Gut wrenching to see four young people jailed for direct action against an arms supplier to Israel. Years in prison for protesting to save lives in Gaza, with 'terrorism' used despite no jury convicting them of it. A truly dangerous attack on the right to protest.

Just finished reading Carthage: A New History of an Ancient Empire by @gevemac.bsky.social. Was lovely spending some time in the Punic Wars again. Great read, anyone who follows me here will enjoy it!

Who said Benjamin Franklin invented the lighting rod? “… there is this mount so high that no one can climb it. On top of it they built a high tower, 30 feet high, & on it is a lance, & at the end of the lance hung two large beads, one to deflect lightning & cold, & the other to deflect winds.”!!

Yes indeed — what if?

Proto-Elamite - linear Elamite steps backwards into writing advance each day www.newscientist.com/article/2524...

Hello gorgeous #Carthage paperback — available from tomorrow in the UK

Wondering if anyone in the current American administration has any clue? Some suggested reading struck me as I was looking through this excellent volume edited by @sasanianshah.bsky.social and John Hyland

Dear oh dear this relegation battle stuff is stressful #coys #thfc ⚽️

We shouldn't dismiss flowers as merely ornamental – these blooms are world-changers, argues a vivid new book by David George Haskell. Michael Marshall is mostly convinced

What if, instead, foreign tourists from the countries whose heritage the British Museum stole were paid upon entry?

Ruins of a Roman outpost seemed constructed through ‘the works of giants’ — great listen here on the making of medieval #London

‘Hours before the bombing started, Oman’s foreign minister, who had hosted a round of negotiations on 26 February, said Iran had agreed to essentially all the US terms. It didn’t matter.’ @tomstevenson.bsky.social on the US attacks on Iran. www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...

The USraeli terrorists (I am increasingly convinced this is what they are) have started bombing the beautiful Caspian province of Gilan, both Rasht & Anzali, one of the prettiest cities in the country and its only large port on the Caspian coast. This is criminal & has no purpose but destruction.

“The sky over Tehran is black. Like the night sky…” a friend “i cannot breath, I am breathing through a wet towel”. My mum 10.000.000 people are being choked to death. Tehran is surrounded by mountains. There is very little wind.

Since many seem keen to explain to me the finer points of a moral war & bring historical examples of just wars, let me pitch the book I edited on history of war in ancient Iran.

First physical evidence of Hannibal’s ‘war machine’ elephants? buff.ly/0avdhq6 #archaeology #ancientRome #ancienthistory #carthage

Thinking about Rag-i Bibi rock relief of the #Sasanians with this magnificent #rhinoceros.

We #sco 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 supporters in disbelief but will take it #SCOvENG

Elephant Bone in Spain May Be Proof of Hannibal’s Tanks With Trunks www.nytimes.com/2026/02/13/s...

Want to know more about the real story of ancient Carthage — doing a 4 session deep dive into Carthaginian history starting Feb 27th - come and explore

Why did the Sasanian empire fall? The brilliant @sasanianshah.bsky.social answers all m.youtube.com/watch?v=xTuk...

Want to know more about the real story of ancient Carthage — doing a 4 session deep dive into Carthaginian history starting Feb 27th - come and explore

And this - a rare elephant carpal bone from Punic period contexts - elephant in the oppidum (great title too 🐘) but what kind of elephant…. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Buckland wrote this despite understanding that women of his time, whether his wife Mary, or #MaryAnning whose work he benefitted from, were serious, skilled palaeontological fieldworkers & thinkers... Here's the @trowelblazers.bsky.social article on Mary Buckland trowelblazers.com/2014/05/09/m...

@gevemac.bsky.social on the ancient Mediterranean realities, myths and conquests of the Phoenicians.

“A novel is a minor conspiracy unto itself, a frenzied assembly of story and figures and motivations.” 5 book reviews you need to read this week. buff.ly/1Mfm05k

Good to see #Carthage in the @smithsonianmag.bsky.social www.smithsonianmag.com/history/stor...

Forthcoming 2026: Arabic Literature in Translation An ongoing list of Arabic literature in translation forthcoming in 2026.

Hello US #Carthage - readers. FYI Barnes and Noble is currently having a 25 percent discount on books coming out in 2026! And Carthage: A New History (published in North America by @w.w.norton ) is out on Jan 13th and can be ordered in advance

Out soon in North America #carthage a new history

My favourite story of the day…needs must 🍺

… Ottoni says Mediterranean civilisations during the first millennium BC were primarily responsible for the spread of African wildcats.. One population probably comprised wildcats from north-west Africa that were introduced to Sardinia… sounds like #Phoenicians to me…🐱.

Wonder if my @cardiffuni.bsky.social leaders understand this? It’s an amazing bit of research and impact. It’s what humanities scholars at universities are so good at and necessary.

‘One of the oldest urban centres on the planet’: Gaza’s rich history in ruins. My @guardian piece on the erasure of Gaza's past. As we mourn incalculable human losses, learning about its past can help us better understand the present www.theguardian.com/world/2025/o...

Very excited to be on this trip in Sept 2026 to explore Morocco from its Bronze Age through Roman history and archaeology with New Scientist Discovery Tours - come along for the journey www.newscientist.com/tours/bronze...

Shoes, shoes, shoes — a fine pair of flats I’d say

I strongly urge everyone to not just read this warning from @marcwatkins.bsky.social, but heed it, and be vocal and forceful pushing back against using AI to grade student writing. This must be anathema if we're going to have a world where learning means something. substack.com/inbox/post/1...

Excited for this and hope to see you there too! #carthage

@drmaimusie.bsky.social and me talking about #Carthage on Oct 2nd. Join us!

Oooh

The definitive evidence of Captain Janeway's extensive temporal interference 😉 Happy Star Trek Day! 🖖 Neolithic arrowheads on display at Archäologische Staatssammlung München 📷 me #StarTrekDay #Archaeology 🏺

"Not only history reclaimed, this is #history at its best!" Today's book pick from Damn History, a free monthly newsletter for readers/writers of #popularhistory. Congrats to author @gevemac.bsky.social! Read/subscribe to Damn History: damn-history-16d93f.beehiiv.com/subscribe

Happy Friday Folks!The sun ☀️ is finally shining and I’m super excited to be interviewing @gevemac.bsky.social on her latest book 📕’Carthage: A New History of an Ancient Empire’! A topic close to my heart 💜- reclaiming and re-centring African history. Book here: www.waterstones.com/events/carth...

Upcoming #Carthage book events: Sept. 5th @londonpodfest live with @ancientstristan (tickets shop.kingsplace.co.uk/31650/31654) Sept. 10th @nomad_books 781 Fulham Road, London 6.30-8.30pm Oct 2nd in conversation @maimusie at @waterstones Gower St at 6.30pm (www.waterstones.com/events/searc...)

Repeat repeat …

Nothing like a little time in #PEI to restore 🇨🇦🌊

Coming up on 5 September! I’ll be at @LondonPodFest at King's Place, 7pm! talking all things ancient CARTHAGE, with History Hit: The Ancients, Tristan Hughes Really hope to see you there! Get tickets 👉 kingsplace.co.uk/whats-on/words…

Buon #Ferragosto! Fresco from #Pompeii (possibly from Fullonica of Sestius Venustus) and a unique example of a group of just women celebrating in what looks to be a rather wonderfully rowdy dining scene with upturned glassware, music being played and a woman holding aloft a ladle.

Delighted to find that Dr Eve MacDonald @gevemac.bsky.social has a new book out on Carthage which uses the latest archaeological research. Her 2015 book Hannibal A Hellenistic Life is still the best biography of Hannibal for me because it placed him in a wider context than the military exploits.

Why should we care about #archaeology, #monuments, traditions, art, and architecture when survival itself is threatened? Read Morag M. Kersel's blog for the SAA's @saa-aap.bsky.social: ▶️ cup.org/46Ryg9X #culturalheritage #culturalproperty