Alison Fisk
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alisonfisk.bsky.social
Alison Fisk
@alisonfisk.bsky.social
12K followers 3.6K following 1.8K posts
Recent Masters degree in Archaeological Practice at Birkbeck, University of London.
Here to share my love of archaeology.
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alisonfisk.bsky.social
Something lovely for the weekend!

The Dorestad Brooch, c. AD 800.

This beautiful Carolingian brooch was found at the bottom of a well in the Netherlands in 1969!

Gold inlaid with almandines, pearls, glass, and enamel. Rijksmuseum van Oudheden, Leiden 📷 AlexanderVanLoon www.rmo.nl/en/collectio...
A large Carolingian gilded disc brooch intricately decorated with cloisonné inlay; that is tiny gold cells inlaid with semi-precious red almandine stones, white pearls, and red, white, green, and blue glass and enamel. The inlay is arranged to form a cross. At the centre of the brooch is a large oval red almandine in a gold fitting. Around the rim are four smaller almandines (one missing), four relatively large pearls, and sixteen smaller pearls. The brooch measures 8.5 centimetres in diameter. Large brooches like this were used to fasten a cloak, so this one was both functional and decorative. Analysis shows that the brooch was modified in antiquity. The remains of the attachment pin on the reverse was hammered flat to take small nails to attach the brooch to another object, perhaps a book or casket
January 3, 2026 at 6:49 PM
Reposted by Alison Fisk
kpw1453.bsky.social
One of several surviving glass vessels from Roman Colchester (Camulodunum). Now part of the collections at Colchester Castle. 📸 My own. #RomanSiteSaturday #RomanBritain #ColchesterCastle
January 3, 2026 at 7:22 AM
Reposted by Alison Fisk
kpw1453.bsky.social
The Balkerne Gate at Colchester (Camulodunum) in Essex. The gateway was the original main entrance to the town, and is the oldest surviving Roman gateway in Britain. 📸 My own. #RomanSiteSaturday #RomanBritain #Colchester #Essex
January 3, 2026 at 7:24 AM
Reposted by Alison Fisk
antiquity.ac.uk
NEW #Neolithic axe-heads from the Ness of Brodgar, Orkney. One of the most iconic tools of Europe's first farmers, macroscopic wear analysis reveals they were treated in diverse ways, used for cutting wood, chiselling stone, scraping hides and more.

🆓 doi.org/10.15184/aqy...

🏺 #Archaeology
A pile of polished stone axe-heads, ranging in colour from black to brown.
January 2, 2026 at 8:13 AM
Reposted by Alison Fisk
katesfwriter.bsky.social
My photo shows the decorated rear and handle of a Roman bronze mirror, dated AD 50-70. The mirror was discovered in a pit during excavation of a Roman Villa in Devon.
Roman mirror ‘glass’ was typically highly polished tin or silver.
#FindsFriday #RomanBritain #Archaeology
📸 my own.
January 2, 2026 at 10:54 AM
Reposted by Alison Fisk
drnwillburger.bsky.social
An adorable Egyptian figurine: a resting hippo, painted with Nile flora in black lines, evoking the lush riverbanks where hippos lived.

In Egyptian culture, hippos were generally associated with life, fertility, and rebirth.

Dating around 1900 BC.🧵1/2

📷 me
A small blue-green faience hippopotamus figurine lying on its side on a gray display surface, decorated with dark linear plant and feather-like patterns.
January 3, 2026 at 10:14 AM
Reposted by Alison Fisk
alisonfisk.bsky.social
For New Year’s Day 2026, a hellenistic glass vase shaped like a pomegranate. 2nd century BC - 1st century AD.

A symbol of abundance and good luck for the year ahead!

📷 Phoenix Art phoenixancientart.com/work-of-art/...

#Archaeology
The image shows a small, rounded, purple glass vessel in the shape of a pomegranate fruit displayed against a light grey background. The display lighting enhances the translucent purple glass which replicates the colour of a ripe fruit. There is some encrustation dotted around the body of the vessel and around the calyx which has one lobe missing. Height 6.9 cm (2.7 in), Diameter 6.6 cm (2.5 in). Probably used as a container for perfumed oil.
January 1, 2026 at 11:17 AM
Reposted by Alison Fisk
oz-of-the-ancients.bsky.social
🎆 Happy New Year Everyone! 🎆

2026 is the Year of the Horse 🐴, so here are some of my favourite archaeological horses for #RockArtThursday!

This is the stunning 'Panel of the Horses' in Chauvet Cave, France, painted ~30,000 years ago! 🐎

I hope everyone has a great year!

#archaeology 🏺
Cave paintings in black of four horse heads next to eachother in succession on a yellow wall, with the drawing of a rhino beneath
January 1, 2026 at 3:57 PM
Reposted by Alison Fisk
aimaiami.bsky.social
Thank you Alison Fisk: this starts the year off right!
alisonfisk.bsky.social Alison Fisk @alisonfisk.bsky.social · 2d
For New Year’s Day 2026, a hellenistic glass vase shaped like a pomegranate. 2nd century BC - 1st century AD.

A symbol of abundance and good luck for the year ahead!

📷 Phoenix Art phoenixancientart.com/work-of-art/...

#Archaeology
The image shows a small, rounded, purple glass vessel in the shape of a pomegranate fruit displayed against a light grey background. The display lighting enhances the translucent purple glass which replicates the colour of a ripe fruit. There is some encrustation dotted around the body of the vessel and around the calyx which has one lobe missing. Height 6.9 cm (2.7 in), Diameter 6.6 cm (2.5 in). Probably used as a container for perfumed oil.
January 1, 2026 at 12:54 PM
alisonfisk.bsky.social
For New Year’s Day 2026, a hellenistic glass vase shaped like a pomegranate. 2nd century BC - 1st century AD.

A symbol of abundance and good luck for the year ahead!

📷 Phoenix Art phoenixancientart.com/work-of-art/...

#Archaeology
The image shows a small, rounded, purple glass vessel in the shape of a pomegranate fruit displayed against a light grey background. The display lighting enhances the translucent purple glass which replicates the colour of a ripe fruit. There is some encrustation dotted around the body of the vessel and around the calyx which has one lobe missing. Height 6.9 cm (2.7 in), Diameter 6.6 cm (2.5 in). Probably used as a container for perfumed oil.
January 1, 2026 at 11:17 AM
Reposted by Alison Fisk
pottedhistory.bsky.social
We're often asked 'how did Roman potters create the moulds that they used to make lamps & deity figurines?' The answer is that there were numerous methods used. In these 4 videos Sarah & I show one technique that we have identified.🏺#Archaeology #Pottery #Ceramics #Classics youtu.be/nJD9tCfv-7I?...
A Mould for a Goddess Pt 1 The Archetype
YouTube video by PottedHistory
youtu.be
December 31, 2025 at 2:08 PM
Reposted by Alison Fisk
chapps.bsky.social
A Roman terracotta lamp with Victory holding a shield inscribed with a wish for a happy and prosperous new year. Around her are representations of things that were usually given as gifts to celebrate the New Year: money (here three coins), and dried fruit (dates and figs). 🥳 🏺 1/

#MetMuseum 📸 me
Winged Victory holds a shield inscribed with a New Year's wish for happiness: ANNV / NOVM FAV/STVM FEL/ICEM MI/HI, which transliterates as 'Annum Novum Faustum Felicem Mihi' - literally 'A happy, fortunate, and prosperous New Year to me'. It's a self-referential wish for happiness and good fortune in the new year. Around her are representations of things that were usually given as gifts to celebrate the New Year— money (in the form of three coins) and dried fruit (dates and figs). Roman, mold-made, 2nd half of 1st century CE. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (06.1021.291)
December 31, 2025 at 8:36 PM
Reposted by Alison Fisk
tessmachling.bsky.social
The Big Book of Torcs is 6 years old! 🎉

www.bigbookoftorcs.com 🧵

In total, since January 2020, it's had 59,979 views from 34,504 people in 140 countries (only c.50% are from the UK) ...and these numbers are increasing every year!

#Archaeology 🏺
A torc with Happy New Year 2026 written in the middle
January 1, 2026 at 9:25 AM
Reposted by Alison Fisk
antiquity.ac.uk
Happy New Year from all of us at Antiquity! We can't wait to see what the new year holds for #archaeology, but in the meantime why not explore the incredible research and discoveries of 2025 in our collection of this year's most-read articles 🆓 www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
🏺
Two archaeologists excavating in a multi-layered trench, with the text '2025's most-read research, Antiquity'.
January 1, 2026 at 10:45 AM
Reposted by Alison Fisk
kpw1453.bsky.social
Happy New Year and good fortune to everyone during 2026! Below is a relief of the Roman goddess Fortuna which was found at Castlecary Roman Fort on the Antonine Wall. Now part of the collections at the Hunterian Museum in Glasgow. 📸 My own. #RomanFortThursday #NewYear
January 1, 2026 at 7:38 AM
Reposted by Alison Fisk
drnwillburger.bsky.social
For New Year’s Day a #Roman #glass bottle in the shape of a date: dates, figs, and honey were New Year's gifts in Roman times. According to Ovid, they should make the new year a sweet one.

HAPPY NEW YEAR to you all! 🍀

📷 by me, taken in Pompejanum Aschaffenburg
A close-up of a small, brown glass bottle, shaped like a dried date.
January 1, 2026 at 8:10 AM
Reposted by Alison Fisk
shirleyrl.bsky.social
Beautiful. The alt text is brilliant 🙂
alisonfisk.bsky.social Alison Fisk @alisonfisk.bsky.social · 3d
As the year draws to a close, I’m signing off 2025 with a magical find!

An ancient amber bear. Carved some 10,000 years ago, it washed up on a beach at Fanø, Denmark, from a submerged Mesolithic settlement in the North Sea.

✨ Happy New Year all! ✨

National Museum of Denmark
📷 by me

#Archaeology
My photo shows a small figurine of an amber bear carved some 10,000 years ago during the Danish Mesolithic period. The bear is seen in profile facing right. The legs are incomplete. The ears, muzzle, and mouth are defined. The figurine is displayed on a small metal stand. The display lighting shines on the bear’s head and neck enhancing the translucence of the orange amber. The neck of the bear has a polished groove indicating it was once suspended on a cord or string. Length 6.5cm. The Fanø bear was found in 1991 on a beach on the west coast of the Danish island of Fanø, located off the south-western coast of Jutland. In the Stone Age the Danish coastline was different from today. “Since then the coastline has been influenced by later changes to the sea level as well as the rising up of the land after the last Ice Age. This rising of the land is still going on today. North of a line on the map the land has risen up and south of the line the coast has become submerged because of the subsequent rise in sea level. Therefore a proportion of Stone Age settlements south of the “tilt line” now lie under water or at the edge of the beach. Thus objects can be washed out in the sea and later be found on the beach”. The Fanø bear is one of a small number of amber bear figurines from the Baltic Sea region which have been assigned to the Mesolithic period by means of a typo-chronological approach Amber has many amazing properties: it’s warm to the touch, it’s a glossy translucent colour when polished, it gives off a fragrant scent when burnt, and when rubbed against fur or hair it can produce static electricity which ‘magically’ emits green sparks in the dark and can make hair stand on end.
December 31, 2025 at 4:48 PM
Reposted by Alison Fisk
asherelbein.bsky.social
An ambear, if you will
alisonfisk.bsky.social Alison Fisk @alisonfisk.bsky.social · 3d
As the year draws to a close, I’m signing off 2025 with a magical find!

An ancient amber bear. Carved some 10,000 years ago, it washed up on a beach at Fanø, Denmark, from a submerged Mesolithic settlement in the North Sea.

✨ Happy New Year all! ✨

National Museum of Denmark
📷 by me

#Archaeology
My photo shows a small figurine of an amber bear carved some 10,000 years ago during the Danish Mesolithic period. The bear is seen in profile facing right. The legs are incomplete. The ears, muzzle, and mouth are defined. The figurine is displayed on a small metal stand. The display lighting shines on the bear’s head and neck enhancing the translucence of the orange amber. The neck of the bear has a polished groove indicating it was once suspended on a cord or string. Length 6.5cm. The Fanø bear was found in 1991 on a beach on the west coast of the Danish island of Fanø, located off the south-western coast of Jutland. In the Stone Age the Danish coastline was different from today. “Since then the coastline has been influenced by later changes to the sea level as well as the rising up of the land after the last Ice Age. This rising of the land is still going on today. North of a line on the map the land has risen up and south of the line the coast has become submerged because of the subsequent rise in sea level. Therefore a proportion of Stone Age settlements south of the “tilt line” now lie under water or at the edge of the beach. Thus objects can be washed out in the sea and later be found on the beach”. The Fanø bear is one of a small number of amber bear figurines from the Baltic Sea region which have been assigned to the Mesolithic period by means of a typo-chronological approach Amber has many amazing properties: it’s warm to the touch, it’s a glossy translucent colour when polished, it gives off a fragrant scent when burnt, and when rubbed against fur or hair it can produce static electricity which ‘magically’ emits green sparks in the dark and can make hair stand on end.
December 31, 2025 at 5:35 PM
Reposted by Alison Fisk
moonsprig.bsky.social
you can view this fellow in 360 here! samlinger.natmus.dk/do/asset/4158
Ravbjørn fra Fanø - Nationalmuseets Samlinger Online
Bjørn af Rav, stenalder, Fanøs vestkyst
samlinger.natmus.dk
December 9, 2024 at 12:25 AM
Reposted by Alison Fisk
alisonfisk.bsky.social
As the year draws to a close, I’m signing off 2025 with a magical find!

An ancient amber bear. Carved some 10,000 years ago, it washed up on a beach at Fanø, Denmark, from a submerged Mesolithic settlement in the North Sea.

✨ Happy New Year all! ✨

National Museum of Denmark
📷 by me

#Archaeology
My photo shows a small figurine of an amber bear carved some 10,000 years ago during the Danish Mesolithic period. The bear is seen in profile facing right. The legs are incomplete. The ears, muzzle, and mouth are defined. The figurine is displayed on a small metal stand. The display lighting shines on the bear’s head and neck enhancing the translucence of the orange amber. The neck of the bear has a polished groove indicating it was once suspended on a cord or string. Length 6.5cm. The Fanø bear was found in 1991 on a beach on the west coast of the Danish island of Fanø, located off the south-western coast of Jutland. In the Stone Age the Danish coastline was different from today. “Since then the coastline has been influenced by later changes to the sea level as well as the rising up of the land after the last Ice Age. This rising of the land is still going on today. North of a line on the map the land has risen up and south of the line the coast has become submerged because of the subsequent rise in sea level. Therefore a proportion of Stone Age settlements south of the “tilt line” now lie under water or at the edge of the beach. Thus objects can be washed out in the sea and later be found on the beach”. The Fanø bear is one of a small number of amber bear figurines from the Baltic Sea region which have been assigned to the Mesolithic period by means of a typo-chronological approach Amber has many amazing properties: it’s warm to the touch, it’s a glossy translucent colour when polished, it gives off a fragrant scent when burnt, and when rubbed against fur or hair it can produce static electricity which ‘magically’ emits green sparks in the dark and can make hair stand on end.
December 31, 2025 at 10:26 AM
Reposted by Alison Fisk
anthonymajanlahti.bsky.social
For #ReliefWednesday, a magnificent #jasper #intaglio depicting #Athena Parthenos in profile, in #palazzoMassimo. A tiny signature in Greek running vertically behind her helmet names the artist as one Aspasios. The artist took inspiration from the great statue in the #Parthenon. #AncientBluesky 🏺
INTAGLIO OF ATHENA PARTHENOS, 50-100 CE. PALAZZO MASSIMO ALLE TERME This very small (1.5-2 cm diameter) piece of red-brown jasper is a tiny masterpiece of intaglio reliefwork. The artist, a Greek named Aspasios, took the profile of Athena Parthenos from the great chryselephantine statue of the goddess by Phidias in the Parthenon in Athens. He seems more interested in Athena's hair and helmet than in her face, which nonetheless has a classic beauty. But her helmet is lovingly carved with tiny relief horses over her forehead, a shorter horsehair brush at the peak ceding to a long, lightly-incised central brush. Athena has long curly hair that escapes her helmet in ringlets over her cheek and down over her shoulders. She's wearing a necklace and her ægis with the Gorgoneion. Aspasios may have made this in Rome as part of a neoclassical revival that began under Augustus.
December 31, 2025 at 11:42 AM
Reposted by Alison Fisk
archaeohawke.bsky.social
#ReliefWednesday

Sarmatian cataphracts depicted on Trajan's column, 2nd century CE

📸 Conrad Cichorius (1863-1932) CC BY-SA 4.0

#AncientBlueSky
December 31, 2025 at 1:42 PM
Reposted by Alison Fisk
archaeohawke.bsky.social
#TombTuesday

Trefignath burial chamber is located on sacred Holy Island, and in its most complete form it included a large cairn covering three stone tombs, set on a small knoll.

See Alt. For more Details.

#Archaeology #AncientBlueSky
📸 Porius1 Trefignath is a Neolithic burial chamber near Trearddur, south of Holyhead on Holy Island, off Anglesey in Wales. In its most complete form it included a large cairn covering three stone tombs, set on a small knoll. It was excavated between 1977 and 1979, revealing several phases of occupation with three separate burial chambers built in succession. It is a scheduled ancient monument, maintained by Cadw. Trefignath is adjacent to an alignment of small standing stones which extends some 350 metres northwestwards. Beyond these, some 450 metres from Trefignath, is the larger Tŷ Mawr Standing Stone. The tomb is sited on a low ridge of rock, probably a roche moutonnée shaped by a moving ice-sheet. Flint and chert tools, and hearths, were found on the natural ground surface under the cairn. Charcoal in this context was carbon-dated at 3100 BCE, plus or minus 70 years. Pottery sherds left before the building of the tomb were un-decorated Irish Sea ware of the early and middle Neolithic. Local clays and rocks probably provided the material for most of the pottery, but one small inclusion of perthitic biotite granite in a potsherd cannot be sourced locally and this pot may have traveled from Ireland, Scotland, or Cornwall The first tomb to be built was at the western end of the present mound. It had a simple, square chamber, with an entrance facing north-west, and was covered by a circular mound of stones (a cairn). It is thought that this may be the remains of a passage grave. Pollen evidence showed that it was built on an area of grassland, though there was woodland not far away and also nearby arable. There are few remaining finds, but the pottery – heavily decorated Peterborough ware pottery of late Neolithic date – suggests that the chamber continued in use for an extended period. 📸 R. Keatinge. Trefignath, small adult in third, eastward tomb The second to be constructed was rectangular in shape and had two stones marking the entrance from a narrow forecourt. Over this, and over the earlier chamber, a long, wedge-shaped mound was constructed, which formed a long cairn. The resulting mound was edged with drystone walling. The third chamber, at the eastern end, was added to the front of the central chamber. It was also constructed with large entrance stones and in the same style, but there was no longer any means of access to the central chamber. The long cairn was then extended to cover this chamber as well. Late Neolithic pottery was found at the entrance.
December 30, 2025 at 9:40 AM
Reposted by Alison Fisk
kpw1453.bsky.social
Two copper alloy daggers and a whetstone - grave goods discovered in an early Bronze Age barrow (1700-1600 BC) at Norton Bavant in Wiltshire. Now part of the collections at Salisbury Museum. 📸 My own. #Archaeology #BronzeAge #NortonBavant #SalisburyMuseum
December 29, 2025 at 8:18 AM
Reposted by Alison Fisk
oz-of-the-ancients.bsky.social
To end the year, here's some fabulous #ArchaeologyNews for #HillfortsWednesday - Ireland's largest hillfort!

Occupied from 1200-400 BC, with over 600 houses found so far, it's even larger than Maiden Castle!

🎆 See you all in 2026! 🎆

#archaeology #news

🏺 phys.org/news/2025-12...
Scientists have uncovered evidence of Ireland's largest prehistoric hillfort settlement
In a recent study published in Antiquity, Dr. Dirk Brandherm and his colleagues identified more than 600 suspected house platforms in the Brusselstown Ring hillfort, making it the largest nucleated se...
phys.org
December 31, 2025 at 1:25 PM