Belle de jour
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bowman120.bsky.social
Belle de jour
@bowman120.bsky.social
630 followers 650 following 970 posts
Archaeologist & antiquarian; ex-Whitehall Digital programme mgr; Info & Rec Mgt; longbow archer; French 🍷; jazz 🥁 . Eclectic. Opinions own, retweets not always endorsements
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Reposted by Belle de jour
drnwillburger.bsky.social
One of my most favourite glass vessels: A marvellous Roman vessel in the form of a pig, made of blue glass. It was used to hold ointment or perfume.
Found in a burial in Cologne. Dating late 2nd/early 3rd century AD

📷 Römisch-Germanisches Museum Köln

🏺 #archaeology
Deep blue glass vessel shaped like a stylized animal with four legs, a pointed snout, and decorative ridges along its back, resembling a whimsical pig.
December 5, 2025 at 9:10 AM
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jpwarchaeology.bsky.social
Off to do my last in person talk of the year tonight in Loughborough. Fear not, though, because there will also be the online Triskele Heritage Christmas Lecture on 30 December....

More info:
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/buildings-...
December 4, 2025 at 5:59 PM
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drnwillburger.bsky.social
A new discovery has revealed gold-decorated iron lances that were sacrificed at a sacred spring in modern-day Boeslunde approximately 2800 years ago.
Iron weapons with similar gold decoration from this period are unusual and without parallel in all of Northern Europe.

vestmuseum.dk/en/nyt-fund-...
A close-up of two iron lances with gold decoration
December 3, 2025 at 9:40 PM
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englishcivilwar.bsky.social
How was Christmas celebrated in the 1600s? From carousing to fasting, from games to rioting, read our Twelve Days of 17th Century Christmas 👉 earlofmanchesters.co.uk/celebrate-th...
December 3, 2025 at 9:00 AM
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groomb.bsky.social
A lone policeman stands watch on Manchester's deserted dockside during a strike, December 1970. (Mirrorpix/@manchestereveningnews.co.uk)
November 29, 2025 at 9:33 AM
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dieworkwear.bsky.social
Imagine posing for a photographer friend who sells your image to iStock and a year later, you see this is what The Washington Post has done with the image of you walking on a beautiful fall day
The Washington Post headline reads: "Try a ‘fart walk’ to ease the pressure after that big Thanksgiving meal Whatever you do, resist the urge to lie down. November 24, 2025" Accompanying the article if a black ad white photo of someone walking on what appears to be a cold fall day. The camera is capturing their back as they're walking in a park with leaves on the ground. They are wearing a black coat and black leggings. The Washington Post has added radiating yellow lines from their butt to suggest they're farting. The photo credit says the image is from iStock.
November 29, 2025 at 6:02 AM
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alisonfisk.bsky.social
Something ancient and wonderful for the weekend! 🤩

The world’s oldest known sculpture of a horse!

This tiny figurine was carved from mammoth ivory by an Ice Age artist some 40,000 years ago!

📷 by me

#Archaeology
My photo shows a profile view of a small horse figurine with head to the left, displayed against a dark background. Sculpted from mammoth ivory, the surface is a mottled greyish-earthy-brown colour with a shiny patina. It was once likely pale white in colour. It measures 2.5 cm height, 4.8 cm width, and 0.7 cm depth. The head is gracefully lowered with a long curving neck and a convex curved back. The four legs are incomplete. The top of the tail remains. The eyes, nostrils, and mouth are carved as indents. The ‘Vogelherd Horse’ was excavated in 1931, together with a number of other ivory animal figurines from the Vogelherd Cave, Swabian Jura, Germany. It is the oldest known sculpture of a horse. On display at the Museum of Ancient Cultures, at Hohentübingen Castle, Tübingen, Germany.
November 29, 2025 at 2:16 PM
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adambienkov.bsky.social
The sheer scale of media outrage this week about plans to lift hundreds of thousands children out of poverty, by taxing millionaire homeowners, tells you everything you need to know about the real priorities of the British press
www.adambienkov.co.uk/p/the-real-b...
The Real 'Benefits Street' Protecting Britain's Wealthiest
The sheer scale of outrage about plans to lift children out of poverty, by taxing millionaire homeowners, tells you everything you need to know about the priorities of the British press
www.adambienkov.co.uk
November 29, 2025 at 4:29 PM
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monkemma.bsky.social
Wow - this guy must be really, REALLY bad with money if an extra £208 per month will “ruin” his retirement.

Let’s take a look at his situation based on what he told the @Telegraph

Because this does NOT add up!

No, this is not a “poor pensioner” scrabbling around for pennies…

🧵1/9
November 29, 2025 at 10:12 AM
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drnwillburger.bsky.social
What a gorgeous #Greek rhyton in the form of a #donkey's head! Dating ca. 450 BC.
Vessels such as this one were used in drinking parties. Since they didn't have a base, the content had to be consumed before the vessel could be put down

📷 Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien

🏺
Ancient Greek ceramic vessel shaped like a donkey’s head, with a black-glazed flaring rim decorated with figures and patterns, and a curved handle.
November 25, 2025 at 6:26 AM
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groomb.bsky.social
Middlesbrough, 1976, photo by Chris Steele-Perkins.
November 25, 2025 at 8:28 AM
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churchmonuments.bsky.social
For #MementoMoriMonday these gorgeous hooped tombs at Diserth - are they a north Wales speciality?
General view of two table-top tombs and two hooped top tombs Detail of one tomb with hooped top Close-up of skull and cross bones on soffit of hooped top tomb
November 24, 2025 at 7:46 PM
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groomb.bsky.social
Last pit ponies at Wheldale colliery, Castleford, Yorkshire, 1972, photo by Don McPhee.
November 23, 2025 at 9:11 AM
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drnwillburger.bsky.social
An intentionally destroyed #BronzeAge #sword found in a burial at Blaubeuren-Asch. Bronze Age weapons deposited in burials were often bent or hacked into pieces before placed into the grave, in this way they 'died' with the owner. Dating 9th century BC.

📷 Landesmuseum Württemberg

🏺
Fragmented remains of a bronze sword laid out on a dark surface, its blade hacked into multiple pieces. The broken segments show long, parallel ridges characteristic of the original blade, along with sections of the hilt and guard.
November 22, 2025 at 8:23 AM
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theguardian.com
Spain has too rosy a view of Franco’s regime. Let’s remind ourselves of its horrors | Giles Tremlett
Spain has too rosy a view of Franco’s regime. Let’s remind ourselves of its horrors | Giles Tremlett
Little is taught about the murderous, incompetent dictatorship – and now almost one in five young people say Franco was good for the country, says historian Giles Tremlett
www.theguardian.com
November 21, 2025 at 6:13 AM
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tjmasters.bsky.social
In the beautiful setting of St. Martin-in-Fields, London we are listening to Dame Mary Beard delivering her lecture in the series 'Here I Stand' and reminding us of the awe and wonder of Ancient History imaginatively delivered. #marybeard #stmartininthefields
November 17, 2025 at 7:31 PM
bowman120.bsky.social
The ‘Chaucer Stone’ illustrated in the Museum Brittanicum, part of the British Museum’s gallery on collectors from the Age of Enlightenment’
A natural piece of flint - a broken section reveals an internal pattern resembling the great C14 English poet and author Geoffrey Chaucer
November 18, 2025 at 7:37 PM
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alisonfisk.bsky.social
For #EpigraphyTuesday

Roman pottery with Latin inscriptions, made for wine drinking! 🍷

‘Give us wine!’
‘Fill me up!’
‘Well be to you!’

Trier Region, Late 3rd-early 4th century AD. Landesmuseum Trier 📷 by me

#Archaeology
My photo collage shows three Roman black-slipped pottery vessels with white painted Latin inscriptions and white vine-like flowing decoration set against a rich pinky-purple display case background. These so-called ‘motto beakers’, decorated with wine-themed Latin inscriptions painted in white slip, were produced in the Trier region during the mid 3rd century. They proved very popular and were exported to Britain and the Danube Top image: cylindrical cup with straight sides with narrower base. The dark, almost black surface is decorated with large white letters V M N. The inscription around the cup reads VINIVM NOBIIS DA/ Give us wine! There is a band of rope-like white ornamentation near the rim. Beneath the lettering is a vinemotif with cluster of threeroundish ‘grape’ shapes. There are visible cracks where the cup has been restored. From Trier or surroundings, 280-315 AD. Bottom left: elegant dark jug with a narrow base, rounded body, and long neck that flares outward to a broad lip. A single curved handle connects the neck to the upper body. The decoration includes the large white letters R E P and swirling white scroll ornamentation. The full inscription encircling the jug reads REPLE ME - Fill me up! From Trier, St. Matthias, 280-315 AD. Bottom right: A cylindrical beaker with a narrower base. White lettering near the top reads E N E T I B. The full inscription around the beaker reads B[ENIE T[BI S]|[T] - Well be to you! Beneath the text is a continuous vine-scroll design with stylised leaves or grapes. From Trier, Louis-Lintz-Straße, 260-270 AD.
November 18, 2025 at 3:37 PM
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friendlesschurches.bsky.social
The stunning Georgian interior of St Deiniol’s, Worthenbury has a complete set of original 18th-century box pews, an elegant triple-decker pulpit, and a grand west gallery.

1/7
September 13, 2025 at 12:02 PM
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drnwillburger.bsky.social
An #Egyptian glass inlay of a jackal. Jackals were linked with the dead, because they were present in the desert regions near to the cemeteries. The most popular jackal-shaped god was Anubis, the god of embalming. Dating 5th -1st c. BC.

📷 Landesmuseum Württemberg

🏺
A black glass inlay shaped like a reclining jackal, shown in profile against a deep blue background. The figure has an elongated snout, upright pointed ears, and a smooth, streamlined body with subtle incised lines suggesting muscle contours. The jackal’s front leg stretches forward while the hindquarters are tucked beneath it.
November 16, 2025 at 7:49 AM
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suewilkesauthor.bsky.social
Moon jellyfish at the Maryport aquarium, Cumbria.
November 14, 2025 at 8:14 PM
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stephenkb.bsky.social
Hadn't clocked until this tweet that this is true of every defeated Labour government other than New Labour: more votes in defeat in 1951 than in victory in 1945, more in 1970 than in 1964. And frankly, whether they win or lose next time, would bet large amounts will get more votes than 2024.
billtycoon.bsky.social BillTycoon @billtycoon.bsky.social · 20d
Labour got more votes in 1979 then they did in Oct 1974.
November 15, 2025 at 10:20 AM
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greenleejw.bsky.social
It's Tuesday. It's November. And it's been awhile. So lets tell the story about the eel, the scheming wife who ate it, and the talking magpie that ratted her out!

That's right! It's time for the eel tale from the 1370s blockbuster hit, "The Book of the Knight of the Tower." 1/5
🗃️🧪
Meme. Medieval painting of a man talking to three women. They are standing in front of a pink castle, or possible beyond the city walls. Behind them, next to the walls, is a dense forrest. The man, dressed in a baggy red cloak to cover his gut, is facing the women and holding out his left hand. He is pointing with his right hand, but it's not clear what he's pointing at. His expression is sour, and he may be asking which of them painted his castle pink while he was away on a boys-only weekend in the city. The women, for their part, are standing shoulder to shoulder, facing him and looking unimpressed. They are each wearing different colored dressed and hats, with their hair in Princess Leia buns. The one in the middle -- we'll call her Amerilla -- looks esp. dismissive of the man and his possible scoldings. He can suck it; she'll paint the castle whatever damned color she wants. Wait until he sees the living room. Meme text reads: "Which one of you lucky ladies wants to eat my eel?"
November 11, 2025 at 6:05 PM
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richove.bsky.social
The most incredible library in the world, @bodleian.ox.ac.uk opened to OTD 1602, through the energy, money & commitment of Sir Thomas Bodley. It began with 5k books, & now more than 22m, with 2m+reader visits a year, & multi-million online users across the globe. Privilged to be its 25th librarian!
November 8, 2025 at 7:20 AM
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alisonfisk.bsky.social
Even 2,500 years ago, people loved a novelty cup! 🦞 🍷 😄

It’s suggested this Ancient Greek terracotta vessel in the shape of a lobster claw was used as a drinking horn at parties!

The Met www.metmuseum.org/art/collecti...

📷 by me

#Archaeology
My photo shows an ancient Greek red-figure terracotta vase with a body in the shape of a lobster claw. The vase is painted with black glaze. On one side are five knobly bumps or ‘spines’, on the other side is painted a red donkey (not shown). The vessel has a vertical neck with funnel-shaped mouth and outsplayed rim. There is a strap handle from the bottom of the neck across the length of the vase which attaches just before the claw’s pincers. The inner side of the pincers is warm red terracotta. Around the handle base there is a decorative red pattern. The vessel is displayed on a pale beige fabric. Dimensions: 7 x 7.3 x 15.9 cm. On display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. The Met label reads: Greek, Attic, red-figure, ca. 460 BC. Attributed to the Class of the Seven Lobster-Claws Donkey; keras (drinking horn). Because so many aspects of Greek life depended on the sea, a vase in the shape of a lobster claw is not surprising. It is, however, exceptional and may be a variant of the askos— a bag-shaped oil container provided with a vertical mouth and strap handle. The Dionysiac iconography of the lobster claw suggests that it was a novelty item used at symposia (drinking parties).
November 8, 2025 at 3:43 PM