Happy New Year! At midnight on Hogmanay, the Watch Stone will move from its position guarding the approach to the Ness of Brodgar to take a drink from Stenness loch. (Or so it is said!) Wishing you all a wonderful 2026, filled with folklore, fun and many a hike to an ancient site 💚🪨🎉

Corfe Castle, the model of Corfe Castle in Corfe Castle Model Village, and the model of Corfe Castle in the model of Corfe Castle Model Village in Corfe Castle Model Village.

Corfe Castle, the model of Corfe Castle in Corfe Castle Model Village, and the model of Corfe Castle in the model of Corfe Castle Model Village in Corfe Castle Model Village.

31 December 1795: birth of the remarkable Anna Gurney, Old English scholar, philologist, educator, abolitionist, philanthropist, with interests in botany, archaeology and geology. A contemporary of Mary Anning, she collected fossils from the Pleistocene Cromer Forest Bed on the north Norfolk coast.

An old favourite for the last #TombTuesday of 2025, this is the Dolmen des Follets, a neolithic tomb in St Gravé, Brittany. It is said to be inhabited by a band of ferocious goblins (the 'follets') who fiercely guard a treasure buried beneath.

I was thinking of visiting Sutton Hoo for the first time in the new year - but it turns out a return train from London, a journey of 1h 30 mins, costs £54!! @nationaltrust.org.uk #TombTuesday

Wayland’s Smithy, Oxfordshire, July 2023. #TombTuesday

An old favourite for the last #TombTuesday of 2025, this is the Dolmen des Follets, a neolithic tomb in St Gravé, Brittany. It is said to be inhabited by a band of ferocious goblins (the 'follets') who fiercely guard a treasure buried beneath.

This male Great Spotted Woodpecker has been coming to the #weedypond often recently. Lovely to see that striking scarlet nape, on these dull midwinter days. Birds continue to bathe even in the coldest of water. #UKwildlife #nature 🦉 #woodpeckers #birdsofbluesky

✨It’s that Bacchus time of year✨ This hazy time between Saturnalia and the New Year has me a bit befuddled - much like this depiction of Bacchus! Hope these days are treating you well. #MosaicMonday #AncientRome

A heavy fall of snow at Vindolanda fort a few years back, a moment of almost complete silence on site apart from the soft patter of snowflakes which drew my imagination into the past. #hadrianswall #archaeology #northumberland

From the archives. Pointing west on a frosty morning. #fingerpostfriday #hadrianswall #followtheacorn

Barbican Gate, Sandwich, Kent. Also known as Davis Gate, this 14th century structure stands on the former city quay of the medieval Cinque Port. The round towers flanking the gateway have early keyhole gun ports. #ArchitecturalIllustration #pencil #drawing #ArtYear

Some beautiful fragments of early stained glass at Ely Cathedral for #MedievalMonday.

As we approach Christmas, for this #MosaicMonday I'm sharing one of my favourite decorative mosaics. From Combe St Nicholas and sadly no longer surviving. Hand-coloured engraving from Samuel Lysons, Reliquiae Britannico-Romanae I.IV (1813-1817), pl. VIII. AncientBlueSky 🏺

Some beautiful fragments of early stained glass at Ely Cathedral for #MedievalMonday.

La Roche Longue in Quintin (Côtes-d’Armor) is a 7m tall needle-like granite menhir. It was said that fairies and nains used to dance around it and that the menhir itself sometimes danced when midnight sounded. #StandingStoneSunday.

Stop! I know what you’re thinking! You need that final stocking filler for a history-loving loved one! Something under £15, small, perfectly shaped for wrapping, easily & quickly available from (all good) high street shops or online! I’ve got your back… #Echolands - A Journey in Search of Boudica

Possibly the most sublime Roman fresco of a temple. The architectural detail of the spiky-topped wooden barrier, the painted relief in the pediment, & the offerings burning on the altar; it’s a symphony of observations. Archaeological Museum of Capri (no provenance) #FrescoFriday

☠️ I'm in a 1,500-year-old graveyard at Govan Old to tell you about ⤵️ A WHOLE LOT OF HISTORY! It's written by me, Dr Tom Horne, and brought to you on Substack by History Hit. Out 2x a week, on Mondays and Fridays, it showcases the most interesting #history and #archaeology from around the globe.

Colchester Castle is built on the foundations of a Roman temple and its structure includes much recycled Roman building material. One staircase includes this chunk of ancient tile which features the prints of a Roman hobnail boot (my own foot for scale) #RomanSiteSaturday @colmuseums.bsky.social

Colchester Castle is built on the foundations of a Roman temple and its structure includes much recycled Roman building material. One staircase includes this chunk of ancient tile which features the prints of a Roman hobnail boot (my own foot for scale) #RomanSiteSaturday @colmuseums.bsky.social

Something a bit different for #FindsFriday - this is a lock of hair that once belonged to a Roman woman. She was buried at Poundbury in Dorset and her body was packed in gypsum, which preserved her carefully plaited locks. Now in @dorsetmuseum.bsky.social.

Ahead of Christmas, it feels fitting to share this Roman fibula - a decorative pin once used to fasten garments - shaped like a stag. In my Christmas-influenced imagination, it looks rather reindeerish! 🎄 Is it Dasher, Dancer, or maybe Rudolph? 🎅 From the Roman Villa at Borg, 2nd c. AD 📷Villa Borg

Something a bit different for #FindsFriday - this is a lock of hair that once belonged to a Roman woman. She was buried at Poundbury in Dorset and her body was packed in gypsum, which preserved her carefully plaited locks. Now in @dorsetmuseum.bsky.social.

The towers of the medieval church at Reculver dominate the north Kent coast. They'll also guide you to one of the earliest Roman forts, built against Saxon raids on the 'Saxon Shore'. #Romans #History #Kent

This model of Roman London was made in 1928-33 by Anthony G Lowther and is now in the crypt of All Hallows-by-the-Tower. Although our understanding of the ancient city has changed since its creation, it does show the correct locations of the fort (1), basilica (3) and bridge (6). #RomanFortThursday

This model of Roman London was made in 1928-33 by Anthony G Lowther and is now in the crypt of All Hallows-by-the-Tower. Although our understanding of the ancient city has changed since its creation, it does show the correct locations of the fort (1), basilica (3) and bridge (6). #RomanFortThursday

Currently reading: The Road To Mons Graupius A Journey Through Roman Scotland by Alan Montgomery AD 77-8 The Roman General Agricola - father in law of Tacitus - attempted to subdue the north of the province of Britannia ending with his greatest battle #books #history #Scotland #RomanEmpire

This spooky carved relief of Ankou, the Breton personification of death, can found on the ossuary of the church of St Yves in La Roche-Maurice. He holds an arrow and a banner that reads 'JE VOUS TUE TOUS' (I kill you all). #ReliefWednesday

I thought I'l long sold out of my lino print they're calling KRAMPUS MUST BE APPEASED!!!, but it turns out I still have a good ten copies in the haunted cupboard. I've just made them available in the shoppe... 🔥 slipperyjack.bigcartel.com

A Goniatite fossil, suspended in a shoreworn stone under a reflected winter sky. County Clare, Ireland.

It's beginning to look a lot like #HillfortsWednesday 🥳 Here's a glorious aerial photo of the spectacular unfinished 3.5ha Iron Age hillfort of Ladle Hill in #Hampshire 😍 ✈️ 📷 © Ginny Pringle for the Hampshire Cultural Trust For more see: hampshirearchaeology.wordpress.com/2015/11/23/b...

This spooky carved relief of Ankou, the Breton personification of death, can found on the ossuary of the church of St Yves in La Roche-Maurice. He holds an arrow and a banner that reads 'JE VOUS TUE TOUS' (I kill you all). #ReliefWednesday

Inside the mother of all Neolithic tombs ... Newgrange in Ireland. This photo, from excavator Michael O'Kelly's book, shows the chamber (with spiral carving) that is illuminated via the famous roofbox opening at winter solstice. A 5,200-yr-old celebration of the return of the sun. #TombTuesday

This is the Bucklersbury Pavement, a Roman mosaic found in 1869 during construction of Queen Victoria Street in the City of London. Dating to around 200-250 CE, it was later exhibited in the old Museum of London (and will hopefully feature in the new @londonmuseum.bsky.social too!) #MosaicMonday

A lovely article about a magical house - definitely worth visiting if you get the chance...

For #MosaicMonday a fragment of a Third Century Roman mosaic of Orpheus Taming the Animals (204 CE) currently in Dallas Museum of Art in Dallas, Texas; courtesy of Mary Harrsch. #RomanArchaeology #Archaeology

Passamezzo #AdventCalendar: Day 15 Today's #marginal musician is playing #bagpipes. Detail from a page showing the Annunciation to the Shepherds in a #15thCentury #bookofhours. MS Lat 253. Houghton Library, Harvard University, c1490 #earlymusic #marginaliamonday #manuscriptmonday #bagpipe

This is the Bucklersbury Pavement, a Roman mosaic found in 1869 during construction of Queen Victoria Street in the City of London. Dating to around 200-250 CE, it was later exhibited in the old Museum of London (and will hopefully feature in the new @londonmuseum.bsky.social too!) #MosaicMonday

Where the Cornish moors meet the sea, it’s the impressive Boswens Menhir 📸 Jan 2025 #standingstonesunday

Situated by the pretty Bay of Locquirec in northern Brittany, the Roman baths of Hogolo were discovered by chance under sand dunes in 1892 and excavated in the 1930s and 40s. They were probably associated with a villa, which has yet to be found. #RomanSiteSaturday

Situated by the pretty Bay of Locquirec in northern Brittany, the Roman baths of Hogolo were discovered by chance under sand dunes in 1892 and excavated in the 1930s and 40s. They were probably associated with a villa, which has yet to be found. #RomanSiteSaturday

The Ghost of Christmas Present from Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol by John Leech (1843) #PhantomsFriday

This heavy copper alloy helmet once belonged to a Roman gladiator. It was originally tinned to give it a shiny, silvery surface and it would also have had a face guard. It was discovered in Hawkedon, Suffolk, and is the only example of gladiator equipment ever found in Britain. #FindsFriday

Sad to hear of the death of the iconic Stanley Baxter - I saw him many times in panto when I was growing up, and he was unsurpassed as a dame (and I am sure I am not the only one who was not that surprised when he came out of the closet age at the grand old age of 94...)

This heavy copper alloy helmet once belonged to a Roman gladiator. It was originally tinned to give it a shiny, silvery surface and it would also have had a face guard. It was discovered in Hawkedon, Suffolk, and is the only example of gladiator equipment ever found in Britain. #FindsFriday

‪Cistern and South-East Angle Tower, Housesteads Fort, Northumberland. #RomanFortThursday #Housesteads #HadriansWall #RomanBritain #Archaeology #Monochrome #BlackAndWhite #Photography

I am ridiculously excited about this - I have been waiting 45 years for this film!

There are loads of Roman forts in my books 'Walking the Antonine Wall' and 'The Road to Mons Graupius' - from Trimontium near Melrose in the south to Stracathro, the most northerly Roman fort in the world, and lots more in between! #RomanFortThursday