This was the scene when I arrived to collect the lead pigs from the landowner in Oct 24, for safe transfer to the National Museum 😮 It's not often Roman finds are so heavy they're carried on a forklift The pigs are extraordinary..each weighed around 85kg & had to be lifted by two people 💪 📷 TD

: Half of UK universities face a deficit next year. Up to 50 could close. That is a sector in crisis. Simply blaming a tuition fee freeze and nudging fees up with inflation is not a plan. Where is the long-term strategy for higher education? #Universities #HigherEducation

Good lord this is damaging. I’m not talking about farming, I’m talking about nature. This is insane stuff. defrafarming.blog.gov.uk/2026/02/24/s...

A special #MosaicMonday announcement – Save the Date - Free ASPROM Symposium, Saturday 7 March 2026, 13.50-17.30 (UK time) to be held on Zoom. Speakers on mosaics in Aquileia and Tunisia, plus Coralie Turpin and Jeremy Deller on the Roman-inspired mosaic on Marine Drive in Scarborough. 1/2

A retired British primary school administrator with a British passport and a valid visa was shackled, chained and detained for six weeks by ICE www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

Yet again we in Higher Ed get everything bad from being private institutions, and everything bad from being seen as part of the public sector. We can be sued and sued again for actions which we didn't cause, which hit *us*. And yet ppl think we are backed by govt. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

We're delighted that Dr Anwen Cooper, who heads the @rewildarch.bsky.social project, will be delivering this year's de Cardi lecture for the @archaeologyuk.bsky.social AGM! 📍 The Milner York 📅 21st February | 12:20 🎟️ FREE Read more about the AGM and how to book tickets here: tr.ee/CBA-AGM

We're hiring at Birkbeck! Lecturer in Ancient History and Classics, full-time and open-ended. Closing date March 18th. Details here: cis7.bbk.ac.uk/vacancy/lect...

New! The first comparative, international, cross-disciplinary study of silver in late antique Europe. And includes full catalogues of major UK hacksilver hoards: Norrie’s Law (Fife), Gaulcross (Aberdeenshire), Tummel Bridge (Perthshire) and Patching (Sussex). www.sidestone.com/books/silver...

This is just...weird. It's not like the BM don't have enough stock images of people looking at stuff? Or is the classic case of someone higher up paying an AI company money for whatever reason, then they have to use it? news.artnet.com/art-world/br...

Demanding for academics to be subjected to a ‘strategic research management regime’ is one of the most idiotic and ignorant things I’ve heard in some time. Only someone with no understanding of what universities are for could come up with such utter shite.

An open letter to @theguardian.com about their article last week about the Crown’s Silence, requesting that the Black scholar of Caribbean heritage who did the years of archival research behind this claim, and published it in 1979, Roger Norman Buckley, be acknowledged as the source of this reveal:

Looking for a postdoc opportunity outside the UK/US? I'm happy to support up to two JSPS postdoc applicants for the coming round for two-year posts starting from Sep./Oct. 2026 onwards at UTokyo. The application to be submitted before the end of March. 1/n

Really proud to see this out. A fantastic achievement that rests heavily on the hard work, expertise and dedication of all those mentioned here, not least @davidrobertsarch.bsky.social ! An excellent summary of all our contributors and of the overall findings. Now go read the book!

Has anyone spotted any Heritage analysis around this yet? Another couple of months.

Our @antiquaries.bsky.social Low Ham book (myself, Roger Leech and @thepostexcox.bsky.social ) is now available OA - library.oapen.org/handle/20.50... - the first synthetic publication of one of Britannia's largest villas, with reports on strat, finds, & enviro remains, & fully contextualised. 1/10

Senior Research Technician post in our department at Exeter! Closing date 4 Jan - be quick! www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DPV452/s...

I will add that even after that time I was obviously statistically much more likely to get a permanent job and the reason for that is very clear: I’m a straight white male and the child of comfortably off baby boomers. I went to private school. These things insulate you to a great extent.

Experience in #archaeological #proteomics? Interested in #Roman economy / organic artefacts? Background in data analysis for #ZooMS? Then apply for a 3-year RA post working to join PELLIS project with the wonderful @gtaylortu.bsky.social to investigate Roman leather economy Apply by 12/01/2026

When will this crisis get any attention whatsoever!? A THOUSAND ACADEMIC STAFF AT ONE INSTITUTION SERVED REDUNDANCY RISK NOTICES! And that's not counting what's surely being visited on professional services staff too. This is an economic catastrophe, to say nothing of the intellectual catastrophe!

Open access and hot off the presses for anyone interested in the end of Roman Britain.

I’ve written the @resprofnews.bsky.social Sunday Read this week. I’ve looked at the value and importance of the arts, humanities and social sciences and what policymakers might do to support them at a time we are seeing major cutbacks in universities www.researchprofessional.com/news-article...

The recent White Paper called for more specialisation in HEIs. But let’s avoid a one size fits all mindset here for research - social science, humanities & arts (SHAPE) don’t tend to have the high capital costs of some STEM disciplines & so you can have excellent departments in many institutions

In the meantime, we are seeing big changes in universities. I suggest that in England the Office for Students should take on the mantle that HEFCE used to have to monitor the health of disciplines and to watch for ‘cold spots’ of provision

Phwoar. What a job..

Terrific find "It was initially believed the mosaic depicted a scene from Homer's Iliad. But new research has determined the piece presented an alternative version of the Trojan War story, first popularised by the Greek playwright Aeschylus" As you might have read in British Archaeology in Dec 2021

This article suggests the possibility of training AI on pre-existing proposals and their review reports, scores and related decisions. I.e. training them on a system which is known to preferentially award larger amounts of money to white men. What could possibly go wrong?

Very much looking forward to next week’s @royalarchinst.bsky.social lecture @antiquaries.bsky.social by Dr Al Oswald - ALL WELCOME! #Neolithic

Lots of good stuff in this new Wessex Arch book, including (briefly) a nice little Roman building.. but I'm mainly there for a nostalgic return to / interesting new evidence in the landscape of, my earlier work on Neolithic pits with the excellent AVT, Pete M, Ruth P, et al!

Please share! Two new postdoc positions have opened in the RADHEART project at the University of Bergen. The first is on ancient Rabbinic literature from the 2nd – 7th century CE. #AcRel #sblaar #AncientBlueSky www.jobbnorge.no/en/available...

What a wonderful story - and a beautiful illustration of the power of the arts. Great writing expands our imagination. It helps us to see the world in new ways. And that has consequences that can never be measured by "average starting salaries" or "contribution to GDP".

Labour lied to voters when they said they would protect peatland in their manifesto. For over a year Labour has actively harmed peatland by delaying the ban on peat compost, which was good to go.

This Roman kiln is one of many incredible finds the #OCAArchTeam are discovering on site @sizewellc.bsky.social that build up the story of Suffolk's past - want to learn more? Dig in here: oxfordcotswoldarchaeology.org.uk/project/sizewell/ @cotswoldarch.bsky.social #suffolk #heritage #archaeology

Are you interested in doing a PhD about what humans infer about animal minds? Check out this opportunity @northumbriapsy.bsky.social with me, @mdconstable.bsky.social and Lee Shepherd! Deadline 23 Jan 2026 www.findaphd.com/phds/project...

Just reposting this, as I've got the CIfA bulletin and seen a Community Collections officer at £24462, and an EH assistant interpretation curator at £25906. Both fractionally fewer hours than the 40 used to calculate MW rate below, but still. Dire pay for roles requiring complex specialist work.

'In a survey of almost 400 academics and professional services staff conducted as part of the study, the majority of respondents strongly disagreed with all aspects of using AI in the REF.' Access report here, 2/3

🎉 EXCELLENT NEWS! The University of Ottawa has lifted the suspension of admissions to Greek & Roman Studies. Thank you to everyone who signed, shared, wrote letters, and raised their voice. Apply now for next year's cohort: buff.ly/1i2Iw0B #SaveTheHumanities #SOSClassicsUO #AncientHistory

If you have the means I highly recommend the cause of supporting a fellow scholar

Holy fuck, holy fuck, holy fuck. How on earth did that AI slob actually got published by @nature.com? Please have a look, @retractionwatch.com @elisabethbik.bsky.social

"A system built on specialisation, efficiency", that right there is the death knell for the current university system in the UK, if (big if) government pushes it through. They actively don't want HE to grow, they will intervene, apparently, to help it shrink. per this morning's education committee.

This is what happens when the Centre Left follow far right policies on immigration. Is Labour watching? Those Danish immigration policies still looking attractive?

We’re delighted to announce that our Honorary Fellows elected by the Fellowship for 2025 are Dr Ross Austin Burns and Professor David Olusoga OBE! www.sal.org.uk/2025/11/hon-...

Why Ashes series are every bit as epic as The Odyssey and The Iliad www.theguardian.com/sport/the-ni...

I’ve written a piece on the curious lack of media and political interest in the issues faced by our national @britishlibrary.bsky.social. This is strange given we live in a world where ideas, knowledge and research are a long-term source of innovation and insight www.cityam.com/the-british-...

“While the AI industry claims its models can “think,” “reason,” and “learn,” their supposed achievements rest on marketing hype and stolen intellectual labor. In reality, AI erodes academic freedom, weakens critical reading, and subordinates the pursuit of knowledge to corporate interests.”

Does Britain value culture any more? Ask the striking workers at the British Library | Zadie Smith www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

What’s the difference between the period before Alexander the Great died and the period after he died? One is kinda nistic, the other is hella nistic

A view from Norwich Castle of the wonderful Church of St. Peter Mancroft. The Church was built in one phase between 1430 and 1455. 📸 My own. #SteepleSaturday #StPeterMancroft #Norwich

It is that time again. And that time where its up to you, to help make our collective lives better. Poverty Impact Report 2025 is anonymous and we so need this information to help. Please answer if you are employed in - or have been employed in UK Archaeology survey.app.do/archaeologis...