Sign in

Edinburgh Archaeology

@edinburgharchaeo.bsky.social
1K followers 643 following 147 posts

This is the official Bluesky account for the Department of Archaeology part of the School of History, Classics & Archaeology at the University of Edinburgh. hca.ed.ac.uk/archaeology

PostsRepliesMedia
Edinburgh Archaeology @edinburgharchaeo.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Our seminar this week has been cancelled due to strike action but will be rescheduled so watch this space later in the year. Sorry for any inconvenience and we look forward to seeing you all at our next event!
000
Reposted by Edinburgh Archaeology
Dr Sam Leggett @samleggs22.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
This project is such a fantastic collaboration between @edincollegeofart.bsky.social @hcaatedinburgh.bsky.social @edinburgharchaeo.bsky.social & the University library collections teams! We are all learning so much from each other! 📖 📜 ✏️ 🧪🧬🔬🐑🐐🐄🐂 #heritagescience
0156
Edinburgh Archaeology @edinburgharchaeo.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
📅 Tuesday 1 December 2026 🗣️ Rob Dinnis (University of Aberdeen) 📜 Wogan Cavern: latest results and new excavations📍 Seminar location: The Meadows Lecture Theatre (Doorway 4)
001
Edinburgh Archaeology @edinburgharchaeo.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
📅 Thursday 26 November 2026 🗣️ Jonathan Gardner (University of Edinburgh) 📜 Reimagining waste landscapes: the archaeology of new ground [1]📍 Seminar location: The Sydney Smith lecture room (Doorway 1)
100
Edinburgh Archaeology @edinburgharchaeo.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
📅 Thursday 19 November 2026 🗣️ Sam Leggett @samleggs22.bsky.social (University of Edinburgh) 📜 The bioarchaeology of the Norman Conquest 🏷️ Joint seminar with One Health Archaeology Research Group @cmemsedinburgh.bsky.social
111
Edinburgh Archaeology @edinburgharchaeo.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
📅 Thursday 12 November 2026 🗣️ Marco Milella (University of Pisa) 📜 Not Just Dots: Mobility and Social Identities during the Late Iron Age on Both Sides of the Alps 🏷️ Joint seminar with One Health Archaeology Research Group
100
Edinburgh Archaeology @edinburgharchaeo.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
📅 Thursday 5 November 2026 🗣️ Claudia Zancan (Sainsbury Institute for the Study of Japanese Arts and Cultures, University of East Anglia) 📜 Decorated Tombs of Kyushu: Agency and Perception of Burial Space in Late Kofun Japan
100
Edinburgh Archaeology @edinburgharchaeo.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
📅 Thursday 29 October 2026 🗣️ Various (University of Edinburgh) 📜 Fieldwork updates
100
Edinburgh Archaeology @edinburgharchaeo.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
📅 Thursday 22 October 2026 📜 tbc 🏷️ ArchSoc Seminar
100
Edinburgh Archaeology @edinburgharchaeo.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
📅 Thursday 15 October 2026 🗣️ Peter Thorsheim (University of North Carolina, Charlotte) 📜 Secrecy, Uncertainty, and Erasure: The Fate of British Chemical Weapons Sites after the Second World War
100
Edinburgh Archaeology @edinburgharchaeo.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
📅 Thursday 8 October 2026 🗣️ Jorge Herrera Tovar (Universidad Autonoma de Mexico) 📜 Maritime Archaeology of Conflict in Mexico: The Maritime Aspects of the US-Mexican War (1846-1848)
100
Edinburgh Archaeology @edinburgharchaeo.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
📅 Thursday 1 October 2026 🗣️ Elisabeth Niklasson (University of Aberdeen) 📜 Heritage and the Politics of Fear 🏷️ ArchSoc Seminar
100
Edinburgh Archaeology @edinburgharchaeo.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
📅 Thursday 24 September 2026 🗣️ Rocco Rante (University Sorbonne-Panthéon, CNRS, ArScAn, UMR 7041) 📜 From Ancient Iran to Central Asia: highlights from recent archaeological fieldwork in Khorasan and the Bukhara Oasis 🏷️ Joint seminar with Classics
110
Edinburgh Archaeology @edinburgharchaeo.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
🏛️ ArchSoc Archaeology Seminar Series Sem 1 2026/27 📅 Thursdays @ 16:15 📍 Teviot Lecture Theatre, Doorway 5 (Old Medical School) 🍷 Stay for the post-seminar reception in the McMillan Room! #Archaeology #Edinburgh #ArchSoc #EdinArch 🔽 for individual details 🎓 @hcaatedinburgh.bsky.social
The Programme (Chronological Order)Thursday 24 September 2026Topic: From Ancient Iran to Central Asia: highlights from recent archaeological fieldwork in Khorasan and the Bukhara OasisSpeaker: Rocco Rante (University Sorbonne-Panthéon, CNRS, ArScAn, UMR 7041)Joint seminar with ClassicsThursday 1 October 2026Topic: Heritage and the Politics of FearSpeaker: Elisabeth Niklasson (University of Aberdeen)ArchSoc SeminarThursday 8 October 2026Topic: Maritime Archaeology of Conflict in Mexico: The Maritime Aspects of the US-Mexican War (1846-1848)Speaker: Jorge Herrera Tovar (Universidad Autonoma de Mexico)Thursday 15 October 2026Topic: Secrecy, Uncertainty, and Erasure: The Fate of British Chemical Weapons Sites after the Second World WarSpeaker: Peter Thorsheim (University of North Carolina, Charlotte)Thursday 22 October 2026Topic: tbcArchSoc SeminarThursday 29 October 2026Topic: Fieldwork updatesSpeaker: Various (University of Edinburgh)Thursday 5 November 2026Topic: Decorated Tombs of Kyushu: Agency and Perception of Burial Space in Late Kofun JapanSpeaker: Claudia Zancan (Sainsbury Institute for the Study of Japanese Arts and Cultures, University of East Anglia)Thursday 12 November 2026Topic: Not Just Dots: Mobility and Social Identities during the Late Iron Age on Both Sides of the AlpsSpeaker: Marco Milella (University of Pisa)Joint seminar with One Health Archaeology Research GroupThursday 19 November 2026Topic: The bioarchaeology of the Norman ConquestSpeaker: Sam Leggett (University of Edinburgh)Joint seminar with One Health Archaeology Research GroupThursday 26 November 2026Topic: Reimagining waste landscapes: the archaeology of new groundSpeaker: Jonathan Gardner (University of Edinburgh)Location: The Sydney Smith lecture room (Doorway 1)Tuesday 1 December 2026Topic: Wogan Cavern: latest results and new excavationsSpeaker: Rob Dinnis (University of Aberdeen) Location: The Meadows Lecture Theatre (Doorway 4)
143
Reposted by Edinburgh Archaeology
socmedarch.bsky.social @socmedarch.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
Welcome back from lunch! Session 3 is underway, taking a deep dive into bioarchaeology, medieval foodways, and childhood isotope analysis across Europe. In this session we have talks from Samantha Jones and colleagues, Sam Leggett, Michelle Alexander and colleagues, and Lucy Koster.
142
Reposted by Edinburgh Archaeology
Guillaume Robin @guillaume-robin.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Flythrough video of UNESCO rock-cut tomb site of Mesu ‘e Montes (Ossi, Sardinia) and its decorated tomb 2 dated to the Late Neolithic vimeo.com/1226944957?f... Video made by Lucas Knepper (student at @edinburgharchaeo.bsky.social ) based on our 2017 3D survey with Florian Soula @inrap.fr
vimeo.com
3d visualisation of a neolithic rock-cut tomb
This animation, assembled from 3d data collected by Guillaume Robin (University of Edinburgh) and Florian Soula (INRAP) as well as publicly available terrain data, shows tomb 2 of the neolithic-middle...
154
Reposted by Edinburgh Archaeology
Edinburgh Archaeology @edinburgharchaeo.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
🚨 We’re HIRING! ☠️ Lecturer in Human Osteoarchaeology* (full-time, 2-year post starting January 2027). 📅 Application deadline: 14 September 2026🔗 tinyurl.com/yrbxrwbh #AcademicJobs #Archaeology #Osteology #Teaching #Edinburgh #EdinArch #HEjobs @hcaatedinburgh.bsky.social
01110
Edinburgh Archaeology @edinburgharchaeo.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
🚨 We’re HIRING! ☠️ Lecturer in Human Osteoarchaeology* (full-time, 2-year post starting January 2027). 📅 Application deadline: 14 September 2026🔗 tinyurl.com/yrbxrwbh #AcademicJobs #Archaeology #Osteology #Teaching #Edinburgh #EdinArch #HEjobs @hcaatedinburgh.bsky.social
01110
Edinburgh Archaeology @edinburgharchaeo.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
Congratulations to our own @nubt4.bsky.social! 🥳 #EdinArch #Egyptology #archaeology 🇪🇬
050
Edinburgh Archaeology @edinburgharchaeo.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
Last week @hcaatedinburgh.bsky.social's @samleggs22.bsky.social & recently finished PhD Jess Nutt alongside @uoe-llc.bsky.social's Alan Macniven were 3 of Scotland's 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 invited delegates to the prestigious 20th Viking Congress in Norway 🇳🇴 www.vikingcongress.net ⚔️🚣🧪🧬🗺️
082
Reposted by Edinburgh Archaeology
Christian Cooijmans @ccooijmans.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
Very much enjoyed @samleggs22.bsky.social's paper as well, on biomolecular approaches to human-environment mobility during the Viking Age! #vikingcongress
Sam Leggett presenting research at the Viking Congress in OsloSam Leggett presenting research at the Viking Congress in Oslo
073
Reposted by Edinburgh Archaeology
Dr Sam Leggett @samleggs22.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
So proud of my recently #PhDone student now DR Jess Nutt who presented at #VikingCongress this week about her work on Viking activity in Wales 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 ⚔️ 🪙 @hcaatedinburgh.bsky.social @edinburgharchaeo.bsky.social
072
Edinburgh Archaeology @edinburgharchaeo.bsky.social · 20/07/2026
🦴 🔨🪨 Experimental Archaeology in Progress! ⚠️ 🔬 MSc student Kemian Liu has been busy in the labs doing experiments to recreate prehistoric retouchers to scan into GIS for analysis 🌍 💻 #archaeology #EdinArch #edinburgh #prehistoric #exarch @hcaatedinburgh.bsky.social
062
Reposted by Edinburgh Archaeology
Chiara Bonacchi @chiara-bonacchi.bsky.social · 10/07/2026
⚡ OUR NEW DIGITAL HOME IS FINALLY LIVE! Discover the Heritage Minds Research Lab @edinburgh-uni.bsky.social, at our brand-new website. 🌐 Enter Heritage Minds 👇 www.heritageminds.org 🙏 Thank you @leverhulme.ac.uk for supporting us through the Philip Leverhulme Prize in Archaeology 2022!
#digitalheritage #heritage #policy #digitalhumanities #publicarchaeology
274
Edinburgh Archaeology @edinburgharchaeo.bsky.social · 01/07/2026
Congratulations to all our brilliant students who graduated today! 🎉 🎓👏 #EdinArch #EdinburghUni #Edinburgh #graduation @hcaatedinburgh.bsky.social
Photo of the inside of the Playfair Library at the University of Edinburgh - high Georgian ceilings and columns. A projector screen in blue hues has the school of History, Classics & Archaeology logo with “2026 CONGRATULATIONS” on it.
071
Reposted by Edinburgh Archaeology
Guillaume Robin @guillaume-robin.bsky.social · 27/06/2026
Just completed another excavation season at Punta Ferulosu (Bonorva, Sardinia), with students from @edinburgharchaeo.bsky.social and colleagues from @inrap.fr . We worked on a Middle Bronze Age cluster of domestic buildings, incl. a “megaron” (monumental structure with porched entrance)
1102
Edinburgh Archaeology @edinburgharchaeo.bsky.social · 03/06/2026
That's a wrap! Another year's training mock excavation for our MSc Human Osteoarchaeology students is complete! ☠️ (NB all skeletons are plastic casts). Thanks to Easter Bush Estates for hosting us! #EdinArch #osteo #archaeology #Edinburgh @hcaatedinburgh.bsky.social
093
Edinburgh Archaeology @edinburgharchaeo.bsky.social · 28/05/2026
🎉 🎉 🎉
010
Edinburgh Archaeology @edinburgharchaeo.bsky.social · 27/05/2026
Glad you’re considering coming to @hcaatedinburgh.bsky.social! Let us know if you have any questions afterwards 😊
110
Reposted by Edinburgh Archaeology
HCAatEdinburgh @hcaatedinburgh.bsky.social · 20/04/2026
Recent publication! Dr Jonny Geber, Senior Lecturer in @edinburgharchaeo.bsky.social at HCA, is co-author. Read, Nature Communications volume 17, Article number: 3040 (2026), edin.ac/4tZvVlD #Archaeology #Anthropology #Palaeoecology #Edinburgh
edin.ac
Horticultural intensification and plant-based diets of 18th century CE Waikato Māori in Aotearoa New Zealand - Nature Communications
Here, the authors leverage stable isotope and peptide analyses to show that some 18th century Māori individuals ate largely plant-based diets. This work aligns with Māori oral history and…
071
Edinburgh Archaeology @edinburgharchaeo.bsky.social · 24/03/2026
🌦️ This week's ArchSoc/Archaeology Research Seminar will be given by Dr Barry Molloy (UCD) “Did climate change cause Bronze Age societies to collapse ca. 1200 BC? A critical perspective from Central Europe” Thurs 26th March 16:15 📍 Meadows LT #EdinArch #Archaeology @hcaatedinburgh.bsky.social
Photograph from the air of a floodplain. Image courtesy of Barry Molloy.
075
Edinburgh Archaeology @edinburgharchaeo.bsky.social · 18/03/2026
🌾 This week's Archaeology seminar is by Dr Alice Wolff @iashedinburgh.bsky.social+@hcaatedinburgh.bsky.social fellow "Agriculture & Environment at Bamburgh Castle" 🕰️ 16:15 Thurs 19th March 📍Meadows LT - all welcome! #EdinArch #MedievalSky #archaeology #botany 🪴🏰 @cmrsedinburgh.bsky.social
View of Bamburgh Castle, Northumberland UK from the beach. Wallers and two dogs in the midground. Image credit: Alice Wolff. Close up of Bamburgh Castle, Northumberland UK from the road. Image credit: Alice Wolff.
091
Edinburgh Archaeology @edinburgharchaeo.bsky.social · 09/03/2026
Our seminar this week is the Munro Lecture by Professor Agarwal info & 🎫 ⬇️ the lecture is free but booking is essential ☠️
010
Edinburgh Archaeology @edinburgharchaeo.bsky.social · 08/03/2026
Fun fact about us for #InternationalWomensDay - our 1st graduating students were women - Margaret Crichton Mitchell (later Stewart), 1st ever class🥇in #Archaeology MA 1930, PhD 1934 (Childe's only PhD student) & Barbara Laidler our 1st ever BSc Archaeology (c. 1930s)! @hcaatedinburgh.bsky.social 🏺
Black and white photo of Barbara Laidler washing a stone on West Kennet Avenue. Photo ©Alexander Keiller Museum.Black and white photo of Margaret Stewart at the Carse Farm excavation in 1964. Photo from: https://breadalbane-heritage.org.uk/about/history/margaret-e-c-stewart-in-breadalbane-heritage-society/
0229
Edinburgh Archaeology @edinburgharchaeo.bsky.social · 08/03/2026
Dr Sam Leggett @samleggs22.bsky.social featured here as one of the many inspirational women in research funded by @leverhulme.ac.uk #InternationalWomensDay @hcaatedinburgh.bsky.social
051
Reposted by Edinburgh Archaeology
The Conversation UK @uk.theconversation.com · 03/03/2026
Our study has finally uncovered the circumstances surrounding the death of 77 people, mostly women and girls.
tcnv.link
A 2,850-year-old mass grave in Serbia reveals a shift in prehistoric violence
Our study has finally uncovered the circumstances surrounding the death of 77 people, mostly women and girls.
073
Edinburgh Archaeology @edinburgharchaeo.bsky.social · 06/03/2026
Interested to hear more about the recent paper by Linda Fibiger et al. on the prehistoric mass grave in Serbia? Then check out Linda and Barry Molloy's write up about it in @uk.theconversation.com doi.org/10.64628/AB.... #Gomolava #EdinArch #Archaeology #FindsFriday @hcaatedinburgh.bsky.social
theconversation.com
A 2,850-year-old mass grave in Serbia reveals a shift in prehistoric violence
Our study has finally uncovered the circumstances surrounding the death of 77 people, mostly women and girls.
041
Reposted by Edinburgh Archaeology
Leverhulme Trust @leverhulme.ac.uk · 05/03/2026
Using multi-isotope analysis @samleggs22.bsky.social’s Leverhulme Early Career Fellowship @edinburgh-uni.bsky.social focused on the role of food and diet and its link to mobility in early medieval Britain and Ireland. media.leverhulme.ac.uk/feature/sleg... #InternationalWomensDay
media.leverhulme.ac.uk
Molecular memories – tracing early medieval migrations and diet
Using multi-isotope analysis, Sam Leggett’s fellowship focused on the role of food and diet and its link to mobility in early medieval Britain and Ireland
0105
Edinburgh Archaeology @edinburgharchaeo.bsky.social · 05/03/2026
Dr Gardner’s research is featured in Archaeology Scotland Magazine (Winter 25/26)! It discusses how archaeology can be used to understand our historic & continued reliance on fossil fuels using the example of the oil industry in West Lothian 1851-1962. Check it out! tinyurl.com/mrvp3dcd 🛢️🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿
Screenshot of Dr Gardner's magazine article. Full alt-text not provided by author.
042
Edinburgh Archaeology @edinburgharchaeo.bsky.social · 04/03/2026
TOMORROW's ArchSoc/Archaeology Research Seminar 🕰️ 16:15📍Meadows LT "Prehistoric Archaeology at Edinburgh University until about 1990" by Prof Ian Ralston @hcaatedinburgh.bsky.social ahead of our 💯 🎂 year as a department! #EdinArch #archaeology #Edinburgh #prehistory
Top Left: Photograph of V.G. Childe c. 1930s, Australia, Public Domain. Top Right: Photograph of Stuart Piggott, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2741252. Bottom: “Stained glass of Dr Robert Munro FRSE in Scottish National Portrait Gallery” By Stephencdickson - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=114215413.
053
Edinburgh Archaeology @edinburgharchaeo.bsky.social · 27/02/2026
This work was funded as part of @erc.europa.eu project “The Fall of 1200 BC” led by Barry Molloy @ucdarchaeology.bsky.social & an interdisciplinary team from institutions across Europe. Incl. publication co-leads @edinburgh-uni.bsky.social @ucph.bsky.social and the Museum of Vojvodina.
010
Edinburgh Archaeology @edinburgharchaeo.bsky.social · 27/02/2026
Buried together c. 2,800 years ago, the victims suffered violent deaths, in what researchers say was a planned act of large-scale violence. This was more than a simple ambush & that targeting these people was meant to send a grisly message to their wider community, the researchers argue.
110
Edinburgh Archaeology @edinburgharchaeo.bsky.social · 27/02/2026
Women and children were deliberately targeted in one of the largest prehistoric mass killings discovered in Europe. The Gomolava burial sites in northern Serbia uncovered a grave containing the remains of more than 77 individuals, most of them women and children.
Reconstruction of burial event: Sara Nylund
201
Edinburgh Archaeology @edinburgharchaeo.bsky.social · 27/02/2026
‼️Published Open Access‼️ by joint 1st authors Dr Linda Fibiger @hcaatedinburgh.bsky.social & M. Iraeta-Orbegozo in @natureportfolio.nature.com "A large mass grave from the Early Iron Age indicates selective violence towards women and children in the Carpathian Basin" www.nature.com/articles/s41... 🧵👇
nature.com
A large mass grave from the Early Iron Age indicates selective violence towards women and children in the Carpathian Basin - Nature Human Behaviour
In this analysis of biomolecular and archaeological data from a ninth-century BCE mass grave in the Carpathian Basin, Fibiger et al. find evidence for the targeted killing of mostly unrelated women an...
1166
Reposted by Edinburgh Archaeology
HCAatEdinburgh @hcaatedinburgh.bsky.social · 25/02/2026
This ERC-funded research is published in Nature Human Behaviour, and was carried out by an international team co-led by the School. Find out more, edin.ac/3OZJHFs #History #Classics #Arcaheology #Edinburgh #Research #Violence @edinburgharchaeo.bsky.social
ed.ac.uk
Mass killing uncovered at ancient burial site | News | The University of Edinburgh
An Iron Age burial site has revealed evidence of an unusual mass killing event of women and children, and a detailed plan to bury the victims together.
021
Reposted by Edinburgh Archaeology
Ian Butler @drbutty.bsky.social · 12/02/2026
As a geologist who likes to read about history and archaeology, it's always a pleasure to be able to contribute to research papers on those topics.
022
Reposted by Edinburgh Archaeology
Dr Sam Leggett @samleggs22.bsky.social · 12/02/2026
Congratulations to our former MSc student Luisa and my amazing colleagues Sophie and @drbutty.bsky.social on a very cool CT method paper with some interesting implications about osteoporosis in medieval Scotland #MedievalSky #edinarch
173
Edinburgh Archaeology @edinburgharchaeo.bsky.social · 12/02/2026
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Assessment of intracortical porosity revealed variance in bone quality that cannot be captured via assessment of MCI alone. This research was funded by the Archaeology Research Support Fund @hcaatedinburgh.bsky.social (@edinburgh-uni.bsky.social) 3/3
Figure 6 from the study: Average MCI comparison for the age groups of females and males of the present study (Scottish), Wharram Percy (English) (Mays 1996) and Velia (Roman) (Beauchesne and Agarwal 2014). Under a CC BY 4.0 License.
010
Edinburgh Archaeology @edinburgharchaeo.bsky.social · 12/02/2026
🦴 This study introduces an updated protocol to assess the second metacarpal index (MCI) from μ-CT scans. The strong correlation between MCI & cortical area fraction indicates the efficacy of this parameter to assess cortical bone loss #edinarch #osteo onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/... 2/3
Fig 7 from the study: Two middle adult females with similar Ct.Po but different MCI and Ct.Ar/Tt.Ar values. Lines show MCI measurement points. This includes a complete spur due to a trabecularised pore in the second tomographic slice. Palmar is up. Scale bar = 5 mm. Under a CC BY 4.0 License. Figure 1 from the study: (A) Whole bone scan. (B) Diaphyseal volume of interest (VOI) scan of (C) tomographic slices of higher resolution for cross-sectional analysis. Under CC-BY 4.0 License.
110
Edinburgh Archaeology @edinburgharchaeo.bsky.social · 12/02/2026
📣 Published #OpenAccess in AJBA @bioanth.org 📣 “The Use of Micro-CT Analysis of the Second Metacarpal to Assess Cortical Bone Loss in Archeological Human Skeletal Remains” by Luisa Less, @drbutty.bsky.social & Dr SL Newman onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/... 🩻 @hcaatedinburgh.bsky.social 1/3
micro-CT scan cross-sections of metacarpals from the study: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ajpa.70209. Credit: Luisa Less.
175