iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Don O'Meara @donomeara.bsky.social · 24/02/2026

Always slightly surreal to hold the printed editions of Archaeologia Aeliana after working on it for a year. AA 2025 is another very full issue, with everything from prehistory to post-medieval history and archaeology. Onwards to AA2026! #archaeology #history

Two copies of the journal Archaeologia Aeliana on a wooden table

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Don O'Meara @donomeara.bsky.social · 08/10/2025

Spoke at the unveiling of a plaque to archaeologist Robert Blair, outside Arbeia Roman Fort, South Shields last week. Great to see his contribution to the study of Roman archaeology in his local town recognised, and to have Mayor of South Tyneside Jay Potts and Mayoress Audrey Huntley in attendance.

Speaking at the gates of Arbeia Roman Fort, South Shields, before the unveiling of the Robert Blair Plaque.

Mayor of South Tyneside Jay Potts and Mayoress Audrey Huntley after the plaque unveiling.

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Don O'Meara @donomeara.bsky.social · 28/07/2025

A trek up to the #Cheviots, following a lead about a lump of flint (see photo 2, my hand for scale) found in 1978 under 5 feet of peat, by a farm worker. Initial conclusions from augering: there is a former tarn/lake at this spot, with possible #prehistoric activity in the form of a charcoal layer!

Man standing in a bog, holding an auger, trying to figure out why he didn't bring insect repellent.

A large lump of flint being held in a man's hand

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Don O'Meara @donomeara.bsky.social · 24/07/2025

Doing a site visit in #Northumberland today. Got chatting to someone who claimed they think tjey found a stone tool as "It fits nicely into your hand and looks worked" That old chestnut, yeah I will have a look 🙄 "...oh, yeah that's a Neolithic polished stone axe! 🤯" #archaeology #prehistory

A polished stone axe being held in someone's hand

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Don O'Meara @donomeara.bsky.social · 07/07/2025

Cleveland looking very much like one of the most underappreciated areas of England today. Little would one expect the field next to me contains the entrance to deepest mine in Britain (Boulby), with an astrophysics lab almost 1.5km under the surface.

A coastal view with a cloudy sky. A road runs in the foreground.

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Don O'Meara @donomeara.bsky.social · 07/07/2025

Harvesting the black gold this weekend. Material from a prehistoric site in north Cumbria excavated in 2001. Despite occasional labelling issues the charred remains are still perfectly viable. #FlotThot #NakedWheat #Archaeobotany

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Don O'Meara @donomeara.bsky.social · 05/07/2025

Currently having my sample processing being monitored by the meanest looking chicken I have seen in a long time! 😐

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Don O'Meara @donomeara.bsky.social · 05/07/2025

Sample processing today with some helpers. These archaeobotanical samples are over 20 years old, and from a unit which no longer exists. They're still perfectly viable, but the labelling causes issues. Without permanent marker the internal labels have begun to fade, so reliant on external survival.

A sample bucket containing archaeological sediment, the internal labels have completed faded, so I rely on the external labels which can often scratch off or fade.

Some ducks wondering what all the fuss is about, looking at all my archaeobotanical sample processing material laid out on grass, with a brick shed in the background

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Don O'Meara @donomeara.bsky.social · 05/07/2025

*sigh* and I had so much planned for today. Better cancel everything.

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Don O'Meara @donomeara.bsky.social · 04/07/2025

(Warning: this is either very interesting or tediously boring) When putting down sheeting during cleaning in Bessie Surtees House they caught the draft through the wooden floor. But it wasn't just a breeze, it was a rhythmic pulse as the air moved through the building and it breathed 🧐

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Don O'Meara @donomeara.bsky.social · 02/07/2025

Great to see McDonalds promoting the Irish language in Durham 🫡🇮🇪

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Don O'Meara @donomeara.bsky.social · 02/07/2025

Trust me, something very interesting is happening under this plastic sheet! #ArchaeologicalScience #Archaeology #OSL #MysteriousScienceSheet

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Don O'Meara @donomeara.bsky.social · 26/06/2025

Great to see this plaque unveiled in honour of Dr Irene Ighodaro in Newcastle yesterday, and nice to be quoted in the Newcastle Chronicle as part of this celebration. #BlackHistory #Newcastle www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-e...

Newcastle City Council plaque honouring the life of Dr Irene Ighodaro, health working and civil rights activist.

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Don O'Meara @donomeara.bsky.social · 25/06/2025

I ran for the Metro today and jumped though while the doors were closing. A group of teenagers spotted me and two gave me a big cheer and clapped. I felt like such a bad ass 😎 Teenager 3: "Why are you clapping?" Teenager 1: "That old man ran for the Metro and made it just in time" Me: 🙃

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Don O'Meara @donomeara.bsky.social · 20/06/2025

Love having a walk through an urban area and getting a surprise like this. (A family of roe deer in central Newcastle, Ouseburn Valley, this evening) #UrbanNature #Newcastle

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Don O'Meara @donomeara.bsky.social · 20/06/2025

My renewal card came today. Officially licensed to be Irish for another year👌🏻 🇮🇪

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Don O'Meara @donomeara.bsky.social · 17/06/2025

A resourceful kittiwake in Newcastle finding a suitable alternative to a cliff edge!

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Don O'Meara @donomeara.bsky.social · 16/05/2025

I met Mog! 😭♥️🐈‍⬛

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Don O'Meara @donomeara.bsky.social · 15/05/2025

Mid May and by far the worst magpie harvest I've had for years. Is anyone else having a poor season?! #RescueBorb #CatchAndRelease #IDidntEatIt

Man holding a magpie he just rescued from the stupid fruit netting of his allotment neighbours 😑

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Don O'Meara @donomeara.bsky.social · 21/04/2025

Cork's very own nod to Teessaurus Park in #Middlesbrough, Jim Buckley's 1985 installation 'Red Dragon', on the banks of the River Lee, with the seal of approval from a visiting Teessider for scale #Ireland #PublicArt @c20society.bsky.social

A man standing in front of a large, red, metal sculpture which kind of looks like a stegosaurus (the sculpture not the man) with trees in the background

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Don O'Meara @donomeara.bsky.social · 16/04/2025

The most important thing North East England sent to Ireland since Jack Charlton!🤯

Photo of a supermarket frozen food isle in Ireland with a section devoted to Greggs pastry products

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Don O'Meara @donomeara.bsky.social · 08/04/2025

I don't think #IrishWithMollie is on Bluesky (this image is from her account on the 'Gram), but I had to share her image of the cúlán, which is definitely about to become the Gen-Z haircut of choice for the summer of 2025 in Britain! www.instagram.com/irishwithmol...

Cartoon image of an Irish medieval mullet called a 'cúlán' which is like a traditional mullet but with a small shaved area in front of the ears

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Don O'Meara @donomeara.bsky.social · 01/04/2025

The Watergate, leading from the River Tyne to Bessie Surtees House, #Newcastle. It was here that in 1972 members of President Nixon's re-election team mugged members of the Democratic National Convention, setting in motion a political scandal which would reverberate from Bigg Market to Capitol Hill!

Bessie Surtees House, Newcastle, timber frames medieval building

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Don O'Meara @donomeara.bsky.social · 17/02/2025

A day out looking at the lowland peat landscape of Prestwick Carr, near #Newcastle. Just managed to reach the late glacial lake deposits (blue-grey silt) which underlie the basin in which the peat formed. #Geoarchaeology #archaeology

A geoachaeology core showing a transition from blue-grey lake silt to organic peat

A landscape photo across an area of boggy wetland

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Don O'Meara @donomeara.bsky.social · 05/02/2025

There is no greater love than when you are an environmental archaeologist and your mother sends you a photo of a swan carcass and offers to pick it up for you 😭♥️♥️🦢☠️ #zooarchaeology #archaeology #IrishMammy

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Don O'Meara @donomeara.bsky.social · 23/01/2025

Weather warning 🤔⛈️⛈️ Or... Greater Cork irredentism 🚩👍🏻

Map of Ireland showing a red warning for the impending storm

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Don O'Meara @donomeara.bsky.social · 06/01/2025

Teenage me probably didn't appreciate that adult me would have a favourite type of tweezers, and I would buy in bulk to see me through the Apocalypse 🔬 #LivingTheDream #Archaeobotany

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Don O'Meara @donomeara.bsky.social · 05/01/2025

A few of the x10,000's of oat grains from a #medieval corn-dryer from West Cumbria. Unlike many parts of England (where whet and barley dominate) oat seems to be a domestic staple in #Cumbria in the medieval period. I'm tentitively connecting this site to a nearby Cistercian monastery. #archaeology

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Don O'Meara @donomeara.bsky.social · 04/01/2025

A lazy afternoon of geoachaeology #ASMR. Sorting out the troublesome grit stick in this 1mm sieve.

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Don O'Meara @donomeara.bsky.social · 03/01/2025

Looking through an archaeobotanical sample from West #Cumbria, #England and spotted this perfectly preserved flax seed (Linum usitatissimum) among the domestic oat dominant assemblage. The sample came from a #medieval corn-dryer and was likely owned by a local Cistercian monastery #archaeology

A flax seed in a Petrie dish surrounded by other charred seeds, mainly consisting of oat grains

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Don O'Meara @donomeara.bsky.social · 08/12/2024

Of course the decoration is not really complete until the angel goes on top of the cow scapula tree🎄☠️👼🏻 🎶Oh tannenbone oh tannenbone!,🎶

Some weirdo making a Christmas tree from his zooarchaeology reference collection

A Christmas tree made from a cow scapula

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Don O'Meara @donomeara.bsky.social · 08/12/2024

The festive goat has been decorated, which can only mean one thing. Christmas is finally on the way! 🎄🎅🏻🌟☠️🐐 #zooarchaeology #archaeology

A beautifully decorated goat skeleton heralding the coming festival season

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Don O'Meara @donomeara.bsky.social · 28/11/2024

The end of an era for the Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle upon Tyne. Last night we held our last monthly lecture in The Mining Institute, Westgate Road, having used this room since 1931. Rising room rental costs mean we must move on, but we shall endure!

The lecture room of the Mining Institute, Newcastle

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Don O'Meara @donomeara.bsky.social · 28/11/2024

The image is at least as accurate as some of the things I have read about #Stonehenge!🧐

A photograph of Stonehenge with some of the original animals which lived in its environment, including penguins and woolly mammoths

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Don O'Meara @donomeara.bsky.social · 26/11/2024

The renovations of the #Tyne Bridge, #Newcastle/ #Gateshead continue apace. It's now at the stage where the scaffolding is almost as impressive as the bridge structure. This phase of work has also seen the removal of 9 tonnes(!) of bird poo from the bridge supports before engineering work begins 💩🐦💩

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Don O'Meara @donomeara.bsky.social · 26/11/2024

Forget the Coca-Cola bus. It isn't Christmas in #Newcastle until the Gregg's Bus appears giving out free sausage rolls and coffees on the Quayside!

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Don O'Meara @donomeara.bsky.social · 19/11/2024

I've heard of this place Teessaurus Park. Apparently you see all sorts of idiots on the dinosaur play sculptures🦖🦕🦎

Man riding a Tyrannosaurs rex into battle

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Don O'Meara @donomeara.bsky.social · 18/11/2024

I made some instructional videos on environmental archaeology during my descent into madness during lockdown. Thanks for reminding me about this one @lenamstrid.bsky.social 🐟🐠🦈 For a more serious consideration of fish bones in archaeology check out this link: www.shd-archzoo.co.uk/fishresource....

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Don O'Meara @donomeara.bsky.social · 18/10/2024

I wonder what my childhood self would think of me now, being excited with my geological sieve lid and base plate that I got for £14.50 on eBay 🤔 No more flot dust everywhere 😍 #FlotWorldProblems #archaeobotany

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Don O'Meara @donomeara.bsky.social · 17/10/2024

A site visit today to Vindolanda, #Northumberland to discuss current and future work on the site. After heavy rain yesterday it can be definitely demonstrated that this feature could indeed have functioned as a water tank! #RomanEmpire #Archaeology

An information board at Vindolanda explaining the function of a Roman water tank. The sign stands in front of the water filled, stone lined , rectangular tank.

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