It's graduation week, which means that I get to enjoy a daily strut down the red carpet to head to my office.

I am THRILLED to announce that BBC Radio 3 have let me make 5 whole episodes w the incredibly talented producer Becky on prehistoric instruments. They are ‘sound illustrated’ contemplations, so they are wild and personal as well as archaeological. And I get to open with my amazing uncle singing :)

In this heat wave I've no idea what kind of magnum to enjoy. Any chance of some more reviews @benpartridge.bsky.social. I'm dangerously close to getting a mint one...

Great News! The 47th #AEA conference with @yorkuniversity.bsky.social will be at York Guildhall, 13-15th Nov Titled 'Bridging the Divide - Environmental Research at the Interface Between Academic and Developer-led Archaeology', the deadline for abstracts is 30th July Visit envarch.net/conferences

Sadly my team got sent off for cannibalism which is a bit awkward....

Some top baboon banter from the @archanthlancashire.bsky.social team

Please enjoy all of the balloon arches that my university has had on display over the last three weeks. In other news I'm thinking of setting up a NW based balloon arch company.

Today I learnt the word gralloched. In related news we should be getting a new red deer reference skeleton soon!

New episode!!! It’s The archaeology of… Cave Bears!!! With the fabulous Dr Jones (Jen. Who is a real archaeologist, unlike certain other Dr Jones we could mention) youtu.be/JiK8L_JRmh8

The Archaeology of...Cave Bears podcast out today! Also available on Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Learn more about why you shouldn't cuddle a cave bear, what they ate, and why they might have become extinct. www.youtube.com/watch?v=JiK8...

Congratulations to Dr Sarah Barakat who passed her PhD viva today! Sarah’s doctoral research has made a major contribution to our understanding of the use of sulfur isotopes in tracking range use in Late Pleistocene fauna. Well done Sarah! (And here’s the obligatory theme cake…)

One month left to submit your abstracts for the University of Lancashire AEA conference 7-9th May 2026. We've got some fantastic keynotes linked up, a conference dinner that involves curling and a field trip add on! Abstract submission: tinyurl.com/5fdv7e3c Registration here: tinyurl.com/3x5jnz3c

Don't forget the 46th #AEA conference will be hosted by Lancashire University on 7th - 9th May 2026 Details can be found here: envarch.net/conferences The abstract deadline is: 22nd February #environmentalarchaeology #zooarchaeology #archaeobotany #palynology #landscapearchaeology

New pod! 🎙️ Get your archaeological ponderings from our very own @brennawalks.bsky.social!

Double episode drop tomorrow — and it ain’t just Anglo-Saxons (whoever they are). It’s also The Archaeology of… Drugs! youtube.com/@lancashirea...

🎓 FCT PhD Fellowships 2026 ICArEHB invites inquisitive and motivated candidates to pursue a PhD in Prehistoric Archaeology or Primatology through the national FCT Program. 📍See our poster & details: www.icarehb.com/fct-phd-fell... #PhD #Archaeology #FCT #ICArEHB

We are pleased to announce the 46th conference of the #AEA will be held in Spring at the University of Lancashire, between 7th & 9th May 2026. Details: envarch.net/conferences 📸Co-host Dr Jennifer Jones presenting at the @unistavanger.bsky.social conference this month. #environmentalarchaeology

Sometimes, with colleagues, I dabble in Forensic taphonomy, and this is one of this occasions! This article explores how damage and fractures on bones influences the physiochemical composition of bone over time, which may impact in PMI estimation! www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

We are delighted to be hosting the 46th Association for Environmental Archaeology Conference between the 7th to the 9th May 2026 at the University of Lancashire. See the website for further information and the link for the abstract submission! @jimbonesmorris.bsky.social envarch.net/conferences

It is a pleasure to welcome Mónica to work with me at the University as a Marie Curie Research Fellow. We had a lot of fun working with the reference collection in advance of Mónica's first sampling mission!

A lovely review article (and my first dissertation citation🍾) on Scottish archaeological mollusc exploitation from @jenniferbones.bsky.social & @mlaw.bsky.social. Makes the point that culture ("taste" if you like) may be just as important as economic considerations www.mdpi.com/2571-550X/8/...

New research by @jenniferbones.bsky.social phys.org/news/2025-08...

Mislabelled Chatgpt anatomical images are my new favourite thing. Do you know your Pelvix from your Pelmis and how to differentiate between your Tarpula and your Fibuir?

I really enjoyed reading this paper exploring the possibility that elevated d15N values may be linked to the consumption of meat that was rotten and maggot filled! Definitely lots more work to do as the authors point out, but an interesting idea! www.science.org/doi/full/10....

Great coverage of our Cave Bear paper on Olde News with @flintdibble.bsky.social (from 11.47 onwards). A brilliant summary of the key findings and the rest of the show is well worth a watch too, some great explorations of interesting archaeological findings! www.youtube.com/live/E-23TjC...

A very useful paper here here exploring Sulfur cycling in Weltand locations, which is important for Archaeologists interpreting d34S values in their research. Spoiler Alert: it's quite complex!

Our new paper explores how we can use large bodies of stable isotope data from paleoenvironmental and bioarchaeological in wider cross-discipline studies. www.nature.com/articles/s43...

⭐New Open Access publication alert! ⭐ Are you interested in Cave Bears? If so then this might be the article for you! This is the first study of the diet of a cave bear population from Serbia using stable isotope analysis. See thread below for our findings! ⬇️ www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

It's my favourite day of the academic year! It was an absolute pleasure to celebrate with our new Archaeology graduates today and to loudly applaud them as they walked across the stage. Very proud of them all!

Happy #PublicationDay to @gregjenner.bsky.social @rikinparekh.bsky.social and… me! This has been the most fun I have ever had writing a book, hands down — exactly the way archaeology ought to be ;) (otherwise I’d get a real job, wouldn’t I) www.walker.co.uk/978152952249...

Today I've been doing a spot of Anglo Saxon dentistry sampling specimens for some mobility studies, many of the specimens had quite worn teeth so finding suitable samples wasn't so easy! *Please note that the photo below is a plastic cast for illustrative purposes only and not a real specimen.

Big achievement this week. My PhD student has now seen 'Office Space' so I feel that my job is done and she is well prepared for the world of work...

Yesterday on campus I was very excited to find a bee orchid growing in a patch of grass near my building! They're not particularly common in the North of England. The university has been working hard to promote the growth of wildflowers and wildlife and this was a delight to see.

This got me very excited! The dermatoglyphic image of the Neanderthal fingerprint is incredible! I've never seen a Neanderthal fingerprint before! link.springer.com/article/10.1...

I like to dabble in Geology sometimes, and Arran didn't disappoint. Some fantastic formations (including the other side of Hutton's unconformity). I particularly enjoyed seeing the fossilised footprint of the 'Hand Beast'! Best enjoyed in the moment rather than through a photograph...

It’s Mary Anning’s birthday, so time to share @katebeaton.bsky.social’s brilliant cartoon again.

This is the kind of scientist that we can all get behind. Consummate professionalism here when undertaking some important experimental work.

New publication! 🎉 Here you can read all about dog drool, bleach, and a probable Central Asian Neanderthal child: doi.org/10.1016/j.ja...

Exploring the prehistoric landscape of Machrie moor last week. My new favourite monument is Fingal's Cauldron Seat (Machrie Moor 5). Beautiful granite, flawless placement of stones in two modestly sized circles, mountain view and bedded well in the wider monumental landscape. Top monument 10/10.

It's back to the Last Glacial Maximum with the current samples that I'm working with: brown bears, deer, and capra! Fingers crossed there is plenty of collagen surviving!

Last night I was absolutely delighted to be awarded the University Student's Union 'Golden Roses' award for "Outstanding Feedback and assessment". I'm very luck to have such enthusiastic students, and supportive colleagues. I also enjoyed this majestic and highly celebratory balloon arch.

I don't think that this gate has quite enough locks on it...

It's a pleasure to be back on our on-campus post medieval site with our first year students for their training excavation. We are making sure that they have the skills that they need to join us on their fieldwork placements this summer. It's going to be a glorious week!

It's Alpaca day on campus! They've come along to provide support for students undertaking their last assessments. Who wouldn't be motivated by looking at those glorious eyelashes!?

Similar pathologies on the ulna of 2 very different animals from 2 very different time periods and with very different ages. A black bear of 12+ years old and a domestic pig of less than 3.5 years old. Both captive/domestic. #zooarchaeology

We're proud to be celebrating 20 years of Archaeology at the University of Central Lancashire at our event on the 4th October 25. Come along and join in the festivities! It would be amazing to see plenty of former staff, students, collaborators, partner organisations, alumni & supporters there!

Join us in Belgium! Two PhD and two postdocs are available on the LOCO project. Its a great opportunity to work with a large interdisciplinary team examining the mobility of people, materials and ideas 💡

We've got new 3D printer and our fantastic technician has made us a replica of the Venus* of Willendorf for our teaching collection. It's brilliant for getting a feel of the dimensions of this piece, and to be able to engage with it more actively. *or Donii - see yesterday's Auel post

Fantastic funded PhD opportunity for any archaeological scientists out there!

Gradually working my way through Jean Auel's Earth's Children series. I'm now onto book 3- 'The Mammoth Hunters' and I'm concerned that my knowledge of the archaeological record might be a spoiler...