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Hugh Willmott

@hugh-willmott.co.uk
3.1K followers 463 following 103 posts

Medieval archaeologist at @sheffielduni.bsky.social. Often found excavating monasteries and thinking about material culture; currently directing work at #CerneAbbey. Cats may make occasional appearances 🐈‍⬛ www.hugh-willmott.co.uk

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Hugh Willmott @hugh-willmott.co.uk · 25/09/2026
A little late for #FindsFriday but I’ve finally started working through this year’s artefacts from #CerneAbbey At 22mm it's tiny but this fragment of Anglo-Saxon window glass is not only unusual but also really important for our interpretation of the site Just goes to show, size isn’t important
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Hugh Willmott @hugh-willmott.co.uk · 02/09/2026
While I sincerely doubt that Erkenwald rests in a garden at Soulton Hall, ‘Saint in a Shrubbery’ makes a refreshing change from the rather hackneyed ‘King in a Car Park’ trope that has been in vogue with the media in recent years. It also has a welcome touch of Monty Python about it…
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Hugh Willmott @hugh-willmott.co.uk · 01/09/2026
Strictly speaking, rather than revealing the foundations of the hunting lodge, most of the parch-marks actually show the location of archaeological trenches from the 1960s and 1970s (which admittedly chased walls). Just a reminder that our impact as archaeologists can be long lasting...
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Hugh Willmott @hugh-willmott.co.uk · 01/09/2026
I’m probably being fanciful, but I recently spotted this unusual concrete gravestone in Ecclesfield, Sheffield, and thought it closely resembled a cutler’s grinding wheel. Does anyone know of other 20th-century gravestones whose design reflects the deceased’s profession? #TombTuesday
A gravestone resembling a grinding wheelA real granding wheel sat on a pallet
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Hugh Willmott @hugh-willmott.co.uk · 31/08/2026
Not sure if #MonasteryMonday is a Bluesky thing (it should be, if not), but here are some pictures from my visit last week to the Sufi lodge at Blagaj Tekke, near Mostar. Founded c. 1520, it has a stunning location and architecture, including the cutest little hammam at its heart.
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Hugh Willmott @hugh-willmott.co.uk · 22/08/2026
Despite all that happened subsequently, Vučko the wolf, mascot of the 1984 Winter Olympics, is still standing and welcoming you as you arrive at Sarajevo. True resilience.
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Hugh Willmott @hugh-willmott.co.uk · 21/08/2026
Great to finally visit Mostar again after so many years. The reconstructed Stari Most bridge is fantastically well done (you’d never know) and a perfect metaphor for post-war healing
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Hugh Willmott @hugh-willmott.co.uk · 17/08/2026
Visited the 11th-century Church of St Nicholas on Koločep. Although restored in parts, the interlace decoration around the door is a superb example of pre- Romanesque Dalmatian architecture.
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Hugh Willmott @hugh-willmott.co.uk · 12/08/2026
Eclipsing
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Helen Gittos @helengittos.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
A packed village hall last Monday to hear @hugh-willmott.co.uk talk about last year's work; tickets sold out within a day or so. The whole village has welcomed the excavations with such open-heartened hospitality - sharing their knowledge & questions, digging, pot-washing, stewarding visitors...
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Hugh Willmott @hugh-willmott.co.uk · 25/07/2026
Local volunteer Andrew carefully excavating the top half of a medieval pot at #CerneAbbey as after five days we’re now getting to the great layers
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Hugh Willmott @hugh-willmott.co.uk · 19/07/2026
Assistant site director Walter is busy today greeting visitors to our excavations at #CerneAbbey
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Hugh Willmott @hugh-willmott.co.uk · 11/07/2026
One of 2025's star finds at #CerneAbbey was this roof boss from the conduit house. An exact match for one at the conduit in Sherborne and almost certainly carved by the same mason. Sherborne's spent the next 487 years exposed to the elements; Cerne's was buried, preserving it in remarkable condition
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Hugh Willmott @hugh-willmott.co.uk · 06/07/2026
Just 10 days until we're back digging at #CerneAbbey I'm not sure if we'll have any intact medieval floors to clean again this year, but at least it was good life training for the lad last year...
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Hugh Willmott @hugh-willmott.co.uk · 28/06/2026
Spent the last few weeks searching out boundary crosses demarcating the massive medieval parish of Ecclesfield (approx. 28,550 hectares or 112 square miles). Here the lad is showing off the Birley Stone, the shaft is a more recent addition but the base is medieval & mentioned in a charter of AD 1161
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Hugh Willmott @hugh-willmott.co.uk · 28/05/2026
And that time of year is fast approaching again @helengittos.bsky.social Roll on Cerne excavation Season 4 in July!
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Hugh Willmott @hugh-willmott.co.uk · 11/05/2026
Pleased to see my paper on the production and use of millefiori in Britain and Ireland (c. AD 580–850) published open access by @antiquaries.bsky.social A labour of love for a while now and definitely the most colourful illustrations I’ve ever produced, they were a bit of a nightmare to draw up...
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Hugh Willmott @hugh-willmott.co.uk · 27/04/2026
Good morning world 🐝 The red mason bees are emerging in my garden this sunny morning
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Hugh Willmott @hugh-willmott.co.uk · 18/04/2026
An absolutely gorgeous day here at Sherborne where I’ve been delivering the annual Jim Gibb lecture. The abbey looks resplendent against the cloudless sky!
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Hugh Willmott @hugh-willmott.co.uk · 10/02/2026
On another damp, fog-bound day here in the Pennines, I thought I’d share a few of the lustrous fragments of Saxon glass that I've just submitted for publication. Deposited in the early 8th century AD, they still sparkle with joy 1,300 years later 🏺✨
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Hugh Willmott @hugh-willmott.co.uk · 05/02/2026
Excited that my volume on the Early Bronze Age coffined burial from Tetney is now published open access by @antiquaries.bsky.social! Now everyone can read about this amazing find dated to 2032 BC and containing an amazing array of environmental and artefactual data. library.oapen.org/viewer/web/v...
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Hugh Willmott @hugh-willmott.co.uk · 27/01/2026
Wind, what wind? Today, hardy sheffielduni.bsky.social archaeology students have been out demonstrating their Yorkshire mettle at #CerneAbbey in Dorset, despite Storm Chandra's best efforts
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Hugh Willmott @hugh-willmott.co.uk · 21/01/2026
Finally had a chance to go through some of our finds from last year's excavation at #CerneAbbey & thought I would share this gem. Book clasps are quite common finds on monastic sites but this little fella is the finest I've ever excavated & must have come from a pretty fancy prayer book or psalter
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Hugh Willmott @hugh-willmott.co.uk · 09/11/2025
It's been a pleasure collaborating with @helengittos.bsky.social on such an engaging and fun project!
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Hugh Willmott @hugh-willmott.co.uk · 08/11/2025
The latest @timeteam.bsky.social feature length episode focusing on our excavations at Cerne Abbey has gone live. It's fantastic to see the work we've been doing over the last couple of years shared with everyone! 🏺 🐈‍⬛ youtu.be/DY68mzYXWK8?...
youtu.be
NEW EPISODE! Cerne Abbas: Secrets Beneath The Giant | TIME TEAM (Dorset) 2025
YouTube video by Time Team Official
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Hugh Willmott @hugh-willmott.co.uk · 03/11/2025
Well it's been a while in the making, but this Saturday sees the release of the Time Team feature length episode focusing on our work at Cerne Abbey www.youtube.com/watch?v=i7Tm...
youtube.com
Coming Soon! | Cerne Abbas: Secrets Beneath The Giant | TIME TEAM (Dorset) 2025
YouTube video by Time Team Official
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Hugh Willmott @hugh-willmott.co.uk · 17/09/2025
A little teaser from @timeteam.bsky.social highlighting the forthcoming full length episode coming out soon looking at our work at Cerne Abbas... 🙈 youtu.be/lL1ucbcLwLg?...
youtu.be
This chalk giant is hiding a secret | Time Team Podcast
YouTube video by Time Team Official
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Hugh Willmott @hugh-willmott.co.uk · 05/08/2025
Pleased to see some coverage by the BBC of our excavations at #CerneAbbey which concluded at the weekend! www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
Cerne Abbey: Archaeologists unearth secrets of medieval hall
Archaeologists return to Cerne Abbas to unearth the medieval abbey and its Anglo Saxon predecessor.
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Hugh Willmott @hugh-willmott.co.uk · 26/07/2025
Today has been spent excavating an intact (if crushed) section of tiled floor in the east range of #CerneAbbey First laid down in c.1300, it’s survived remarkably well!🏺
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Hugh Willmott @hugh-willmott.co.uk · 18/07/2025
Pleased to welcome back team supervisor Walter on our excavations at #CerneAbbey 🏺🐈‍⬛
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Hugh Willmott @hugh-willmott.co.uk · 09/07/2025
The big man of Cerne looking resplendent at dusk yesterday. Whilst he usually grabs all the attention, The Trendle earthwork that sits just above him was looking even more fantastic!
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Helen Gittos @helengittos.bsky.social · 04/07/2025
A week to go before @hugh-willmott.bsky.social's third season of excavations at #cerneabbey! Here's an @timeteam.bsky.social reminder of what a gloriously evocative site it is. www.youtube.com/watch?v=ctpR...
youtube.com
Search for the Lost Abbey: Cerne Abbas | Time Team (Dorset)
YouTube video by Time Team Official
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Hugh Willmott @hugh-willmott.co.uk · 05/07/2025
This time next week all this (and more) should be exposed again as excavations recommence at #CerneAbbey 🏺 We'll continue to work on the late medieval hall but also start investigating the intriguing earlier features that began to appear at the end of last season...
Excavations in 2024 showing walls, a fireplace and floor surfaces from a hall at the monastery
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Hugh Willmott @hugh-willmott.co.uk · 03/06/2025
A small selection of medieval tiles found last year at #CerneAbbey 🏺 Perfect entertainment for any jigsaw enthusiasts out there! #TilesOnTuesday
A selection of broken medieval floor tiles decorated with animals and floral designs
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Hugh Willmott @hugh-willmott.co.uk · 22/05/2025
Thinking about hill figures, another I’m really interested in is the Westbury White Horse. What you see today was permanently ‘preserved’ to prevent erosion by being covered in concrete in 1957. But what lurks beneath is rather more interesting… (1/4)
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Hugh Willmott @hugh-willmott.co.uk · 22/05/2025
Talking again to @helengittos.bsky.social about hill figures, I'm reminded of a 🧵 I posted elsewhere about my favourite ones excavated by TC Lethbridge on Wandlebury Hill, Cambridge in 1954. His findings were dismissed by his contemporaries as a combination of natural & invented features (1/5)
Air photo of a figure excavated by Lethbridge and interpreted as the Mother Goddess
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Hugh Willmott @hugh-willmott.co.uk · 20/05/2025
With summer just around the corner, I thought I'd share one of my favourite tiles excavated at #CerneAbbey last year. Perhaps we'll find the other half in a few weeks time? #TilesOnTuesday
A hand holding a medieval floor tile decorated with the rear end of a horse
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Hugh Willmott @hugh-willmott.co.uk · 14/03/2025
Wow, what better way to end a stressful week than to see one’s collaborative research featured on the cover of @appliedspec.bsky.social! All credit to @sheonashankland.bsky.social for leading this impactful project 🏺🦴
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Hugh Willmott @hugh-willmott.co.uk · 04/03/2025
Last week I had the opportunity to revisit my favourite pub carpet for the first time in several years. It's experienced a lot of wear since I last saw it, and now looks even more medieval! A perfect offering for #TilesOnTuesday ?
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Hugh Willmott @hugh-willmott.co.uk · 22/01/2025
Really chuffed that our publication of the gorgeous Scremby Cup has been selected as cambridgeuparchaeo.bsky.social paper of the month ☺️ With Roman enamelwork 🏺, an Anglo-Saxon burial ☠️ and of course lard 🐷, there's a bit of something for everyone! And it's free to download for the next 30 days
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Hugh Willmott @hugh-willmott.co.uk · 02/01/2025
Two possible responses to the way 2025 is already unfolding. I'm not sure which approach to adopt in the coming days/weeks.
The painting "The Inundation of The Biesbosch" by Lawrence Alma-Tadema
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Hugh Willmott @hugh-willmott.co.uk · 24/12/2024
Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse; The stockings were hung by the chimney with care, In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there.
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Hugh Willmott @hugh-willmott.co.uk · 16/12/2024
Personally, I'd love to see local byelaws insisting "googly eyes" be placed on every public sculpture. I'm just worried the Great British public would respond with "goolies" instead www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/ar...
bbc.co.uk
Stop sticking googly eyes on sculptures says US city
After googly eyes started appearing on sculptures, a US city council put out a request.
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Hugh Willmott @hugh-willmott.co.uk · 14/12/2024
I'm not sure which is more pleasing, finding out my research is currently fronting the science page of Newsweek, or the fact the Scremby bowl shares top billing with a cat... 🏺 🐈‍⬛ www.newsweek.com/mystery-uniq...
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Hugh Willmott @hugh-willmott.co.uk · 10/12/2024
Got to say I’m rather honoured to have been able to excavate this amazing cup and also rather pleased with our analysis and publication! 🏺
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Hugh Willmott @hugh-willmott.co.uk · 09/12/2024
Nice to see this article highlighting our research into the Scremby Cup. It's got to be the most unusual object I've ever excavated and it has a fascinating biography to it! 🥛🐖 www.livescience.com/archaeology/...
livescience.com
1,500-year-old Anglo-Saxon burial holds a 'unique' mystery — a Roman goblet once filled with pig fat
The sixth-century burial of an Anglo-Saxon teenage girl surprised archaeologists when they discovered a small third-century Roman goblet full of pig fat near her head.
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Hugh Willmott @hugh-willmott.co.uk · 07/12/2024
My Mrs is trying to persuade me that the cat has shed his summer coat with the changing season. I remain unconvinced…
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Hugh Willmott @hugh-willmott.co.uk · 29/11/2024
For anyone outside of the sector, here's a very accessible and succinct overview of the imminent collapse in UK higher education It's worth highlighting that only 12% of university income comes from direct government funding... theweek.com/education/uk...
theweek.com
The UK universities in financial crisis
Spiralling costs and fewer international students is leaving universities in serious financial trouble
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Hugh Willmott @hugh-willmott.co.uk · 29/11/2024
This picture of me intently examining a rather unusual 'find' uncovered by @lawrence-shaw.bsky.social at #CerneAbbey this summer seems particularly appropriate for #FindsFriday 🏺 🐈‍⬛
Two archaeologists wearing hard hats looking intently at a cat whilst standing in an archaeological trench
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Hugh Willmott @hugh-willmott.co.uk · 22/11/2024
I'm very excited with these professional photographs for the report on the Anglo-Saxon cemetery at Scremby, which I excavated shortly before the pandemic. The clarity of the mineralised fabric surviving on the back of this cruciform brooch (c.AD 475-550) is astounding! #FindsFriday #FabricFriday
An Anglo-Saxon brooch with surviving mineralised fabric on its back
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