iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

The Amheida Excavations @amheida-project.bsky.social · 05/03/2026

**Lecture** If you are in Portland, OR on **Mon, Mar 16, 7:15pm** come to @reed.edu and hear about the 2026 field season at Amheida. “Making the Desert a City: Recent Discoveries from Ancient Trimithis in the Dakhla Oasis of Egypt.” #amheida2026 @archaeological.org events.reed.edu/event/making...

events.reed.edu

Making the Desert a City: Recent Discoveries from Ancient Trimithis in the Dakhla Oasis of Egypt

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The Amheida Excavations @amheida-project.bsky.social · 12/02/2026

Well, this may or may not be it for our season. We may get an extension, but this is likely it for B10 this year. We got to the floors in Rms 5, 6, 7, 9, and 10, but ran out of time for Rm 2. So, for now, we backfill to dig another day, insha’allah. #amheida2026 #romanegypt #archaeology

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The Amheida Excavations @amheida-project.bsky.social · 02/02/2026

This week we are hosting four fantastic Egyptian students from #matrouhuniversity, Arwa, Nadia, Rahma, and Manar, during their holiday break. They are learning about everything from stratigraphy, to to ceramics, to conservation—and clearly having a blast! #amheida2026 #dakhlaoasis

Four young women in headscarfs posing for a selfie outside.

A young women in a headscarf using a level to take an elevation while a man to the left looks on.

Two people sitting on either side of a fallen piece of plaster, cleaning it with brushes. Orange flags mark important spots near them.

The young women in headscarves work at a table to reassemble an ancient pot. Near them on the table is a green tub of sand and shards of pottery.

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The Amheida Excavations @amheida-project.bsky.social · 31/01/2026

Jigsaw puzzle! Much of the painted ceiling in Rm 2 inverted as it fell; we are recover what we can, incl. pieces w/ geometric patterns and figural imagery. This is a rescue and documentation operation, but we are glad to have conservators Mahmoud Samir and Jen Porter for this collapse. #amheida2026

An architectural plan of a building with labels designating Building 10 and Room 2 in orange

A wooden tray of painted plaster fragments of various colors and hues with text overlays that say “Move over Humpty Dumpty” and “#amheida2026”

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The Amheida Excavations @amheida-project.bsky.social · 29/01/2026

A meditation on collapses. Yes they’re in your way, but they tell a story of unbuilding. They have a beauty of their own, frozen cascades of bricks, a record of a lonely day when a vault or wall fell without a witness—only now someone sees the moment they finally gave way. #amheida2026 #romanegypt

A clipboard with a plan and pencil as on top of it, all sitting on a n orderly collapse of mudbrick

A plan detailing collapse patterns on a clipboard with pencils on top

A view of three people working in an archaeological trench, all inspecting a wall to the right. At the top of the frame a plastered wall painted black shows through a gap in a sand embankment.

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Sarah E. Bond @sarahebond.bsky.social · 28/01/2026

The Royal Ontario Museum added thousands of objects to their only museum catalogue last year—which now totals almost 90,000 objects. My favorite remains this late antique child’s sock from Roman Egypt. 🧦 collections.rom.on.ca/objects/3736... The ancient world was full of kids and color.

Gallery Location
Not on View
Maker
Coptic
Medium
Wool nalbinding (single needle looping)
Geography
Al Fayyūm, Egypt
Date
200-641
Period
Late Antique - Early Mediaeval
Dimensions
10 x 5.8 cm
Object number
G1281
Collection
Textiles & Costume of the Indian Ocean, Africa & the Islamic World
Department
Art & Culture: Global Fashion & Textiles

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The Amheida Excavations @amheida-project.bsky.social · 28/01/2026

This year in B10 has been v. productive, esp. for ostraca! We have recovered > 120 in 3 weeks, incl. some large and interesting accounts, which may constitute a dossier if not ancient archive in Rm 9. Only study will tell us. In the meantime, they must smile for the camera! #amheida2026 #papyrology

Photo stand on a wooden desk with mounted camera and lights over a sole ostracon, with more ostraca to the left waiting for photography. Banners in purple overlaid say “Ostraca getting ready to meet the paparazzi #amheida2026”

Ostraca in plastic bags on a wooden desk, with a papers and books to the left. Banners overlayed say “It’s like being a kid on Halloween … But they are handing out ostraca!”

Large ostraca in plastic bags in a wooden desk. Banners in orange overlaid say “ May I take two BIG ones, please? #amheida2026”

Ostraca in situ on the floor of an ancient room being excavated next to a wall on the right. A person in a straw hat, red scarf and galabeya works at the top of the photo.

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The Amheida Excavations @amheida-project.bsky.social · 27/01/2026

It’s another one for the books! The Third Amheida Invitational Football Cup saw the Trimithis Surveyors take on the undefeated home team, the Amheida Pyramids. It was a fierce game that saw excellent play from both returning veterans like Claire Lyman and up-and-coming rookies. #amheida2026

A soccer team standing on a green field with light and dark sections of field posing for a group shot. Text overlay says The Amheida Invitational

People playing soccer on a field with light and dark green sections. Text overlay in orange says Action Shot

People playing soccer on a field with light and dark green sections. Text overlay says ISAW + WASHU = GOOOOOOOOOOL!

Group photo in front of a can in a Sandy parking lot. Text overlay says It takes a team.

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Library of the Institute for the Study of the Ancient World @isawlibrary.bsky.social · 26/01/2026

New Blog Post from Gabriel McKee and the ISAW library: FROM PROTECTIVE COLOPHONS TO RFID TAGS: A BRIEF HISTORY OF LIBRARY SECURITY. isaw.nyu.edu/library/blog... #isawnyulib #isawnyu #nyu #libraries #ancientbooks @isawnyu.bsky.social @nyulibraries.bsky.social

Cuneiform clay tablet against a black background with a banner saying “How did librarians in the past make sure that you returned your books? We can tell you …

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Yale Classics Library @yaleclassicslib.bsky.social · 25/01/2026

Medicina nei Secoli: Journal of History of Medicine and Medical Humanities Vol. 37 No. 3 (2025) rosa.uniroma1.it/rosa01/medic... #openaccess

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The Amheida Excavations @amheida-project.bsky.social · 25/01/2026

Welcome to Area 11! This is the site’s w. edge, recently revealed by a dune’s passage. This year we will map it (see old plan) & put in a test trench. The surface pottery suggests that it is earlier than the late antique core. It also seems planned, unusual (so far) for #dakhlaoasis ! #amheida2026

A long, straight, wide street formed by low walls in the desert with men working clear the walls in the background

An orthogonal T intersection of low walls in the desert with a man to the extreme right in the background

The archaeological plan of Trimithis showing the areas and the extant, mapped walls

A detail of the archaeological plan of Trimithis showing the walls in Area 11

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The Amheida Excavations @amheida-project.bsky.social · 24/01/2026

The end of 2nd week of excavation; making good progress at B10 removing the collapsed vaults in Rms 5-6 and getting to the occupational levels in Rms 2, 7, 8, 9. We have our work cut out for us consolidating and conserving the painted plaster walls. #amheida2026 #dakhkaoasis #romanegypt

A room of a mud brick house full of sand with a painted wall peeking through

Mudbrick vault block on the sand showing white plaster ceiling on one side

One mudbrick vault block with white plaster ceiling showing finger grooves on the side to improve adherence

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The Amheida Excavations @amheida-project.bsky.social · 18/01/2026

DAKHLA Bird Quiz #2 (2/2). Herodotus’ account was repeated by ancient and medieval authors (eg, 9th-c al-Jahiz, Bk of Animals) and re-popularized by 19th- and early 20th-c. naturalists and travel-writers (like H. Scherren) But scientists say that H. got it wrong. #ancientbirds #amheida2026

A 17th century illustration with a bird picking the teeth of a crocodile

A 20th century engraved print showing a spurwing lapwing picking the teeth of a crocodile.

A black, gray, and white bird in a green field

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The Amheida Excavations @amheida-project.bsky.social · 18/01/2026

DAKHLA bird Quiz #2 (1/2). It’s the “Spur-winged lapwing,” ubiquitous in the #dakhlaoasis. Sometimes identified with Herodotus’ “trochilus,” or “crocodile bird” (2.68), a bird he says had a symbiotic relationship with crocodiles, tolerated because they clean their teeth. #ancientbirds #amheida2026

Black, gray and white bird in a green field. Orange banners declare that it is the Spur-wing Lapwing or Trochilus bird

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The Amheida Excavations @amheida-project.bsky.social · 17/01/2026

Great press release about #WashU Classics! Read more here: classics.wustl.edu/news/washu-g... #amheida2026 #archaeology #romanegypt #egypt @isawnyu.bsky.social

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The Amheida Excavations @amheida-project.bsky.social · 15/01/2026

The oatraka are starting to accumulate, mostly well tags. In Roman Dakhla tenants paid for water partially in kind. “Well tags” were labels for goods paid as rent, e.g., O.Trim. 3.1013, B10, Rm 1 (333/334 CE) embedded in jar inv. 30188. “28th year, Pmoun Psō, Haryotes, 1st (vintage).” #amheida2026

Clay stopper on a n ancient jar with a small clay ostracon embedded in it with Greek writing on it.

Large clay jar in a modern blue bucket with a mud stopper on it and embedded in it a clay ostracon with Greek writing

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Library of the Institute for the Study of the Ancient World @isawlibrary.bsky.social · 08/01/2026

Come visit ISAW and the NYU Press @nyupress.bsky.social at the #aiascs2026! Table 9. New works on #earlychristianity #romanempire #archaeology #papyrology #ancienteducation #romanegypt and the Arabic Library from NYU.

Table with a black and purple banner with books on it in a conference hall

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The Amheida Excavations @amheida-project.bsky.social · 08/01/2026

We would love to be at the #aiascs2026 in SF, but #amheida2026 officially kicked off yesterday! Students from #washu helped to clean and prepare the site Building 10 in Area 8. We plan to open at least 2 trenches this Sat. #dakhlaoasis #romanegypt #archaeology @isawnyu.bsky.social

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The Amheida Excavations @amheida-project.bsky.social · 06/01/2026

We took #washu students on a field trip yesterday to W #dalhlaoasis to see the temple of Deir el Hagar, the tombs of El Muzzawaka, the site and pyramid of Amheida, and medieval and Ottoman mudbrick city of el Qasr. #amheida2026 #isawnyu

Sandstone block with the crowned cat god sekhmet looking left. Hieroglyphs in the upper left corner

Bust of a woman looking down from the ceiling of tomb of Petosiris at El Muzzawaka

Landscape of Egyptian desert with a partially restored pyramid with steep sides centered

Undeclared mudbrick minaret reaching to the a cloudless blue sky

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Library of the Institute for the Study of the Ancient World @isawlibrary.bsky.social · 05/01/2026

ISAW and NYU Press are pleased to announce the #openaccess digital publication of ‘Ain el-Gedida: 2006-2008 Excavations of a Late Antique Site in Egypt's Western Desert (Amheida IV) by N. Aravecchia. Read the digitial edition: dlib.nyu.edu/awdl/isaw/id... More info here: isaw.nyu.edu/library/blog...

isaw.nyu.edu

ISAW announces the digital publication of ‘Ain el-Gedida: 2006-2008 Excavations of a Late Antique Site in Egypt's Western Desert (Amheida IV)

The Institute for the Study of the Ancient World and NYU Press are pleased to announce the open access digital publication of ‘Ain el-Gedida: 2006-2008 Excavations of a Late Antique Site in Egypt's We...

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The Amheida Excavations @amheida-project.bsky.social · 03/01/2026

Night and Day at the #NYU excavation house in the #dakhlaoasis. Even the moon shadows here are intense! #amheida2026 #romanegypt #archaeology

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The Amheida Excavations @amheida-project.bsky.social · 02/01/2026

Happy New Year from the edge of the Roman world! Here’s recently published note on a sandstone block. Lines 2-4 speak about 13 linens as “kalandari(k)a,” which were gifts or new year’s bonuses, usually for officials. Today this καλανδρικόν is for you! See O.Trim 3.8 for more. #amheida2026

Irregular sandstone block with Greek writing on it in. Lack ink, some of which is faded.

Book cover of O.Trim 3 with a rubricated inscription on the cover.

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The Amheida Excavations @amheida-project.bsky.social · 01/01/2026

Trimithis goes back to the OK, but we only pick up the site’s main temple with this stele (inv. 16309) of Seti II (Dyn. 19) making offerings to Thoth. Thoth was Lord of Trimithis until the 4th c. CE. For more, see An Oasis City (2016): dlib.nyu.edu/awdl/isaw/oa... #amheida2026 #dakhlaoasis

Limestone stele with hieroglyphs and images of pharaoh (Seti II) making offerings to ibis-headed Thoth. In lower register there is a banner saying, “who rules Trimithis? Thoth! Even Seti II knew that.”

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The Amheida Excavations @amheida-project.bsky.social · 01/01/2026

O.Trim 3 was published this fall by @isawlibrary.bsky.social and @nyupress.bsky.social , incl Egyptian, Greek, and pictorial ostraca (see O.Trim 3.1062 and 3.1065.) Of course, we hope to find more ostraca this season …and, dear Thoth, 1-2 papyri? 🙏#amheida2026 #papyrology #ancientegypt #dakhlaoasis

Book cover of O.Trim 3 showing a rubricated fragmentary inscription

And ostracon showing two faces in black ink

An ostracon showing two faces in black ink

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The Amheida Excavations @amheida-project.bsky.social · 30/12/2025

The answer is the Little Owl (Athene noctua)! You might recognize that stare from Athenian coins. Owls in ancient and modern Egypt are ill omens—BUT Athena was sometime assimilated to Neith, who was the mother of Tutu, who had a temple in nearby Kellis … a sign of a local support! #amheida26

A map of the range of the Little Owl showing the range in lavender around the Mediterranean and across Eurasia

And image of an Athenian silver coin with an owl staring out and the first three Greek letters of Athens down the right side and an olive branch to the left.

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The Amheida Excavations @amheida-project.bsky.social · 30/12/2025

Where are we? A good question! Amheida is in the western part of Egypt’s Dakhla oasis, which is deep in the Western Desert. The oasis is a huge depression and most sites are tucked up against the ever-present scarp to the north. And the site is huge! #amheida2026 #dakhlaoasis #romanarchaeology

Map of Egypt showing location of western oases and major sites in the Nile Valley

Map of Dakhla and Kharga oases with major sites indicated

Plan of Amheida showing extant Alla and location of dunes.

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The Amheida Excavations @amheida-project.bsky.social · 29/12/2025

Saw this little guy this afternoon on a walk in the fields behind the house. Any guesses as to what Dakhla denizen this is? Answer tomorrow. #amheida2026 #dakhlaoasis #birdsoftheworld

An owl staring at the camera from a free top.

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The Amheida Excavations @amheida-project.bsky.social · 29/12/2025

Good morning, Dakhla! I am thrilled to announce that we signed our contract yesterday with the SCA and so will be headed back to Amheida. We hope to start work sometime in the next two weeks. Stayed tuned tuned for updates from #amheida2026.

Image of sunrise over Egypt’s western desert

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Library of the Institute for the Study of the Ancient World @isawlibrary.bsky.social · 28/04/2025

*NEW* ISAW Library Blog Post: ISAW Library hosts 2025 NY Metro Papyrology Workshop. Thanks to all who attended! We are looking forward to new collaborations next year and hopefully our third meeting in 2026! @isawnyu.bsky.social #papyrology isaw.nyu.edu/library/blog...

isaw.nyu.edu

ISAW Library hosts 2025 New York Metro Papyrology Workshop

The ISAW Library hosted the 2025 New York Metro Papyrology Workshop on April 11, 2025.

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Library of the Institute for the Study of the Ancient World @isawlibrary.bsky.social · 21/03/2025

ISAW library announces the beta of the Digital South Caucasus Collection, an open access digital library of historical and archaeological scholarship related to the ancient South Caucasus (dscc.its.nyu.edu). Read more here: isaw.nyu.edu/library/blog... @isawnyu.bsky.social #archaeology #libraries

isaw.nyu.edu

ISAW Library Announces the launch of the Digital South Caucasus Collection

The Library of the Institute for the Study of the Ancient World announces the beta release of the Digital South Caucasus Collection. The Digital South Caucasus Collection preserves and provides open a...

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Library of the Institute for the Study of the Ancient World @isawlibrary.bsky.social · 27/02/2025

ISAW Library Book Talk: Sarah Bond (Univ. of Iowa) discusses her new book *Strike: Labor, Unions, and Resistance in the Roman Empire* March 12 @5:30, ISAW lecture Hall. See link for registration and more information. isaw.nyu.edu/events/isawl...

isaw.nyu.edu

ISAW Library Events: Strike: Labor, Unions, and Resistance in the Roman Empire

This lecture is the third in the ISAW Libraries events series for the 2024-2025 academic year. It will take place in person at ISAW. Registration is required; click through for the registration link. ...

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BAR Publishing @barpublishing.bsky.social · 06/02/2025

We are officially coming off of X and focusing our efforts on fostering our archaeology community here! Please share our account around so that we can find our people! We look forward to meeting you all!🏺 #ancientbluesky #archaeology #classicsbluesky

media.tenor.com

a drawing of a cat and a blue butterfly by debbie olicone

Alt: a drawing of a cat and a blue butterfly by debbie olicone

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Library of the Institute for the Study of the Ancient World @isawlibrary.bsky.social · 15/01/2025

*NEW* post from the ISAW Library: Research round-up 2024. Come see what your friendly neighborhood ancient studies librarians have been up to over the past year. And yeah, that’s the right graphic @diyclassics.bsky.social @secret-terror.bsky.social isaw.nyu.edu/library/blog...

isaw.nyu.edu

ISAW Library Research Digest 2024

An update about research by ISAW library staff in 2024.

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Dr. Oliver Dietrich @oliverdietrich.bsky.social · 09/12/2024

One of the highlights of the Germanisches Nationalmuseum/Nürnberg: the eagle-shaped fibula from Domagnano, part of a set of jewellery that would have belonged to an Ostrogothic princess or high ranking noble lady around 500 AD. #Archaeology

An eagle-shaped brooch made of gold with red stone inlays.

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Debborah Donnelly @debborahdonnelly.bsky.social · 05/12/2024

El Alamein's ruins offer a glimpse into Greco-Roman civilization and a significant WWII battle #Egypt #Egyptology phys.org/news/2024-12...

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Library of the Institute for the Study of the Ancient World @isawlibrary.bsky.social · 05/12/2024

NYU museum studies interns Mina Turunc and Madeline Baird worked with ISAW staff to create 2 vitrines of NYU collections materials exploring the myth and history of Madinat al-Zahra. See them on the 2nd fl during public lectures and events at ISAW @isawnyu.bsky.social isaw.nyu.edu/library/blog...

isaw.nyu.edu

Spotlighting Islamic Spain Through NYU's Library Collections

To complement ISAW’s new exhibition “Madinat al-Zahra: The Radiant Capital of Islamic Spain,” NYU museum studies interns Mina Turunc and Madeline Baird worked with ISAW curatorial assistant Carl Walsh...

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Dr Craig Barker @drcraigb.bsky.social · 29/11/2024

Something fishy A detail of a very fragmentary Coptic plate, probably of the 5th century, the team has found at the Paphos theatre site in Cyprus from post-theatre contexts. It was quite smashed up before amazing conservation work by the team. #archaeology 🏺 #classicalbluesky

Detail of a broken plate of a pale colour which has the outline of fish and birds painted in black and red lines

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The Amheida Excavations @amheida-project.bsky.social · 28/11/2024

Happy Thanksgiving from the Amheida team! Here’s a shot of us excavating rooms 3 and 4 of the church (B7). Now you can give it a whirl thanks to the ingenious Bruno Bazzani! momento360.com/e/u/cdeaa5a6... #amheida #dakhla #egypt #archaeology

momento360.com

NE low

NE low on Momento360 - click to view in 360

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Archäologisches Landesmuseum Baden-Württemberg @almbawue.bsky.social · 27/11/2024

Auch diese frühmittelalterliche hölzerne Flasche ist derzeit in "THE hidden LÄND " zu sehen. Sie war einst mit Starkbier gefüllt, das mit Honig angereichert wurde. Die Zugabe von Honig erhöhte den Alkoholgehalt des Bieres und half auch dabei, die alkoholische Gärung...1/2

Das Photo zeigt die hölzerne Flasche, sie hat eine runde Form und einen schmalen Standfuß. Auf der Schulter befinden sich zwei Henkel.

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