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Kay Beecraft

@kaybeecraft.bsky.social
1.6K followers 477 following 1.4K posts

Fashion & textile archaeological research focused on Romano-Briton+early medieval era @ UoY. Writer of historical romance & fantasy, currently edits for Guenevere & Arthur retelling. Historical costuming and fashion. Undercover penname of Kelsey. 🍉😷

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Kay Beecraft @kaybeecraft.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Hiya #Yorkshire friends! Just learned of a proposed data centre to be built in Selby. Ethics of AI aside, this would be massively detrimental to our local flora & fauna, water reserves (which already has it's own issues), and noise pollution. Please join me in signing the petition calling for a ban.
petition.parliament.uk
Petition: Ban the construction of new AI data centres
We call on the Government to implement an immediate ban on the construction of any new AI data centres, including approved ones, to protect our people, wildlife, water resources, and environment from ...
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Kay Beecraft @kaybeecraft.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
🎶Come Josephine, in my flying machine!🎶 I had hoped I’d see another POV of the hot air balloon; didn’t know it would be my beloved @merchantshallyork.org.
A view of the York city walls at dusk, curving gently over the green grass and into a thicket of trees, while above it hangs a hot air balloon off in the distance, floating amongst the blue twilight sky and puffy clouds.
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Chris Farnell @thebrainofchris.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Fuck, imagine saying you're apolitical because there are kids in your audience and then *Ms. Rachel* comes for you.
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Kay Beecraft @kaybeecraft.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Me in archives pulling out the umpteenth box of Roman oyster shells.
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Kay Beecraft @kaybeecraft.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
"Just give me date ranges!!!!" I wail into the void while reading the millionth research paper about specific dynasties in specific regions I am unfamiliar with.
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Kelly @broadwaybabyto.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
It is never too late to start wearing a mask A well fitted respirator like an N95 provides excellent protection against Covid and other airborne viruses With healthcare cuts and public health in shambles, we should all do our part to help each other If you can’t afford them… look for a mask bloc!
maskbloc.org
Worldwide Mask Bloc Directory – Find your local Mask Bloc
MaskBloc.org lists active Mask Blocs around the world. Free high-quality masks, COVID-19 tests and other equipment for your community. Mutual Aid & We Keep Us Safe.
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Jared Pechaček @vandroidhelsing.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
at worldcon someone asked for fantasy recommendations where fashion was crucial to the plot and it took everything in me not to say The Lord of the Rings
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Elizabeth Drummond @eadhistory.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
"AI chatbots present a problem for the teaching of history not only because they hallucinate, nor simply because they threaten to make even conscientious students’ writing less original, but because they thwart the process that might lead students toward original interpretations in the first place."
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Kay Beecraft @kaybeecraft.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
Hi, I'm Kay, textile archaeologist and romance enthusiast. I adore the seductive drop of the sliding guitar notes in the opening of 'Cleo's Mood' by Jr. Walker & The All Stars. Also addicted to the deep, pulsing combo of stand-up bass+horns in 'Don't Sweat the Technique' by Eric B & Rakim. You?
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Kay Beecraft @kaybeecraft.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
Ugh yes. I love this so much. And I love when nerds Nerd™️.
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Rebecca M-O @reduplicater.bsky.social · 30/08/2026
Crop art at the Minnesota State Fair! It is what it says it is - art made from various parts of crops, primarily seeds, lentils, and grains, occasionally leaves or flowers. For any non-Minnesotans viewing this, I'll start with mostly less political pieces. It's harder than you might think.
Untitled? by Jenny Lau
A red heart with radiating lines is in the upper half of the piece.  In the middle are two loons, rising up out of the water to either fly or dance.  The words "Forever - MN" appear in black at the bottom.  The piece is edged in a wavy border.  You can see from the seedlist that the inspiration was a Keith Haring drawing on a US "Forever stamp" where people instead of loons are dancing and holding up the heart.

Crops include white sorghum, red sorghum, french lentil, canola, wild rice, garlic skin, and millet.  Any others have been cut off by the photographer's (my) carelessness.Untitled? by Alice Hogan
In the center are two traditional portrayals of Vikings, with horned helmets.  The left is a bearded man with a photo of Governor Tim Walz's face, and the right character is a female with long blond braids and a photo of Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan's face.  She holds a scepter topped by what might be a stalk of wheatand stands next to some miniature ears of multi-colored corn. Below them are the words "WELCOME TO MINNESOTA" in blue and green.  Behind the two Vikings are a lake or river with swans, a pink house I don't recognize, and a stylized version of the Minneapolis skyline with some of its landmark buildings such as the Foshay Tower and the IDS Center.

The seed list is partially hidden and partially too blurry to read due to the photographer's (my) inability to take good photos."Pac-MN" by Meredith Keller
This is a 3 dimensional piece in that the yellow frame of it is moved forward and shaped as if it's an arcade game.  The screen has a black background.  The words "MINNESOTA STATE FAIR 2026" are written in the Pac-Man font at the top left.  the rest of the screen has a map of the fairgrounds making the path that Pac-Man can follow, complete with yellow trails.  Some of the yellow trails have the street names spelled out on the seeds.  The screen also has red and blue ghosts, but instead of the normal bonus icons we see a pickle, an ear of corn, some pronto pups, and a chocolate chip cookie - all popular foods at the MN State Fair.

The seedlist shows yellow painted mustard seed in a Pac-Man shape, and the rest of the seeds are lined up for Pac-Man to eat:  red and blue painted mustard seed, black canola, white, yellow, and green millet, white navy bean, yellow soy bean, and yellow split pea.

This entry was awarded a blue ribbon for first place in its category."Minnesota Welcomes You" by Megan Bell
Paul Bunyan, in brown laced up boots, blue jeans, and a pink and ight blue checked shirt and cap, is neeling on the ground.  He steadies an axe against the ground in his left hand, while his right hand is outstretched to the viewer.  The grass is green, there are autumn colored trees in the background, and a multicolored swirly sky  is above.  The words "MINNESOTA WELCOMES YOU" are in the foreground.

This piece was made with amaranth, hulled barley, black beans, canola, flax seed, millet, rye berries, and wheatberry.  Most of these were painted.
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Kay Beecraft @kaybeecraft.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
Yeahhh, after they double-downed, mocked criticisms, and started mass deleting comments about their use of generative AI on their socials, I'm not at all surprised. It will forever be "f*ck the British Museum" in this household.
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Kay Beecraft @kaybeecraft.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
Just a few. - Cadfael, for fun murder mysteries - Name of the Rose, for serious mystery - Ivanhoe, for romantic drama - Kingdom of Heaven ext., for swords - Green Knight, for surrealist poetry - The Lion in Winter, for banter - Robin Hood (91), for romance - Uyanis: Büyük Selcuklu, for Turkish 🔥
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Kay Beecraft @kaybeecraft.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
And the site for the cover image of Black Sabbath’s “Best Of” album. 🤘
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Maria Drutska @mariadrutska.bsky.social · 16/08/2026
📚 RUSSIA HAS DEFEATED the book market of my childhood. Let me tell you about a place you’ve never heard of. Petrivka. A book market in Kyiv, now called Pochaina metro. Before the internet existed for us, it was simply where you went for books...
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Dr Alex Fitzpatrick @animalarchaeology.com · 15/08/2026
tbh I’m pretty worried that academics across disciplines are not even remotely equipped to deal with the revival of overtly white supremacist and eugenicist ideas in academia
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Kay Beecraft @kaybeecraft.bsky.social · 15/08/2026
The roof of my parents' house. It was one of those late 70s modernist suburb homes with one very slanted angle which met the fence-line PERFECTLY. My pals and I could climb up the fence and up onto the roof. So many summer nights spent up there star-gazing and conversing and dreaming. It was magic.
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Kay Beecraft @kaybeecraft.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
Oh, I don't know, just casually thinking how archaeology is also a climate issue...
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Dr. Jeroen W.P. Wijnendaele @drdragases.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
This is an important question but very difficult to answer. A thread on the Christianization of the Roman _State_ which by proxy gives us some insight on the Christianization of the Roman _World_
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Kay Beecraft @kaybeecraft.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
Complexities in weave patterns, dyeing, and embellishments (such as embroidery) began much earlier than most people think. The Late Antiquity+Early Medieval worlds were deeply vibrant and sartorial-forward.
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Kay Beecraft @kaybeecraft.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
Lot of life altering moments here. And yes I've chosen several for each year, not sorry. Fav (fav/=best) film for each year of the 1990s: 90: Truly, Madly, Deeply + Pretty Woman 91: Impromptu 92: Enchanted April + Mississippi Masala + Last of the Mohicans 93: Much Ado About Nothing + Jurassic Park
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Dr Tess Machling @tessmachling.bsky.social · 09/08/2026
"You use archaeology, you use it in order to do excavations & to the narrative, to rewrite history, but you also use it in order to allocate lands or reallocate lands from Palestinian to Israeli," But, we've been told by #EAA etc, #archaeology isn't political, is it? www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
Israel accused of weaponising archaeology at ancient West Bank sites
Israel is planning large-scale land expropriations in historic, Palestinian areas of the West Bank.
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Kay Beecraft @kaybeecraft.bsky.social · 08/08/2026
There are often moments that stop me in my tracks when I’m out and about in the Yorkshire countryside due to how much it looks like my California hills. But this? This takes it all. 😍
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Kay Beecraft @kaybeecraft.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
I am begging the Brits to embrace Estate Sale Culture™️ stat!!! I long for my favourite weekend pastime of buying an iced coffee and perusing several estate sales before lunchtime.
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Alex Harvey @alexharvv.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
A (belated) cfp for #IMC2027 FORGET THE VIKINGS: Other raids, raiders, & raiding practises of the Early Medieval Period Read below for details, and if you're interested (or know anyone who might be), please submit your proposal of 150 words to the attached e-mail (also in alt text) before 1/9/26
A Call-for-papers for IMC 2027 which reads:

'Forget the Vikings!
CFP: Other raids, raiders, and raiding practises of the Early Medieval Period

There are good reasons why Scandinavian raiders - or ‘Vikings’ - occupy a much-coveted space in popular perceptions of early medieval warfare. But enough about them. What about everyone else?
	This CFP is seeking submissions from scholars interested in exploring other, non-Viking raiding groups from c. 400 - 1100. This could include (but is not limited to): Avars, Huns, Hungarians, Slavs, Frisians, Saxon and Frankish pirates, Saracens, Welsh and Irish cattle-rustlers, Balts, Oesellians, Narentanians, Dál Riatans, as well as the military activities of major hegemonies such as the Carolingians, Ottonians, West Saxons, Byzantines, even Normans, and so on.
	Chiefly, this is to fashion some new notions of how identity, political practice, and belonging were fostered within raiding communities. Of particular interest would be any papers keen to explore how other, non-Viking groups used raiding as part of regular military affairs. Analogies and comparisons with Viking studies are also welcome, if they are used to shine a light on lesser-known groups. Like the Vikings, many other communities engaged in more than just raiding, so explorations of trade, exchange, and other political dynamics alongside raids, would be ideal.

Please send proposals (150 words or less) to: 
alexharvv@gmail.com before 1/9/26'
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Kay Beecraft @kaybeecraft.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
Fun fact: I once had a very vivid dream that I was walking along the beach at twilight, and Death emerged from the ocean riding one of these skeletons, leading an entire army of prehistoric animal skeletons. I keep meaning to illustrate it. It was an incredible scene.
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ryan cooper @ryanlcooper.com · 02/08/2026
this owns www.inverse.com/input/cultur...
inverse.com
The adorable love story behind Wikipedia’s 'high five' photos
Nearly 14 years later, the tale of this iconic couple can finally be told.
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Kay Beecraft @kaybeecraft.bsky.social · 02/08/2026
What it feels like walking through a museum as a historical costumer.
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Preeti Chhibber @runwithskizzers.bsky.social · 01/08/2026
man it's annoying that people want to off load thinking to the theft machine bc actually reading and then thinking about what you read is so goddamn fun
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Kay Beecraft @kaybeecraft.bsky.social · 01/08/2026
I am hellbent on finagling myself back into the collections at @yorkmuseumstrust.bsky.social to see this little guy because I am convinced he used to be a finial for a handheld distaff, a la the many, many bronze/copper-alloy distaffs long mislabeled in archives as "stirring" or "votive" rods.
A bronze handheld distaff with a decorative ridged rod featuring a detailed rooster at the top and a ring at the bottom. Byzantine.Three bronze handheld distaffs of a simple rods with different birds and a chicken adorning the top and a ring at the bottom. Roman, 1st-4th century CE.A greening copper-alloy handheld distaff of a rod with decorative ridges, a pheasant at the top, and a ring at the bottom. Roman, 1st-3rd century CE.A bronze handheld distaff of a simple rod with a rudimentary bird at the top and a ring at the bottom. Roman, 2nd-3rd century CE.
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Kay Beecraft @kaybeecraft.bsky.social · 31/07/2026
As a hand spinner who does historical reenactment, this has simultaneously come as no surprise while also making my eye twitch.
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Kay Beecraft @kaybeecraft.bsky.social · 31/07/2026
The treasures you find whilst walking to the Roman dig. #petuariarevisted
A small crocheted Roman legionnaire standing beside various soldierly regalia, like a spear and a shield, and a small standing sign reading PETUARIA gathered atop a red Post Office mailbox.
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Old English Wordhord @oewordhord.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
trēagian, wk.v: to repair, sew together. (TRAY-ah-gi-ahn / ˈtreːa-gɪ-an) Image: Petrus Comestor’s Historia scholastica; Switzerland (Basel?), 14th century; Aarau (Switzerland), Aargauer Kantonsbibliothek, MsWettF 9, f. 31r. #OldEnglish #WOTD
An illuminated medieval manuscript with a neatly trimmed hole that is decoratively stitched together with red, green, yellow and blue thread.
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Kay Beecraft @kaybeecraft.bsky.social · 26/07/2026
As some of my colleagues and I like to joke, archaeology is just constantly dealing with dicks.
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Kay Beecraft @kaybeecraft.bsky.social · 25/07/2026
Favourite parts of a dig? Roman walls and ladybirds. 🥰 #petuaria #Roman #romanobriton
A trowel, laying on its side on the dusty ground beside the edge of a row of buried Roman stone wall, with a wee ladybird sitting on the metal upward facing edge.
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Kay Beecraft @kaybeecraft.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
I was one of these women and it was magical. We four nearly burst the bus in excitement with our wool talk. 🥰
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Lisa Holdsworth @lisaholdsworth.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
Microsoft is planning to build three massive AI data centres in Leeds. It’ll drain thousands of litres of water from the River Aire and become the city's biggest carbon emitter. We can still stop the council's sign-off, but we need more voices. Add your name: you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/pr...
you.38degrees.org.uk
Stop the Microsoft AI megasite in Leeds!
Microsoft wants to build three huge AI data centres at Skelton Grange. It would drain the River Aire and become the city's biggest carbon emitter. We can still stop it - add your name to the petition.
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BOO! k HistoriAAAH 🎃 @book-historia.bsky.social · 20/07/2026
ObSESSED with this sewn page repair
A sewn repair on a page
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The Public Domain Review @publicdomainrev.bsky.social · 18/07/2026
17th-century Dutch engraving showing a team of pigs spinning cotton, while in the corner a woman — who'd normally be associated with the work — sleeps: publicdomainreview.org/collection/t…
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Dr Vanessa @hpsvanessa.bsky.social · 18/07/2026
"don't cite what you haven't read" remains the basic entry level academic responsibility; & if your discpline "doesn't have that as a norm" then sorry, your discipline needs reforming for this new world. Citations are structural parts of trust and knowledge building, not trinkets or optional extras
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Dr Surekha Davies, Historical Monster Consultant (she/her) @drsurekhadavies.bsky.social · 13/07/2026
No matter how good the dataset, this remains: “If no actual human wrote it, no human edited it, no human signed off on it, then what right does it have to tell me, a human, anything about my and our collective human history, art or culture?” @nataliyakosmyna.bsky.social in Naomi Rea's piece. Gift.
giftarticle.ft.com
AI companies are throwing museums a lifeline. What do they want in return?
Touted as a way to engage visitors and boost funding, new tools are triggering concerns around trust and ethics
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Ash @santanaelchan.bsky.social · 11/07/2026
She's just like me
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Kay Beecraft @kaybeecraft.bsky.social · 10/07/2026
For #FindsFriday I'm sharing a bit of my current research: late #Roman rigid heddles! I had the immense honour of being invited to view 1 of 9 known Roman heddles at the @londonmuseum.bsky.social/MOLA archives. This wee guy dates from about 63CE and was found at a villa site along the Thames. 1/4
Kay, in a black and white and yellow checkered top, leans over a table and examines a small bone heddle. She is wearing blue nitrate gloves and a black face mask, and the lab light illuminates her face and the white table surface she bends over.A closeup of the bone heddle, held gently between Kay's blue-gloved fingers. The heddle is about five centimeters long, about two centimeters wide, and just a few millimeters thick; the bone it is made of has turned a chocolately brown, and the surface is smoothed, even with wear scratches. It is being held at an angle so that all sides can be seen.
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Kay Beecraft @kaybeecraft.bsky.social · 25/06/2026
Oh, hell yeah! Big week for textile archaeology! A new large-scale Viking production site from about 600–950 CE has been uncovered. Flax processing, weaving, workshops. Reminds me so much of York's very own Coppergate textile production site. #archaeology #textiles #vikings
irishexaminer.com
Archaeologists find huge Viking textile production site in Denmark
Rolling coverage of the international stories of interest to our readers
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Pip @pipdolyn.bsky.social · 15/06/2026
I finished a passion project that started last year and debuted it at Pride yesterday. I wanted to combine my love of floriography with my skills as a felt artist, so I created a floriography Pride flag where each stem was chosen for its meaning or significance to the queer community.
Handmade felt flowers arranged in a progress Pride flag design.
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Bat Conservation Trust @batconservation.bsky.social · 19/06/2026
🦇 Bats might be struggling with the heat and wander out of their roosts to cool down. If you see a bat on the ground or an exposed area during the day please call our Out of Hours Helpline - 0345 1300 228. Open on weekdays from 6-10pm and weekends/bank holidays from 10am-10pm.
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Kay Beecraft @kaybeecraft.bsky.social · 19/06/2026
My love language is sending peer-reviewed research papers.
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Chaucer Doth Tweet @levostregc.bsky.social · 17/06/2026
(•_•) <) )╯Publique fundinge / \ \(•_•) ( (> for the artes and humanityes / \ (•_•) <) )> doth benefit everyone! / \
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Kay Beecraft @kaybeecraft.bsky.social · 17/06/2026
Me every time I have to deal with the British Museum:
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Kay Beecraft @kaybeecraft.bsky.social · 17/06/2026
Forever obsessed with deep-diving into online collections because you find gems like this. Cue Inigo Montoya, “you keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.” #archaeology #archives
An online collections page for a “needle” but it is displaying a photograph of a grey ceramic hippopotamus figurine. The collections text reads: 
Basic info: Needle
Collection: Archaeology
Object name: Needle
Object category: Roman
Description: Needle with a flat, spaulate head. Rectangular perforation on head.
Production date start: 43
Production date end: 410
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