head to the left. Its legs are outstretched in a flying gallop, and the back is gracefully arched. The ivory is stained reddish brown, and the mane and tail are black. The eyes are inlaid with garnet, one of which has fallen out (not shown in my photo). Dated to the New Kingdom period, Dynasty 18, reign of Amenhotep III, c. 1390–1352 BC. Dimensions: L. 14.7 × H. 5.5 × W. 2 cm

Simply stunning ancient artistry!

Some 3,400 years ago, an Egyptian artisan captured a sense of speed and elegance in this beautifully carved whip handle in the shape of a horse.

New Kingdom, Dynasty 18, reign of Amenhotep III, c. 1390–1352 BC. The Met 📷 by me

#Archaeology

I enjoy your columns, thank you.

When my Dad dies, Nationwide we're superb dealing with the transfer arrangements.

Anyone remember when the biggest criticism of a Vice President was for misspelling potatos?

My photo collage shows 4 Roman clear-glass cups painted with colourful enamel-painted motifs of animals from the Roman Arena. These are known as ‘circus cups’, of which fourteen have been found in richly-furnished graves in Denmark, dated AD 200s. The top two images show two sides of the same cup. At top left a brown lion with shaggy mane, its legs outstretched as if running at full speed. On the other side of the cup at top right, is a green spotted leopard. Out of shot is a blue goat being hunted down by the lion and the leopard. Photo at bottom left shows a fragmentary glass cup decorated with a light brown lion with a shaggy mane. Cup at bottom right has an image of a gladiator and in front of him a large brown bear.

Gorgeous #Roman glass cups decorated with colourful enamel-painted animals from the Roman arena, AD 200s.

Found in richly-furnished ‘princely’ graves in Denmark, where they are known as ‘circus beakers’. National Museum of Denmark. 📷 by me

#FindsFriday
#Archaeology

A panel of cream-coloured limestone featuring a relief carving of a queen wearing a fancy headdress and lots of bead necklaces.

Another gem from the collection of the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge - an ancient Egyptian limestone relief. Thought to represent Cleopatra III or VII in the guise of a goddess, an image of a prince is apparently carved into the other side. @camunivmuseums.bsky.social #ReliefWednesday

My photo shows a limestone wall panel carved in bas relief from the Fifth Dynasty Funerary Temple of king Userkaf at Saqqara, 2465-2458 BC. It shows birds and a butterfly in a papyrus thicket in the marshes of the river Nile. A pied kingfisher and butterfly hover above the papyrus thicket, whilst a hoopoe, an ibis with long curved beak, a night heron, and a gallinule,are depicted amongst the papyrus umbrels. Height 102 cm. Egyptian Museum, Cairo.

Lovely naturalistic scene of birds and a butterfly in a papyrus thicket, carved by an ancient Egyptian artisan some 4,500 years ago!

Faint traces of paint survive on this limestone wall relief from the funerary temple of king Userkaf. Egyptian Museum, Cairo 📷 by me

#ReliefWednesday
#Archaeology

Happy Birthday, Sir Bobby Robson. The greatest of men.

A Met museum photo of an ancient Egyptian writing board with an exercise written in black hieratic script by a student named Iny-su whose spelling mistakes are corrected in red by the teacher. The rectangular board measures 43 cm x 19 cm and has a horizontal crack half way down the left hand side. The exercise is a practice in formal letter writing. The student Iny-su addresses the letter (jokingly) to his brother Peh-ny-su, treating him like a wealthy authority figure. Middle Kingdom, Dynasty 12, c. 1981–1802 BC.

Some things never change!

A 4,000 year-old Egyptian writing board with the student’s spelling mistakes corrected in red ink by the teacher! 😂

📷 The Met www.metmuseum.org/art/collecti...

#Archaeology

Read more about beadnet dresses on this link:
fashionhistory.fitnyc.edu/beadnet-dress/

Well, this is warmer than when I woke up this morning.

I have many regrets about Earth, but making humans in a wide range of colors, shapes, and temperaments is not one of them.
Celebrate thy diversity.
Love each other.

I am reading articles that lament UK's failure to embrace crypto. If someone can show me that crypto has genuine economic substance, and is not just the World's largest, most brazen Ponzi scheme of all time, I will invest.

If you feel spending 2.5% or even 3% of the UK’s GDP on defence to be unaffordable, consider the price of falling victim to aggression. This year Ukraine will be committing 26.3% of its economy to the war

What is the point of encouraging people to "ask the ( highly inflamatory) question" when you do not think the outcome is realistic?

My photo shows a reconstruction of a wealthy Roman dining room featuring a large and well-preserved Roman mosaic floor. The mosaic and small artefacts were all excavated from Roman London. The furnishings are modern reproductions of Roman period furniture. The large geometric mosaic floor is composed of small coloured tesserae which appear red, white, yellow, black and grey in my photo. The mosaic has three main parts. At one end a square section features two interlocking squares with a stylized flower at the centre and a ‘guilloche’ border (interwoven rope design). At the other end is a semi circular area featuring a scallop shaped design and a guilloche border. Between these two sections is a strip decorated with an Acanthus scroll and a pot with plants and flowers. Its discovery during building works in 1869 was much celebrated. Before it was lifted from the ground it was open for the public to view for 3 days, during which time some 50,000 Victorians queued to see the Bucklersbury Mosaic in situ.

The wonderful Bucklersbury mosaic!

About 1,800 years ago, this large and well-preserved floor mosaic decorated a wealthy Roman home in the heart of ‘Londinium’.

Shown here in a reconstruction of a Roman dining room. Museum of London 📷 by me

#MosaicMonday
#Archaeology

don’t mention this to modern Thatcherites but the tax rises at the start of the Thatcher period were bigger - proportionately - than Labour’s October 2024 Budget

yes Mrs T cut taxes but only after increasing them massively

taxpolicy.org.uk/2022/06/08/u...