ArchaeoPlays

YouTube video by Culture Leicestershire Help Save the Leicestershire Torc,

I wanted to share this video of the fabulous #Leicestershire torc, a masterpiece of #BronzeAge gold work.

But how was a torc like this made & what might it have looked like? 🧵

#Archaeology 🏺 #Gold #Torcs

1/6

youtu.be/2by61-p9_TY?...

Storms reveal rare 2,000-year-old footprints on Scottish beach Storms which recently ravaged Britain's coastline have revealed 2,000-year-old footprints on an Angus beach - one of only a handful of locations in the UK where markings of this kind have ever been di...

Stunning work!

#Archaeology 🏺

www.abdn.ac.uk/news/25127/

Digital illustration of a person kneeling down in a trench and picking up a tiny green bead with a trowel and their fingers

When uncovering traces of people from the past, evidence comes in all sizes, can be found everywhere and might not look like what we expect 🤔

Confused? Don't be! Learn more about how archaeologists uncover these stories and how you can get involved: www.digitscotland.com/what-is-arch...

A 3D model study of timber frame building

We are excited to announce that Wikimedia UK has been awarded a grant from The National Lottery Heritage Fund to safeguard access to the UK’s 3D heritage data and create a sustainable future, through the UK Heritage 3D Data at Risk Project

To find out more, visit: buff.ly/7xdl9Ci

Illustrated by Tallulah Cunningham, the corner of a manuscript illumination frame with a Numbat

Veritable Tales of Folly in the Realm is funding now for #ZineMonth! Play medieval minigames & record that year's activities in your illuminated manuscript. That way you can pick up where you left off in a couple weeks - or with completely different players!
www.kickstarter.com/projects/sun...

Ataage Agindaasonan - An Ojibwe/Anishinaabemowin card game A fun way to learn a language with access to audio translations and pronunciation breakdowns. Immerse yourself with the game phrases!

An Anishinaabemowin (Ojibwe) card game created by an Indigenous designer right here in #Winnipeg.

Currently $4,110 pledged of $7,000 goal.

YouTube video by Society of Antiquaries of Scotland Carved in Stone: Bringing the Picts to Life

TWO videos in a week?!?

For those following Carved in Stone, @stoutstoat.co.uk and I did a talk for @socantscot.bsky.social in December, exploring how we made the book & the enormous questions and conundrums involved!

🏺 #archaeologysky #historysky #ttrpg #picts

www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZHn...

YouTube video by ArchaeoPlays Mining Copper with FIRE (Archaeologist’s Guide to Minecraft Ep. 16)

New video is out! It’s been FAR too long since I made a video in my Archaeologist’s Guide to Minecraft, so here’s a deep dive into the history/archaeology of copper mining! Aren’t the copper golems great?! youtu.be/bBSStYWf8GM

⛏️ 🏺 #archaeologysky #ancientsky #historysky

Exposure to burn injuries played key role in shaping human evolution, study suggests Humans' exposure to high temperature burn injuries may have played an important role in our evolutionary development, shaping how our bodies heal, fight infection, and sometimes fail under extreme inj...

Human populations may have had unique adaptations to burn injuries due to long-term evolution in high-risk proximity to fire. I wonder if we also developed a degree of enhanced resistance to long-term smoke inhalation? 🏺
phys.org/news/2026-02...

12,000-year-old workshop discovered at Akamas adds new data on early Neolithic Cyprus University of Cyprus team discovers in situ working floor with tools and raw materials at Drousha-Skloinidia, offering insights into early Neolithic life.

'12,000-year-old workshop discovered at Akamas adds new data on early Neolithic Cyprus'
Report on recent fieldwork at Drousha-Skloinidia
#archaeologynews 🏺

in-cyprus.philenews.com/local/archae...

My main focus is glass, especially glass beads, especially in Iron Age and early medieval Scotland (but also the wider world). They're surprisingly useful for understanding colour preferences, trade, access to resources, etc., and they often have an impressive amount of minute detail!

YouTube video by ArchaeoPlays Mining Copper with FIRE (Archaeologist’s Guide to Minecraft Ep. 16)

New video is out! It’s been FAR too long since I made a video in my Archaeologist’s Guide to Minecraft, so here’s a deep dive into the history/archaeology of copper mining! Aren’t the copper golems great?! youtu.be/bBSStYWf8GM

⛏️ 🏺 #archaeologysky #ancientsky #historysky

Good news - our first Speaker Series event of 2026 is coming this month! Join us Feb 24th, 11:30 am (MT), to learn about ecocultural archives from Dr. Robin Woywitka. Free to attend in person or online, registration for online is required. Learn more at the webpage we've linked! 🏺

official auction photo of the ring on black background “An amethyst intaglio depicting a hedgehog, a creature that has long fascinated humans with its spiny exterior and unique appearance. The engraving is rendered in fine detail, capturing the essence of the animal's body, including its spikes, pointed face, and short legs. The heavy gold ring that holds the intaglio is a work of art in its own right. The round hoop and raised cell for the gem are expertly crafted, with a sense of heft and durability that speaks to the value of the piece. Intaglios with animal depictions were highly popular in ancient Rome, as they were seen as a way to capture the power and beauty of the natural world. From lions and tigers to birds and insects, the Romans were fascinated by the diversity of life on earth and sought to capture its essence in their art. Animal intaglios were often worn as a symbol of strength, courage, and power, reflecting the values and beliefs of Roman society.”

#NationalHedgehogDay bling:
#Hedgehog Intaglio Ring
#AncientRome c. 100-300 CE
Amethyst & gold
Size: D: 19.15mm / US: 9 1/4 / UK: S; 12.92g
#AncientArt #Jewelry
@wittspat.bsky.social 🦔👀

This looks great, and is a hybrid event, too! Just be sure to reserve your space in advance to get the online link.

The Eventbrite link says it's a hybrid event, and has online ticket options! Definitely signing up myself 😊

A grid of nine glass beads with faces on them. Question reads: “On a scale of squished glass mosaic bead face, how are you feeling today?”

Image of a necklace made of glass beads with faces on them.

Mosaic glass beads were used for jewellery in the eastern provinces of the Roman empire. These beads are thought to date to the first century CE and most were part of a necklace.

Nottingham exhibition shows artefacts from Anglo-Saxon cemetery Artefacts from a cemetery at Broughton Lodge, in Willoughby-on-the-Wolds are being put on display.

📣 Exhibition now open.

Find out about the people from #AngloSaxon Broughton Lodge and their international trade links @uniofnottingham.bsky.social Museum of #Archaeology, Lakeside.

Read more about it with quotes from Prof Chris Loveluck here: www.bbc.co.uk/news/article... 🏺

Fenscapes: archaeology, natural heritage and environmental change in the Fens of eastern England The Fenscapes project investigates trajectories of landscape, habitat and species change in the Fens of eastern England from the Neolithic to the present, with the aim to build self-reflective understandings of land-use and wetland management. Yet underlying biases exist in data patterning linked to burial depth and archaeological practice.

Wetlands often preserve organic archaeological remains, but they are under threat from climate change #WorldWetlandsDay

New research in the Fens of eastern England shows the need for integrated heritage and environmental management.

🆓 doi.org/10.15184/aqy...

🏺 #Archaeology

Once again proving my theory that small archaeological animal objects are the best!! 🦉

The Behavioral Ecology of Food Cambridge Core - Prehistory - The Behavioral Ecology of Food

This super accessible book is now free to download 🏺

www.cambridge.org/core/element...

There's a streaming link, too, so those not in Luxembourg should be able to tune in!

A stunning Bronze age axe heard made of an orangey stone with greenish flecks

A slice of blue cheese. It's orangey in colour with flecks of blue-green mould.

Is it about time that someone told @wiltshiremuseum.bsky.social that their "Tourmaline stone axe" is actually made of cheese?

A text-heavy graphic advertising a student funding opportunity. The Douglas W. Jones Memorial Research Grant Program awards up to $1000 for us May 15, 2026-May 15, 2027. All undergraduate and graduate students from any institution researching Iowa archaeology or history are eligible to apply. Applications due May 1, 2026. For complete details, visit: iowaarcheologicalsociety.org/grant-opportunities. Background images include a photo of Doug Jones smiling at the camera and holding a stick in a grassy meadow with forest in the background and the Iowa Archeological Society logo that includes an illustrated Clovis point and Oneota ceramic vessel.

For any students studying an #Iowa-focused history or #archaeology topic at ANY institution, here's a grant opportunity! It's an easy application & you get a free 1-year membership to the Iowa Archeological Society! See details at: iowaarcheologicalsociety.org/doug-jones/

And then another... and then another...

There's actually a piece of artwork in Carved in Stone where an archaeologist is just musing that they "need more funding" in Ogham/Ogam. It's one of my favourite easter eggs in the book 😂

😂 We'll also spend a LONG time debating whether it's ethical to replace the bulb and if so, what permits we need to do so legally...

Stone projectile points with serrated edges in comparison with perforated shark teeth, also serrated.

Lithics called Maros points characterise assemblages of the Toalean hunter-gatherer group, who occupied south-west Sulawesi 🇮🇩 c. 8000-1500 years ago.

Their similarity to perforated shark teeth suggests a possible link between the two technologies.

🆓 doi.org/10.15184/aqy...

🏺 #Archaeology

I wholeheartedly agree, working with small finds that don't lend themselves well to such techniques. I know this focuses more on excavation, but still - repeatedly trying to get SfM photogrammetry to work on glass beads highlighted a LOT of the shortcomings of digital imaging!

@npkk.bsky.social is absolutely right:

Photogrammetry, 3D scans, & #SfM 📷 are fantastic new tools, but they should supplement not replace the proper description and interpretation of archaeological features 🏺& stratigraphies!

Oldest cave painting could rewrite origins of human creativity A stencilled outline of a hand found on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi is the world's oldest known cave painting, researchers say.

A new discovery for #RockArtThursday!

This stencilled handprint in Indonesia has been dated to at least 67,500 years old, making it the oldest cave painting yet found!

It was dated by analysing a thin mineral crust that had formed over it

#archaeologynews #news 🏺
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...