Oh this is great! ❤️

Friday musings Preparing packed lunch for tomorrow’s trail courtesy of the lovely Turkish grocer which has many ingredients that in some way cut across many food traditions. Is it the same? No But it’s amazing & most welcome. Love shopping there many buy same ingredients but make v different foods.

So today I wandered into @ibraaz.bsky.social and wowza. There was a fab exhibition by Hrair Sarkissoan called Stolen Past. It’s about artefacts looted from Raqqa Museum (northern Syria) by Islamic State.

In-text citations or nothing. FIGHT ME 🤣🤣🤣🤣. Seriously though, endnotes are diabolical. At least footnotes are somewhat readable. Ps. Not an actual fight - I’ll go make some coffee cos I’m a pacifist who runs on caffeine.

And at long last! This paper is finally live. It's been a labour of love, with thanks to so many @ucdarchaeology.bsky.social @qubelfastofficial.bsky.social @micireland.bsky.social @ulstermuseum.org @nmireland.bsky.social and so many more! And it's open access! www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

The ousting of Orbán is a great thing but I’ve seen what happens when there’s a change. The key thing will be accountability. Will Hungary get that? Because it’s never a given. www.theguardian.com/world/2026/a...

But why is it the second I find time to breathe and make a coffee, the cat activates demon mode? It’s a good thing he’s cute.

1/5 Two questions around slavery & its legacies that I’m asked quite frequently, with short answers & links for more detail: Q1: Which was “worse”, European trans-Atlantic or “Islamic” slavery?

Oooh interesting. Thank you Claire. Just shared this with my students. I miss the days of Zoom lectures - so folks if you have anything open to all and online do share and I'll share with my lot :-)

Some great photos from @theguardian.com including a photo of the Bormla Risen Christ. One of my favourites across Malta. Amazing photo by @darrinzl.bsky.social www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...

The lamb is coming along nicely. Happy Easter/ L-Għid it-tajjeb.

Come on #ArtemisII

It’s that night of the year when Obelix visits every stone circle to synchronise the clocks. Busy night! Jump forward, people! I know @danherb10.bsky.social LOVES this stuff #DontBlockMe #ClocksGoFoward #TheTimesTheyAreAChangin #BritishSummerTime

Today was spent clambering around early Christian catacombs while enjoying a very splendid vista. Very windy day but perfect for a spot of gentle archaeology.

Time for some snails :-)

That was a very lovely Our Lady of Sorrows procession in Lija

Between the 15th and 17th centuries the Grandmasters of the Order of St John built a series of coastal watch towers. The aim was to have at least three towers visible to each other. This one was built in 1637 by Grandmaster Lascaris.

Time for a bit of peace.

Wandering around my favourite landscape. Best way to clear the mind and renew the soul. Alas still too cold for a swim!

Oh good. Now they’re comparing restaurant prices for fish and seafood. General verdict is you obvs get more at home and mine is superior. Time for a celebratory sip of wine 🤣

Is it even family Sunday lunch if there isn’t a wall of noise? 🤣 Current simultaneous conversations: which bakery has the best bread, my aunt’s neighbour’s new curtains, the Holy Week decor in various windows, that time I did something or other when I was 7…

Just in case anyone was worried they could run out of yours truly🤣🤣🤣 remember - go official and don’t accept imitations.

Fascinating read though I’m glad I was eating yoghurt instead of a ham and cheese toast over breakfast! 🤣

Showed this to my cat and he whacked me 🤣

More destruction of the cultural heritage in Iran. Chehel Sotun in Isfahan, dating back to the 17th c, a UNESCO World Heritage site sustained damage in the war.

Deliberately so.

So. Pending boarding passes because… Brexit that’s why. I am sick of proving my existence. I realise I’m enormously privileged that I can prove it but that’s not the point. Status: Pending approval. Story of my life.

It’s not Notre Dame so there’ll be no outcry.

So wonderful to see the amazing @amalexathorn.bsky.social in this list.

World Book Day again apparently and what a stark reminder today was to really heed the words of Audre Lorde: the master’s tools will never dismantle the master’s house.

On Sky news someone from the Jerusalem centre for security and foreign affairs called Iran today’s N*zi regime that unalives children. With a straight face and no hint of shame. And before anyone wails: obvs Iran isn’t the good guy here. Neither are the other actors involved in this.

One of my favourites. I love the Leventis gallery. I always stop to look at something. It’s become a little ritual.

Might one be spotting a pattern? www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...

I like art www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...

Blood oranges. My heart is happy.

Auction houses - not even once. No this isn’t human remains as such. It’s worse. Much worse. Will the west never stop profiting from enslavement? www.theguardian.com/world/2026/f...

Internal monologue1: it’s Lent and this level of unholy delight should make me feel guilty. Internal monologue 2: nah. Fluff that. Get them all. Their crimes are many.

Warms my heart this does.

Wouldn’t it be nice if this was followed by Trump’s arrest? Hey we can all dream.

Oh heck yes.

When this dude en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alastai... is relishing the story…!

Pics of Andrew’s arrest via Sky News. Unmarked cars cos the royal bottom needs a Range Rover apparently.

News on folks. www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...

Rest in power www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

Exactly this.

I’ve been seeing this story all morning. I share the horror and anger. We have a historian with an utter disregard to the actual past (and present and future) and a uni PR team that quite frankly needs to go offline.

The European Association of Archaeologists Executive has worked hard to bury this result inside a long document. But we're going to make this triumph of compassion, common sense & demand for transparency known to all. Help us by sharing. @archagainstaparth.bsky.social @blacktrowel.bsky.social

Look. If the United Kingdom can’t govern itself, it would be in everyone’s best interests for the Commonwealth to intervene. I suggest a condominium government. Very flexible eh? Ideal for countries that can’t be trusted to handle their internal affairs.

So the very lovely students & ECRs @uclarchaeology.bsky.social are organizing a conference Unravelling the Palaeolithic sites.google.com/view/unravel... and aside from creating a fab space for research, I spotted the following - sthg I wish I'd had back in the day:

Grief is a very human emotion and an important one (yes it is even though it’s hard).