I enjoyed a visit to the small, but interesting, Norris Museum in St. Ives, Cambridgeshire, at the weekend. A few items caught my eye, but particularly this very beautiful and poignant medieval brooch and these fabulous Roman faces 😀

Does anyone know where this is? It looks like London to me... And the good news is it is not completely a 'monde oublié' ('lost world')- I have just been in to my local herbalist, the marvellous Baldwins on Walworth Road!

Ballowall barrow one wild and windy October evening. No sign of strange lights or partying sprites, but a definite spooky vibe ... #TombTuesday

Love being reminded to do this every year. It's a win/win all round

I must say Glasgow was looking rather lovely today, with Kelvingrove Park showing the last of its autumnal colour...

Hello folks. I've been making plaster of paris artefacts/decorations for friends. I'm opening it up here now - all items incl. postage (UK only, sadly) & gift packaging. I can send things within a week, usually faster. Anyway, if there's anything you fancy, message/email me! 😊 #Archaeology 🏺

I am now on the train back to London after giving my talk at the brilliant Aye Write festival in Glasgow yesterday. I really enjoyed it, thanks to everyone who came along! #AyeWrite

There's been a request for elephants in mosaic, and we always like to oblige! To start with, here is the splendid beast from the Horkstow Orpheus mosaic. 1/2 #MosaicMonday #AncientBlueSky 🏺 @classicalalan.bsky.social

Sale ends in SIX hours! buff.ly/QZIAKGN 25-30% off paintings! 30% off this painting 'Temple Guardian' which I painted for my book Seas Of Strangehollow. #templeguardian #painting #artforsale #artsale #supportsmallbusinesses #christmasshopping #xmasgifts

The Cove, garden of The Druid Inn, Stanton Drew, Somerset 08.11.25 #StandingStoneSunday #Stunday #scape #landscapephotography #photographersofbluesky

The Callanish VIII stones This circle stands on the edge of Great Bernera island, leaning towards the mainland Isle of Lewis I always wondered why it would be placed here... #StandingStoneSunday #archaeology #photooftheday 🏺

This is my painting 'Sun Henges', watercolour and gold ink on recycled cotton rag paper. It is one of several new works inspired by folk art and ancient megaliths that are now available for sale on my Etsy shop here: shorturl.at/HDzSI #StandingStoneSunday #Art

This is my painting 'Sun Henges', watercolour and gold ink on recycled cotton rag paper. It is one of several new works inspired by folk art and ancient megaliths that are now available for sale on my Etsy shop here: shorturl.at/HDzSI #StandingStoneSunday #Art

The remains of the mighty basilica wall at Roman Wroxeter (Viriconium) in Shropshire. Established by the end of the 1st century AD, Viriconium was one of the largest cities in Roman Britain. 📸 My own. #RomanSiteSaturday #RomanBritain #Wroxeter #Shropshire

"The ethical inversion is stark, private gain: public cost." @tessmachling.bsky.social sharing another highly informed and articulate viewpoint on the current metal detecting crisis in the UK. 🏺🦣

A wonderful selection of ancient Roman finds from the city of Colchester in Essex, known in ancient times as Camulodunum, including jewellery, coin hoards, pottery and fresco fragments. Now on display at Colchester Castle. @colmuseums.bsky.social #FindsFriday

“The Trumpington Cross” Trumpington bed burial c 650 -710 AD The burial of a female teenager. 1 of only 5 crosses of this type found in Britain. Excavated in 2011. Now Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology #Cambridge #FindsFriday #medieval #archaeology

#FrescoFriday from the tablinum of the House of Marcus Lucretius Fronto (V-4-A) #Pompeii. This #painting from the centre of the north wall portrays Mars and Venus on the left, Eros in the centre and groups of serving girls. #Archaeology #Art #History #Myth

I've just found out 'Shetland' is back - very exciting!!! #Shetland

It’s William Stukeley’s birthday 🎂 His landscape views are often just as interesting as the drawings of monuments - here’s his Prospect of Kits Coty House in Oct 1722

A wonderful selection of ancient Roman finds from the city of Colchester in Essex, known in ancient times as Camulodunum, including jewellery, coin hoards, pottery and fresco fragments. Now on display at Colchester Castle. @colmuseums.bsky.social #FindsFriday

This is the Roman bathhouse at Bearsden in Glasgow, the only visible remains of the fort on the Antonine Wall that once stood there. Featuring hot and cold rooms as well as plunge pools and a latrine, it also had glazed windows and painted plaster decoration. #RomanFortThursday

This is a final call - if you are in Glasgow area on Sunday, why not come to the Mitchell Library and hear me talk about my travels in search of Roman remains and the site of Scotland's first recorded battle...tickets available here: www.glasgowlife.org.uk/event/1/the-... #RomanFortThursday

North Gate of Housesteads Fort, Northumberland. #RomanFortThursday #Housesteads #HadriansWall #RomanBritain #Archaeology #Monochrome #BlackAndWhite #Photography

Castle Tioram, Loch Moidart #Scotland #Acharacle #Lochaber www.damianshields.com

This is the Roman bathhouse at Bearsden in Glasgow, the only visible remains of the fort on the Antonine Wall that once stood there. Featuring hot and cold rooms as well as plunge pools and a latrine, it also had glazed windows and painted plaster decoration. #RomanFortThursday

Who says you have to go out to the wilds of the country to see Scotland’s fantastic wildlife? Not Keith Broomfield in Wild Edinburgh a guide to nature spotting in the capital. For @publishingscotland.bsky.social Keith names his 5 favourite spots to spot wildlife booksfromscotland.com/2025/10/wild...

This little painting of a magical sun on cotton rag paper is now available on my Etsy shop - check it out here: www.etsy.com/shop/MySearc... #Art #Sun

This made me literally lol, as I believe the young people say...

Some impressive ancient stonework from Corbridge Roman site just south of Hadrian's Wall for #WallsonWednesday.

The Iron Age hillfort of Spettisbury Rings (Crawford Castle / Castle Ring) #Dorset This mighty 2ha univallate enclosure is today largely hidden behind the old railway and modern village of Spetisbury. Most people driving on the A350 are unaware of it 📷 © Jo and Sue Crane 2016 #HillfortsWednesday

The photos of JP Gibson (published variously in AA and also in Mike Bishop's pamphlet on the excavations, link here: www.flickr.com/photos/thear...) have some great images of the work in progress.

This little painting of a magical sun on cotton rag paper is now available on my Etsy shop - check it out here: www.etsy.com/shop/MySearc... #Art #Sun

The only reason to be on #AncientBluesky it's #HillfortsWednesday 🥳🍻 Lou Barker facing the majestic cliff castle of Gurnard's Head, west Penwith, #Cornwall. The far end is crowded with houses & dominated by a towering outcrop ⛰️😮 In the care of @nattrustarch.bsky.social 📷 Yesterday

This #ReliefWednesday we celebrate Hecate, the goddess of the crossroads and transitions. This is a votive relief to Hecate and the inscription warns against defacement of the place where the relief was located. Presumably the relief was originally located in a sanctuary to the goddess.

Some impressive ancient stonework from Corbridge Roman site just south of Hadrian's Wall for #WallsonWednesday.

A #Roman helmet with a bit of a decorative surprise - on the back, it features two little mice chasing after loaves of panis quadratus bread. Made about 1850 years ago, it once belonged to a soldier named Julius Mansuetus - did he choose this unusual decoration? 🐭 (📷Christies) 🏺 #AncientBlueSky

I am heading off to Brittany next week, and I plan to make a visit to one of my favourite ancient monuments - the corridor tomb in the forest near Trédion that is known as la Loge au Loup ('the Den of the Wolf'). #TombTuesday

The Gassman Tarot facsimile by Vieux Monde Express (linen finish). Photos can't fully convey the deck's stunning beauty: colours seem to glow from within against the peachy background. At some point in history, someone also painted clothes on figures without! #TarotSky #HistoricalTarot #TarotTuesday

A question for ancient historians and classicists - during the Roman empire, would people in the Greek world still call their gods Zeus, Hera, Athena etc? Or did everyone refer to them as Jupiter, Juno, Minerva by that time? #classicsbluesky #mythology

I am heading off to Brittany next week, and I plan to make a visit to one of my favourite ancient monuments - the corridor tomb in the forest near Trédion that is known as la Loge au Loup ('the Den of the Wolf'). #TombTuesday

For #tombtuesday - Holm of Papay South Chambered cairn, and the path of the dead.

The rather ruinous Sperris Quoit in its marvellous moorland setting, with the triangle of Zennor Quoit visible in the distance! #TombTuesday

Back in the 12th century, French sculptor Gislebertus carved this angel as (s)he appears to the three Magi as they dream, waking one with the delicate touch of a finger, and pointing her other forefinger toward the Bethlehem star (Cathedral of St Lazare, Autun)

Working on a new book proposal at the mo...a semi-perilous dungeon-crawl through ‘70s & ‘80s fantasy art in the unreliable company of a wide-eyed teenage wannabe-artist fanboy (me) and a wizened bearded academic (also me). To put you in mind of that era, here's Jimmy Cauty's 1976 classic #Tolkien

Detail from the Thruxton Bacchus Mosaic, probably representing one of the seasons. Discovered at Thruxton in Hampshire, the mosaic probably came from a villa. Dating to around 250-350 AD, the mosaic is now part of the collections at the British Museum. 📸 My own. #MosaicMonday

Scribes in the tomb of Horemheb, taking note of the captured enemy. #Archaeology #Egyptology

Looking down on the elegant mosaic in the west wing corridor of Chedworth Roman villa for #MosaicMonday

Beautiful everyday Ladybird things. The Trimphone (How it Works: The Telephone, 1972) Artist: BH Robinson

This is my painting 'Sun and Stones', watercolour and gold ink on recycled cotton rag paper. It is one of several new works inspired by folk art and ancient megaliths that are now available for sale on my Etsy shop here: shorturl.at/HDzSI #StandingStoneSunday #Art