Celebrating 50 Years of SMA Society for Museum Archaeology Annual Conference 2025 to be held at Museum of Liverpool on 13th and 14th of November 2025 Call for Papers – Deadline Extended to 25th July 2025 socmusarch.org.uk/conference/

For the first time ever we have physical evidence that a #Roman gladiator was bitten by a lion, in Britain! The marks were found on a skeleton unearthed near York, and analysis shows they match the teeth of a big cat. It’s the only confirmed case of its kind in the Roman world.

Totally onboard for regular ethical self-reflection about how we handle and discuss ancient human remains in museum collections but for various reasons I would be uneasy with museums referring to human remains from Britain as 'ancestors' in this way. www.museumsassociation.org/museums-jour...

📢Check out PhD student Kayt Hawkin's article on the function of a range of vessels traditional identified as Roman infant feeding bottles in the journal 'Childhood in the Past'. 📷Image credit: Colchester & Ipswich Museums www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Dissertation season is starting 😬 so we are repeating our researcher training event: An Intro to Essential Resources for #Classics & #Archaeology Research 🏺 🗓️ 23 April, 2pm (London, BST) 📍 Online via Zoom Share, especially w/ UG & PG students! Info+Register: ics.sas.ac.uk/events/intro...

To explore Cavendish’s remarkable legacy, visit our exhibition at Hollytrees Museum, which delves into her life, works, and enduring impact. Additionally, our educational resources provide further insights into this pioneering figure, available here: colchester.cimuseums.org.uk/collections/cavendish

This Valentine’s Day, let’s return to the 17th century and celebrate the remarkable romance of Margaret and William Cavendish. Despite a 30-year age gap, political exile, financial hardship, and societal expectations, their love only grew stronger.

For #PhallusThursday a very intriguing assemblage of objects from @ipswichmuseums.bsky.social collections discovered none other by #BasilBrown in 1937. This #Roman face pot was deposited with three phallic belt-mounts suggesting some form of ritual deposit...perhaps with a military connection?

Something slightly left-field for #MosaicMonday. This 'mosaic' #Roman bead @colmuseums.bsky.social belongs to a rather unusual burial assemblage of items known as crepundia - amuletic, noise-making objects acquired during childhood or perhaps even over a lifetime

For #FindsFriday a lamp depicting a 'fallen' #galdiator found as part of a #Roman burial assemblage from #Colchester. Currently on loan to @dorsetmuseum.bsky.social. Been having lots of interesting chats this morning with @belovedofoizys.bsky.social about these for an exciting upcoming project!

Attention all teachers—we’re thrilled to invite primary and secondary educators to our FREE Professional Development Day! Dive into a day filled with enriching insights and practical tips for creating a culturally diverse curriculum.

Well, this is exciting! On March 21st, I'll be at @dorsetmuseum.bsky.social, discussing what it meant to be a woman entering that most masculine of spaces - the Roman arena. Do come along if you're in the area, I'd love to see you! www.dorsetmuseum.org/whats-on/wom...

Final hours of install before press descend on #GladiatorsOfBritain @dorsetmuseum.bsky.social One of the amazing BM objects is this #Roman lamp with a personalised name written into the wet clay - Gaius Maximus. A rare instance of a named #gladiator, or perhaps a fan of this retiarius? #FindsFriday

#GladiatorsOfBritain soon to begin its tour of the country kicking off in Dorset. Here are a few of the amazing @colmuseums.bsky.social #Roman collections that are part of this #BritishMuseum partnership exhibition. Amazing project to be working on for two years with fantastic teams at the BM

For #FindsFriday a snapshot of one of the most amazing #Roman burial groups from Britain. The Child’s Grave figurines @colmuseums.bsky.social We’ve commissioned new photography for #MattFittock and his forthcoming book!

A double treat for #PhallusThursday. This rather unusual phallic charm from Somersham features a winged phallus atop another smaller grounded phallus. It balances perfectly. A great discovery in @ipswichmuseums.bsky.social #Roman collections

The infamous Lion Walk Mosaic from Colchester. With a chequered history, this cat has used up several of his nine lives #MosaicMonday

This week have been getting my head back into @colmuseums.bsky.social #VaneerOfEmpire project, researching #Roman marble and decorative stonework from Colchester. With Penny Coombe and Kevin Hayward we’re reassessing the largest assemblage of polychrome marble from Roman Britain #FindsFriday

A late #FindsFriday and a first in the new place. Working on @ipswichmuseums.bsky.social #Roman collections last week found tracked down this lovely #gladiator lamp. Not a lot of provenance information and going by some of the other collections, and a general ‘feel’, don’t think it’s a Suffolk find…

Ever wondered what a Roman funeral looked, sounded, or even smelled like? And what can a person's remains reveal about their life and death? We've partnered with FutureLearn and the University of Reading to offer an online archaeology course for history enthusiasts aged 18-30.