Half of the Tiber survey team in Rome for planning the next phase.

Serop Simonian of the alleged Dib-Simonian trafficking network is on the lam after French authorities released him amid a sprawling investigation of his role in trafficking looted Egyptian antiquities to institutions including the Met and Louvre Abu Dhabi. www.theartnewspaper.com/2025/03/27/s...

In Rome for the Underwater Archaeological Missions in the Mediterranean conference in the beautiful Instituto Centrale del Restauro. Many brilliant colleagues presenting on missions that span the Mediterranean- and all in memory of our colleague Sebastiano Tusa.

The OSCE Heritage Crime Task Force ran another training workshop in Poland this week. Investigators from around Eastern Europe gathered to learn investigative techniques and forensic evidence collection for heritage crimes. Another impactful workshop for the OSCE.

Thrilled to announce that myself and colleagues have created Heritage Crime Investigations Inc to provide bespoke training workshops and forensic kits for heritage managers, police, and military. We’ve hit the ground running with consultancies for a number of institutions. heritagecrime.com

Roads less travelled: we are visiting the remote atolls of the Seychelles - Saint-Francois, Assumption, and Astove. Accessing these locations with PONANT is a special opportunity as they are home to endangered species and fascinating archaeology. #ponant #explorersclub

Another OSCE Heritage Crime Task Force training workshop is in the books: this time tackling underwater heritage crime. Big thanks to our hosts in Portugal, good to see the task force and Portuguese archaeologists again!

JHU archaeologist’s discovery of earliest alphabet. www.thebaltimorebanner.com/community/lo...

As we approach the Winter Solstice, here's what Stonehenge looked like in the 16th century. BL Add MS 28330; Lucas De Heere, Corte Beschryvinghe van Engheland, Schotland, ende Irland; 1573 CE-1575 CE; England (London); f.36r

A full week of Birthdays ahead at Past Preservers, starting off with our expert, Underwater Archaeologist, Dr @petercampbell.bsky.social! Happy Birthday Peter!

TOI on Sotheby's "10 Commandments" sale: "the story the sellers (or forgers) tell is almost always a tall tale, which has been spun so as to convince the buyer that some inscription is ancient and that it was pulled from the soil of some archaeological site." blogs.timesofisrael.com/sothebys-sam...

I don't know about archaeology, but in paleontology, it's not uncommon for peasant farmers to forge significant fossils (typically by carving new features into a fossil, or sticking two fossils together) for financial incentive.

Here's me doing my favorite thing last week: talking about the looting (and return!) of the Bubon bronzes, a story I have been researching, writing, and speaking about since 2012. www.npr.org/2024/12/08/n... 1/5

Another case of a forgery made by "an ordinary peasant" (and sorry, but that kind of statement reeks of elitism) is the Kensington rune stone, made in the 19th C madina in the 19th in Minnesota by a Swedish immigrant: www.raa.se/in-english/h...

2,500-year-old shipwreck and anchors discovered off coast of Sicily - CBS News www.cbsnews.com/news/2500-ye...

Exciting news: a previously unknown script (and language?) has been discovered in Georgia. However, as a heritage crime specialist, this find gives me pause. A thread. jaha.org.ro/index.php/JA...

Would you like to learn about the shipwrecks and pirates of the Indian Ocean? Join me on this Ponant and the Explorers Club voyage to the Seychelles, Kilwa, and Zanzibar. We'll explore the maritime history of each location and discuss recent discoveries! us.ponant.com/africa-middl...

Classical Cat Problems 🐈‍⬛

The Glyptotek museum in Copenhagen will return a bronze portrait of Roman Emperor Septimius Severus to Türkiye. It was illegally excavated and removed from the country in the 1960s and bought by the Danish museum in 1970🏺 www.anews.com.tr/art/2024/11/...

Colin Renfrew, a truly influential personality in archaeology, passed away the night before last. Few people have shaped #archaeology & in particular the theoretical debates as much as he did. I really like the photo, because it connects a lot: The thinker in the field. 📷 ANA-MPA (Eleni Markou)

Professor Lord Colin Renfrew – 1937-2024 | University of Cambridge www.cam.ac.uk/news/profess...

In the field mapping the riverbottom of the Tiber. Thanks to National Geographic we are conducting the first systematic underwater archaeological survey in the centre of Rome. It is a great partnership between the Istituto Centrale per il Restauro, Carabineri Subacque, Vigili Del Fuoco, and Norbit.

Hello Bluesky! Migrating over from the dreaded X! Looking forward to connecting with you all. To get started, here is a photo of six badass female underwater archaeologists finishing up a race on a historic boat in Croatia.

Victory worn by time. Warship ram from the Battle of the Egadi Islands (241 BC).

New DNA evidence upends assumptions about Pompeii victims : NPR - www.npr.org/2024/11/08/g...

The Black divers excavating slave shipwrecks: ‘I’m telling my ancestors: I’m with you’ www.theguardian.com/us-news/arti...

Submitted my absentee ballot today. Please vote everyone, this election really matters.

Discovery of submerged bridge built by ancient humans rewrites Mediterranean history | The Independent - www.independent.co.uk/news/science...

#OnThisDay - 2 September - in 31 BC Octavian, through his naval commander Agrippa, was victorious over Antony and Cleopatra at the Battle of Actium. The victory established Octavian's supremacy. #AncientBluesky 🏺 Image: RIC Augustus 265A; ANS 1937.158.443. Link - numismatics.org/ocre/id/ric....

The Sicilian masters were… masters. The skill of the western Greek artists was unparalleled in creating coins. These four are from the Paolo Orsi Museum in Syracuse. Which one is your favourite?

Good night from the green dragon! BL Add 16577; Festival prayer book, Italian rite; 3rd quarter of the 15th century; Italy; f.44v

Corner of a 4th century CE Roman floor mosaic from Carthage, Tunisia, depicting a medallion with a personification of Spring. Beautiful vegetative designs, with a ribbon and lotus bud pattern border. 📸 me #BritishMuseum (west stairs) 🏺AncientBluesky #archaeology

I’m so happy I’m not on that bird site anymore, what a train wreck it is.

Beyond stories about human courage and sacrifice, shipwrecks & other underwater cultural heritage are intimately tied to us by their ecological functions which can enhance sustainability and social cohesion, and provide a sense of identity.⛵🐟🏺🧪🌊 doi.org/10.1093/bios... via @petercampbell.bsky.social

Major new open access article - Shipwreck ecology: Understanding the function and processes from microbes to megafauna. academic.oup.com/bioscience/a...

We filed our appeal in Hachette v. Internet Archive yesterday. If we are unsuccessful in our fight, libraries won’t be allowed to own and lend digital books, only license them from big media corporations. Why is that bad for YOU? 🧵in comments blog.archive.org/2023/12/15/i...

IV OTHING IS R G A L

The latest Heritage Crime Task Force workshop was in Vienna this week- huge thanks to the OSCE for the opportunity to have a training in such a beautiful setting. It included an exhibition in the Ephesus Museum of the Task Force activities.

Women in the History of Science: A sourcebook. This book is available free from UCL right now #WomenInSTEM #ITeachPhysics uclpress.co.uk/products/211...

New open access article: Shipwreck archaeology in the past 10 years www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

Looking forward to the TAG conference, where I'll present 'Object-Oriented Ecology: Life (and archaeology) in the margin of hyperobjects' examining our perilous position within climate change.

Thrilled to see Rivers and Waterways in Roman World in print! @andrewtibbs.bsky.social

Rivers and Waterways in the Roman World is out in 3 days! GoogleBooks already has a preview up, including my chapter on the archaeology of rivers - a subject that needs to be reconceptualised beyond archaeology found *in* rivers to archaeology *of* rivers. books.google.co.uk/books?id=7ef...

@petercampbell.bsky.social 14 years ago today

"We offer condolences and express solidarity with all who have lost or are missing loved ones. We remind all parties that the destruction of cultural heritage is unlawful and can be considered a war crime." A measured and even handed statement on Gaza from the Maritime Endangered Archaeology team.

New book! Rivers and Waterways in the Roman World: Empire of Water is coming out November 30th. Edited by @andrewtibbs.bsky.social and I, it has wonderful contributions examining rivers in Roman empire. Get 20% with the discount code below! www.taylorfrancis.com/books/edit/1...

Great podcast episode with @petercampbell.bsky.social on mapping maritime highways to locate historic remains and ancient shipwrecks.🏺⛵