gambling monk, germany, 15th century

The March 15, 2025, killing of Ruben Ray Martinez drew almost no public attention. But Martinez is now the first known American citizen shot to death by federal immigration agents during President Trump’s second term. https://wapo.st/4lbpGYC

"United States go for one month in 2026 without invading and seeking to regime-change yet another foreign country" challenge failed, again.

Today’s military strikes on Iran — carried out by the United States and Israel — mark a catastrophic escalation in an illegal war of aggression. Bombing cities. Killing civilians. Opening a new theater of war.

we need to talk about that Ring Super Bowl ad

If you have read your Herodotus, you know a fair amount about the Scythians (modern Ukraine). And both Romans & Greeks cast milk as a “barbaric” drink. Now, dental calculus is pointing to the Iron Age (ca. 700–200 cal. BCE), Scythian drink of cow & mare 🐴 🥛 milk. journals.plos.org/plosone/arti...

A painted #Etruscan terracotta cinerary urn lid with a reclining woman. Found in Chiusi, dating 150-120 BC. It was on display at the Badisches Landesmuseum Karlsruhe, which will be closed for the next couple of years. 🏺 📷 me

The article below adds some fascinating detail to the rule of the #Thracian king Seuthes III, whose bronze portrait head, greaves and helmet I've photographed, below. He straddled multiple cultures, as the treasures from his tomb attest. 🏺 📸 me #ancientbluesky flic.kr/s/aHBqjBSifK

"As critics had been warning" is central. Many folks (inc. me, acoup.blog/2024/10/25/new-acquisitions-1933-and-the-definition-of-fascism/) warned during the election that mass repression was coming with mass deportations. Now we're here. More media and voters should have listened.

It has been quite a week! We all need a timeline cleanse. Have a great weekend, everyone! An Egyptian relief plaque with a face of an #owl 🦉. The owl hieroglyph represents the sound m. Late Period–Ptolemaic Period. From Egypt, 400–30 BC. 📷 Metropolitan Museum

#OnThisDay - 24 January - in AD 41 the third Roman Emperor Gaius, better known by his nickname Caligula, was assassinated by a conspiracy headed by the military tribune Cassius Chaerea. #AncientHistory 🏺 Image: RIC 1 Gaius 1; Münzkabinett Wien (RÖ 5199). Link - numismatics.org/ocre/id/ric....

This is yet further proof that ICE's true purpose is really just enforcing white supremacy.

Coptic spell to Acquire a Beautiful Voice, 6th–7th century CE, Egypt, ink on papyrus, 37.3 x 25.4 cm (Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University, New Haven) archives.yale.edu/repositories...

We all need a a timeline cleanse! A small Corinthian aryballos in the shape of an owl (circa 630 BC). It served as a perfume container. On display at Antikensammlung München A lovely weekend to all of you ☃️😀 📷 me

I'm sure that I'm not the only one who sees the striking similarities between this scene and the lead-up to the Boston Massacre. With scenes like this unfolding, it seems virtually only a matter of time before ICE agents open fire on a crowd. This can't be leading anywhere good.

"Greenland is critical to missile defense" YES THATS WHY WE ALREADY HAVE EARLY WARNING RADAR SITES IN GREENLAND

We condemn ICE's killing of a Minneapolis woman today and call on federal agents to withdraw from Minnesota immediately. This tragedy is further proof that ICE is out of control, endangering our communities, and must end its lawless operations before anyone else is brutally hurt or killed.

Greenland was part of Denmark-Norway from 1721, and it has been part of Denmark since the separation of Denmark and Norway in 1814. The people of Greenland have no interest in becoming part of the United States, and the U.S. has no legitimate claim to Greenland whatsoever. 1/

“The canton of the Durotriges of Lendiniae”a building stone from #HadriansWall mentioning the British tribe of the Durotriges based around Dorset inscribed on a reused altar. These Civitas stones survive showing the tribes of Britain contributed to the rebuilding of the wall.

The United States has never at any point in its history been a "defender of freedom." "Defending freedom" is—and has always been—a thin rhetorical pretext for American imperialism, just as "ἐλευθερία τῶν Ἑλλήνων" ("freedom of the Greeks") was for ancient Athenian imperialism.

I am forever flogging ancient glass, because in my mind there’s nothing that shows so much beauty and color by simply aging. Once pure cobalt blue, this 3rd c. BCE bowl has gained golden iridescence over time. It now resembles lapis lazuli. 🏺 #ancientbluesky 1/ #BritishMuseum 📸 me

Just watched the new Knives Out and I think it's really important you know that the scene in the Seminary's Gym is filmed in the same place Rick Astley filmed the music video for Never Gonna Give You Up. I saw the window tracery and immediately made my friends pause the film so I could tell them.

For all the mums out there who've spent weeks obtaining and wrapping stocking presents. Santa Claus wasn't the first celebrity to drive a deer-drawn chariot. Artemis is #1 of a series of 12 gods for Christmas.

I wish a joyous Christmas to all who celebrate. May you have a truly wonderful time 🎄🎅. This #Roman glass spherical bottle would make great #Christmas bauble, but it was used to hold perfume and loose powder. The contents were sealed inside the delicate cosmetic container, and...🧵1/2 📷 me

How do you tune (or modulate) an instrument in ancient Babylonia? Fragmentary instructions have survived that tell you how to go from one mode to another on a 9-stringed musical instrument called a sammû

Did you know that the English word 'pander' comes from the name of Pandaros, a minor character who appears in the 'Iliad'? How we got from Pandaros to pandering is a fascinating tale of medieval reception (and revision) of Greek myth. #history #myth #Iliad talesoftimesforgotten.com/2025/12/21/h...

Ahead of Christmas, it feels fitting to share this Roman fibula - a decorative pin once used to fasten garments - shaped like a stag. In my Christmas-influenced imagination, it looks rather reindeerish! 🎄 Is it Dasher, Dancer, or maybe Rudolph? 🎅 From the Roman Villa at Borg, 2nd c. AD 📷Villa Borg

No it’s ok we can cut all the area studies programs. We’ll just hire one “global studies“ Prof with a degree in English literature.

Exactly this. All these universities are talking a big game about ‘globalism’ will slashing and gutting the core of what global work is. By globalism they mean business and revenue, not educating people to excel in a global environment through intercultural understanding.

Marjorie Taylor Greene is using her final moments as a politician to once again attack trans kids. To every weirdo who tried to paint her as someone suddenly fighting fascism: this is who she always will be. A fascist www.huffpost.com/entry/marjor...

Io Saturnalia to all who celebrate! If you don't know how to celebrate, I wrote a blog post five years ago about how the holiday was celebrated in ancient Rome for your enjoyment. talesoftimesforgotten.com/2020/12/18/h...

In case there is any doubt, I want to state clearly and publicly that I am opposed to any war with Venezuela. Also, it is insane how Trump constantly acts like he's starting a war with one country, then turns around and does the same thing to a different country, then to a different country. 1/

If Afghanistan and Iraq are any indication, soon we're going to start hearing from Very Serious People that we should keep our opposition to ourselves, that we should support our country and president during wartime. Fuck that. War with Venezuela is a moral atrocity. I'll be silent when I'm dead.

Even after ten years of this, it is still so hard to believe that *this* man is somehow the ostensible champion of rural America—a man who doesn't even know the word "county."

This is a *little* unfair to Indiana, but still quite funny: theonion.com/frustrated-t...

A charming #Egyptian figurine of a hedgehog, made of faience, dating ca 1900 BC, from Thebes, #Egypt. The Egyptians associated hedgehogs with rebirth. On display at Neues Museum Berlin 📷 me 🏺

Labour strikes aren’t new! The first recorded strike in history took place in Egypt some 3,200 years ago! The ‘Strike Papyrus’ records that tomb workers of King Ramesses III downed tools over pay and conditions circa 1157 BC! Museo Egizio, Turin 📷 by me #Archaeology

It's crazy that Ea-nāṣir has become so universally known that even 'The Atlantic' is now riffing on the meme. It's also crazy that more people today have probably heard of Ea-nāṣir than of nearly all ancient Mesopotamian kings. www.theatlantic.com/newsletters/...

SKULL OF THOMAS AQUINAS: TAKE A LEFT NOW PRIEST: No, the GPS says we have to keep going— SKULL: I KNOW A SHORTCUT PRIEST: Do you remember the last ti— SKULL: FOR THOSE WITH FAITH, NO EVIDENCE IS NECESSARY; FOR THOSE WITHOUT IT, NO EVIDENCE WILL SUFFICE

Doubtless, advocates of authoritarianism will in the future point to Trump as the reason why democracy cannot work, because the people elect insane fools. But Russia's insane fool has been running it for 25 years. It's less obvious because authoritarian regimes limit visibility, not insanity.

Today, most people see unicorns as cuddly and innocent, but ancient Greeks and Romans and medieval Europeans believed that they were real and that they massacred people in large numbers. #unicorns #fantasy #myth talesoftimesforgotten.com/2025/12/07/a...

Matthew Larsen and Mark Letteney's Ancient Mediterranean Incarceration is in the @newyorker.com! www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...

Happy Saint Nicholas Day!

every trans person i see post about the OU suspension knows that the suspended target is trans & a grad student, & has an innate awareness that this is about purging trans employees. every cis person i see thinks the target is a rando professor & that this is about giving conservatives good grades

It is often claimed that no one knows how the tetragrammaton, the four Hebrew letters representing the proper name of God, were pronounced. In reality, compelling evidence indicates that they were originally pronounced "Yahweh." #Yahweh talesoftimesforgotten.com/2025/11/26/s...

I guess I now have to do a thread on shoes in ancient Mesopotamia in response to this (which happens to be from one of my favourite accounts). I’m not an archaeologist, nor do I really know anything about shoes, but let’s go on this journey together.

An ancient multiplication table in clay by a student named Suen-apil-Urim from the 1800s BCE

BREAKING: We're suing the Trump administration for banning transgender federal employees from using the restroom that aligns with their gender. This needless and discriminatory policy is another effort to push trans people out of public life — but we aren't going anywhere.