Don’t think I’ll ever get over how magic getting to dig at Cnoc Coig was. Oronsay is a spectacular place and holy heck what a team of brilliant archaeologists. A proper joy to learn from such a fab bunch! I’m never gonna shut up about this!
@leizarchaeology.bsky.social @uhiarchaeology.bsky.social
Standing on Cnoc coig
This project is just absolute magic. Oronsay is treating us outrageously well and Lord, we love a Mesolithic shell midden 🫶
Was so convinced I was gonna be super chill about my first ever academic publication…turns out I was absolutely not. Go figure!! 🤣
Some really cool shell work out of the University of Mainz and UHI 🐚 within an amazing issue about deep time human impacts of marine ecosystems!!!
(Link below)
A change for your diaries - the open day at The Cairns excavation in South Ronaldsay has been moved back a week to Friday, July 11, 2025.
#archaeology #IronAge #excavation #TheCairns #Orkney #ThinkUHI #UHIResearch
Photo of red deer stags in a green field close to the camera
In prehistoric Scotland, deer were important for food, tools and clothing, but did people also believe they held a kind of power? 🦌
@orkat3.bsky.social tells us more and explains how archaeology can help us understand our relationship with these animals today: www.digitscotland.com/the-archaeol...
Ooooh that’s some good hard hat hair I’ve got going on there 🤣
Top tier joy being back at The Cairns this week for Iron Age goodness. Can’t believe I get six glorious weeks of this till I get sucked back into the office! Savouring every windy second of it 🤣
@merryn02.bsky.social you can read my PhD when it’s finished and see how convinced you are 😉
Wrote this fun little piece for Dig It! Honestly it’s such a constant joy to get to talk about how weird and wonderful marine shells in archaeology are! 🐚
There aren’t any specifically that I’m aware of, I reckon the closest you’d maybe get would be an environmental archaeology course that would maybe allow for specialism. I ended up just specialising during my masters thesis…
Image shows three rotated angles (top, side, bottom) of a cowrie shell which is mainly white with some remainder of the speckled pattern
Look at this!
This well preserved 𝘤𝘺𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘦𝘢 𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘢 (panther cowrie) was found in a Gloucestershire Saxon burial, alongside other items such as bracelets and beads. Panther cowrie shells are found all over the Red Sea & highlight the trade & exchange happening all over Europe during the period 🐚
A sunshine weekend ☀️
Absolutely LIVING for the conclave livestream.
I never had 133 cardinals carrying me through the last few months of my PhD on my bingo card for this year; but here we are.
I've been exploring the prospects of a limpet based dance routine since I began my PhD 🤣 usually fuelled by a lot of gin
You know it lass!! My shells are eternal 🐚
Sssssshhhh I’ll cry 🥹 🥹🥹🥹🥹
In the first week of registration being open, we’ve had 79 folks register for the #IronAgeDialogues conference!
This is going to be so much fun I can’t wait to see everyone I’m going to hug you all and yap your ears off until you’re so sick of me 🥹
Register here:
www.ironagedialogues.co.uk/
Holly Young and Kath Page with the latest issue of Archaeology Scotland.
There’s a distinct UHI Archaeology Institute flavour to the new issue of Archaeology Scotland Magazine with three articles from students and lecturers.
archaeologyorkney.com/2025/02/07/a...
#archaeology #ThinkUHI #UHIResearch
UHI Archaeology Institute PhD student Jenny Murray is giving an @orkneyarchaeology.bsky.social talk on St Magnus in Kirkwall on February 20.
archaeologyorkney.com/2025/02/05/s...
#archaeology #history #Orkney #ThinkUHI
I find that rather than being overjoyed by a large groatie buckie haul, I’m made immediately suspicious about what’s about to happen that I need all this luck for…
Worked red deer antler from Early Neolithic context with series of protruding, delicate needle-like tips at distal end
Worked red deer antler from Early Neolithic context with series of protruding, delicate needle-like tips at distal end. Close up of distal tips.
Detail of wear on interior of two detached (but refitting) distal tips
Worked red deer antler from Early Neolithic context with series of protruding, delicate needle-like tips at distal end. Detail of wear traces on exterior surface of lower beam towards distal end.
Sending up The Batsign. I'm looking at an enigmatic red deer antler artefact from an Early Neo context in England. Broken off at upper beam and then they've used groove and splinter to make a circular arrangement of weird ?needles? with interior wear. Anyone seen similar (other than Runnymede)?
Not really one for signs from the universe…but that one I’ll take ✨
And so it begins
2025 babyyyyyyyy 🤘
Just a heads up, it’s a bit windy out
Yeah alright, I retract my cynicism. Touché Orkney weather.
Screenshot of a Call for Papers poster for the Iron Age Dialogues conference to be hosted at Cardiff University 30 April-02 May. Abstracts should be 250 words and emailed to IronAgeDialogues@cardiff.ac.uk. The website is IronAgeDialogues.co.uk.
Reminder of the Iron Age Dialogues conference hosted in Cardiff 30 April-2 May! 🛖🐮🌾🗡️🐦⬛🦴
The Call for Papers closes on 10 January. Submit an abstract of up to 250 words to IronAgeDialogues@cardiff.ac.uk if you’re interested in presenting!
Website: www.IronAgeDialogues.co.uk
Nice that we got our lovely office view back just in time for that bonnie Orkney winter weather…🤣
It’s a good day to be a shell fan 🐚
