Chris Callow

What’s his age grading?

To save UK higher education, start talking about knowledge - Research Professional News Until debate on universities foregrounds their core purposes, their woes will deepen, says Margot Finn

If the marketing team is struggling to understand what universities do and are for, they can read this by a former Warwick professor, HoD, research centre founder/director and PVC. 3/3

“For researchers, the ability to engage with a text in the original language is especially useful in situations where precise nuances—whether technical, legal [or] literary—really matter,” she [Megan Bowler, HEPI report author] said.

Discount code

For the fans of the eleventh century (there are dozens of us!), here's a 30% pre-order discount from @oxunipress.bsky.social on my book, due out next month.

Job Opportunity at the University of Kent: Lecturer in Early Medieval History (c.400-1100) Are you an experienced Lecturer who can teach British and European Early Medieval History?  Do you have a passion for Medieval History and are you available for a fixed term contract to start in Septe...

Delighted to say that I've been awarded a British Academy Mid-Career Fellowship for 2025-26, and we are hiring a 1-year full-time lecturer in early medieval history to replace me. Deadline 7 August. Please get in touch with me if you have any questions about the role! jobs.kent.ac.uk/Vacancy.aspx...

How to cool your reindeer. In a heatwave in northern Sweden.

Call for Papers: "New Perspectives on the Viking Diaspora"

Call for Papers: "New Perspectives on the Viking Diaspora"
CfP: Leeds International Medieval Congress 2026 (6-9
www.themedievalacademyblog.org/call-for-pap...

This was a joy to read.

‘Motornormativity’ - where society fails to address the massive harm caused by motor vehicles, leading to a higher acceptance of death and injury on our roads. In the case of the West Midlands, a shocking 2,373 people last year.

@ianwalker.bsky.social

www.theguardian.com/world/2023/j...

Our response to the A38 cycle lane extension Better Streets for Birmingham enthusiastically welcomes the propose cycling and crossing safety upgrades on Bristol Road while identifying specific issues.

We’ve published our response to plans to extend the @a38cycleway.bsky.social to Longbridge. We enthusiastically welcome them while identifying some issues with the design. Please consider sending a response supporting ours!

You should be fine. This isn’t a repeat of Eyjafjallajökull 2010!

A new eruption in south-west Iceland in the same area as other recent volcanic activity. See the thread for a map. Looking forward to seeing this in a few weeks’ time, I think!

This road will cost £200 million if it’s delivered on budget (others are not).

It will deliver 206,000 tonnes of CO2 by 2032 and f**k knows why we don’t have the full 60 year report from National Highways.

It will also generate more traffic.

But it 100% will absolutely not “improve the economy”.

Britain's Bayeux Tapestry The Bayeux Tapestry is one of the world’s most famous pieces of medieval art. It is 70 metres long, and chronicles the legendary tale of the Norman conquest of England, when William the Conqueror inva...

Fun fact: you can view a full-size replica of the Bayeux Tapestry at @readingmuseum.bsky.social! Learn more about it on the Reading Museum website, which includes a complete digitised version.

www.readingmuseum.org.uk/collections/...

A brilliant blog post by the Frisia Coast Trail here on our varied forms of archaeological evidence for identifying bizarre (to us) burial rites of the southern North Sea rim

Maya Ruler’s Tomb Is Unearthed in Belize, With Clues to His Ancient World

“They’ve found a very early ruler, so that’s very important, and he’s claimed to be the founder of a dynasty,” said Gary Feinman, an archaeologist at Field Museum of Chicago who was not involved in the excavation. “That’s a major find.”

www.nytimes.com/2025/07/10/w...

In case you haven't spotted it:
**Historical Association Bursary Scheme via @royalhistsoc.org **
Open to early career and mid-career applicants
£1,500 research support to produce an article
Deadline 15 August 2025
royalhistsoc.org/calendar/his...

Call for papers! The @snsbi.bsky.social autumn day online conference "Names Abroad - Names From Abroad" is on Sat 25/10/2025: A) Current Name Research in Scandinavia, of relevance to Britain/Ireland, B) Names of other origins in Britain and Ireland and elsewhere. Deadline for abstracts: 15 August.

Unsurprisingly, there is lots of excited chatter at #IMC2025 about the Bayeux Tapestry/Canterbury Embroidery coming to visit next year. Anyway, a quick thread. #medievalsky #BayeuxTapestry 1/

Accept when I use it.

This fall, The Greenhouse is offering three 5 ECTS micromodules @unistavanger.bsky.social, based in environmental history & humanities, online and open for all to take. #envhist #envhum

Viking ship news incoming. A later date for an excavated ship than was previously thought. Reminds us again of how important basic chronology is for understanding the 8th to 10th centuries in Northern Europe.

It’s good to see people still give a Futhark about this sort of thing.

It is remarkable that the west is committing to spending 5% of GDP on defence, and almost no one has made the case that the most pressing threat to our security this century is climate change and we should be spending more on tackling that.

Granite baptistry in the church at Stenild, Northern Jutland, Denmark, decorated with a mans head between two lions. Dated to 1050-1100 AD. The font has a diameter of 1.30 meters.

Just because you all need more archaeological finds and sites in your feed. The granite baptistry located at Stenild church, Northern Jutland, dated to 1050-1100 AD. With a diameter of 130 cm, it is the largest font from the Medieval period in Denmark.

A treat for my many new followers. Eyrbyggja saga (The Saga of the People of Eyri) is as entertaining as it is intriguing.

Cycle parking #GentSintPieters vs #BirminghamNewStreet station

It’s great to see I have so many new followers. If you want to find out more about vikings, early medieval history, and Iceland then you won’t be disappointed.

Reform UK is proposing a "Britannia card" that would let wealthy foreigners pay a £250k fee to move to the UK, and live here exempt from all tax on their foreign assets

What they don't say: it would cost the UK £34bn

Report here, and thread below: buff.ly/gpe2Dpf

Nick Hedges obituary Photographer who took harrowing images of the conditions in which poor British people lived in the 1960s and 70s

Really sad to hear that the wonderful photographer Nick Hedges has passed. I was lucky enough to interview him last year and he was wonderful - insightful, reflective and funny. His pictures will really stand the test of time I think.
www.theguardian.com/artanddesign...