A door with a pointed arch in a brick and stone tower, with trees to the right and a church window to the left.
Probably the finest door in England for #AdoorableThursday - the Saxon doorway of the Holy Trinity church in Colchester, constructed in the 11th century from recycled Roman bricks.
'Alfred the Great’s Indian Embassy:
How likely is it that Alfred the Great sent two emissaries to India in the ninth century?' - an article by me in History Today: www.historytoday.com/archive/hist...
Nice 🧵 #runes #epigraphy
There will be a memorial service for Prof. Stephen Baxter @oxhistoryfaculty.bsky.social on Saturday 13 June, 2.30pm in St Peter's College chapel. www.spc.ox.ac.uk/events/memor...
Uncover the extraordinary results of archaeological investigations at Rendlesham, Suffolk, which offer new perspectives on early English society and the origins of the English kingdoms. Pre-order your copy of this royally good read ➡️ bit.ly/4bareyK
This has been a slog but I’m pleased to day that I’m currently checking the proofs, which means this book will soon be out in the wild!
Very pleased to have made a contribution to this volume - searching for possible early medieval royal nunneries in Pictland.
Very pleased to have made a contribution to this volume - searching for possible early medieval royal nunneries in Pictland.
New book on pre-order - 'Royalty and Ritual: The Landscape of Power in Early Medieval Scotland and Europe' edited by Professor Alex Sanmark ( @thinkuhi.bsky.social Institute for Northern Studies), Dr Mark Hall, Professor Jane Geddes & Dr Oisin Plumb (UHI INS)
tinyurl.com/2w43wrt5
DAY SYMPOSIUM: CELEBRATING THE STONE OF SCONE/DESTINY on 14 March 2026 comprises a day of papers at Perth Art Gallery, between 9.00am and 6.00pm, followed by an evening wine reception to visit the Stone on display in Perth Museum Scotland. Book now www.culturepk.org.uk/event/the-st...
Cover of Border Land: Frontiers of Early England by Ryan Lavelle.
Due November. Border Land: Frontiers of Early England by Ryan Lavelle. #medievalsky
Stephen Baxter the Scholar: an Appreciation by Julia Smith
www.history.ox.ac.uk/stephen-baxt...
There's also a lot of moving tributes to him on the St Peter's webpage: www.spc.ox.ac.uk/news/in-memo...
A Great aak for #SuperSeabirdSunday
Our brothers of the Arctic on Fowl Craig, one fine summer.
#Papay
#Orkney
Video and audio recordings are now available of the Society's latest lecture (6 February):
‘Alike in Appearance but not in Scope’: Queens and the Making of Medieval Europe' with Professor Charles West (University of Edinburgh) bit.ly/46j42f5
@pseudo-isidore.bsky.social #Skystorians
Same here!
Excited that my volume on the Early Bronze Age coffined burial from Tetney is now published open access by @antiquaries.bsky.social! Now everyone can read about this amazing find dated to 2032 BC and containing an amazing array of environmental and artefactual data.
library.oapen.org/viewer/web/v...
I worked with him on the Staffordshire Hoard report and had some very interesting conversations - a very pleasant and talented man. He will be much missed.
I am sorry to report that George Speake, expert on Anglo-Saxon art, died on 15 January. His funeral will be this Friday, 6 February, in St Laurence's, Combe, Oxfordshire. I will miss his warm-heartedness & kindness, his curiousity, rigour, and willingness to take intellectual risks. I'll miss him.
Some incredible claims being made here. The location of Laithlind as Cumbria speculative, mound is most probably *not* the burial location of Ivarr the Boneless, very doubtful this was the location of palace, have yet to see convincing evidence of ship burial. Worrying hyperbole. #medievalsky
Apparently today is Blue Monday, the most depressing day of the year.
Here is our harpy, to cheer you up.
This talisman pin from the 16th century harpy (or angel/monster) was possibly used as a protective charm to ward off evil
Whatever she was, she makes us smile. We hope she does the same for you.
Fascinating article on the possibility and probability of early medieval contact between England and India during the reign of King Alfred by @caitlinrgreen.bsky.social:
The wonderful @caitlinrgreen.bsky.social has a hugely interesting new article just out in Early Medieval England & its Neighbours, all about Alfred the Great's embassy to India - free to read here #India #AlfredtheGreat #medieval www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
Anglo-Saxon gold-and-garnet hoard discovered in England reveals early medieval jewelry and ritual practices
More information: archaeologymag.com/2025/12/angl...
#archaeology #archeology #archaeologynews #medievalart #anglosaxon #medieval
Double page spread from History Today magazine. Title “An English Saint Abroad” on left page and miniature of Saint Oswald from a medieval manuscript on right page.
Great end to the year for our Oswald project with an essay in the 75th anniversary edition of @historytoday.com. #MedievalSky
@kingsartshums.bsky.social
📣Now Available📣
The Bamburgh Bowl Hole Anglian-period Cemetery is the full publication of the sixth- to eighth-century burials excavated between 1999 and 2007. It integrates archaeological, osteological and isotopic data into a comprehensive account of the cemetery. 🏺
@brparchaeology.bsky.social
Any thoughts about the date of the Wollaston princely burial?
Written up as later C7th but the evidence for seems slender - essentially on the basis of the belt buckles. Still, it's wonderful to have two boar-crested helmets, of about the same date, buried some 80 miles apart.
Christmas!
This is the report on the C6th-8th cemetery in the sand dunes below Bamburgh Castle: 'the comprehensive isotopic analysis adds further detail to the interpretation of the cemetery as one primarily serving the working population of the royal site.'
www.barpublishing.com/book/the-bam...
'Warner's originality and her detachment from any literary school have tended to an undervaluing of her achievement in general, but posterity may well regard her as one of the great belletrists of the century.' (Claire Harman, DNB)
Isn't 'Belletrists' marvellous!
The algorithms are making it a lot harder to spread the word about these online talks. Although numbers are still reasonable, it would be a great help if folk were able to give the 30 December event a quick share 🙂
Booking available here:
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/buildings-...
