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ChesterArchSoc

@chesterarchsoc.bsky.social
902 followers 168 following 751 posts

Our interests cover archaeology, history & conservation in Cheshire & surrounding areas. Founded 1849. Website www.chesterarchaeolsoc.org.uk

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Lindsay Powell FRHistS @lindsaypowell.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
Coming soon! An exhibition about the Romans in Scotland is opening in Edinburgh this autumn, 'Roman Scotland: Life on the Edge of Empire', running from 14 November 2026 to 18 April 2027 at the National Museum of Scotland on Chambers Street. www.nms.ac.uk/exhibitions/...
nms.ac.uk
Roman Scotland: Life on the Edge of Empire | National Museums Scotland
'Roman Scotland: Life on the Edge of Empire' will reshape our understanding of Scotland’s relationship with the Roman world.    This exhibition will bring
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Clare Downham @downham.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
#medievalsky may esp be of interest to @archaeodeathprof.bsky.social nice meditation on the walk along Offa’s Dyke by Andy Marshall @fotofacade.bsky.social www.digest.andymarshall.co/harmonyonoff...
digest.andymarshall.co
Finding Harmony on Offa's Dyke
Walking Offa’s Dyke, I set out to understand a landscape of division - and found something that brings us together.
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ChesterArchSoc @chesterarchsoc.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
DYK: This year marks the 140th anniversary of #Chester's Grosvenor Museum. We are holding a half-day conference on Sat 24 October at the museum, 1:00-5:00 pm, with a variety of talks to celebrate. The conference is open to all and is free. Come and join us!
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Kevin Wilbraham @kpw1453.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
The Roman bridge at Pont-Saint-Martin in the Aosta Valley, northwest Italy. Dating to the 1st century BC, the bridge is one of many impressive Roman monuments in the area. 📸 My own. #RomanSiteSaturday #AostaValley
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Cheshire @cheshireuk.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
The Cheshire woodland walk ending with a tearoom you must do this autumn #Cheshire
cheshire-live.co.uk
The Cheshire woodland walk ending with a tearoom you must do this autumn
It features historic mining remains, incredible views and ends with a tearoom
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Cambrian Archaeological Association @cambriansarch.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Our last walk and talk of 2026!! We would love if you joined us 🍂. Date: Saturday 24th October 2026. Snailbeach Leadmining Landscape, Shropshire. Leader: Henry Owen-John More info and booking here >>https://cambrians.org.uk/walks-and-talks-programme-2026/
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Clare Downham @downham.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
#archaeology theconversation.com/how-fireligh...
theconversation.com
How firelight may have shaped the origins of spoken language
New study suggests ancient campfires may have encouraged our ancestors to develop language.
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Museums Association @museumsassociation.org · 02/10/2026
News | The British Museum takes steps to improve flow and access at Bayeux Tapestry show ​Exhibition has faced queue delays as it copes with 'unprecedented demand'​
museumsassociation.org
British Museum takes steps to improve flow and access at Bayeux Tapestry show - Museums Association
Ticket-holders were turned away from the exhibition this week after queue delays
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Cambrian Archaeological Association @cambriansarch.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
🥁The Winner of the 2026 Gwobr Archaeoleg Cambrian Archaeological Award is Archie Robson for his dissertation 'A lost art? Digital and experimental investigation of a Mesolithic engraved stone assemblage from Rhuddlan, Denbighshire, UK'. Well done, Archie! 👏🎉 More> bit.ly/4rGGZEp @durham.ac.uk
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The Family History Society of Cheshire 🌾🌳 @fhsofcheshire.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
@fhsofcheshire.bsky.social's #FridayRoundUp New for #Cheshire this week at BNA 🎉🎉 🚩 #𝐂𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐂𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐥𝐞 (𝐅𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐦 & 𝐇𝐞𝐥𝐬𝐛𝐲 𝐄𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧): 2005 🚩 #𝐌𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐟𝐢𝐞𝐥𝐝 𝐄𝐱𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬: 1981–2003 🚩 #𝐖𝐢𝐝𝐧𝐞𝐬 𝐖𝐞𝐞𝐤𝐥𝐲 𝐍𝐞𝐰𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐭 𝐑𝐞𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐫: 2003-4 Full list in screenshots below with #AltText as usual
Updates to BNA, 2/10/26 Part 1

Bedfordshire Times and Independent, 2005
Birmingham Weekly Mercury, 2000
Black Country Bugle, 2002, 2005
Brecon County Times, 1898
Ceylon Observer, 1892–1897, 1900–1917, 1919–1921
Chester Chronicle (Frodsham & Helsby Edition), 2005
Cornish Evening Tidings, 1882–1883, 1885, 1890, 1900
Dumbarton Herald and County Advertiser, 1891
Dungannon News, 1907–1915
East Ham Recorder, 1913, 1916–1917, 1925
Fraserburgh Herald and Northern Counties' Advertiser, 1891Updates to the BNA, 2/10/26, Part 2

Haddingtonshire Courier, 1884, 1889, 1891
Haltemprice & East Yorkshire Advertiser, 2002
Hamilton Herald and Lanarkshire Weekly News, 1914–1915
Hereford Mercury, 1877, 1879
Iron Trade Circular (Rylands') and Hardware Weekly Messenger, 1890
Ironbridge Weekly Journal and Borough of Wenlock Advertiser, 1876
Jarrow Guardian and Tyneside Reporter, 1889
Kidderminster Shuttle, 1875
Lichfield Post, 2005
Lincoln Target, 2005
Llanelli Star, 2000
Llanelly Mercury, 1893, 1912Updates to the BNA. 2/10/26, Part 3

Madras Male Asylum Herald, 1833–1836
Manchester Evening News, 2000
Manchester Observer, 1818–1820
Mansfield & North Nottinghamshire Chronicle-Advertiser, 1988
Munster News, 1906
North Cumberland Reformer, 1897
North Wales Weekly News, 2001, 2003
Offaly Independent, 1894–1896, 1912–1913, 1919
Plymouth Herald and Devonshire Freeholder, 1866–1867
Rochdale Times, 1924
Scottish Press, 1858
Sevenoaks Chronicle and Kentish Advertiser, 2000, 2002Updates to the BNA, 2/10/26, Part 4

Smethwick Telephone, 1910
South Durham Herald & Post, 2002
Stafford Post, 2003
Staines Leader, 2000
The Record, 1830–1837, 1881
Times of Ceylon, 1945–1949
Theatrical Times, 1883–1884
Times of India, 1958–1961
Wakefield Free Press, 1893
Westerham Herald, 1891
Widnes Weekly News and District Reporter, 2003–2004
Woking Informer, 2000, 2002
Y Dydd, 1885
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Based In Churton @churton.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
The historic Plas Newydd cottage in Llangollen is famed for its decorative arts, first collected and installed by Eleanor Butler and Sarah Ponsonby in the early 1800s. The wood carvings are particularly stunning, covering walls and ceilings inside, with more outside. Pics + history: wp.me/pcZwQK-5CG
Plas NewyddPlas NewyddPlas NewyddPlas Newydd
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Kevin Wilbraham @kpw1453.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
The ‘Malone Hoard’ - 19 polished stone axe heads from the Neolithic which were found at Danesfort House, on Malone Road in Belfast during the 19th century. Now part of the collections at the Ulster Museum in Belfast. 📸 My own. #FindsFriday #Prehistory #Archaeology #Belfast
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Mark French @medwinfrench.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Thank you for sharing Dia Owens obituary. He was a very talented artist and a gentle soul, who is much missed by all who knew him.
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ChesterArchSoc @chesterarchsoc.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
To all our followers: we are aware that there is a fault with our website and that the main menu is not accessible. We are investigating this as a matter of urgency. We apologise for the inconvenience.
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ChesterArchSoc @chesterarchsoc.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
RIP Dai Owen, illustrator & peace campaigner, worked with National Trust, English Heritage, the Grosvenor Museum, Alan Garner, BBC, artist in residence at the Portico Library, Manchester, studied archaeology at Cardiff www.theguardian.com/artanddesign...
theguardian.com
Dai Owen obituary
Other lives: Chester-based illustrator who specialised in drawings for museum information panels
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Tim Daw @timdaw.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Historic England vanishing archive - details of why it is broken : www.sarsen.org/2026/09/hist...
sarsen.org
Historic England’s Vanishing Archive
Not just the aerials. The lot. Historic England still holds the negatives, the prints and the scans. What the public lost, in early Sept...
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ChesterArchSoc @chesterarchsoc.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Greek PM: deal to return Parthenon marbles could still be reached with ‘political will and courage’ www.theguardian.com/artanddesign...
theguardian.com
Greek PM: deal to return Parthenon marbles could still be reached with ‘political will and courage’
But Kyriakos Mitsotakis says he cannot accept any arrangement that recognises British Museum’s ownership of the sculptures
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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...
A photo of hundreds of silver coins
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Kevin Wilbraham @kpw1453.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
The ‘Jewel of Antiquity’ - a stone fragment from Balmuildy Roman Fort that names Urbicus as Governor of Britain, and in doing so identifies and dates the Antonine Wall. Part of the collections at the Hunterian Museum in Glasgow 📸 My own #EpigraphyTuesday #RomanScotland
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Kevin Wilbraham @kpw1453.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
The remains of St. Oswald's Priory in Gloucester. The priory was founded by Lady Aethelflaed of Mercia, daughter of Alfred the Great, in around 900. 📸 My own. #WallsOnWednesday #StOswaldsPriory #Gloucester
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Ancestral Enquiries - Tony Smith 🌳 @ancestralenq.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
🧵Last night I watched the excellent, Finding Britain's Slave Traders With David Olusoga. This was not a rant about Britain paying reparations or about the horrendous conditions faced by slaves but a timeline of how Britain became involved in the transatlantic slave trade using existing historical
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Dr Susan Greaney @suegreaney.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
www.theguardian.com/science/2026...
theguardian.com
Glimpses into lives of Roman suburbanites in Bath revealed in rare finds
Exclusive: Restoration work at Bath Assembly Rooms unearths Roman ditches containing pottery, coins and fragments of a military helmet
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Melissa & Chris Bruntlett @modacitylife.com · 23/09/2026
Two hours in Vienna. One train stopover. Instead of sitting on the platform, we borrowed shared bikes and pedalled the length of Argentinierstraße: Vienna’s first Dutch-style fietsstraat; where cars are guests and bikes set the pace. Sometimes you don't need a whole day to discover a city by bike.
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Duncan Mackay @theduncanmackay.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
If this isn’t now your favourite Roman carving, you’re wrong. It is. I will not be discussing this further. Found Vindolanda; on display Chesters.
A really cute little running wild boar, looks like it could be from Shaun the Sheep.
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Chapps @chapps.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
This morning it was announced that several pieces of 7th c. BCE Greek (Cretan) armor and other antiquities in the #MetMuseum were repatriated to Greece. Looted in the 1960s from Crete, this includes two helmets, and three mitrai (belly guards). A look at three items ... 🧵 🏺 1/ 📸 me
Bronze helmet with two winged youths on each side who flank and grasp a pair of entwined serpents. They are dressed in short kilts, wear winged sandals and have wings on their backs that appear to be attached with straps. Although some scholars have identified these figures as the legendary Cretan craftsman Daidalos and his son Icarus, they probably represent local daemonic beings. Below them are two panthers with a common head.

Inscription above the visor: 'Neopolis'.

Greek, Cretan, late 7th century BCE. From Afrati (or Aphrati, ancient Arkades), Crete.

Met Museum, New York (1989.281.50)One of two bronze Archaic Cretan helmets at the Met Museum, the finest pieces of a large cache of armor that came to light in southern central Crete, where they were undoubtedly made. It has a beautiful patina of bright greens and rich, deep orange-reds. The inscriptions suggest that the armor was captured as booty and offered as a dedication. This helmet depicts two long-legged horses worked in repoussé with incised details (one on each side). Small engraved lions appear on the cheekpieces. An inscription on the helmet states that “Synenitos the son of Euklotas [took this].”

Greek, Cretan, late 7th century BCE (Archaic). Said to be from Afrati, Crete.

Height: 9 5/8 in. (24.5 cm)

Met Museum, New York (1989.281.49)Bronze mitra (belly guard), shaped like a slightly long half-circle. Mitra were suspended from belts to protect the lower abdomen. This is one of three, and is decorated with two sphinxes facing one another, their heads turned towards the viewer. They were tall polos-style hats.

Met Museum, New York (1989.281.53). Deaccessioned for return to the Hellenic Republic in September 2026.
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German at Portsmouth @germanatportsmouth.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Amateur archaeologist finds 934 Roman silver denarii in a German field. The hoard, buried south of Cologne in the second century AD, is the biggest coin treasure ever found in Germany from the time of Hadrian. www.theguardian.com/world/2026/s... via @theguardian.com
theguardian.com
Amateur archaeologist finds 934 Roman silver denarii in German field
The hoard, buried south of Cologne in the second century AD, is the biggest coin treasure ever found in Germany from the time of Hadrian
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Mark Walters @mark-walters.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
The mid 19th century to 1949 brickworks at Porth Wen, Anglesey. The works produced fire resistant silica bricks from locally quarried quartzite which were used in furnace linings. The sea is undermining the foundations of many buildings making it a dangerous place to visit with many steep drops.
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Dr Matt Pope @mattpope.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Stonea, Cambridgeshire, a Fenland Iron Age enclosure or Britain's lowest 'Hillfort'. Later contained a Roman settlement with a multi-story tower that must have dominated the entire landscape for miles. 1/3 #HillfortsWednesday
View from the Easten bank across the grassy interior of Stonea, under a big blue cloudy sky
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Mark Walters @mark-walters.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
The winding engine house on Graig Wen above the Porth Wen brickworks, Anglesey which lowered the quarried quartzite rock down an incline plane to a stone breaker and crusher house building.
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Archaeology Data Service @ads-update.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
ADS is a world leader in promoting good practice in the use of digital data in archaeology and providing technical advice to the research community. As such ADS staff are encouraged to contribute to a wide variety of publications to publicise ADS activities and share our experience.
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Mark Walters @mark-walters.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
The visit to Llaneilian Church, Anglesey was well worth a diversion off the coastal path 😍 5th c. CE foundation with visible remains from the 12th-17th c. Remarkable 1496 timber rood screen with image of Death inscribed ’Sin is the sting of death’. 14th c. side chapel of St. Eilian down steps.
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Mark Walters @mark-walters.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Lovely coastal path walk today from the historic industrial port at Porth Amlwch to Point Lynas lighthouse with diversions off the path to see stuff of interest. Greeted by two seals playing in a small bay on way back.
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Medievalist.net @medievalists.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
What can Marc Bloch teach us about the role of historians today? @ricutz.bsky.social visits the medieval historian’s memorial at the Panthéon in Paris www.medievalists.net/2026/09/visi... #MarcBloch
medievalists.net
Visiting Marc Bloch at the Panthéon: Dilexit Veritatem - Medievalists.net
Richard Utz visits Marc Bloch’s memorial at the Panthéon in Paris and reflects on the medieval historian’s legacy as a scholar, soldier and Resistance fighter.
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David Meyer @dajmeyer.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
Visited #Colchester Castle @colmuseums.bsky.social. Tombstone is of Longinus, born in what is now Bulgaria, duplicarius in the Roman army.
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Giles MacDonogh @gilesmacdonogh.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Griffin found in Suffolk field: www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
Medieval ring found by Suffolk detectorists to be auctioned
The ring may have belonged to a woman who became the canoness of a priory in the 14th Century.
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Heritage Chester @heritagechester.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
381 years ago, this ground shook 💥 Parliament's cannons breached Chester's walls in 1645 - it still stands today. Join us at Chester Roman Gardens, Tue 22 Sept, 2-6pm, for weapons, objects and stories from the siege. Free, drop-in. 👉️ buff.ly/Q9Mngoc #Chester @stuartrobphoto.bsky.social
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Jon Hawke @archaeohawke.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
#MosaicMonday #Roman villa of the 4th century: the Largest Floor Mosaic in Cappadocia and Central Anatolia Region Uncovered - 600 square meters (📸: AA; Kayseri Metropolitan Municipality) #Archaeology #History
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ChesterArchSoc @chesterarchsoc.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
Cultural treasures are being destroyed worldwide - so why is no-one being punished? www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
Cultural treasures are being destroyed worldwide - so why is no-one being punished?
A cauldron of conflicts is bubbling across the world, with cultural monuments being destroyed. These people are fighting against it.
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Nina Willburger @drnwillburger.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
The amazing “Elk’s Head of Huittinen” comes from a Mesolithic settlement in southern Finland, dating to around 6100 BC. The ~10 cm long steatite (soapstone) head was carefully ground and finished and features a shaft hole for mounting. Because the stone is soft, it is unlikely...🧵1/3 📷 me
A close-up photograph of a grayish-brow stone sculpture of an elk head, shown diagonally against a black background. The elongated muzzle points toward the lower right, with rounded antler-like forms rising at the top.
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ChesterArchSoc @chesterarchsoc.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
CAS members - check your inboxes for our September newsletter. Lots of interesting reading!
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elizabeth is apparently a witchy vamp? @thatelizabeth.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
Look at the roof in Glasgow cathedral. I was utterly spellbound and only stopped staring open mouthed when my neck hurt so much I had to look down
The roof of Glasgow cathedral - an elegant wooden roof with embossed carvings
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ContempraInn 🌹 @contemprainn.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
Glasgow Cathedral is Scotland's finest surviving medieval building, dating back to the 12th century and standing as the oldest cathedral on the Scottish mainland.
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ChesterArchSoc @chesterarchsoc.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
Good turnout for this morning's tour of Civil War #Chester despite threatening weather. Many thanks to Sam Chadwick for leading it and for insights into the attitudes of the participants.
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Durotriges Dig @durotrigesdig.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
The 'Glastonbury bowl' Made of sheet bronze, less than 1mm thick in places, this gorgeous Iron Age vessel is only 80mm in height Repaired in the past, the top joined to the base with decorative rivets, it's now in the Glastonbury Tribunal Lake Village Museum #Somerset 📷 Aug 2026 #FindsFriday
A small bronze bowl with decorative rivets on display in a museum case
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Heritage Chester @heritagechester.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Ring a bell, climb a tower, walk a Domesday village 🔔 St. Michael's Church, Shotwick: Sat 12 Sept, 10am-4pm. Bell ringing, tower tours, organ playing & guided village walks. Grade I listed, 12th century. Free, drop-in. Full details 👉️ buff.ly/Zbp4ko4 #HeritageOpenDays #EverydayHistoryHeroes
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Heritage Chester @heritagechester.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Not sure where to start this weekend? We've mapped out two suggested routes through Heritage Open Days! 📆 Saturday - in the city centre 📆 Sunday - in the city centre and beyond. All FREE! Build your own route from the full programme: 🔗https://buff.ly/nl8WL97 #HeritageOpenDays #Chester
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Antiquity Journal @antiquity.ac.uk · 10/09/2026
In Iberia, lead metallurgy was thought to have been introduced by the Phoenicians at the beginning of the first millennium BC. Now, evidence for lead smelting in the early third millennium BC shows indigenous innovation much earlier #ThrowbackThursday 🆓 doi.org/10.15184/aqy... 🏺 #Archaeology
Map of north-east Iberia highlighting the locations of sites and mining districts discussed in the text. An insert shows three nodules of lead-smelting slag.
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PCA @pcaarchaeology.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
📣 Boudicca’s trumpet? Mark Hinman will be speaking at the Cambridge Antiquarian Society's evening lecture on 5 October about the Norfolk carnyx hoard and what it can tell us about a period of significant change at the end of the Iron Age. www.pre-construct.com/news/boudicc...
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Mark Walters @mark-walters.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Great to catch the excavations at the only Roman villa recorded in NE Wales so far near Rossett, Wrexham. The 2nd-4th c. main building is badly damaged by ploughing & robbing of masonry, but the building to the SW is better preserved with intact floors & a heating system. Both had apses added on.
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Roman Military Equipment @equipmentroman.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
We have added the ironwork and non-ferrous catalogues for the excavations at the Augustan legionary fortress of Haltern to our Downloads page. romanmilitaryequipment.co.uk/downloads#Re...
Cover of Harnecker's catalogue of ironwork finds (including the military equipment) from Haltern.Cover of Müller's catalogue of non-ferrous finds (including the military equipment) from Haltern.
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