Bad Ancient/ Owen Rees

THE FAR EDGES OF THE KNOWN WORLD | Kirkus Reviews Exploring vibrant cultures beyond the borders of classical Rome, Greece, Egypt, and the Middle East.

My book comes out in the US on the 30th September and I have just been sent its first review!

"Good ancient history off the beaten path." Sums it up pretty well.

www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews...

but do any of them require an historical consultant? ... asking for a friend!

See also:

bsky.app/profile/drje...

For this inscription, not useful. But if they can prove its reliability with inscriptions that are not widely published and discussed - then that would show potential.

AI reveals new details about a famous Latin inscription An analysis of the Res Gestae Divi Augusti using AI reveals its legal tone and imperial messaging, offering new insights missed by historians.

Quite a bold claim to say that no human has ever noted the '“imperial political discourse,” or messaging focused on maintaining imperial power' of the .... Res Gestae Divi Augusti.

www.sciencenews.org/article/ai-l...

Sharks in ancient Rome & Greece - AncientBlogger Gladiator II featured sharks in the Colosseum - what do we know about the shark in antiquity and about naval battles in the Colosseum?

Sharks in the ancient Mediterranean?? 🏺🏛🦈
#ancientgreece #ancientrome #sharks
ancientblogger.com/sharks-and-a...

Did Tutankhamun have a dagger made from a meteorite? Wrapped within his mummified remains, a dagger has intrigued archaeologists for over a century. What was it made of, who made it, and why bury it with him?

🚨New Bad Ancient article🚨 from a new contributor. I am really happy to see this question finally answered - it has been sat on our list for quite a while now. @horusofnekhen.bsky.social has done a great job walking us through the evidence and scholarship.

www.badancient.com/claims/tutan...

Amazing!

Glad to hear it!

Really happy to have been invited to contribute to the wonderful @badancient.bsky.social site on a really fun question: was King Tutankhamun buried with a dagger made from a meteorite?

If you want to learn more about ancient metallurgy and Late Bronze Age diplomacy, check out the article below!

Did Tutankhamun have a dagger made from a meteorite? Wrapped within his mummified remains, a dagger has intrigued archaeologists for over a century. What was it made of, who made it, and why bury it with him?

🚨New Bad Ancient article🚨 from a new contributor. I am really happy to see this question finally answered - it has been sat on our list for quite a while now. @horusofnekhen.bsky.social has done a great job walking us through the evidence and scholarship.

www.badancient.com/claims/tutan...

A very noble lifelong ambition!

Congrats Owen. Keep em comin! #milwelfhist

A table of ancient history books on a shelf surrounded by dozens more. They are written in or translated into Dutch.

So great to see my book out in translation. Sandwiched between two great books by @drdragases.bsky.social (thanks for sending this to me!) and @jldraycott.bsky.social.

Thats great news!

Sparta vs Athens: The Greek World War | The Ancients

Or this one, where I tried to cover the entire Peloponnesian War in 45mins:

shows.acast.com/the-ancients...

Combat Trauma | The Ancients From the 2000 historical blockbuster 'Gladiator' to the Total War series, brutal hand to hand warfare is something we commonly associate with antiquity. But do we have any ancient cases of psychologic...

That would be this on my first big research project:
shows.acast.com/the-ancients...

‘Thomas More’ Review: A Persecutor and a Martyr Henry VIII’s close adviser was resolute in upholding secular and spiritual authorities over individual judgment. When it came to his own conscience, he held a different view.

Thrilled by this thorough and thoughtful review in the @wsj.com

"This book beautifully captures both the life of a fascinating man and the fading world that he died trying to preserve."

www.wsj.com/arts-culture...

the fear never leaves you!

🤣🤣

Resisting the urge to say 'just be yourself'. In all seriousness, that was what we said to our eldest when she had hers...and what my wife said to me when I had mine.

Maz Evans, Who Let the Gods Out. Thiago de Moraes, Old Gods New Tricks

Excellent, glad to see it has come out! It looks great and is much needed.

In Memoriam The loss of a dog has always been painful

The loss of a dog has always been a painful experience. This week we said goodbye to my oldest friend.

A small black dog (west Highland terrier crossed with a Lhasa Apso) stands on green grass in the sunshine.

Gus has been sat by my side while I learned to be a dad, when I wrote my first book, when we moved across the country, through the PhD and beyond. He was always with me through everything, and today I was with him one last time. Goodbye to the best old dog.

Collage photo of the things mentioned in the post: hayrick building, guillotine reconstruction in progress, a prehistoric renactor, and a boar skin, and Owen Rees on stage.

Photo of hand holding a sticky black lump of birch tar, some birch bark and a twig.

More great times at @chalkefestival.bsky.social, lots of visitors to @livancworlds.bsky.social stand; chatting with living history colleagues; a 1940s hayrick; v macabre guillotine reconstruction; 2nd birch tar success; great talk from @badancient.bsky.social; & we may do some deer butchering!

Hope it goes well! It was great to get to meet yesterday.

Just travelling back from Chalke History Festival and reflecting on the Q and A sections I took part in. Of the 3 talks I gave, two of them attracted big questions about AI and its impact on history and the public. It is definitely a topic the public want to talk about

Screenshot advertising a talk about Bad Ancient. The background is a cream colour with a green banner. An authors photo sits sin a small circle on the left hand side - it is a white male with short dark hair wearing a pink long-sleeved top.

Screenshot advertising a talk about being history writers for Bloomsbury. The background is a cream colour with a green banner. Authors photos sit in small circles - one woman and three men.

Screenshot advertising a talk about Ptolemaic Egypt. The background is a cream colour with a green banner. Authors photos sit in small circles - all three are white men with short hair.

Bad Ancient is getting its first public event as part of Chalke Valley History Festival next Weds. The website has been growing since its inception in 2020, can't wait to talk about it. But I will have been on the move since 4.30am and its my 3rd talk of that day, so hoping the adrenaline kicks in!