Linda

Det bästa! 😍

…

A fragment of #Roman pottery, into which a sketch of a rowing ship has been incised - I love the little details, like the oars coming down into the water, & the ram at the front of the ship. A lovely piece of everyday art, made nearly 2000 years ago 🏺 #AncientBlueSky

Theatrical mask found at Perge, Antalya.

📸 My own

#Archaeology

Image description: An image of many glowing galaxies in deep space, in various shapes and colours, on a black background. There are some large, blue spiral galaxies, some large and pale white elliptical galaxies, and many orange and red, medium-sized galaxies. Even smaller galaxies, down to tiny faint spots, appear in all these colours.]

Des galaxies à perte de vue dans cette dernière image du JWST, qui révèle la présence de trous noirs supermassifs seulement 570 millions d'années après le Big Bang!

Rijksmuseum to host study exploring potential benefits of art for people with Parkinson’s A leading neurologist is working with the Amsterdam museum to see if making or encountering art can help ease symptoms of the degenerative disease

www.theartnewspaper.com/2025/11/19/r...

Our astrophotography season is well under way! 🌠

To celebrate our 10th anniversary as a Dark Sky Reserve, you could win up to £250 in our photo competition.

🔗Enter here: southdowns.gov.uk/dark-night-skies/astrophotography-competition

📷 Lee J Rouse

Dark blue sky out the back of the library. Streetlights are on.

20th November. Half past 4.

A month until the winter solstice.

This Thor's day, as we're working our way through the vast ocean of data produced by the Great Viking Survey, we can already share that the number of variant spellings so far encountered for the word 'Mjölnir' is 58.

The riddle of the red deer – the research continues… UHI Archaeology Institute PhD student Kath Page outlines her ongoing research into red deer in prehistory and at the Ness.

In case I haven't bored you enough, here's an update on my #PhD research exploring the #reddeer deposits at the Ness. Thanks to @uhiarchaeology.bsky.social @nessofbrodgar.bsky.social and @orkneyarchaeology.bsky.social for their ongoing support
#Neolithic #Archaeology
share.google/FoxAnF1rJA9H...

@merchantshallyork.org: is this what you want to be when you grow up? (Although you're perfect as you are 🥰).

#westminsterhall

Sutton Hoo ship name contest urges no 'Boaty McBoatface' suggestions Sutton Hoo Ship's Company wants help naming their replica, but urges people not to make joke suggestions.

Well, that's our suggestion scuppered. 🙁

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

A small Roman square glass bottle with a short neck and a rounded rim, featuring a applied handle on one side. The translucent greenish glass is weathered, and the bottle is filled with pale yellow-brown residue. The vessel sits on a dark display surface, with another stone container blurred in the background.

Some archaeological finds may appear unremarkable and ordinary, yet they often are more interesting than any treasure, such as this Roman glass square bottle remarkably containing a rare find – preserved ointment. The waxy mass of fatty acids and glycerine contains plant fibres from...🧵1/3

📷 me
🏺

Tall triangular-shaped orangish terracotta antefix with stamped decoration: the letters LEG XX, a running boar, and a tall pole with a shield attached at the top, lances radiating out of the top.

Imagine seeing a Roman building in ancient Wales, the tiled roof lined with antefixes proudly proclaiming the presence of the Legio XX Valeria Victrix with their name and symbol, the wild boar. The Twentieth was among the legions involved with the construction of Hadrian's Wall. 🏺 1/

📸 me

"On a très peu de fossiles entre 560 000 et 700 000 ans", de nouvelles fouilles à Tautavel pour détecter les premières traces d'occupations humaines Le crâne emblématique de la grotte de Tautavel baptisé Arago 21, découvert en 1971, a situé la présence de l’Homme en France il y a 460 000 ans. Des chercheurs du Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle ...

"On a très peu de fossiles entre 560 000 et 700 000 ans", de nouvelles fouilles à Tautavel pour détecter les premières traces d'occupations humaines. #Archéologie
france3-regions.franceinfo.fr/occitanie/py...

Here’s a cheery fish for #EgyptologyWednesday currently on show at the excellent Made in Egypt exhibition at the Fitzwilliam, Cambridge. My 📷

Close-up photo of some dainty fuchsias in full bloom. The inner part of the flowers are a deep purple colour, with a vibrant pink “skirt” and stamen.

A little late-night #BloomScrolling for you, my Bluesky friends. These fuchsias always remind me of tiny dancing ballerinas. 🩰

My photo shows a Roman bronze dragon’s head from a military standard carried by Roman cavalry. The head is elongated with open jaws. The top and bottom jaws are lined with sharp triangular teeth. The top of the snout has diagonal ridges. It has a single round eye socket. The rear of the head and neck is textured with scales. At the top of the head there is a short, jagged, fin-like, upright crest. The bronze surface is weathered with greenish and gold patches. It is mounted on a dark stand in a museum display case.

Roman bronze dragon’s head standard, AD 190-260.

Originally mounted on a pole, with a long fabric tube attached to the back of the head. When charging on horseback, the wind inflated the tube and the dragon shrieked!

Niederbieber fort. Landesmuseum Koblenz. 📷 me

#RomanFortThursday
#Archaeology

Two inappropriately attired Roman soldiers shivering on a snowy Hadrian’s Wall.

Brrrrrrrrrr 🥶
#RomanFortThursday
(John Kenney 1959)

And for anyone who enjoyed basking in the warmth of the golden Vindolanda cavalry horse chamfron video yesterday, guess what? They’ve got a red one at @trimontiumtrust.bsky.social in Melrose!!🤩
#RomanFortThursday

In Hookland, many a folkloric tale starts not with ‘A long time ago’ or ‘Far, far away’, but with the line: ‘Out across the dark moor where strange songs are still heard …’ For folklore tells strongly of place and our relationships to it. – Dr. M. Benn #Folklore #FolkloreThursday

Another snowy morning at the Merchant Adventurers’ Hall.

Proof if it was needed that we look gorgeous in all weathers. 😘

With frost on the ground this morning I'm rather wishing I was back in the high altitude Alpine pastures of the Dolomites - heaven!

📷 My own, Sesto, June 2025

This week I made a visit to fairyland (actually it is Huelgoat in Brittany, a place famous for its strange rock formations and wild forest).

Looking for creative therapy this winter? Our Spoon Carving Workshop will help you learn the intricate techniques of carving and refining wooden spoons.

🥄 Saturday 13th December (10am - 2pm)
🍂 Relaxing, welcoming & beginner-friendly

Last few tickets: www.butserancientfarm.co.uk/whats-on/cal...

A large standing stone in a field, a number of cup marks and cup & rings are visible on the face of the stone and there is lichen growth on the top of the stone

Ballymeanoch

#StandingStoneSunday

Professor Steve Driscoll in a blue jacket stands next to the Sun Stone which features a cross carved with interlace and a figure on an animal below

Professor Steve Driscoll stands behind two giant hogback stones

The Govan Sarcophagus

Central panel of the sarcophagi. It features a hunting scene with a deer, a hound and a rider on a horse with a sword. Possible Constantine I

Had a great day with the team visiting the Govan Stones, hearing all about the work that Govan Workspace are doing to create a viable future & getting a tour from Prof Driscoll himself.

Make sure you visit when they reopen in 2026 thegovanstones.org.uk

#TombTuesday (given the Govan Sarcophagus)

Details of the talks

THURS 20th & FRI 21st Nov

See Prof. Steve talk about Govan and Glasgow over the last 1,500 years!

Stones, Saints, Ships and Slaves: an archaeology for Glasgow 850 - Prof. Driscoll of UofG Archaeo for the 2025 Glasgow Archaeological Society Dalrymple Lecture Series - FREE online and in person.

A feast of facilities!

A #Roman glass bottle, in blue, white, & green glass with gold gilt decoration. It was probably once used to hold perfume or perfumed oil, about 1800-2000 years ago.