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Sophie Ploeg

@sploeg.bsky.social
953 followers 509 following 758 posts

Art Historian. Ancient Rome. Early Modern. Ex artist. Also spaniels, tech and books. 🇬🇧🇳🇱 www.sophieploeg.com

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Sophie Ploeg @sploeg.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
New album by two Aussies playing Poulenc- crisp, fun, funny even (as Poulenc can be) and thoughtful. A joy to listen to. Antony Gray & Rob Hao #Classicalmusic #piano #Poulenc
Poulenc music for two pianos, Gray & Hao
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London Review of Books @lrb.co.uk · 27/07/2026
We're so back. Sorry about the website issues earlier. @emilyrcwilson.bsky.social’s 𝘖𝘥𝘺𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘺 review is now fully available online. www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
lrb.co.uk
Emily Wilson · An Uncomplicated Man
As they say at the awards shows, I was humbled to learn that Christopher Nolan has read at least the first line of my...
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Sophie Ploeg @sploeg.bsky.social · 07/07/2026
Hm we will see…. 😬 www.theguardian.com/film/2026/ju...
theguardian.com
‘An absolute triumph’: first reactions to Christopher Nolan’s Odyssey are ecstatic
Following the film’s premiere, critics are already calling the historical epic a best picture Oscar contender. Here’s what they had to say
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Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 06/07/2026
'The university declined to confirm why the tradition had ended. It said arrangements had been made for graduations to "take place as smoothly as possible".' And with reduced risk of repetitive stress syndrome for the tappers.
bbc.co.uk
Edinburgh University ditches 150-year-old graduation cap tradition
The Geneva Bonnet, also known as the John Knox Cap, will no longer be used to tap the head of graduating students.
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Sophie Ploeg @sploeg.bsky.social · 05/07/2026
Quiet Sunday morning drive to uni library to do some work, with this not-so-quiet album on. That was fun. Dynamic, exciting, lively and layered. Great album. #classicalmusic #applemusic #Dvorak
Album cover Dvorak Symphony no 9
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Sophie Ploeg @sploeg.bsky.social · 05/07/2026
www.theguardian.com/world/2026/j...
theguardian.com
Archaeologists uncover ancient Byzantine city in Egypt’s western desert
Well-preserved fourth-century quarters reveal details of daily life, urban development and economic activities
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Kevin Wilbraham @kpw1453.bsky.social · 04/07/2026
The Porta Nigra at Trier (Augusta Treverorum) in Germany. Constructed during the late second century, it is considered to be the best preserved Roman city gate north of the Alps. 📸 My own. #RomanSiteSaturday #PortaNigra #Trier
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Sophie Ploeg @sploeg.bsky.social · 04/07/2026
A financial Institution just sent me an AI generated email response, telling me that because I am married I have to use my husband’s name and suggested I change my name everywhere else in my life to match the account name using my husband’s name. 🫩🫩 #AI
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Andrew Bloomberg @andrewbloomberg.bsky.social · 25/06/2026
Are you a 15th century king? Do you want to show that you’re down with this humanism stuff that your scholars keep talking about, but you’re also terrified of your own people & the damn French? Ask your architect if Fancy Renaissance Gate Sandwiched Between Existing Medieval Towers is right for you.
A very ornate Renaissance gate sandwich between two beefy medieval towers at the Castello Nuovo in Florence
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Katherine Harloe @katherineharloe.bsky.social · 25/06/2026
In March 2026 the University of Exeter was boasting of its top 100 QS World Rankings status for arts and humanities. Now it is devastating the same areas with drastic cuts. Something is seriously wrong. Solidarity to all the excellent colleagues affected by this. news.exeter.ac.uk/university/e...
news.exeter.ac.uk
Exeter records sweeping successes in QS World Rankings by Subject
The University of Exeter has recorded sweeping success in the latest prestigious international ranking, reflecting its strong teaching and research excellence. Exeter has recorded significant, double-...
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Sophie Ploeg @sploeg.bsky.social · 16/06/2026
Huge Roman Bath house found in Nijmegen nos.nl/l/2618801
nos.nl
Grootste Romeinse badhuiscomplex van Nederland opgegraven in Nijmegen
De opgravingen geven ook nieuwe inzichten in de geschiedenis van Nijmegen. Op de plek van de opgraving verrijst de komende jaren een nieuwe woonwijk.
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Nina Willburger @drnwillburger.bsky.social · 12/06/2026
The planned closure of the Archaeology institute at Humboldt-Universität Berlin is still on the table. So if you haven't signed the petition yet, please do (and share). Archaeology has been a part of Humboldt-Universität's academic tradition for almost 200 years weact.campact.de/petitions/sc...
weact.campact.de
Schließung des Instituts für Archäologie an der HU-Berlin
Die Archäologie gehört seit fast 200 Jahren zur wissenschaftlichen Tradition der Humboldt-Universität. Ihre Schließung bedeutet den Abbruch einer gewachsenen Forschungstradition und eine dauerhafte Sc...
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Chelsea G. Summers @chelseagsummers.bsky.social · 13/06/2026
I would gladly buy tickets to this contemporary ballet.
Workers remove Donald Trump's name from the edifice of the Kennedy Center. Poised on an intricate series of scaffolding, and shot in sienna tones, the photo resembles a still from a seriously compelling dance performance.
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Sophie Ploeg @sploeg.bsky.social · 13/06/2026
It's dense and there is a lot to unpack but also very interesting and enlightening (and of course, depressing). www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4... #academicchatter #universities #humanities
lrb.co.uk
Stefan Collini · Squadrons of Pigs: Bonfire of the Universities
The problems with Britain’s universities are systemic and deep-rooted, not just local or contingent. Yet political and...
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Łukasz Sokołowski @sokolowskilukasz.bsky.social · 12/06/2026
🔸 One reason I’m fascinated by ancient Rome is its culture of memory. Portraits, genealogy, and rituals connected the living with the dead and gave people a sense of continuity. Perhaps that is why we write: not to defeat time, but to enter into a conversation with it 🔸
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This Many Years Ago @thismanyyearsago.bsky.social · 12/06/2026
84 years ago, on the 12th of June 1942, Anne Frank received her first diary for her 13th birthday. That day she wrote: 'I hope I will be able to confide everything to you, as I have never been able to confide in anyone, and I hope you will be a great source of comfort and support.' #otd #history 🗃️
Anne Frank's diary     Photocollection: Anne Frank Foundation, Amsterdam
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Sophie Ploeg @sploeg.bsky.social · 11/06/2026
....just bibliography and images.... then ready to submit for now.... Phew. Chapter 1 draft nearly done. 22K words under the belt. 🤓 #phd #academicchatter #writing
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Sophie Ploeg @sploeg.bsky.social · 11/06/2026
My Dutch niece is looking for a student room in Groningen.... anyone know of anything for her? Pls pass on. #Groningen #universiteitvanGroningen #students #kamerzoeken #studentenkamer Mijn nichtje is op zoek naar een kamer in Groningen. Kan je helpen?
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Sophie Ploeg @sploeg.bsky.social · 10/06/2026
It just never is in the right order. I end up shuffling the sentences until it feels right. I seem to be able to write everything down that I want to say. #phdlife #writing #academicchatter #classics
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Sophie Ploeg @sploeg.bsky.social · 08/06/2026
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
theguardian.com
Writing is an exercise in the art of persuasion. If we use AI we lose the art | Alan Finkel
Every reader deserves to be informed about whether what they are reading is human or AI
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Sophie Ploeg @sploeg.bsky.social · 02/06/2026
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...
theguardian.com
Somerset detectorist strikes gold with ‘spectacular’ Roman ring find
Kevin Minto’s discovery near Ilminster, showing goddess Victoria, has been acquired with coin hoard for £78,000
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Sophie Ploeg @sploeg.bsky.social · 25/05/2026
Ok Gina Davis is a bit weird with her mouth glued closed but The Borough is highly entertaining
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Sophie Ploeg @sploeg.bsky.social · 25/05/2026
www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-i...
theguardian.com
I knew my writing students were using AI. Their confessions led to a powerful teaching moment | Micah Nathan
The problem wasn’t just the perfectly polished, yet mediocre prose. It’s what’s lost when we surrender the struggle to translate thought into words
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Sophie Ploeg @sploeg.bsky.social · 23/05/2026
'Ancient' statues fraud foiled by fake paperwork www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
Sotheby's 'ancient' statues fraud foiled by fake paperwork
Andrew Crowley presented invoices purportedly written in 1976, but they were made using print methods invented in 2001.
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Sophie Ploeg @sploeg.bsky.social · 21/05/2026
Cardiff Uni wants to scrap the 2nd floor of the Arts and Social Studies Library. We're talking 7km of books and vital study space gone to make way for classrooms. Please help us save this crucial campus resource before it's ripped out in June! Add your name here: you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/sa...
you.38degrees.org.uk
Stop Cardiff University from scrapping the ASSL's second floor!
thousands of books and crucial study spaces are at risk. Cardiff Uni wants to repurpose the busiest library on campus into classrooms. Help protect our library and sign the petition today.
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Kate Sheehan-Finn @katesfwriter.bsky.social · 19/05/2026
For #EpigraphyTuesday, AD 2nd C stele in Latin & Palmyrene script, #Rome. To the spirits of the departed Habib, son of Annubat, originally from Palmyra, who lived 32 years, 5 months, 21 days; (his) brother Heres set this up. Syrians settled in Rome in the imperial period. #TombTuesday 📷 my own.
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Sophie Ploeg @sploeg.bsky.social · 19/05/2026
So off-peak return train ticket for early September from Bristol Parkway to London £105. Ticket to Bayeux Exhibition £33 apparently. Add parking at station, tube return, and spot of lunch and that makes for a very expensive day out. World is getting smaller. www.britishmuseum.org/exhibitions/...
britishmuseum.org
The Bayeux Tapestry
For the first time since it was made nearly 1,000 years ago, the Bayeux Tapestry is returning to England.
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Sophie Ploeg @sploeg.bsky.social · 18/05/2026
www.wired.com/story/new-ga...
wired.com
New Gas-Powered Data Centers Could Emit More Greenhouse Gases Than Entire Nations
A WIRED review of permits for data center projects using natural gas and linked to OpenAI, Meta, Microsoft, and xAI shows they could emit more than 129 million tons of greenhouse gases per year.
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Sophie Ploeg @sploeg.bsky.social · 16/05/2026
AI is not always a baddie
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Nina Willburger @drnwillburger.bsky.social · 16/05/2026
A stunning #Roman amber flask, found in Aquileia, dating 1st/2nd c. AD. Aquileia's position at the end of a main amber trade route resulted in its becoming a centre for the carving and distribution of Baltic amber across the Roman Empire. 📷 Museo Archeologico Nazionale, Aquileia 🏺
A close-up of an ornate, reddish-orange carved flask with a leaf-like pattern and a stopper, set against a black background.
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Kevin Wilbraham @kpw1453.bsky.social · 15/05/2026
The ‘Pioneer Helmet’ - an Anglo-Saxon crested helmet found at Wollaston in Northamptonshire. Dating from the 7th and 8th centuries, the helmet was excavated in March 1997 and is now part of the collections at the Royal Armouries Museum in Leeds. 📸 My own. #FindsFriday
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Sophie Ploeg @sploeg.bsky.social · 15/05/2026
www.theguardian.com/science/2026...
theguardian.com
‘Magical’ objects from iron age hoard found in UK go on display
Exhibition of Melsonby hoard in York challenges ideas about life in northern Britain 2,000 years ago
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Sophie Ploeg @sploeg.bsky.social · 11/05/2026
Quite a story: www.theguardian.com/artanddesign...
theguardian.com
Portrait looted by Nazis found in home of Dutch SS leader’s family
Toon Kelder artwork from famed Goudstikker collection resurfaces with descendants of Hendrik Seyffardt
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Ceri Houlbrook @cerihoulbrook.bsky.social · 06/05/2026
Why would we want to learn from our pasts, or ponder the power of the written and spoken word, or explore the deep questions of humanity? According to the University of Hertfordshire, we wouldn't. They've just cut all of our undergrad Humanities programmes
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Sophie Ploeg @sploeg.bsky.social · 01/05/2026
www.theguardian.com/media/2026/m...
theguardian.com
‘It ruined my night’: photographers accused of targeting women at St Andrews May Dip
Students taking part in university’s annual ritual say images of them in swimwear are being published without consent in national newspapers
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Sophie Ploeg @sploeg.bsky.social · 30/04/2026
www.theguardian.com/artanddesign...
theguardian.com
Return of Aparicio painting to Prado exemplifies trajectory of human taste
Once the Madrid museum’s biggest draw, The Year of the Famine in Madrid fell out of favour for political and aesthetic reasons
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Sophie Ploeg @sploeg.bsky.social · 29/04/2026
www.theguardian.com/books/2026/a...
theguardian.com
Lost copy of seventh-century poem in Old English discovered at Rome library
Dublin scholars find 1,200-year-old manuscript of Caedmon’s Hymn composed by Northumbrian cattle herder
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Sophie Ploeg @sploeg.bsky.social · 25/04/2026
Some people ..... 😡 www.theguardian.com/world/2026/a...
theguardian.com
Tourist charged with damaging historic Florentine fountain in pre-wedding prank
Police catch woman, 28, climbing colossal 16th-century statue of Neptune to touch its genitals as a dare
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ithinkwellhugh.bsky.social @ithinkwellhugh.bsky.social · 24/04/2026
#PromotingYourResearch: Got interesting findings? Consider pitching to The Conversation bit.ly/2hcMSHl @ConversationEDU #ECRchat
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Durotriges Dig @durotrigesdig.bsky.social · 24/04/2026
A 2,000 year old decorated bone comb, with intact teeth, originally carved from a cow femur Found near the base of an Iron Age storage pit at Winterborne Kingston #Dorset Photographed at the moment of discovery in June 2023 #FindsFriday
A bone comb, with small carved teeth, is held in the hand of an archaeologist
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Nina Willburger @drnwillburger.bsky.social · 23/04/2026
New discovery - a surprise from the ancient world: a fragment of Homer’s Iliad has been found in the gut of an Egyptian mummy buried in Roman-era tomb around 1,600 years ago www.independent.co.uk/news/science...
independent.co.uk
Archaeologists find copy of Homer’s Iliad inside ancient Egyptian mummy
Papyrus fragment discovered inside mummy buried in Roman-era tomb around 1,600 years ago
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Richard Carr @richardcarr.bsky.social · 21/04/2026
There are currently 6 permanent full time history jobs in the whole UK. 500+ PhDs being produced a year - not all of whom will want to pursue an academic year but likely most, and of course years will stack up onto each other. What a sector.
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Sophie Ploeg @sploeg.bsky.social · 20/04/2026
Loads of great tips there fo all sorts of writers
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Jeremy Millar @jeremymillar.bsky.social · 20/04/2026
You seldom know what the beginning is, so don't worry yourself with starting there. If you know, as far as you can, that something will be included later in the piece start with that, whether it's the description of a scene or an object, some biographical information, whatever. You've already begun.
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Chapps @chapps.bsky.social · 19/04/2026
This realistically rendered Flavian era mummy portrait from Roman Egypt gives us a rare look at an older person from that era. It has been on loan for over 70 years to the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, but was recently sold at auction. Will it disappear into a private collection? 🏺 📸 Sotheby’s
Property from Goucher College

Mummy Portrait of a Man, Roman Egypt, Flavian Period, circa late 1st century CE. Painted with encaustic (pigmented wax) on wood (probably sycamore), his head turned to his right, and wearing a white chiton (tunic) and white himation (cloak) falling from the nape of the neck, his solemn face with full lower lip, long aquiline nose, translucent hazel eyes, bushy eyebrows, and furrowed brow, his wavy gray hair brushed forward above the forehead.

12 3⁄4 by 6 in.; 32.5 by 15.4 cm

Auction page: https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2026/master-paintings-sculpture-part-i/mummy-portrait-of-a-man-roman-egypt-flavian-period
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Sophie Ploeg @sploeg.bsky.social · 20/04/2026
OMG sexism even crept into bird song expertise! Turns out female birds DO sing. 😂😭😡 where hasn’t it crept?! www.theguardian.com/environment/...
theguardian.com
‘How much have we missed?’: book tunes in to overlooked world of female birdsong
Authors set out to correct under-representation of female sounds – and found some surprising revelations
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Sophie Ploeg @sploeg.bsky.social · 08/04/2026
This raises some eh, ‘interesting’ issues 😟 www.theguardian.com/education/ng...
theguardian.com
‘I see it as trafficking’: the brutal reality of life as a foreign student in the UK
The long read: Universities in Britain rely on overseas applicants paying full fees, which has given rise to some unscrupulous recruiters and left many hopefuls and their families deep in debt
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Pauline Stafford @pstafford.bsky.social · 08/04/2026
The great historian of Late Antiquity Averil Cameron, who has died, reminding us that class matters alongside gender in British society wcc-uk.blogs.sas.ac.uk/2017/05/22/s...
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Sophie Ploeg @sploeg.bsky.social · 08/04/2026
Hey Ancient peeps, who's going to Manchester this weekend? Looking forward to the @classicalassociation annual conference! Hope to meet loads of you (and if not, just looking forward to cool talks and nice food 😂). #ancienthistory #classics #classicalassociation #ancientromans #AncientBluesky
Classical Association Conference 2026
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Following Hadrian @followinghadrian.bsky.social · 02/04/2026
#PortraitThursday - Marble portrait of an elderly man wearing a hat with a large circular brim. This artwork illustrates the Roman tradition of verism, a style that emphasises realistic and often unflattering features. Dated between the late 3rd century and early 2nd century BC. Torlonia Collection.
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