Dr Ian Friel

Timbers from 17th Century shipwreck appear on Dorset beach Experts believe timbers found at Studland Beach form a missing piece of the Swash Channel wreck from 1631.

Part of the 'Fame' of Hoorn (lost off Poole 1631) uncovered by a storm on a beach in Studland Bay...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

I’ve now caught up on last night’s #DrawingDiggingforBritain and decided to draw the stone anchor found in the River Wear while @toriherridge.bsky.social was filming.

Winter storms uncover 19th-century shipwreck on New Jersey beach The ‘Lawrence N. McKenzie’ sank in 1890 loaded with oranges from Puerto Rico.

Another #shipwreck uncovered by a storm, this time in New Jersey, USA.

www.popsci.com/science/ship...

New Research Could Rewrite the Story of One of New York’s Earliest Shipwrecks The Museum of the City of New York is embarking on a new study of timber remains believed to belong to the 17th-century Dutch ship Tyger.

Another day, another set of remains of a (potential) Dutch ship from the 17th century! @buarchanth.bsky.social
news.artnet.com/art-world/mc...

ICE's $100M ad campaign is using the same playbook as the Gestapo & Stasi. The goal? To make repression sound reasonable and patriotic.

An interesting find from our rare book collection this week 🧐

Marine architecture: or directions for carrying on a ship, from the first laying of the keel to her actual going to sea. (author unknown). Published by William Mount 1736

Aerial photo of Chichester, taken from the north. The site of the Roman East Gate is marked, as is the site of the Roman amphitheatre or arena, which was a short distance outside the city walls. Part of there amphitheatre was lost to a 1930s building, but most of its encircling bank survives.

Very interesting talk about the #Roman arena & #gladiators on 'In Our Time' this morning (BBC Radio 4). The site of the Roman amphitheatre at Chichester (West Sussex, UK) is still mostly open, marked by a large encircling bank: it was built very close to the Roman city.
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...

This carving of a Roman warrior's head was at the top of the rudder (rudderahead) of the Dutch Westindiaman 'Fame' of Hoorn, lost off Poole (Dorset, UK) in 1631. The original can be seen in the stunning new maritime archaeology gallery at Poole Museum.

Great talk last evening by Prof Dave Parham @buarchanth.bsky.social about the Swash Channel Wreck/'Fame' of Hoorn (1631) excavation & its place in the story of UK maritime archaeology. Glad to have been part of the project & to have identified the Wreck! Free pdf of report @archaeopress.bsky.social

When it’s extremely cold from a polar vortex but you’re a Canadian cairn who identifies as a husky:

Sussex, New Brunswick has great ice cream & dairy products. Sussex ice cream might be worth invading for.

The biggest, the bestest, the greatest, the humungousnessest, etc, etc, etc etc etc...
Thank goodness Sussex (UK) doesn't have any natural resources that Trump might want. Oh. Hang on. Bizarrely, we do have oil....

Apply for Associate Fellowship - RHS Closing dates for next applications: Mondays 9 March and 11 May 2026   Associate Fellowship recognises the contribution made by a wide range of historical researchers and advocates for History with es...

JOIN US: our Associate Fellowship category is for those at an earlier stage their research careers - for example, completion of a #History PhD, or history professionals (teachers, curators, archivists etc) who make research possible.

Applications welcome at any time bit.ly/44r8NTg #Skystorians 1/2

‘We want people to sit, pause, relax’: National Trust to open its libraries for public use Charity plans to make stately homes more welcoming by inviting visitors to use furniture and reading rooms

'This year, one of the aims of the conservation charity will be to make people feel more at ease in its grand houses and, where practical, allow them to sit on historic chairs and use libraries and reading rooms rather than simply peer into them.' Excellent initiative.

The 2018 volume Riversides: Neolithic Barrows, a Beaker Grave, Iron Age and Anglo-Saxon Burials and Settlement at Trumpington has been released as a free Open Access download here: doi.org/10.17863/CAM...

map of United Kingdom showing coverage of Ordnance Survey maps, with maps just added to the website shown in orange.

detail from historic Ordnance Survey map with copyright statement crown copyright 1975

This #MapMonday we're taking you back in time ⌛

We've just added over 9,000 out of copyright Ordnance Survey maps published in 1975 to our Map Images website.

What did your neighbourhood look like fifty years ago? 🗺️

🔗: maps.nls.uk/additions/#191

#MoreMaps

Margam park Roman villa find could be 'Port Talbot's Pompeii' The largest Roman villa ever found in Wales lies less than a metre under Margam Country Park.

OK, the Pompeii comparison may be overcooking it a bit, but this is clearly a really important discovery and I look forward to hearing more about it.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Wow 2026 has been exhausting. So glad it’s almost over.

WAIT HOW LONG??!!

Awkward family photos. 😂

I invite all Americans to join Minnesota in a day of unity tomorrow.

Birkbeck, University of London, is seeking a Lecturer in Medieval Studies to join our dynamic team within the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences in Autumn 2026. As Lecturer in Medieval Studies you will contribute to the teaching of Medieval English literature and Medieval history across the Faculty, within our School of Creative Arts, Culture and Communication, and School of Historical Studies - this includes our BA English and BA History programmes, as well as postgraduate taught programmes in the two subject areas. This post is offered on a permanent contract at Birkbeck, full time 35 hours per week, with a salary of £44,247 rising to £60,858 per year. Teaching hours will vary from 6pm - 9pm, Monday to Friday. To be successful, you will bring research expertise in the literature, history and culture of the Late Medieval period (c.1300-1500), and demonstrate a capacity to contribute to interdisciplinary research and teaching, participate actively in curriculum development, supervise doctoral students, and help shape the intellectual life of our vibrant academic community. We would also welcome applicants who would be able to contribute to collaborative teaching programmes or research in the Faculty, in areas such as identity, race/ethnicity, or gender - experience of collaboration with cultural institutions, whether through research or teaching, is also welcome. Core responsibilities will initially include programme/module administration, teaching, supervision, assessment, student support and pastoral care. You will also be equipped to supervise doctoral students. With a PhD in any area of Medieval Studies, you will contribute the Faculty’s and Schools’ research impact and culture, and to the intellectual and cultural life of the institution and the various communities and partners with whom we work and serve.

Birkbeck is hiring a Lecturer in Medieval Studies (c.1300-1500), full-time and open-ended.

They will be formally based in English but expected to be able to contribute about 0.5FTE to History, including teaching and supervision.

Closing date Feb 23rd: cis7.bbk.ac.uk/vacancy/lect...

Are you writing about #Greenland and looking for expertise on the tense geopolitical situation? (unless you trust US AI chatbots to do the trick, of course 🙃)
The University of Southern Denmark @sdu.dk has a team of experts ready to help 🔽

A magnificently detailed dalek made of snow, complete with sink plunger.

My niece in Stonehaven, near Aberdeen, has made a snow dalek that's featured in the Aberdeen Press and Journal. #proudaunt

Here's what it looked like on my return to work this morning - beautiful red brick gabled building of Girton's Hall, with a dusting of snow on the grass in front.

JOB ALERT!

3-year postdoc at @girtoncollege.bsky.social - research anything you like in History, Archaeology or Anthropology in a wonderful, welcoming scholarly community.

PLEASE SHARE! Closes 12 January

www.girton.cam.ac.uk/job-vacancie...

19th century New Year's card with the caption 'A bright New Year'. It includes a picture of a man in sports gear (red fitted shorts and a stripy top) bent double on a penny farthing bicycle, speeding along a country road. A flattish green field is in the background with a town or city with smoky chimneys far in the distance. The precariously hurtling cyclist is described as 'Making the Pace'. This card is one of a series of cycling postcards and greetings cards in the archives of the Cyclists' Touring Club / Cycling UK (document reference: MSS.328/C/5/5/2).

We're back, rested and ready for more archive exploration in 2026!

As we balance precariously on the metaphorical penny farthing of time, here's hoping for a healthy, happy and peaceful New Year for us all - wobbling slightly but still upright and speeding onwards (fitted sportsing shorts optional)

Calls for research funding from the Royal Historical Society: current programmes - RHS The Society currently invites applications for the following six schemes — open to historians across a range of career stages and backgrounds — with closing dates from 23 January to 6 March 2026. For ...

The Society invites applications for the following three funding programmes, with deadlines 23 to 31 January 2026 bit.ly/3LbxDQb

> RHS Workshop Grants
> Applied History Fellowships, in association with @ihr.bsky.social
> Fellowships, for completion of a History PhD, also with the IHR

#Skystorians

Pitch my Project: an opportunity for early career historians to present their work at the Chalke History Festival 2026 - RHS Have you ever wanted to share your research with a wide audience? Would you like to gain experience in public speaking, and be supported to develop imaginative ways to communicate your research to the...

Applications are also invited for a new RHS programme for 2026, co-hosted with @ihr.bsky.social and @chalkefestival.bsky.social.

'Pitch my Project' is for early career historians to present their research at the Chalke History Festival in June bit.ly/44kfUMM. Closing date: 6 February. #Skystorians

The black and white photo shows the Sphinx covered up to the chest with sand. The pyramids of Giza can be seen in the background

The Sphinx and the Pyramids of #Giza, photographed by Maxime du Camp in 1849. The chest area of the Sphinx had only recently been uncovered, previously the statue was covered with sand up to the shoulders.

Somos Pacífico EL GALEÓN DE ACAPULCO-MANILA SOMOS PACÍFICO EL MUNDO QUE EMERGIÓ DEL TRÓPICO La exhibición recupera la profunda he...

If Mexico City is on your travel card for early 2026, this exhibition looks great!

#Pacifichistory #museums #exhibition 🗃️

“Be kind, be involved, believe in your art,” he said. “At a time when people tell you art is not important, that is always the prelude to fascism. When they tell you it doesn’t matter, when they tell you a fucking app can do art you say, if it’s that important, why the fuck do they want it so bad? The answer is because they think they can debase everything that makes us a little better, a little more human. And that, in my book, and in my life, includes monsters.”

Love this from Guillermo del Toro