💥 Join us for this week's research seminar! 👨🏫 Dr Jacob Lollar (Durham) "Tragic Riddles in the Margins: A Syriac Invocation of the Story of Oedipus" 📅 1pm, Weds 8 Oct 📍 CL108 / hybrid on Teams: events.teams.microsoft.com/event/8d428d...

I did a micro post on the coins in this article. V v interesting. Attn: @andrewahala.bsky.social livyarrow.org/2025/10/05/3...

When you study a language that has, say, 500 inscriptions surviving and someone out of the blue SENDS YOU FIVE MORE...! I don't think I've ever cancelled my plans faster than when Dan sent me these. So pleased everyone can read this wonderful publication.

Our building at @durhamclassics.bsky.social is looking much smarter after repairs this summer - but we kind of miss our purple front door!

Women's Classical Committee UK merch has launched! Can we interest you in a jazzy sticker? www.etsy.com/uk/shop/WCCUKShop

Help support your colleagues! The Women's Classical Committee UK runs a Small Grants Scheme for its members, paying out over £1k/year to colleagues who often don't have access to other funding. Can you offer a small donation to help us maintain this much needed scheme? www.paypal.com/donate/?host...

Wonderful keynote by @sophievohra.bsky.social at "Colour, Texture and Sound" - and a list of pioneering museums that have worked with her project to provide multisensory exhibits.

I'm also heading to this event today! (Not speaking, just for fun 🙂)

1 like = 1 interesting I read in Greek inscriptions (or read about in SEG or BE)

One day, nearly 2000 years ago, a cat dashed across some drying tiles, somewhere near Hadrian's Wall. It's immortality of a kind, isn't it?

Problematic (to put it kindly) on so many levels. 1) there isn't really 'unfunded' research. The REF is there to allocate resources so that research is possible without a grant.

Thought my new robot hoover was exciting, but I've just been talking to someone about their smart travel mug so clearly I'm behind the times 😄

Wikipedia editors trying to fend off the onslaught of AI crap have crowdsourced some telltale signs of LLM-generated writing; it might be handy for editors and proofreaders generally. Thanks to @ellenrykers.com for pointing me to it. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikiped...

Good thread of book recs for the start of the new year! 😄

Thinking of those whose academic contracts end today, some of whom aren't sure what's next, or are undergoing the stress of moving institutions. We've said goodbye to some wonderful colleagues this summer. If I can be useful, please get in touch.

Little payday treat order for me! Finally got a couple of laptop stickers (with an Etruscan theme).

May you greet your day with the carefree joy of the toddler currently outside Durham cathedral shouting "DING DONG!" each time the bell rings.

My university has sent me a free hot drink voucher that can only be redeemed from 3 specific places from 10-1 on two specific Wednesdays. Am I going out of my way to get this hot drinks voucher? Yes, I am.

My previous summer tweets still hold true

Five more working days till I'm on leave...

Apulian waitress, c. 275-c. 150 BC, exasperatedly explains to Roman tourists how large the pizzas they have just ordered four of actually are and do they really want to eat all that

Yes I have definitely done this! 😄

I want to write a new blogpost, academic pals! What’s your best advice for sustaining your motivation as an early career scholar, post PhD, without institutional affiliation? How can you feel supported in carrying on with your work? And what can those of us lucky enough to have jobs do to help?

Is it OK to post jobs here? Hoping so, as we're recruting 7 3-year Research Fellowships as part of a new Leverhulme Centre for the Study of Slavery in War. (More details below). Please share widely, and apply! jobs.nottingham.ac.uk/vacancy.aspx...

Made quite a decent curry from a free marrow from the allotments we pass on the way home. #tinyjoys

This is quite something.

I teach the history of medieval art for goodness’ sake. I’m not going to pretzel myself trying to convince anyone that learning about this subject will make a better [insert job here]. As soon as I agree that it’s a legit ground for debate, I lose. Instead let’s point out the fallacy of the premise.

Got annoyed by someone on the internet and did not reply. Closed the app and walked away. Proud of myself today. 😄

Me to my kids:

I typically don't script my conference papers, but I did so recently (because of the particular audience and subject matter and also because I was very tired). I liked that I could pre-plan a nice punchy conclusion!

This also means that in no way do we necessarily have the “best” works of each author! We have a combination of random luck and those perceived as easily digestible by teens with useful grammatical examples.

Good thing @carolinebarron.bsky.social has taught me so much about Grand Tour fakes! (Today's example at Castle Howard.) (Don't @ me, Earl of Carlisle.)

Scrappy altars are my favourite. Behold this lovely little wonky god in a niche - and highly diagonal lettering 😂 - on this altar to Mars from Housesteads fort on Hadrian’s Wall. Adorable 🥰 RIB 1592, now in Chesters Museum.📷 mine romaninscriptionsofbritain.org/inscriptions... #EpigraphyTuesday 🏺

This is just one post in a fascinating thread where people are sharing their own decreased attention spans and how frustrating they find it. I definitely see myself in these stories too.

Amusing myself while reading about seals by imagining the other kind of seals. "Seal boxes" "Inscribed seals" "Neither Greek nor Latin was wholly dominant among seals"

I am in the rare position to combine two Bluesky storms because I have written a book which is about being a woman walking, but there is no point in my persuading you to buy it because it was published by #Unbound. Although if anyone is a publisher and wants to run the paperback, I'm here for that.

Like a fever dream - recognisable but all wrong. Looking down the thread, putting buses (or something bus-like) on the pavement is an interesting element

Just heard @nickywoolf.bsky.social use the word “gnomic” in a podcast and had to remind myself again that this doesn’t mean “like a gnome”

Ellen Wilkinson was such a good parliamentary performer. Here she is in 1925, arguing for votes for women at 21 (rather than 30, as previously).

When did people start getting an "of" in their names? Isidore of Seville is a very cool name; much cooler than, say, Servius.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article... This is 💥IMPORTANT!💥 Chichester is getting its own Monopoly board and you have until the 21st July to nominate the Fishbourne Roman Palace to be one of the squares. Don't let us down, people! 🙏 Just email [email protected], and then share this post!

Ah yes, the helpful step of doing a piece of work where I clean and organise the whole house instead of doing the work. Excellent.

This seems like a good moment to share my post on workload limits, including a link to @helenlovatt.bsky.social's post for the WCC UK which got me thinking in these terms in the first place.

Is it possible to re-envision the place of Greece and Rome in the ancient world overall? In today’s new #PeoplingPodcast, we are joined by Dr. Mathura Umachandran to reimagine Classics through the lens of Critical Ancient World Studies (CAWS) /1 peoplingthepast.com/2025/07/01/p...

It's not too late to sign up for this summer Coptic course! www.religiondepartment.com/coptic Begins July 8th. Available Asynch. or Synch. Lectures live Tuesdays at 10:00am Atlanta/EDT (3:00pm London/BST, 4:00pm Amsterdam/Zurich/CEST, 5:00pm Cairo/EEST, and 12:00am July 9th Australia/AEST).

✊⚡🏆 Working Classicists Awards 2025 ✊⚡🏆 It's time to announce the winners of #WCA2025! Our six categories this year: 🎨Creative Classicist 🦸Unsung Classicist 🧑‍🏫Educator Classicist 🤝Community Classicist 🌱Newcomer Classicist and ⭐Working Classicist of the Year And our winners are...

A new and tasty addition to the Durham food scene: Coarse Deli (baby #2 of the restaurant Coarse)?

Female agency in the ancient Mediterranean world – Bryn Mawr Classical Review bmcr.brynmawr.edu/2025/2025.07...