New Year's Eve here in Holland has the same soundtrack as people in Kiev or Gaza are subjected to the entire year. Luckily it's only fireworks, not ordnance. Makes me realise how lucky we are to have electricity, running water, heating, etc. And how much I hate fireworks.

So why can't we do this with detecting? Why not a license required to own a detector and an online test (to check knowledge of the law and Code of Practice) to be completed before license granted...? #Archaeology #Detecting 🏺 www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

My thoughts on the APPAG detecting report and an update on donations... #Archaeology #Treasure #Detecting 🏺 bigbookoftorcs.com/2025/12/29/t...

Je kunt haar wel degelijk verwijten geen zelfspot te hebben en daarbovenop dat ze niet begrijpt wat zelfspot is.

Archaeology can determine what _actually_ happened on battlefields. But all the other archaeologies are more interesting.

Our @bes-cascade.bsky.social survey of ecologists asked which socio-political changes might be most effective in the biodiversity & climate crises Broad-scale transformative changes were most selected Biodiversity or carbon credits, use of AI, & de-extinction were each selected in <1% of responses

After the British navy combatting scurvy with lime juice, it seems in WWII the British army went one better!

To govern well is to anticipate. The Rijksmuseum establishing facilities and at the same time helping the Dutch get used to their new capital! Eindhoven will inevitably become the Netherlands' capital city as Amsterdam is swallowed by the sea in the coming century. nos.nl/artikel/2594...

All archaeologists should be aware of how our discipline is being used in Palestine right now 🏺

𝗪𝗮𝘁 𝘇𝗶𝗲 𝗶𝗸 𝗱𝗮𝗮𝗿 𝗼𝗽 𝗵𝗲𝘁 𝗱𝗮𝗸? Ism Daniel Soliman (RMO) troffen archeologen @apolitopoulos.bsky.social & @waltros.bsky.social (@unileiden.bsky.social) een bordspel aan op het dak van de tempel @rmoudheden.bsky.social 🎙️In deze podcast vertellen ze over de ontdekking⤵️ @leidencity.bsky.social

Neanderthalers deden aan kannibalisme. Door DNA-onderzoek weten we nu ook dat de slachtoffers vrouwen en kinderen konden zijn: 'Dit lijkt in ieder geval één geval van een vrij kille selectie van de makkelijkst buit te maken individuen', vertelt archeoloog @dussel.bsky.social

Deliberate fire-making by humans in the UK may date to more than 400,000 years ago, according to evidence in Nature. The findings predate previous evidence for the deliberate lighting of fires by around 350,000 years. go.nature.com/4oKHAS4 🏺 🧪

Angry Academics in Amsterdam, hoping the next government may put a stop to the systematic destruction of higher education in the Netherlands. #WOinActie

I was asked to explain recent analyses of Neanderthal cannibalism at Goyet Cave on Dutch radio earlier today. www.nporadio1.nl/fragmenten/o...

Om 10u00 @ovt-vpro.bsky.social de documentaire Two Plus Two Is Five over het gedachtegoed van George Orwell, Russisch gas in Europa, Neanderthalers aten vrouwen en kinderen, Marine-vrouwen en meer @thomasheij.bsky.social @dussel.bsky.social @nporadio1.bsky.social www.vpro.nl/ovt/artikele...

This is not true. These are the figures for England and Wales (where the 1996 Treasure Act and subsequent amendments apply). It's a complete mess. #Archaeology 🏺 #Detecting #Treasure

Our new ancient DNA paper has just been published! We present 28 new genomes from southern Africa - several of them high-coverage whole genomes. Exciting to be moving towards population-level representation of ancient southern African genetic diversity! www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Go watch it and share to fight these bastards. It's both funny and exposes these liars They claim to be pro free speech and then work to cancel me for no reason other than they don't like my critique. They're petty hypocrites Link to video here: youtu.be/oFOFSuHHGzs

Sleeping on his side may be the least of this guy's problems. Also: AI pictures are just so ugly. Do people actually click on these things?

Appros of nothing, The Sussex mammoth Map www.google.com/maps/d/edit?... 🦣🏺

Mediterranean soils can distort ancient plant oil residues, causing decades of olive oil identifications to be wrong. New experiments show how soil chemistry reshapes archaeological interpretations. #Archaeochemistry #Archaeology #Mediterranean #Science www.anthropology.net/p/when-soil-...

This is so problematic. Creating big-money grants (7m EUR!) is such a travesty. Instead of funding 1 researcher, why not fund 25 with smaller grants? It would create more ideas, secure more careers, and create so much more innovative knowledge. www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-euro...

Congratulations to my colleague Dr Ben Jennings on his recent publication in Antiquity - a must read if you're into Wetlands and Archaeology. Find the article here: www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

This must be the awesomest animal in the history of life. The sun can safely explode right now. Earth has peaked 55 million years ago. www.bbc.com/news/article...

7th October 2025 289 Detected Iron Age coins. "as the years move on, I feel it is time to pass on part of this collection to fellow enthusiasts, collectors & historians." AKA flogging them to highest bidder to do what they want with... #Archaeology 🏺 #Detecting www.noonans.co.uk/archive/spec...

In 2022, archaeologists at @uni-kiel.de's @neolithicbodies.bsky.social found 34 decapitated skeletons piled in a space the size of a parking spot. In the 3 years since, they’ve found 50 more. The mass grave is evidence for the collapse of the 1st pan-European culture 7,000 years ago. @science.org 🏺💀

I was shocked to hear of proposed cuts to the Earth Sciences at the @uniofleicester.bsky.social. The School of Geography, Geology and the Environment is a world class department. These cuts are a mindless destruction of academic and intellectual capital. c.org/5rcbPjDb2x

🤔In 2023 1/3 of reported metal detecting finds were exported!🤔 Yes, thats right they all left Britain😲 82% we're destined for North America, of those that went to Europe 52% went to countries where metal detecting is illegal of heavily restricted.

Interested studying human evolution at @ucl.ac.uk with a dedicated MSc in palaeolithic archaeology, palaeoanthropology, Ice Age fauna, isotopes, aDNA, ancient environments & more? Get in touch for a chat or even a tour of the department with me. @uclarchaeology.bsky.social #PaPa 🏺🦣🧪

"Detectors now can pretty much tell you what it is before you dig it. You can tell what shape it is, you've got IDs so you know what type of metal it is" From BBC article in my last post. #Archaeology 🏺 1/4

Abstracts for the ASAPA conference at the University of Mpumalanga in July can now be submitted! Theme of the conference will be "Between Past and Present: African archaeology and its relevance today" asapa2026.co.za

"...as the threat of a public sale loomed." AKA the finder/landowner ransomed our shared heritage until we coughed up. 😡 Again, and again, and again, and again... it's relentless. #Archaeology 🏺 #Detecting #Unpatriotic www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Why would you name "rock dwellings" (actually 3D-printed concrete blocks) Navajoo and Hoodoo? One a Native American Nation that do not build rock dwellings; the other a set of African American spiritual practices. Why build "rock dwellings" in the flattest country on earth in the first place?

Er gaat een oproep rond om veel en massaal naar Vrijheid, Gelijkheid, Zusterschap van Sophie Straat op Spotify te luisteren. Als protest dat een anti-AZC nummer (gegenereerd door AI) op 1 gaat komen en dat willen we niet. Wij zijn met meer. Doen jullie mee?

"Funding came from Arts Council England, V&A Purchase Grant Fund, Leeds Philosophical & Literary Society, and the Friends of Leeds City Museums." AKA The detectorist and landowner were paid an undisclosed amount to hand over what should be ours... #Archaeology 🏺 www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Terwijl het deze campagne nauwelijks gaat over onderwijs, stemde vandaag een rechtse meerderheid in de Eerste Kamer in met nieuwe bezuinigingen. Weer met hulp van het CDA. Hopelijk neemt iedereen met hart voor onderwijs of opgroeiende kinderen, dit mee in het stemhokje. www.aob.nl/actueel/arti...

Doe. Het. Niet. Bezuinig niet op het onderwijs! 🟥 Vandaag maakt het CDA in de Eerste Kamer wéér dezelfde fout als eerder dit jaar door de bezuinigingen van de VVD aan een meerderheid te helpen.. Stem morgen op een partij die het onderwijs niet laat vallen! 🔴🟢

Looking for a PhD or Postdoc position in archaeology? @clusterroots.bsky.social at @uni-kiel.de has currently 14 (!) positions advertised for start in 2026. Feel free to contact me or any of the other PI's for more information. Deadline is 15th December. Link: www.uni-kiel.de/personal/de/... 🦣🏺👇

The piece where I get to say everything that's bugging me about the world of detecting & archaeology & ask - why are we not more concerned about this? (Thank you to everyone who read through drafts & offered thoughts, advice and ideas.) #Archaeology #Detecting 🏺 bigbookoftorcs.com/2025/10/27/t...

Acht jaar geleden postte Wilders al ophitsende nepfoto's op social media. Het enige verschil met nu is dat de PVV nu zo groot is dat hij anderen in de fractie kan vragen dit te doen. Wilders' excuses zijn waardeloos.

45k people calling on our politicians to pay attention to the biggest issue of our times: Climate change, which gets zero attention in the current Dutch elections. Also my kids' first demonstration.

🔥Before farming, hunter-gatherers already transformed nearly half of Europe’s #landscapes via burning and hunting! Our new study using an #AI approach shows #Neanderthals began reshaping ecosystems; later foragers continued this process 👉 journals.plos.org/plosone/arti... #Paleoecology #Anthropocene

🔥See our new paper led by @nikulinaav.bsky.social People shaped Europe’s #ecosystems long before farming 🦣#Megafauna effects on #vegetation openness dropped from 77%→57% bt #Eemian & #Mesolithic 🧑‍🦱Mesolithic people shaped up to 47% of landscapes w Neanderthals affecting 6–14% doi.org/10.1371/jour...

In je hemd staan jullie @speld.nl! www.nu.nl/tweede-kamer...

Metal-detecting deteriorates into grave-robbing. Visited exhibition on identification of victims from the Battle of Arnhem to encounter this case-study. Illegal metal-detectorist robbing a grave caught red-handed. If not caught the grave would have disappeared unseen.

But let's all talk about red herrings like woke and migration. www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Was invited to provide context for Casal Lumbroso @theconversation.com Very cool research by @enzaspinapolice.bsky.social et al. shows people made tools on elephant bones and scavenged the carcass. theconversation.com/how-a-400-00...

PhD-opening in our ancient genomics lab this year, apply below! We work on: 📜 Genetic history integrated with archaeology and history 📈 Natural selection and trait genetics 🐺 Evolutionary genomics of dogs and wolves 🦠 Ancient pathogen genomics 💀 Hominin evolution and ancient proteomics

Metal detecting is at best a legalised tragedy of the commons, but so often just heritage crime.