The Apostle Paul:

Toad sipped his tea. “Frog,” he asked, “are you making this up?” “Maybe yes and maybe no,” said Frog.

So many of my recent pieces for National Geographic would have suffered were it not for my ability to link to the amazing resources supplied by @nasscal.bsky.social. If you are interested in early Christian literature you must check out this invaluable site. www.nasscal.com

The high quality of Hellenistic metalwork was applied to many everyday objects, including box mirrors, an example of which is below. This beautiful repoussé relief of a woman with a silver earring and necklace once covered a polished, reflective bronze surface within. 🏺 1/ #ancientbluesky 📸 me

What was the Star of Bethlehem and do we have historical evidence for it? www.nationalgeographic.com/history/arti... Featuring astrophysicist Grant Matthews and Bible scholar @zafulotus.bsky.social

I didn't want to write this piece on Christmas stealing from pagan festivals because I have always thought that was a myth. BUT in researching it I realized something interesting 1/6 www.nationalgeographic.com/history/arti... featuring: @praxeas.bsky.social @zafulotus.bsky.social

Since it’s official. Thanks 🙏 @newyorker.com. This feels pretty surreal.

I was delighted to visit Bible & Archaeology (bam.sites.uiowa.edu) recently to talk about early nativity scenes! 🤓 youtu.be/nKBm6FYKoEc?... We cover the catacombs, frescoes, Life of Brian. And it's the closest I've ever come to invoking "Mark Wahlberg Talks to Animals"...

It’s the “season of love and giving”…but this year, doesn’t it seem more like a “season of fear and taking”? Like many of you, I’ve been saddened by the human impact of draconian government budget cuts and how angry many housed Americans are at unhoused Americans. 🧵 1 of 9

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

🎉 SOLIDARITY SATURNALIA! 🎉 IO SATURNALIA! Our annual festive giveaway is here! 12 bundles of gifts, and all you have to do to be in with a chance of winning is: 🎄Follow us, 🎄Repost this thread, 🎄And fill out this form: forms.gle/zMcHKZqGNC... Read on for prizes and T&Cs (UK&I only)...🧵

The editors of the Journal for the Study of the Historical Jesus, @srollens.bsky.social & Robert Myles, have made it a space that does history in really *interesting* ways. Its articles are often resources for thinking critically not just about Jesus, but history and religion, and why they matter. 👍

Rome just opened two new Metro C stations featuring archaeological finds displayed inside Colosseo/Fori Imperiali, allowing commuters to experience ancient amphorae and Roman walls during their daily journeys.

My latest for @hyperallergic.com looks at a new article in JRA on Berenike, Indo-Roman trade, and of course some pet monkeys which may have had pet piglets or kittens? 🐵 Really this is just amazing research showing us the extensive connections between the Mediterranean and India. #GlobalAntiquity

Many thanks to @janheilmann.bsky.social for helping me publish a piece in Zeitschrift für Neues Testament: "Jenseits der Gemeinde. Eine Neubewertung der Entstehungskontexte der Evangelien." Please reach out for a copy! 🤓 www.narr.de/znt%20%E2%80...

This new headline about findings from Roman Berenice is doing the most. 🐒 🐖 www.iflscience.com/roman-milita...

Congratulations to @candidamoss.bsky.social for this honor!!God’s Ghostwriters is a field-altering book, as truly all of her work has been. 🤓

Finally getting some theological clarity on the ethics of reclining in one’s plane seat

At Brent Nongbri’s Variant Readings, he has a great post on a Callimachus dipinto (painted inscription) from the Esquiline Hill now @ the Capitoline Museum brentnongbri.com/2025/11/10/c... Also note Trismegistos’ literary papyri database for more ancient authors: www.trismegistos.org/index_disamb...

It's getting closer... We will see you in November! #AARSBL25 #naasr #BostonBound

My latest for Nat Geo on things you didn't know about Roman Emperors. Co-authored with Max J. Foa and featuring the work of @sarahebond.bsky.social, Stephanie Frampton, A. B. Bosworth, and Tom Geue. www.nationalgeographic.com/history/arti...

I have the privilege of teaching my Death and Dying class in the Lowe Art Museum this semester and our mini exhibition is really coming together! I am so grateful to everyone at the Lowe for making this possible! 🤓 www.lowe.miami.edu

I had a great time speaking to Bible & Archaeology uiowa.edu/bam about a recent article on early Christian iconography-- check it out! 🤓 Why Early Christians Gave Jesus a Magic Wand youtu.be/iv7Nzr6pxSo?... via @YouTube

Fascinating and brutally sad.

Well. It’s official. You can now submit your proposals to the New Perspectives on Ancient Greek Religion book series, published by Edinburgh University Press! #ClassicsBluesky 🏺

Fragment of a Mould https://clevelandart.org/art/1916.2009

NEW: Tenure-track position in History at UC Berkeley in the GLOBAL HISTORY OF TECHNOLOGY. We are casting a wide net here: *all* periods, places, and fields are under consideration. I'm on the search committee, so do let me know if you have questions.

Gravestone fragment showing a hound chasing a hare from Roman Bath (Aquae Sulis). Now part of the museum collections at The Roman Baths in Bath. 📸 My own. #ReliefWednesday #RomanBritain #Bath

The first 'Great Moon Hoax' article was published in The New York Sun #OnThisDay in AD 1835, claiming life had been discovered on the moon 🌑 We've obsessed over the moon for millennia as shown by likely lunar depictions, such as the Nebra sky disc 🏺 #Archaeology 1/2 📷 Dbachmann / CC BY-SA 3.0

The newest issue of Religion & Theology 32, no. 1&2 (2025), just out ...

Reposting to add that off the top of my head, other museums with public domain image collections include the Met, the Getty, Cleveland Museum of Art, Yale University Art Gallery, and the Princeton University Art Museum. There's also a longer list here: apollo-magazine.com/open-access-...

Roman Bookrolls and Tablets in Kansas City Missouri thetextualmechanic.blogspot.com/2025/07/roma...

For #ReliefWednesday a depiction of a hydraulis – a water organ with a keyboard and pipes, the supply of air was created by water pressure. The instrument on the terracotta relief found in Trier is flanked by gladiators, a retiarius and a secutor. Water organs were used in... 🧵1/2 🏺 #archaeology

A #Roman tile fragment with some dog pawprints, impressed into the clay while it dried before firing #Archaeology #RomanArchaeology

Noah and his family in the ark. The original Mystery Machine. From the cathedral of Monreale, #Sicily. 12th c. 📷🇮🇹 flic.kr/p/GjKP3G #photography #art #Italy

#SaturdayMorningMood: a #Greek skyphos (a two handled drinking cup), decorated with an adorable #owl. Dating second half of the 5th century BC. On display at Museum August Kestner, Hannover. 📷 me 🏺

#RomanSiteSaturday: The Piazza Navona in #Rome was built on the remains of the Stadium of Domitian, therefore it has its unique shape. 📷 Valentino Ligori via IG #archaeology 🏺

This golden Roman hand mirror (missing its handle) depicts a naked goddess after her bath in a rustic, woodland setting. You'd expect Aphrodite-Venus, right? Instead, it might be a rare depiction of a naked Artemis-Diana, her quiver propped against the base of an altar. 🏺 1/ 2nd c. CE, #ARTIC 📸 me

Excited to announce that after a lot of editorial work our volume "Writing, Enslavement, and Power in the Roman Mediterranean, 100 BCE - 300 CE" is out now. @jeremiahcoogan.bsky.social @illdottore.bsky.social academic.oup.com/book/60683

The Metropolitan Museum of Art Puts 490,000 High-Res Images Online & Makes Them Free to Use