👾🏺We wholeheartedly encourage you to follow along and participate in the boost-fest, even if you don’t want to post your own updates, in the same spirit as #archInk (www.archaeoink.com/blog/archInk-Inktober-an... and the #blogarch Blogging Archaeology Carnival ( […]
An outline drawing of a camel skull mounted on a gate post.
We did a lot of archaeological survey in northern Qatar. When we found dead camels we’d sometimes take their skulls and mount them on our gate. Until one day some pesky zooarch stole them. 👿
“Gatekeeping”
#archink #inktober #archink2025
A screen print with a pyramid and a black sphinx that says, “can’t be blk Africans must be space aliens” and his signature, “caioneach”
This #archink #inktober submission for “Pseudoarchaeology” is by the artist Kenneth Holland, who is deeply talented and creates art with personal & political themes.
This one hangs in my office. 🖤
An outline drawing of an ivory comb with a broken tine and circle decorations.
Asian Elephant ivory comb excavated at Ras al Jinz, a Bronze Age site in Oman. #archink2025 #archink #inktober
Cartooony drawing in pencil crayon of Stonehenge with a light greenish glow and an alien and a UFO
#ArchInk Day 13 Pseudoscience
I found this a strange prompt so I just decided to draw this incredibly archaeologically accurate building of Stonehenge
#ArchInk2025 #Archaeology #Stonehenge
A hand holding a drawing of schematic strategraphic layers. The order of the layers is two tweets down.
I have strong feelings about stratigraphy. I have stronger feelings about the schematic examples that we use to teach stratigraphy. Artefacts shouldn't float in the middle of the layer, for example. No colour-coding, obscure symbols to indicate difference, etc.
#archink #archink2025 #inktober
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Ink and graphite sketch of a dagger and arrowhead. Text reads: #ArchInk The early Bronze Age was a time of remarkable transformation in material and social lives. People and materials came together in new ways. I’m interested in how early observers interpreted these changes. The early-19th century excavators of these artefacts, Colt Hoare and Cunnington, were not afraid to draw parallels with continental Europe. “Some may think it derogates from the dignity of our country to allow a Gaulish (i.e. foreign) original; but, be the consequences what they will, whenever we are in search of truth, although we discover her in ruins and rubbish, we must acknowledge and revere her.” Richard Colt Hoare, 1812 *Colt Hoare and Cunnington were, by the standards of the day, pretty good at recording. But in a sheepish footnote in their discussion of barrows in the severely area of Wiltshire, Colt Hoare admits that he’s not sure which of the barrows this dagger came from! #5 flint One of four arrowheads within a burial in a bowl barrow: Which Show affinity with those from Armorica, NW France. FLINT ARROWHEAD, WIMBORNE ST GILES. 4: Bronze BRONZE DAGGER, SILK HILL MILSTON* 9: ivory The pommel is ivory from a marine mannal, possibly a walrus. It is very worn, suggesting it might have adorned other artefacts before this dagger The wooden handle was re-constructed based onCunnington's dig notes. * Or is it ? Colt Hoare and Cunnington - and their illustrator /surveyor Philip Crocker- were pretty good at recording their f, by the standards of the day. But in a sheepish footnote in their discussions of barrow-digging in the Everley area of Wiltshire, Colt Hoare admits the dagger was "in one of these, but I cannot specify which!'
#ArchInk 4: bronze; 5: flint; 9: ivory
#archaeology #illustration 🏺🏛️🗃️
Combining three prompts to look at early-19th century views of early Bronze Age artefacts.
Digital illustration of an ivory cross-section in warm beige tones. A fine network of dark intersecting lines radiates from the centre, forming geometric Schreger patterns characteristic of ivory
Day 9 of #archInk: Ivory
A bit of meditation practices: drawing one curved line after the other.
Cross-section of a tusk, which forms a dense network of intersecting lines known as Schreger lines. They tell growth, material, and history at once.
#archaeology
#ArchInk Ink and graphite sketch of a grave. Accompanying text labels read: The Cockleshell Pilgrim In 1986-7, Excavations within Worcester Cathedral uncovered the body of a man wearing woollen clothing and leather boots, and artefacts suggesting an association with pilgrimage. Research by Katherine lack points to his identity: Robert Sutton, c15th Worcester dyer 6: horn Decayed remnants of a horn tip were found at the top of a 1.55m wooden staff buried next to the body. 8:stratigraphy The burial post-dates construction of the choir wall in 1374. The head and neck were missing: cut by a brick wall that truncated the west end of the grave. 3: residue Remnants of soft tissue, skin, spinal cord, ligaments and muscle were found on the spine and pelvis. 2: Shell Next to the Staff, and a bronze lace end, was a 5cm cockle shell, pierced at the top. Shells were a common Symbol of pilgrimage, but usually Scallop Shells associated with St James'Shrine at Santago de Compostela. The cockle is therefore odd - it may have been intended as a general SymboLof pilgrimage 7: textile He was buried wearing an undershirt and a fine cloak made from a type of woollen cloth called 'worsted' They were of good quality, but plain and undyed -Befitting a pilgrim. Sutton's 1454 will contained a wish to be buried “before the image of StJames in the cathedral.” The man was in his sixties, at least - but had been fit and active before arthritis set in. After anillustration by Helen Lubin, 1990
#ArchInk 2: shell; 3: residue; 6: horn; 7: textile; 8: stratigraphy
#inktober #medievalsky #skystorians 🏺🏛️🗃️
Combining a few prompts to tell the story of Worcester Cathedral’s Cockleshell Pilgrim.
Digital illustration of a trowel cutting through layered soil. Each layer shows archaeological deposits with stones, pottery fragments, and features. The soil profile curls in a scroll-like shape, as if written by the trowel.
day 8 of #archInk: stratigraphy
I reworked an older drawing from when the prompt was “written”. And here the trowel still “writes” the site’s stratigraphy in a way: layer by layer, deposit by deposit and interface by interface.
#archaeology
orange and black. The vase shows two women holding spindles beside a central triangular weaving pattern. Decorative motifs run around the upper section, and loom weights are depicted on the lower part
day 7: textiles
They rarely survive, but their traces do: loom weights, needles, fragments stuck to metal.
This piece looks at those fragments and the ancient depictions of weaving/fabric creation on vessels that still show these practices.
#archInk #archaeology
Ink and graphite sketch showing a woman in medieval dress, holding writing implements in each hand and an expression of intense focus, sat in front of a writing desk with an open manuscript. Text reads: # archink I: pigment Medieval writers and artists used a huge range of compounds & colours - you can find out more abort their techniques at fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/illuminated. The staple of the medieval manuscript was the deep purple-black of iron gall ink, made by mixing iron sulfate with tannic acid, usually sourced from fermented oak galls. MARIE DE FRANCE, LATE CI2th WRITER After a late c13th illustration of her from BnF Arsenal Library, MS 3142 fol 256
#ArchInk 1: pigment
#inktober #medievalsky #skystorians 🏺🏛️🗃️
Not sure how much I’ll be able to contribute this year, but I’ll try to chip in when I can.
day 6 of #archInk2025: horn
I did a kind of archaeology journaling page, where I focused on exploring the texture of the horn, noting down functions and anatomy.
#archInk
An ink drawing on a piece of paper of a horn core with a scale.
A horn core is:
A) a ska band
B) the bony part under the keratin sheath on bovids
C) a source of terrible puns and innuendos on an archaeological site
“Horn” #archink #inktober #archink2025
Digital collage showing hands reaching upward among flintknapping tools such as antler tines, hammers, and scrapers. Flint flakes are scattered across circular green and ochre shapes. The word “FLINT” appears in cut-out letters near the bottom right
For day three of #archInk prompt: flint
I created a digital collage of tools used during flint knapping and the by products spreading around the production zone: flakes and blades.
#archaeology #archInk2025
Drawing of a skeuomorphic spear head made of flint. It says, “bronze bronze bronze bronze…what’s wrong with stone?” And hashtags in the tweet.
“Bronze is brilliant!” #archink #inktober - bronze & flint
youtu.be/nyu4u3VZYaQ
A digital illustration showing two hands reaching toward a circle of bronze artefacts, including swords, spearheads, and axes. Each object has a different shade of bronze — from golden yellow to deep reddish-brown — representing the varied colours of Bronze Age metalwork
day 4 of #archInk2025: bronze. tin meets copper, and new colours are created based on the mixture, from gold, green, brown, red.
i drew them circling between two hands, an acknowledgement of how innovative humans are and bronze meant exchange and shared skill
#archInk #archaeology
A three-panel digital illustration showing the archaeological process of residue analysis. In the first panel, a clay pot sits over a small fire surrounded by stones. In the second, a broken pot is uncovered in the ground with a trowel nearby. In the third, gloved hands hold a sherd and take a sample with a small tool. Two circles highlight what residue analysis can reveal: plant grains and a goat
day 3 of #archink2025: residue. what's left inside a pot can say a lot. grains, fats, traces of meals long gone.
drew that chain in a kind of comic style: pot in use, pot buried/excavated, pot in the lab.
Small remains lead to past recipes.
#archInk #archaeology
A drawing of a banana skin on top of a Neolithic pot sherd.
Behold, the first evidence of the Neolithic banana.
Or, be careful where you eat your lunch.
#archink
#inktober
“Residue”
#archInk is not only drawing but can also be a haiku!
day two of archInk 2025: shell. the central piece today is a scallop shell painted in watercolour. around it i sketched different shell artefacts — scrapers, spoons, containers, ornaments. it shows how versatile shells are as archaeological finds, and how many uses they once had. this page is also a small experiment in drawing itself. mixing digital work with watercolour and pen sketches makes it feel layered, like different notes on the same theme.
day 2 of #archInk: #shell.
a watercolour scallop in the centre, with digital pen sketches of shell artefacts and tools around it. shells are versatile in archaeology, and this page is also a mix of drawing techniques, from watercolour to digital.
#archaeology #archInk2025
Drawing of a tiny white shell with the text, “in Qatar you could find sites where there wasn’t much left besides a surface of the tiniest white shells used as a floor” with tags that are in the tweet.
Quick one today after the pub.
So we’d find these spots covered in tiny white shells in the desert on survey. The only problem was that this also a contemporary practice so you couldn’t always easily tell if the shell floor was archaeology or last week’s family campsite #archink #inktober “shell”
🎨Oct Art Challenges w/ daily prompts!
#31DaysOfFungi - @malinadowling
#ArchInk - @blacktrowel
#Invertober - @fossilforager
#Epochtober - @romanlandry
#Paleoctober - @djigr.bsky
#Sharktober - @requinoesis
#Spacetober - @morgandenman
#Spooktober - @wealiearts
#streamink - @streamink
List update soon!
One year I will be brave and make time to take part myself, but not this year.
Still, I really love following the #ArchInk posts, so thank you for running it again! ✏️💖
#ArchInk2025 #Inktober
#Inktober2025
A hand-drawn illustration showing the archaeological Inktober prompt "Pigment". In the centre is a large stone with a prehistoric bull painting in brown and black. On the left, a flat stone holds red, yellow, and black mineral pieces. On the right, another flat stone shows brown mineral lumps ready for grinding. Labels identify bright red, golden yellow, black (charcoal), and rich brown pigments. Text explains that pigments are minerals ground on flat stones and mixed with water to paint.
starting archInk 2025 with pigment. i kept it digital today, a bit like field journal notes, an archaeology journal. pigment feels small, but it made the first colours on stone.
minerals: grounded, mixed with a binder, painted on a surface and suddenly there’s an image.
#archInk #inktober
A drawing with a finger held up and red pigment on the fingertip. Next to it is written “cinnabar, treasured world-wide for its fiery red hue, is toxic and poisoned those who sought its beauty.” Hashtags are in the tweet.
Super cool to learn that I was huffing cinnabar while laboriously excavating paintings at Çatalhöyük. #archink #pigment #inktober
A watercolour illustration of a cave art bison inspired by the cave of altamira,
Day 1 #ArchInk2025 - Pigment. Bison cave art from the Cave of Altamira.
Trying to use this challenge to improve my illustration skills on Photoshop. I double brushed areas to show cracks in the cave walls and added an aged paper texture background.
#ArchInk @jonaschlegel.com #Archaeology
A #TinyJoy today in the continuing & increasing horribleness that we are living in - both #ClassicsTober and #ArchInk start today. We can look forward to a month of creative responses to the prompts in both.
It’s almost here!
The most wonderful time of the year!
#archink
Hand-drawn explanation of archInk on lined paper with archaeological artifacts in margins including a classical face mask, brushes, and pottery. Title asks 'what is archInk?' The text explains that archInk connects archaeology with ink (drawing), started in 2018 from Inktober, providing archaeological prompts for October. It emphasizes the goal is daily practice to explore archaeology and connect with others, not perfect art. Instructions to use #archInk2025 and #archInk hashtags, signed @archaeoInk.
What exactly is #archInk?
It started in 2018 by Dr. Katherine Cook with daily drawing prompts exploring archaeological themes. The goal is not to create perfect "art" but should be rather seen as a daily practice connecting with archaeology and each other through creative practices
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