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Jim Cleary

@jimcleary.bsky.social
291 followers 314 following 218 posts

Archaeology, travelling, Greece, rugby, Wrexham, shouting at the tv.

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Jim Cleary @jimcleary.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Stay calm. You've done the work & you've got this! Everyone is rooting for you.
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Jim Cleary @jimcleary.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
My favourite comment on how time rules everything: The spider weaves the curtains in the palace of the Caesars; The owl calls the watches in the towers of Afrasiab.
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Jim Cleary @jimcleary.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Well done you!
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Jim Cleary @jimcleary.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
or to put it another way, "my convenience is more important than your child's lungs".
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Jim Cleary @jimcleary.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
I grew up in Acton in the 60's - our house was about a mile from Gresford. I can't remember when I first heard about the disaster but it was as an adult long after I moved away. It was certainly never mentioned at school or commemorated locally in any way that I recall.
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Jim Cleary @jimcleary.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
Good luck! You can do this!
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Jim Cleary @jimcleary.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Hi - the island of Santorini is wonderful to visit - both the site of Akrotiri, where this amazing piece was found, and the Museum of Prehistoric Thira, where many frescos & artefacts from Akrotiri are on display. This fresco is on display in the marvellous National Archaeological Museum in Athens.
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Jim Cleary @jimcleary.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
A very fine cat she is too…
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Jim Cleary @jimcleary.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
What? Plain digestives didn't qualify?? I demand a replay ;-) Also, even though I'm a Brit, Tim Tams are wonderful - which of the other competitors can you nibble two (diagonally opposite) corners off, then suck your tea/coffee through like a large, chocolatey straw?
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Jim Cleary @jimcleary.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
Don't worry - there's an international cricket match in NW8 tomorrow so heavy rain is a certainty!
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Jim Cleary @jimcleary.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
Best wishes for a full & swift recovery, and thanks for all the entertaining & thought-provoking posts.
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Jim Cleary @jimcleary.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
Go! and if you do, stay at the very simple Su hotel - a lovely little oasis of calm right in the middle of Bodrum, just a few hundred metres from the site of the Mausoleum. I'm already planning my next trip :-)
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Jim Cleary @jimcleary.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
I want to confirm that #Uluburun is quite wonderful. The Museum of Underwater Archaeology in Bodrum is superb, and the display of objects from Uluburun is a marvellous time-capsule from the Bronze Age
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Jim Cleary @jimcleary.bsky.social · 22/08/2026
Excellent photos of some marvellous objects
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Jim Cleary @jimcleary.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
We spotted her from the ferry, and drove round for a closer look. This was in September & apparently she’d just taken part in a ceremony celebrating the battle of Salamis - I wish we’d seen that!
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Jim Cleary @jimcleary.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
Brilliant story - glad you survived! I was on holiday in Poros at the time of those sea-trials & we drank a few beers with some of the students who were your companions - Irish lads I think. I saw Olympias last year in Salamina, looking lovely as ever...
A view of the trireme Olympias docked in Salamina (Salamis); her sails are furled and the three rows of oars can be seen. Behind her the sky is typically blue & cloudless.
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Jim Cleary @jimcleary.bsky.social · 03/08/2026
Loan rules are bewildering to me. I remember seeing the Meroe head of Augustus in Paris, on loan from the British Museum. The display case had multiple “No Photographs” signs, despite the fact that photographs are welcome when the head is on display in London.
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Jim Cleary @jimcleary.bsky.social · 12/07/2026
If he'd just anticipated the contact and gone down then it might have been OK, but the multiple rolls that took him several metres off the pitch? He got exactly what he deserved.
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Jim Cleary @jimcleary.bsky.social · 09/07/2026
Ah I was wondering who that was! This business of the camera lingering on people in the posh seats is totally wasted on me I’m afraid
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Jim Cleary @jimcleary.bsky.social · 08/07/2026
I'm really pleased about this - I grew up in Wrexham & have always supported them, but with Liverpool as my local First Division team. So wearing a shirt with "United" on the front just wasn't possible!
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Jim Cleary @jimcleary.bsky.social · 06/07/2026
Marvellous!
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Jim Cleary @jimcleary.bsky.social · 06/07/2026
Just a really tedious game so far. Now in the 85th minute & I’m hoping that someone can score so that we’re spared extra-time.
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Jim Cleary @jimcleary.bsky.social · 05/07/2026
I totally agree with you on the corruption - the incompetence (e.g. the confusion over the kick-off time for Mexico v England) and the corruption (Peace Prize, Balogan let-off) are sad to see - and there's a long way to go. Who can guess what else will happen before the competition is over? 2/2
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Jim Cleary @jimcleary.bsky.social · 05/07/2026
The red card wasn't unfair: it was 100% in line with the Laws of Football. It was unlucky, in that the Laws have not been rigorously or consistently applied so far in this World Cup (e.g. almost identical foul by Messi against Algeria; the frequent fouls by Paraguay v France yesterday). 1/2
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Jim Cleary @jimcleary.bsky.social · 03/07/2026
It makes no sense at all
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Jim Cleary @jimcleary.bsky.social · 03/07/2026
No idea. Trying to be too clever. The guy they subbed off had a super game & really deserved the opportunity to be the hero. Still, it’s always easy to make these calls sitting on my sofa!
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Jim Cleary @jimcleary.bsky.social · 27/06/2026
HI - is there a typo in the opening sentence? It reads, in part, "...arguably one of two allies with which Russia cannot wage this war (the other is China)." Should that be "...without which..."?
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Jim Cleary @jimcleary.bsky.social · 26/06/2026
Happy Birthday!
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Jim Cleary @jimcleary.bsky.social · 25/06/2026
$680,000 actually! The $80k was for the easy bit, phase 2
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Jim Cleary @jimcleary.bsky.social · 20/06/2026
I've finished the theory part, and I now need to go for a long walk & think before I tackle the Iconographic Analysis :-)
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Jim Cleary @jimcleary.bsky.social · 20/06/2026
Thank you for sharing this fascinating article. I've often wondered why so much skill & effort had gone into the creation of the frieze - I had always assumed that given its height off the ground, and its shaded position, that it would be practically invisible under the bright Athenian sunshine.
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Jim Cleary @jimcleary.bsky.social · 15/06/2026
Congratulations! Good luck for the 2nd half of the year!
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Jim Cleary @jimcleary.bsky.social · 15/06/2026
A fun game based around the collection in the Met. Some hints are available so my results are a bit overstated... Anthropeum.com · Jun 15 2026 🟩🟩🟨🟦🟦🟩🟨🟦🟩🟩 75,537 · top 6% of players today!
anthropeum.com
Anthropeum
A daily game that challenges our understanding of human cultures. Ten objects. 5,000 years of human history. Guess where and when each artifact was made. See how you rank.
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Jim Cleary @jimcleary.bsky.social · 15/06/2026
Good fun & very educational! I used the hints so my results are somewhat overstated... Anthropeum.com · Jun 15 2026 🟩🟩🟨🟦🟦🟩🟨🟦🟩🟩 75,537 · top 6% of players today!
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Jim Cleary @jimcleary.bsky.social · 14/06/2026
Should be a grand evening! The link you've posted for the Royal Institution has a typo - it should be rigb.org
rigb.org
Home
For adults and families
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Jim Cleary @jimcleary.bsky.social · 03/06/2026
It’s a grand shop with lots of lovely things! You won’t be disappointed.
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Jim Cleary @jimcleary.bsky.social · 02/06/2026
It's by a very talented man (Vassilis Politakis) in Heraklion. This one is tiny - about 8cm tall - so I could afford it & get it home safely in my luggage! Here's his webpage: spiritofgreece.gr
spiritofgreece.gr
homepage - Spirit Of Greece
Let Minoan pottery speak to your heart! Samples of Work Fired Decoration Ancient Technique Acrylic Decoration For Use Another Dimension About Vassilis Politakis Vassilis Politakis was born in Heraklio...
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Jim Cleary @jimcleary.bsky.social · 02/06/2026
Here’s a little modern pot that’s clearly inspired by the same original piece
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Jim Cleary @jimcleary.bsky.social · 02/06/2026
Very fine! I want one! I don't know where you found him, but if you are in Heraklion, I recommend a lovely souvenir shop just outside the museum, which has lots of stuff by the hugely talented Vassilis Politakis - here's one of his Minoan-style octopodes...
A small replica of a two-handled cream-coloured pot, decorated in black with a Minoan-style octopus
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Jim Cleary @jimcleary.bsky.social · 22/05/2026
Thank you for inviting the general public to this. As an enthusiastic amateur, this was an enjoyable & thought-provoking introduction to the conceptual thinking that supports the more visible processes of discovery, interpretation & display. The vast quantities of red wine were grand as well!
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Jim Cleary @jimcleary.bsky.social · 18/05/2026
#MosaicMonday Some lovely mosaics from Heraclea Lyncestis (photos taken in 2011). All I remember was how cold it was!
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Jim Cleary @jimcleary.bsky.social · 29/04/2026
It was a lovely surprise to see this one! Not anywhere near as good condition as the one from Chalandriani, but very similar. The museum in Ioulida has a lot of fine stuff which echoes more well-known objects
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Jim Cleary @jimcleary.bsky.social · 29/04/2026
Here's a very similar little vase that can be seen in the Archaeological Museum of Kea, in Ioulida. He's also Early Cycladic II, from the settlement at Ayia Irini on Kea.
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Jim Cleary @jimcleary.bsky.social · 18/04/2026
What a lovely, moving story. How wonderful that Parvati has now got all the way home.
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Jim Cleary @jimcleary.bsky.social · 14/04/2026
True. I take consolation from thinking that next year, with another year’s experience, that shot from Ngumoha goes right in the corner out of the keeper’s reach
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Jim Cleary @jimcleary.bsky.social · 14/04/2026
The BBC has published some amazing texts: my favourite is the chap who complained that “for all our spending in the summer, we looked toothless in the 2nd half” I mean, maybe Isak only being fit enough for 45 minutes, and Elitike picking up an awful-looking injury, had something to do with that???
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Jim Cleary @jimcleary.bsky.social · 10/04/2026
I do have a photo of her cast, which is among the large collection of casts in the very fine Museum of Classical Archaeology in Cambridge...
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Jim Cleary @jimcleary.bsky.social · 10/04/2026
I'll be there at the beginning of May! I share your pain: I remember walking to the Corfu museum in great anticipation only to find it closed for refurb, and I haven't yet seen their amazing Medusa. Still, parts of the Pergamon are due to re-open next year...
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Jim Cleary @jimcleary.bsky.social · 10/04/2026
Grand photos from this superb museum! It's scheduled to close for major redevelopment starting next year so I'm glad you got there in 2026. Just in case you missed him, here's the lovely hedgehog (or perhaps bear) from Chalandriani on Syros...
Small (approximately 11 centimetre) terracotta vase with painted decoration, in the shape of an animal, a little bear or a hedgehog, holding a bowl. Chalandriani, Syros. Early Cycladic II period, Keros-Syros Culture (2800-2300 BC).
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Jim Cleary @jimcleary.bsky.social · 26/03/2026
We did. After Darlow saved their first one too
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