iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

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Alison Fisk @alisonfisk.bsky.social · 7h

Fabulous fragment of an ancient Egyptian wall relief with three bears and an oil jar. The paint has survived some 4,500 years! Limestone relief from the Pyramid Temple of Sahure, Old Kingdom, 5th Dynasty, c. 2496-2483 BC. Neues Museum, Berlin 📷 by me #ReliefWednesday #Archaeology

My photo shows a circa 4,500-year-old limestone relief with some well-preserved paint in places, from the funerary temple of Sahure at Abusir, measuring 39 × 35 × 8.5 cm. It shows three bears (partial view only) and a tall one-handled pottery vessel, across two registers. The upper register at left, shows the two leds and hindquarters of a bear, and at right, a bear’s lowered head, chest, and foreleg, painted mid-brown. The lower register at left shows a tall, dark-reddish-brown pottery vessel with a long neck and single handle, and at right, the lowered head, neck, shoulder, and top of foreleg of a dark-brown bear. The bears wear collars tethered by ropes to looped fixtures in the ground. The fragment comes from a wall scene depicting tributes from the Levant. Bears were not native to Egypt. The bears represented are Syrian brown bears (Ursus arctos syriacus), which were quite common in Levantine mountain regions in antiquity. They were kept as exotic animals in enclosures by Egyptian kings, and also hunted.

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Daniel Álvarez @dalvarez-01.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

A zoomorphic vessel depicting a deer, dating to the Late Classic period (1000–1350 CE). The vessel combines the shape of the animal with incised decoration on its body. #Maya #Archaeology

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Chapps @chapps.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

I have long found fragments of ancient artifacts to be fascinating - like a piece of a missing jigsaw puzzle. Here we have a brilliantly colored fragment of a faience statuette of the goddess Venus, rising from the sea, wringing out her hair (Aphrodite-Venus Anadyomene). #MetMuseum 🏺 1/ 📸 me

The missing lower portion of this intensely blue-green faience statuette makes it difficult to determine if the woman depicted was clothed. However, her preserved left hand, which pulls back her hair, recalls the gesture of Venus after she emerged newly born from the sea - Aphrodite/Venus Anadyomene - the subject of a famous Greek sculptural type of the third to second century BCE. Some other faience statuettes of Venus Anadyomene still exist, such as the one at the Brooklyn Museum, in which the goddess is naked (she is always naked in this type of sculpture, as she's rising from the sea or her bath).

Roman, late 1st century BCE-early 1st century CE.

Height: 5 5/16 in. (13.4 cm)

Met Museum, New York (17.194.1662)

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Alison Fisk @alisonfisk.bsky.social · 7h

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Oscar Lozada @oz-of-the-ancients.bsky.social · 16h

A fabulous Romano-Celtic relief of a cavalryman from northern Spain, 1st century CE #ReliefWednesday It was found near the Roman town of Clunia Sulpicia, one of the most important in northern Hispania 📍 Burgos Museum, Spain 📸 Me 🏺 #archaeology #ancientbluesky

A disc-shaped carved stone object with the carved relief of a cavalryman with spear and shield on a horse galloping, held on an orange museum stand in the centre of an exhibition hall

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Nina Willburger @drnwillburger.bsky.social · 16h

An amazing glimpse into Mesolithic everyday life: this more than 7,500-year-old ring was made from heather roots, carefully rolled up and prepared for later use. It was discovered at the settlement of Motala/Sweden, where the same material was used for fish traps. Dating 5750–5550 BC. 🧵1/2 📷me

A thick bundle of dried plant roots, tightly rolled into a ring and secured with fibrous ties, displayed on a dark grey museum plinth.

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Stelios J @tsaksonakis.bsky.social · 15h

Thanks for all your help, Alison; herewith my "turtles" from Olous (they're tortoises, surely!). Keep up the excellent work! I think we all appreciate it! Stelios Jackson

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Alison Fisk @alisonfisk.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

A 2,300-year-old silver container in the shape of a scallop-shell decorated with an octopus 🐙 It may once have held cosmetics. From Paternò, Sicily. Altes Museum, Berlin 📷 by me #Archaeology

My photo shows a silver shell-shaped container with an eight-armed octopus in relief at the centre of the lid. The arms of the octopus curl outwards across the ridges of the shell’s surface. This ornate shell container has a hinged lid and may once have been a cosmetic container . It is displayed on a clear stand in a museum case. Dimensions: 13.3 × 13.2 × 3 cm. It is part of the Silver Treasure from Paternò, Sicily, a hoard discovered in 1909, consisting of tableware and toiletries. Dated 4th-3rd century BC.

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Tony Divey @tonydivey.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

For #TilesonTuesday here’s the medieval floor tiles from Wenlock Priory, taken from the site 60 years ago and now returned to EH. My 📷. Here’s the story www.english-heritage.org.uk/about/search...

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Durotriges Dig @durotrigesdig.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Modern replica of a #Roman mosaic floor set into the approach to Sudeley Castle Winchcombe #Gloucestershire The original was found in 1882 during excavations at Spoonley Wood but has since been largely destroyed 📷 Aug 2026 #MosaicMonday

Mosaic set into the floor of a terrace with stone benches looking out at a rural landscape with trees

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Kevin Wilbraham @kpw1453.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Tomb with a view - Taversoe Tuick, a Neolithic chambered cairn on Rousay (one of the Orkney islands). Rousay is often referred to as the ‘Egypt of the North’ on account of its many wonderful archaeological sites. 📸 My own. #TombTuesday #Rousay #Prehistory #Archaeology #Orkney

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Alison Fisk @alisonfisk.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

A 2,300-year-old silver container in the shape of a scallop-shell decorated with an octopus 🐙 It may once have held cosmetics. From Paternò, Sicily. Altes Museum, Berlin 📷 by me #Archaeology

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Nina Willburger @drnwillburger.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Timeline cleanse! 🐕✨ A charming Egyptian dog figurine made of faience, dating 2120–1795 BC. An adorable glimpse into the past 😊 On display at Neues Museum Berlin.

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Andrew Curry @andrewcurry.com · 10/09/2026

Comic artist Ulli Lust won Germany's biggest non-fiction prize for her book "Early Man was a Woman," out now in English. "The idea of an egalitarian society which didn’t diminish women is a wonderful realization for many people," she told me in an interview for @science.org. "We need that."

science.org

This comic book artist is drawing women into prehistory

Science chats with illustrator Ulli Lust, whose work is countering ice age gender myths

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Andrew Curry @andrewcurry.com · 28/09/2026

I was there 12+ years ago for @archaeologymag.bsky.social. It was quite an adventure. My tent blew down and at one point I accidentally brushed my teeth with sunscreen in the dark. I know there are more extreme places to do archaeology, but not many. archaeology.org/issues/septe...

archaeology.org

Letter from Norway - The Big Melt - Archaeology Magazine - September/October 2013

The race to find, and save, ancient artifacts emerging from glaciers and ice patches in a warming world

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Mike Sowden @mikeachim.bsky.social · 12/11/2024

I thought I knew the story of the "lost world" off the east coast of Britain, inhabited by Mesolithic people until rising sea waters engulfed it around 8,000 years ago... But I didn't know about the *tsunami*. Holy hell. 1/

Close-up of a map showing the proposed extent of Doggerland, the land mass between the UK and mainland Europe that existed when sea levels were much lower.

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Aimai @aimaiami.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Wow. this is so striking!

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Alex M @alex.debonairbear.ca · 26/09/2026

Humans have always made art. It's like as soon as we had the capacity to do it, it was manifested in to reality.

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Kevin Wilbraham @kpw1453.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

The famous Neolithic ‘dresser’ from House One at Skara Brae on Orkney. 📸 My own. #StoneworkSunday #Prehistory #SkaraBrae #Orkney

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Nina Willburger @drnwillburger.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

A truly marvellous object: a 16th-century incense storage container in the shape of a #ship. Coins of the #Roman Emperor Nero, minted between 64 and 68 AD, have been attached as wheels. 📷️ Landesmuseum Württemberg

A intricately crafted incense storage container shaped like ship, made of bronze with a weathered patina. The container features a central lighthouse-like structure rising from its deck and is supported by Roman coins serving as decorative wheels, on is missing. The ship’s bow and stern are elevated and adorned with geometric carvings and porthole-like cutouts, enhancing its detailed, miniature design.

A Roman bronze coin, used as one of the ship's wheels, depicting Emperor Nero.

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10k com K 🚂 @sratoz.com.br · 27/09/2026

I just read this whole article and it is AMAZING. Mind-boggling. I have known of Doggerland for a while now, but this text makes it COME TO LIFE. I read it lightning-fast, it is that riveting

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10k com K 🚂 @sratoz.com.br · 27/09/2026

Doggerland. A treasure trove of information lies beneath the dark North Sea waters. The story in the reply to the posting below is RIVETING cc @w0porquinho.bsky.social @claramadrigano.bsky.social

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Russell England @russellengland.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Doomscrolling break... 10,000 years old

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Dr Tess Machling @tessmachling.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

This is why you don't just dig things up. Look at the amazing info we've got now: We know how it was all placed in ground & we have all of it, none damaged & conservation possible both as excavated & after. We can also look at the soil, for organics, pollen etc. #Archaeology #Detecting #Treasure 🏺

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Alison Fisk @alisonfisk.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

An ancient and magical amber bear 🐻 ✨ Carved some 10,000 years ago, it washed up on a beach at Fanø in Denmark from a submerged Mesolithic settlement under the North Sea. National Museum of Denmark in Copenhagen 📷 by me #Archaeology

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Alison Fisk @alisonfisk.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

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Nina Willburger @drnwillburger.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Fascinating world of ancient #glass: A Roman glass model of a #boat, dating 2nd c. AD. It was found in St. Aldegund in a 4th-century woman's grave. Six of such boats are known. We don't know their function: Were they used as women's urinals, as components of water clocks and sundials, as...🧵1/2 🏺

A translucent blue glass vessel shaped like a boat, with a curved hull, upturned ends, and small protruding feet for support. The surface has visible cracks. A soft shadow is cast beneath the object on a neutral background.

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Duncan Mackay @theduncanmackay.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Oh yes, Blackwells Edinburgh, that’s how to display it! Show it’s lovely cover off😍 Thank you! #Echolands A Journey in Search of Boudica. #BoudicaFriday

A copy of Echolands by Duncan Mackay on a bookshelf with its cover on display

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Duncan Mackay @theduncanmackay.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Nothing to see here, just a man in love with a carnyx, intending to spend the rest of the afternoon blocking other people from seeing its beauty. The one…the only…Deskford carnyx and stunning reproduction of it in its prime, scaring Romans. #FindsFriday National Museum of Scotland

Me, looking a bit lovelorn, in front of the partially surviving head of a carnyx, a a full sized shiny reproduction

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Alison Fisk @alisonfisk.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Smile, it’s Friday! 😃 Meet ‘The Oldest Smile in the World’ a tiny face that’s been smiling for some 7,400 years! Carved from oak during the Mesolithic, this small human figure was found in 1966 in a layer of peat during dock construction at Willemstad in the Netherlands. #FindsFriday #Archaeology

My photo shows a human figure roughly carved from dark brown oak wood during the Mesolithic period about 5,400-5,300 BC. It is 12.5 cm tall with a long body with two finger-shaped indents on the right hand side (left in my photo), suggesting it was made to be held in the hand. The stylized head has deeply carved eyes, nose, and open mouth. The triangular shape of the mouth makes it look as if the figure is smiling, leading to its description as ‘The oldest smile in the world’. It is displayed against a black display case background at Landesmuseum Halle in Germany where the figure is currently on loan for the ‘Shamaness’ exhibition. It is part of the permanent collections of Rijksmuseum van Oudheden, Leiden, Netherlands. It was found in a layer of peat in 1966 during the construction of a dock at Willemstad, North Brabant, Netherlands.

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Milli Beau @millibeau.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

I know I keep coming back to this point but again and again, the human urge to create art has existed for thousands and thousands of years. It will endure beyond anything that is happening now.

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Luc Amkreutz @prehistoryrmo.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Glad this one made it to #FindsFriday again! The oldest smile in the world @rmoudheden.bsky.social

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Alison Fisk @alisonfisk.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

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Kevin Wilbraham @kpw1453.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

The Neolithic ‘Newton Peverill Jadeite Axe’ which was found in a field at Newton Peveril in the Stour Valley, Dorset. A thing of beauty, the axe is now part of the collections at Dorset Museum & Art Gallery in Dorchester. 📸 My own. #FindsFriday #Prehistory #Archaeology #Dorset

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Durotriges Dig @durotrigesdig.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

A Late Iron Age, Black Burnished Ware pottery tankard 📷 Sept 2026 Found as a grave accessory at Wynford Eagle and now in Dorset Museum It would have originally held just over 4 pints - cheers 🍻 #FindsFriday #FridayFeeling

Brown / grey Pottery tankard with handle in a museum case

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PCA @pcaarchaeology.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Today we have a very special #FindsFriday ... a timelapse of the micro-excavation of the Iron Age Norfolk Carnyx Hoard. It’s pretty amazing to see the micro-excavation process and get a glimpse of the carnyx, boar standard and shield bosses as they're revealed. www.youtube.com/watch?v=pI9L...

youtube.com

Micro-excavation of the Iron Age Norfolk Carnyx Hoard

YouTube video by PCA archaeology

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Alison Fisk @alisonfisk.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Ancient and beautiful amber pendants worn by hunter-gatherers during the Danish Mesolithic some 10,000 years ago! 📷 by me #Archaeology

My photo shows three glossy, bright orange, drop-shaped pieces of amber arranged in a row against a dark background in a museum display case. Each piece of amber is decorated with finely incised patterns. The smalleest piece on the left is decorated with a comb motif- three horizontal lines with short vertical lines on top. The largest piece in the middle has a patchwork of alternating incised rectangles, and the piece on the right has four evenly spaced horizontal rows a Ross the surface made up of drilled pits. Each piece of amber has a hole at the top suggesting it was attached to a cord to be worn as jewellery or suspended.

Amber has many properties which may have been associated with 'magic'. For example, when rubbed against fur, amber produces static electricity which can give off sparks in the dark, make hair stand on end, and attract small things towards it.

These pieces are part of the collections of the National Museum of Denmark in Copenhagen. They are currently on loan at the State Museum of Prehistory in Halle, Germany for the ‘Shamaness’ temporary exhibition.

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Nina Willburger @drnwillburger.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

The waterlogged, anaerobic environment within prehistoric pile dwellings provided ideal conditions for the preservation of organic materials like #wood. This bucket-like vessel made of oak wood and two smaller bowls (maple and ash wood) were found in In Reute Schorrenried. Dating 3900-3500 BC.

Three wooden vessels displayed on a neutral background: one tall, roughly carved bucket-like container with a flared rim and two smaller bowl-shaped vessels in front, showing worn surfaces and natural wood texture.
📷 Landesmuseum Württemberg

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Alison Fisk @alisonfisk.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Ancient and beautiful amber pendants worn by hunter-gatherers during the Danish Mesolithic some 10,000 years ago! 📷 by me #Archaeology

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Alison Fisk @alisonfisk.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Ancient Greek figurine of a barber cutting a man’s hair, 5th century BC. Brings to mind the ‘chatty barber’ joke: Q. How should I cut your hair Sir? A. In silence! 😂😂😂 Coincidentally this joke can also be traced back to the 5th century BC! Altes Museum, Berlin 📷 by me #Archaeology

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Mark Wallace @wallaceme.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Hence this joke’s reported use by Enoch Powell to the House of Commons barber, given Powell was a classicist.

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Alison Fisk @alisonfisk.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

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Nina Willburger @drnwillburger.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

New discovery: 900 Roman silver coins found by a detectorist on a field in Wesseling, south of Cologne. He called the authorities once his detector kept going off and he realized he’d found something bigger. The hoard dates back to the era of Emperor Hadrian. www.spiegel.de/wissenschaft...

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Alison Fisk @alisonfisk.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

The extraordinary 3,000 year-old ‘Berlin Gold Hat’! One of four known cone-shaped golden ‘hats’ from ancient Europe. Sheet gold decorated with bands of solar and lunar motifs, which may represent calendars according to latest research. Neues Museum, Berlin 📷 by me #Archaeology

My photo shows a very tall, slender, conical gold object known as the Berlin Gold Hat, displayed against a dark museum background. At the top end, the tall slender cone narrows to a pointy tip.
At the bottom it widens into a rounded base with a broad flat brim. It is made of very thin hammered sheet gold, the entire surface of which is embossed with horizontal bands of decoration. Repeated motifs of concentric circles, disks, ovals, and other symbols, are thought to represent the sun and moon. According to latest research this may represent solar and lunar calendars. It is dated to the late Bronze Age, c. 1000-800 BC. It is 74 cm tall and weighs 480 gms. On display at Neues Museum, Berlin. It is one of only four known golden ‘hats’ from ancient Europe. Three from Germany and one from France.

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Nina Willburger @drnwillburger.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

A 7,400-year-old female figure with red curls! Throughout human history, red has held a special significance; it was already being used in Neanderthal burials. Red was readily accessible, for instance, in the form of red earth, such as red ochre or red bole. The figurines dates...🧵1/2 📷 me

A small clay figurine depicting a stylized female figure with a large, roughly modeled head and simplified body. The face has prominent brows and eyes, and a protruding nose, while the lower body is fragmented and incomplete. She has curly hair with traces of red pigment. The weathered, dark brown-black surface shows cracks. The object is displayed against a black background.

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Pemry Janes @pemryjanes.com · 22/09/2026

I saw another golden hat in Leiden during the RMO's Bronze Age exhibition. This is the gold hat of Schifferstadt, estimated to be a few centuries older than the Berlin hat. It's also only 30 cm tall, and the decorations are a little simpler, but similar. 📷 by me

The gold hat of Schifferstadt, at the RMO's exhibition 'Vuur van Verandering' in 2025.

In the background, you can see the chariot pulling a sundisk model in another display case.

I do wonder if the height of the hat has any significance. Like, is it like builder taller and taller sky scrapers? Or is it to record more time/calendar/events?

Photo by me.

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Alison Fisk @alisonfisk.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

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Nina Willburger @drnwillburger.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

A figurine of a hartebeest, made of flint, found in a cemetery at Hierakonpolis. It dates to the Naqada II period, 3650–3450 BC. The Naqada culture was a Chalcolithic Predynastic Egyptian culture. Hierakonpolis is a major site for studying this period. On display at Neues Museum Berlin. 📷 me 🏺

A flint figurine shaped like hartebeest. The objcet is brown and has a rough, chipped texture. It is mounted on a display with metal supports, casting a shadow that emphasizes its form.

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