Kate Sheehan-Finn

That must have been quite an experience.

I also want to go back. Hopefully next year.

This isn’t #Pompeii. These streets and buildings are part of #OstiaAntica, now an archaeological park. Ostia was the port of #AncientRome on the Tiber estuary. The town is enormous. Spent a day there in October. Need to go back again because I didn’t see it all.
📸 my own.
#Archaeology #RomanEmpire

Meet Reggie!
Reggie visits my son’s pub, The Queen’s Head, Great Whittington, #Northumberland, with owner, Max. Reggie knows there is a jar of doggie treats kept on the bar.
#Dogs

Roman #amphitheatre, #Italica, Santiponce, Spain.

1. Below ground was the holding area for gladiators, the condemned, animals.
2. On the arena floor, death was performance art.
3. In the seats the crowd cheered cruelty that was also entertainment.
📸 my own.
#RomanSiteSaturday #RomanEmpire

May I suggest this? Of course it is harrowing - because Amera has suffered unspeakable loss - but it is also beautiful books.apple.com/gb/book/the-...

Roman #amphitheatre, #Italica, Santiponce, Spain.

1. Below ground was the holding area for gladiators, the condemned, animals.
2. On the arena floor, death was performance art.
3. In the seats the crowd cheered cruelty that was also entertainment.
📸 my own.
#RomanSiteSaturday #RomanEmpire

Blurb of Anna’s new novel

Cover of all the days I did not live

renardpress.com/books/all-th...
This is out 10/02/26 with pre-orders open now @renardpress.com

Imagine wearing this:

An exquisite gold diadem with beads shaped like rods and discs flanking a central Heracles knot, with chain pendants.

Found in Taranto, Italy, 1927, dated end 4th C to beginning 3rd C BCE.

#FindsFriday #Archaeology #AncientBlueSky

📸 my own, Taranto Archaeological Museum.

My photo collage shows a selection of bishop and warder chess pieces finely carved from creamish-coloured walrus ivory, dated c. 1150-1200 AD. Found in a large gaming hoard on the Isle of Lewis. On display at the British Museum. Photo top left: Two bishops and a warder. All standing. The bishops wear long garments, mitres, and hold a crozier with both hands. The bearded warder wears a long pleated garment and a conical helmet with neck and ear-pieces. He’s armed with a sword and kite-shaped shield inscribed with a lozenge shaped cross. Photo top right: A so-called ‘berserker’ warder chess piece. Standing, wearing a long garment and hood, armed with sword and a shield decorated with an interlaced saltire. The warder has large, wide-open eyes, and large upper teeth which bite the top of the shield. Height 8.2 cm. Photo bottom left: A standing warder and two seated bishops, one of which is partly obscured by the warder. The bearded warder wears a long pleated garment and conical helmet with neck and ear-pieces, is armed with sword and shield. The seated bishops wear long garments, mitres, and each holds a crozier and book. Photo bottom right: A warder and a bishop, both standing. The bearded warder wears a long pleated garment, and conical helmet with neck, ear-pieces and ornamented head-band. He is armed with a sword in right hand and kite-shaped shield in left hand. The bishop wears a long garment with cloak, and mitre, and holds a crozier in his left hand and a book in his right hand.

The Lewis Chessmen

These 12th-century chess pieces are packed with personality, and have such charmingly expressive eyes! ♟️ 👀

From a large gaming hoard discovered on the Isle of Lewis, Scotland, in 1831.

📷 by me

#FindsFriday
#Archaeology

So far this #December, #Winter is sodden, damp, and grey. But in the past it has been pink pastels and trees in frothy lace, and cold enough to make my skin glow.

My photo shows the sort of winter’s day I love.
🥶⛄️❄️🌨️
#WinterIsHere but it’s not like this👇

Roman silver phalera depicting Medusa’s head from a barrack in a timber fort at #Vindolanda, AD 105-120.
Phalerae decorated breastplates that soldiers wore on parade.
Medusa’s gaze was said to turn people to stone, perfect to frighten enemies.
#FindsFriday #Archaeology #RomanBritain
📸 my own.

Roman fresco from the Domus Fulminata, #OstiaAntica, AD 200-250. It depicts Odysseus in his ship.
The house was built c. 70-75 AD but altered c. 150 AD and c. 250 AD. Inside the west wall an iron sword was found, perhaps a building sacrifice.

#FrescoFriday #AncientRome #Archaeology
📸 my own.

Haha, yes.

This is the error message. #CloudFlare outage affecting Circle.

Yes. I can't access Circle platforms - the error message cites #Cloudflare. When this sort of thing happens, we are shut out of spaces vital to our work. It shows how reliant we are on the online technology working smoothly, and yet we can't rely on it to always work.

Circle is down, and the error message cites #CloudFlare. Can't access any Circle platforms this morning.

The fresco scene shows Odysseus tied to the mast of his ship, as protection against the sirens.
#FrescoFriday #AncientRome

When we think about Roman forts & fortresses we imagine them full of soldiers like these in a marble relief depicting Praetorians (imperial guard, AD 51-2).

Women & children were present too as evidenced by this woman’s slipper & child’s boot, #Vindolanda, c.AD 100-105.

#RomanFortThursday
📸 my own

Roman silver phalera depicting Medusa’s head from a barrack in a timber fort at #Vindolanda, AD 105-120.
Phalerae decorated breastplates that soldiers wore on parade.
Medusa’s gaze was said to turn people to stone, perfect to frighten enemies.
#FindsFriday #Archaeology #RomanBritain
📸 my own.

Roman fresco from the Domus Fulminata, #OstiaAntica, AD 200-250. It depicts Odysseus in his ship.
The house was built c. 70-75 AD but altered c. 150 AD and c. 250 AD. Inside the west wall an iron sword was found, perhaps a building sacrifice.

#FrescoFriday #AncientRome #Archaeology
📸 my own.

The colours are so vibrant.

A great experience.

Beautiful 🤩

Imagine wearing this:

An exquisite gold diadem with beads shaped like rods and discs flanking a central Heracles knot, with chain pendants.

Found in Taranto, Italy, 1927, dated end 4th C to beginning 3rd C BCE.

#FindsFriday #Archaeology #AncientBlueSky

📸 my own, Taranto Archaeological Museum.

I may be working on one of those ✍️

Ah silly me. Wasn’t looking close enough!

How does it work?

This dates from the 3rd C AD.

The #northernlights over #Northumberland last night, back lit by moonlight.

Galileo Galilei coined the term #AuroraBorealis to describe them. He referred to the ancient Roman goddess of dawn, Aurora, and the ancient Greek god of the north wind, Boreas.

📸 my own near #HadriansWall