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Nicholas Aherne Archaeology @nicholasaherne.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Join us for our opening @tracconference.bsky.social webinar next Tuesday 6th October at 17:00 BST. Daniel Connelly will present on The Sound of Slave Labour: Utilising 'Auditory Peopling' to Analyse Marcus Aurelius. #romanarchaeology #archaeology #classics

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Nicholas Aherne Archaeology @nicholasaherne.bsky.social · 16/08/2026

Oh, yes. I see it now. I was looking at it backwards. It looks like a sphinx, but I know the Etruscans have their own mythology.

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Nicholas Aherne Archaeology @nicholasaherne.bsky.social · 16/08/2026

What do we know about the little figure by the head of the supine deceased? I have not seen this before.

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Nicholas Aherne Archaeology @nicholasaherne.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

I wonder if facts like these travelled amongst the populus or stayed in elite and official circles.

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Stephen Hopkins @phil-lol-ogist.bsky.social · 07/08/2026

Parents Parents 2026 BCE 2026 CE 🤝 "These kids and their damned tablets"

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Nicholas Aherne Archaeology @nicholasaherne.bsky.social · 30/07/2026

The shaft is more phallic, but the node does not appear with phalli. It may be a hammer made to look like a phallus or vice versa. Wouldn't be the only dual image I have encountered at Pompeii.

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Nicholas Aherne Archaeology @nicholasaherne.bsky.social · 29/07/2026

When I saw this in Pompeii, I was not convinced it was a phallus. I thought it was a hammer. It looks like there is a node at the centre of the head, although I admit the 'handle' probably shouldn't be pointed(?).

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Nicholas Aherne Archaeology @nicholasaherne.bsky.social · 28/07/2026

I am not familiar with this trope and how generic this motif may be. But the hat, money pouch(?), and what looks like rod before the figure's chest made me think Hermes?

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Nicholas Aherne Archaeology @nicholasaherne.bsky.social · 27/07/2026

Oh no, nor am I. I analyse a Marsyas sarcophagus in my PhD and focus on Marsyas as a tragic figure and a victim of excessive punishment, alongside Ovid. On the lid of the sarcophagus, Apollo and Artemis take up mournful postures, suggesting that Apollo shows some remorse.

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Nicholas Aherne Archaeology @nicholasaherne.bsky.social · 27/07/2026

At Theoretical Roman Archaeology Conference we have opened the cfp for our upcoming webinar series. Please apply here and spread the word. #romanarchaeology #archaeology

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Nicholas Aherne Archaeology @nicholasaherne.bsky.social · 23/07/2026

Thank you for sharing. Very interesting. Do you happen to have any publication references for such flasks?

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Nicholas Aherne Archaeology @nicholasaherne.bsky.social · 22/07/2026

I find the design used for the flowing water surprisingly effective.

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Nicholas Aherne Archaeology @nicholasaherne.bsky.social · 21/07/2026

Thanks for sharing. Dubious, indeed. Roman battle sarcophagi, when they do not refer to the Iliad, seem to be largely generic. On the earlier Lycian sarcophagus of Sidon, there are even two centaurs fighting each other.

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Nicholas Aherne Archaeology @nicholasaherne.bsky.social · 21/07/2026

House of Poseidon, Zeugma (modern Turkey), 2nd–3rd century AD. 📸 Photo by Carole Raddato

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Nicholas Aherne Archaeology @nicholasaherne.bsky.social · 21/07/2026

In this setting, the myth was not static decoration but a dynamic, personalised, and ingenious combination of art and technology. The visual and auditory effects of the flowing water would have brought the scene vividly to life to entertain household members and guests.

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Nicholas Aherne Archaeology @nicholasaherne.bsky.social · 21/07/2026

Thetis herself is atypically included and her placement is intentional. The sea nymph appears directly beside the central waterspout of the impluvium. Whether the basin was filled with water via the fountain or through the hole in the ceiling above (compluvium), it would have activated the scene.

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Nicholas Aherne Archaeology @nicholasaherne.bsky.social · 21/07/2026

Despite her efforts, Odysseus and other Greek warriors eventually discovered him. Here we see Achilles answering the call to war and revealing his true identity. What makes this mosaic particularly intriguing is its divergence from more typical representations of the myth.

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Nicholas Aherne Archaeology @nicholasaherne.bsky.social · 21/07/2026

The young Greek hero Achilles (right foreground) had been hidden on the island by his mother Thetis, a sea nymph (left foreground). She had disguised him as a girl amongst the daughters of King Lycomedes in an attempt to prevent his fated death in the Trojan War.

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Nicholas Aherne Archaeology @nicholasaherne.bsky.social · 21/07/2026

Bringing myth to life through ancient technology 💧✨ This domestic mosaic, set within an impluvium (water pool), depicts the myth of Achilles on Skyros in a striking and highly personalised design. #archaeology #classics #ancienthistory #greekmyth #romanarchaeology #ancientart

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Nicholas Aherne Archaeology @nicholasaherne.bsky.social · 21/07/2026

📢 Only a few days left to apply for our conference on mortuary ritual of the Roman Near East! Find out the details and apply here: www.rug.nl/research/gro... #RomanArchaeology #FuneraryArchaeology #RomanNearEast #MaterialCulture #AncientHistory #CallForPapers #AcademicConference #CulturalHeritage

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Nicholas Aherne Archaeology @nicholasaherne.bsky.social · 19/07/2026

I was thinking it must be a simulacrum for such a reason.

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NINO Leiden @nino-leiden.bsky.social · 16/07/2026

Het NINO-onderzoekscentrum is op zoek naar een redactie-assistent voor ons tijdschrift Bibliotheca Orientalis. Kijk voor de werkzaamheden en functie-eisen op onze website: buff.ly/fAHBXCG Masterstudenten aan NL universiteiten in studies binnen de NINO-interessesfeer: solliciteer uiterlijk 31 juli!

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Vacature: student-assistent bij onderzoekscentrum NINO (25-6-2026)

NINO initiates, supports, and conducts scholarly research in the civilizations of the Near East from the ancient to the early modern period. In particular, it concentrates on the archaeology,…

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Nicholas Aherne Archaeology @nicholasaherne.bsky.social · 15/07/2026

The olives are in such high relief, would have made well for 'playing off' the real olives and other food enjoyed.

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Nicholas Aherne Archaeology @nicholasaherne.bsky.social · 14/07/2026

Terracotta lamp. 2nd century AD, Staatliche Antikensammlungen, Munich (8958599194). Inventory details by Carole Raddato. Photo of lamp by Marcus Cyron. Painting: Scylla and Cahrybdis by Ary Ernest Renan (1894).

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Nicholas Aherne Archaeology @nicholasaherne.bsky.social · 14/07/2026

As the user repeatedly fuels the whirlpool with oil to keep the image animated, just as Charybdis eternally consumes and releases the sea, the act of lighting the lamp becomes part of the mythological experience itself rather than merely an act of viewing.

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Nicholas Aherne Archaeology @nicholasaherne.bsky.social · 14/07/2026

Users would have to pour oil into it, which in its liquid form and dripping sound, transformed it into a symbolic body of water, an interpretation reinforced by the concentric circles framing the hole and surrounding the lamp’s design

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Nicholas Aherne Archaeology @nicholasaherne.bsky.social · 14/07/2026

Aligned with the nozzle is a skeleton that is being drawn into the other great Homeric marine monster, Charybdis, a devouring whirlpool. The eye of the whirlpool is not merely represented but materialised in the form of the dark and ominous filling hole at the centre of the lamp.

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Nicholas Aherne Archaeology @nicholasaherne.bsky.social · 14/07/2026

The lamp is most often noted for its two representations of Scylla, the man-eating sea monster of Greek myth. Yet, to modern eyes at least, it is another subtler feature that makes this object particularly fascinating.

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Nicholas Aherne Archaeology @nicholasaherne.bsky.social · 14/07/2026

🌊🔥🏺📜 🪶With Nolan’s #theOdyssey coming out this week, I recently came across this fascinating Roman terracotta oil lamp (thanks to @drcraigb.bsky.social). It demonstrates the sophistication of ancient craft technology through the ingenious integration of form, function, and meaning. 🧵

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Nicholas Aherne Archaeology @nicholasaherne.bsky.social · 12/07/2026

I think we ought to read the filling hole as Charybidis. Fascinating.

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Nicholas Aherne Archaeology @nicholasaherne.bsky.social · 03/07/2026

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this post and talk do not necessarily reflect my own.

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Nicholas Aherne Archaeology @nicholasaherne.bsky.social · 03/07/2026

🏛️🏺 ⚔️ 🦅 Our Theoretical Roman Archaeology Conference keynote with Prof. Simon James is about how ancient Rome is being invoked in contemporary public narratives. If you missed it, you can tune in here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=fdk8... #romanarchaeology #classics #outreach #politics

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Keynote 16.06.2026: Professor Simon James- Roman Archaeology in a Time of Monsters

YouTube video by TRAC - Theoretical Roman Archaeology Conference

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Nicholas Aherne Archaeology @nicholasaherne.bsky.social · 22/06/2026

Visit the conference webpage here for more information: www.rug.nl/research/gro...

rug.nl

Conference 2027

conference 2027

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Nicholas Aherne Archaeology @nicholasaherne.bsky.social · 22/06/2026

Friends, Romans, countrymen—lend us your ears! We at @MARE are delighted to announce the call for papers for our final conference: ‘Mortuary Ritual in the Roman Near East: Current Work and Future Directions’ ⛏️💀❤️🏛️🌸🏺🔎 More details: 🧵 #RomanArchaeology #AncientNearEast #Ritual #Conference #Heritage

Nicholas Aherne Archaeology @nicholasaherne.bsky.social · 01/02/2026

Thus, this couple stand in a material-visual limbo, eternally together on the stone surface and presumably also within the coffin. What their exact funerary beliefs were is uncertain.

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Nicholas Aherne Archaeology @nicholasaherne.bsky.social · 01/02/2026

On the left, is a more comforting analogy of a happy family: divine mother and daughter, Demeter and Persephone, are reunited after Persephone has spent time in the Underworld with her new husband, Hades. On the left edge, we can also see a sleeping Eros, god of love, peacefully representing death.

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Nicholas Aherne Archaeology @nicholasaherne.bsky.social · 01/02/2026

On the right is Hermes, the messenger god who may be trying to lead the couple to Hades, seated in the Underworld. But the couple are not ready to depart just yet. Instead, they face one another.

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Nicholas Aherne Archaeology @nicholasaherne.bsky.social · 01/02/2026

At the centre, we see a husband and wife couple in eastern Greek dress and wearing headdresses that identify them as a priest and priestess of the imperial cult (which honoured the emperor and his family). And that isn’t the only reference to religion!

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Nicholas Aherne Archaeology @nicholasaherne.bsky.social · 01/02/2026

#archaeology #greekmyth #romanart #sarcophagi Me with my favourite sarcophagus, the ‘Underworld Sarcophagus’ from Aphrodisias, Caria (Turkey). Its mythological symbolism is so elegantly poetic. Learn more in the replies. - my first attempt at Bluesky

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