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Stef North-Sagrott

@archaeostef

Archaeologist; Senior Cultural Resources Advisor for the Historic Scotland Properties in Care

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Latest posts by Stef North-Sagrott @archaeostef

Terrible AIslop that's so wrong it's laughable (apart from the environmental cost of you making it)

10.03.2026 16:27 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

PARIS is Preservering Archaeological Remains In-Situ

05.03.2026 15:16 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

This looks great but unfortunately for me, the same time as IRAAR26 and PARIS6

04.03.2026 15:00 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
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We're doing it again!! ☺️
As part of the work that Tertia Barnett and I are doing with @scarf-scot.bsky.social, we'll be running another event to celebrate rock art research and launch brand-new sections of the Scottish Archaeological Research Framework.

1/

04.03.2026 11:56 πŸ‘ 19 πŸ” 8 πŸ’¬ 2 πŸ“Œ 1
Preview
US troops were told war on Iran was β€˜all part of God’s divine plan’, watchdog alleges Religious freedom group says 200 troops sent complaints of superiors using extremist Christian rhetoric to justify war

Did you see this? www.theguardian.com/world/2026/m...

04.03.2026 11:56 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

Our next seminar is this coming Tuesday 03/03 at 18:00.

We have a change of venue, it will be held in **Lecture Theatre A, 40 George Square**

Andrew Fitzpatrick β€œLa TΓ¨ne: everything you wanted to know but never felt strong enough to ask”

01.03.2026 21:51 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
5.6.2 Metal: procurement and manufacture | The Scottish Archaeological Research Framework

North of the border, there's some evidence of pre-Roman Iron Age people obtaining lead from the hills around Leadhills/Wanlockhead (analysis of 3 lead beads from Carghidown hillfort) and then Roman use of the same source

scarf.scot/national/rom...

25.02.2026 15:01 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
Covesea Caves, Moray Β© ScARF

Covesea Caves, Moray Β© ScARF

Join the ScARF team!

We are looking to hire two ScARF Research Officers and a ScARF Research Manager to help deliver our final two regional research frameworks.

Apply by 11:59pm on the 8th of March 2026. More information: socantscot.org/news/#appoin...

#HESSupported

20.02.2026 10:43 πŸ‘ 4 πŸ” 2 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 1
Sometime after the holidays I shall be glad if we can put our heads together regarding the rescuing of archaeological as opposed to architectural information at Ministry of Works sites where work is carried out without the constant supervision of an archaeologist. You have, I suspect, been fighting a rather lone battle in the Ministry on this head, but perhaps the support of the Museum and the Society of Antiquaries as well, should be invoked to secure success, and to put an end to the state of affairs inherited from your predecessors, which resulted in the Ministry’s excavations, being, in the words of Sir George Macdonald, β€˜official secrets’.

Sometime after the holidays I shall be glad if we can put our heads together regarding the rescuing of archaeological as opposed to architectural information at Ministry of Works sites where work is carried out without the constant supervision of an archaeologist. You have, I suspect, been fighting a rather lone battle in the Ministry on this head, but perhaps the support of the Museum and the Society of Antiquaries as well, should be invoked to secure success, and to put an end to the state of affairs inherited from your predecessors, which resulted in the Ministry’s excavations, being, in the words of Sir George Macdonald, β€˜official secrets’.

Going through some files in the National Records of Scotland yesterday, I came across a letter from RBK Stevenson (Keeper of the National Museum of Antiquities of Scotland) to JS Richardson (Inspector of Ancient Monuments (Scotland))

(retyped as I could not take photographs)

20.02.2026 09:30 πŸ‘ 5 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

Quite a contrast between Glencoe and Canna!

18.02.2026 10:50 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
Ancient Roman altars to go on display in Edinburgh Two Mithraic Roman altars are to be displayed as a part of an upcoming exhibition after being acquired for the nation.

Have you seen this? www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

16.02.2026 13:17 πŸ‘ 10 πŸ” 2 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
The Lewisvale Park Roman Altars A short video of work in progress on the Lewisvale Park Roman Altars, discovered in Inveresk, Scotland by AOC Archaeology Group.

NMS may have announced they will be part of the exhibition, but full credit to AOC Archaeology who discovered them in 2010 and produced this video in 2013 vimeo.com/58612850

Also published in Britannia in 2016 doi.org/10.1017/S006...

11.02.2026 21:15 πŸ‘ 11 πŸ” 2 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Sorry Max, didn't mean any offence!

11.02.2026 15:36 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

Something quite unsettling about this video I can't quite put my finger on. Is this an AI Max?

11.02.2026 15:13 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
An interpretation panel in front of the entrance to Rispain Camp

An interpretation panel in front of the entrance to Rispain Camp

Panoramic image from the southern corner

Panoramic image from the southern corner

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Sneaking Rispain Camp in for #HillfortsWednesday as it is not listed on the Atlas, and we define it as a settlement - but the ditches are absolutely MASSIVE

First thought to be a Roman site, then medieval it was revealed as Iron Age following excavation in the 1970s

Photos from my visit yesterday

11.02.2026 14:54 πŸ‘ 17 πŸ” 4 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
Cairn Holy I with its forecourt area. The sea is visible beyond

Cairn Holy I with its forecourt area. The sea is visible beyond

Cairn Holy II

Cairn Holy II

Cairn Holy II showing the chambers

Cairn Holy II showing the chambers

The Beltie calf with three spots

The Beltie calf with three spots

#TombTuesday yesterday I was at Cairn Holy I & II with a colleague and we met a very cute beltie calf

10.02.2026 08:50 πŸ‘ 14 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

I've been lucky enough to have a copy of this since December.

It's a brilliant and fascinating publication, and I'm still swooning over the design and type setting - it really is worth getting a copy of!

02.02.2026 22:17 πŸ‘ 3 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 1

To get in the house you have to open the garage door?!

02.02.2026 21:06 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
Oblique aerial view of The Cairns during the 2024 excavation Β© UHI Archaeology Institute

Oblique aerial view of The Cairns during the 2024 excavation Β© UHI Archaeology Institute

Our next seminar is tomorrow (03/02). Martin Carruthers is venturing south to tell us all about the excavations of Iron Age households at The Cairns #broch & settlement

18:00 hours in the Usha Kasera lecture theatre, Old College

02.02.2026 09:48 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
The Buckstone, a smallish stone on a plinth is pictured next to a holly bush with a stone wall behind

The Buckstone, a smallish stone on a plinth is pictured next to a holly bush with a stone wall behind

The Buckstone
This march stone, a relic of feudal times occupied a commanding site on the old Roman Road about 250 yards north of this spot.

By tradition the name was derived from the stone having marked the place where the buckhounds were released when the king of Scotland hunted in this region

The Buckstone This march stone, a relic of feudal times occupied a commanding site on the old Roman Road about 250 yards north of this spot. By tradition the name was derived from the stone having marked the place where the buckhounds were released when the king of Scotland hunted in this region

A tall red stone, covered in lichen, known as the Caiystane stands in a modern semicircular enclosure wall with a house behind it.

A tall red stone, covered in lichen, known as the Caiystane stands in a modern semicircular enclosure wall with a house behind it.

The National Trust for Scotland

The Caiy Stane

Standing at over nine feet high on a summit, originally with wide views, this broad slab of red sandstone includes a line of six, probably prehistoric, cup marks on its reverse face.

The stone may have been erected as early as the Neolithic period, possibly before 3000 BC, to denote a ritual or burial place. Records of cairns, cists and urns found in the immediate vicinity show that the hilltop continued to be used for burial in the Bronze Age.

Discovery of these remains led to the supposition that Caiyside Hill was the site of a battle, variously suggested to have involved invading Romans, Danes (Vikings); or Cromwellians. The Caiy Stane, also known as the Kel Stane, the Cat Stane or the Camus Stane, was thought to have been a battle memorial stone.

The National Trust for Scotland The Caiy Stane Standing at over nine feet high on a summit, originally with wide views, this broad slab of red sandstone includes a line of six, probably prehistoric, cup marks on its reverse face. The stone may have been erected as early as the Neolithic period, possibly before 3000 BC, to denote a ritual or burial place. Records of cairns, cists and urns found in the immediate vicinity show that the hilltop continued to be used for burial in the Bronze Age. Discovery of these remains led to the supposition that Caiyside Hill was the site of a battle, variously suggested to have involved invading Romans, Danes (Vikings); or Cromwellians. The Caiy Stane, also known as the Kel Stane, the Cat Stane or the Camus Stane, was thought to have been a battle memorial stone.

Todays walk around southwest #Edinburgh took me to two standing stones

The Buckstone is likely medieval but could be older

The Caiystane is prehistoric and in the care of @nts-archaeology.bsky.social

#StandingStoneSunday
@stoneclub.bsky.social
@secretedinburgh.bsky.social

01.02.2026 17:36 πŸ‘ 27 πŸ” 2 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

If this photo ends up in a news article, it's ripe for @apiln.bsky.social

01.02.2026 17:20 πŸ‘ 3 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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I say this with respect but as a member of @stoneclub.bsky.social and as the archaeologist responsible for many of the sites in Kilmartin, it's wrong - the Tate archive doesn't have that caption for that image

31.01.2026 22:42 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

Afraid you've got the wrong caption for this Daniell image. This is actually 'Druidical stone at Strather, near Barvas, Isle of Lewis'

29.01.2026 10:36 πŸ‘ 4 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
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Not quite a #hillfortswednesday but in the shadow of a fort and 17th century battlefield are the Neolithic timber halls and palisade of Doon Hill.

Excavated in the 60s, in the 70s the outlines of the structures were laid out in coloured concrete - a pioneering approach inspired by the Danes

28.01.2026 21:41 πŸ‘ 12 πŸ” 2 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
A stunning Bronze age axe heard made of an orangey stone with greenish flecks

A stunning Bronze age axe heard made of an orangey stone with greenish flecks

A slice of blue cheese. It's orangey in colour with flecks of blue-green mould.

A slice of blue cheese. It's orangey in colour with flecks of blue-green mould.

Is it about time that someone told @wiltshiremuseum.bsky.social that their "Tourmaline stone axe" is actually made of cheese?

27.01.2026 09:59 πŸ‘ 878 πŸ” 172 πŸ’¬ 31 πŸ“Œ 20
Preview
Bob Marshall: Commissioned Reconstructions Portfolio of Commissioned Reconstruction Artworks by Bob Marshall

Made a few improvements to my online portfolio to provide more context with my reconstruction images. I'll include more paradata with the projects I post in future. With so many now questioning image authenticity because of AI, I feel it's more important than ever to declare my sources & references.

25.01.2026 12:59 πŸ‘ 99 πŸ” 23 πŸ’¬ 2 πŸ“Œ 3

The vast majority of us don't excavate burials unless they are under immediate threat by development, erosion etc.

22.01.2026 09:08 πŸ‘ 6 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
The foundations of a Roman gateway built from large blocks of stones, not rather overgrown with a modern stone wall and a wooden fence above.

The foundations of a Roman gateway built from large blocks of stones, not rather overgrown with a modern stone wall and a wooden fence above.

The north gateway into Bremenium Roman fort (aka High Rochester) for #RomanFortThursday. Situated on Dere Street, for two centuries this was the most strategically important fort north of Hadrian's Wall. Its name means 'place of the roaring stream'.

22.01.2026 08:15 πŸ‘ 55 πŸ” 17 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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WINDOW OF OPPORTUNITY ✨ I nearly didn’t go out 2nite. The odds felt slim… but you’ve got to be in it to win it.
A quick check of the stats, alerts & cloud cover around 19:30 & I thought, if I can reach the Keswick Stone Circle by 20:30, there might just be a gap...then BINGO #Aurora #Northernlights

19.01.2026 23:00 πŸ‘ 116 πŸ” 16 πŸ’¬ 3 πŸ“Œ 1

Sorry to be pedantic (but as archaeologist for Dunadd...) this rock art is in the area but not at Dunadd fort itself. It's at Achnabreck which is along the road towards Lochgilphead

21.01.2026 13:24 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 2 πŸ“Œ 0