Craig Barker
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Craig Barker
@drcraigb.bsky.social
3.1K followers 1.1K following 520 posts
Mediterranean archaeologist & museum education professional. Director of the Paphos Theatre excavations, Paphos Cyprus & Head of Public Engagement at the Chau Chak Wing Museum at the University of Sydney.
Cypriot archaeologist on Gadigal land.
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drcraigb.bsky.social
'Exhibition unveils the Myths of Cyprus'

cyprus-mail.com/2026/01/03/e...
Exhibition unveils the Myths of Cyprus
Mythical figures from Cypriot folk tradition, legends and more are the focus of an upcoming multi-thematic exhibition by the Press and Information Office (PIO), which will take place at the Medieval H...
cyprus-mail.com
January 4, 2026 at 12:00 AM
drcraigb.bsky.social
Feel somewhat humbled to have shared my name and my entire time on this fragile planet with such a majestic creature.
A reminder that we are all connected.

Rest in peace big fella
yasharali.bsky.social Yashar Ali 🐘 @yasharali.bsky.social · 15h
1. Heartbreaking news: the largest big tusker elephant in Kenya has died.

I feel so fortunate that I got to see Craig in the wild.

He was 54 years old and, thankfully, died of natural causes.

It’s safe to assume that Kenyan authorities have already removed his tusks to keep them from poachers.
Craig, one of Kenya’s last great “big tusker” elephants, stands facing the camera on a dry savanna landscape. His massive, curved ivory tusks sweep nearly to the ground as dust rises around his feet. The elderly bull’s weathered skin and calm posture emphasize his size, age, and rarity against the open plains and pale sky.
January 3, 2026 at 9:18 AM
drcraigb.bsky.social
Well it’s 2026 in Australia now.

Happy new year all and I hope for peace and prosperity in the new year.
Fireworks!
December 31, 2025 at 1:14 PM
drcraigb.bsky.social
'Paralimni-Deryneia unveils ancient treasures to boost cultural tourism' (Cyprus)

#archaeologynews 🏺

in-cyprus.philenews.com/local/parali...
Paralimni-Deryneia unveils ancient treasures to boost cultural tourism (photos)
Cyprus municipality opens Neolithic settlement, enhances Queen's Tomb and pursues repatriation of bust from Berlin as part of heritage strategy.
in-cyprus.philenews.com
December 30, 2025 at 12:39 PM
drcraigb.bsky.social
The 'Unearthed' exhibition at the Museum of Sydney is one of the best I have seen this year & one of the best about archaeology as process.

Archaeology in Australia has not been brilliant at capturing our own story but the accompanying excavation documentary is a great view
mhnsw.au/unearthed-ex...
Unearthed – Exhibition film
What was it like to work on the first Government House excavations? In this film, some of the archaeologists who worked on the site reflect on their experiences and the impact the work had on their li...
mhnsw.au
December 30, 2025 at 11:45 AM
drcraigb.bsky.social
I very much enjoyed the ‘1975: Living in the Seventies’ exhibition at the National Library of Australia at the moment.
A reminder of how radically Australia has changed (for the better) over the past five decades of my lifetime & of how much ‘daginess’ is central to our national identity!
Exhibition opening label at the National Library of Australia Farewell Aunty Jack sheet music. I have some Grahame Bond stories from when he worked with us in Paphos but Wollongong the Brave hey! Colonials jeans advertisement The Number 96 cookbook. Because soap operas and fine dining are intertwined right?
December 29, 2025 at 4:16 AM
drcraigb.bsky.social
Archaeology Advent Calendar Day 24

‘The Idol of Pomos’

picrolite (stone) figurine of a human in the shape of a cruciform.
Chalcolithic, c. 3000-2500 BCE

Found in the village of Pomos, Paphos District in 1878.

Cyprus Museum, Nicosia
Stone figurine of a human form. It wears a similarly shaped figurine as an adornment around its neck
December 24, 2025 at 10:47 AM
drcraigb.bsky.social
‘Roman copper industry and settlement uncovered in Peristerona’

Fantastic season results for the team from the Universities of Copenhagen and Uppsala

#archaeologynews 🏺

cyprus-mail.com/2025/12/23/r...
Roman copper industry and settlement uncovered in Peristerona
Archaeologists announced on Tuesday the completion of excavations in the Peristerona River valley, uncovering new evidence of ritualistic activity and water management linked to copper production unde...
cyprus-mail.com
December 23, 2025 at 11:08 AM
drcraigb.bsky.social
‘Classical fortifications unearthed at ancient Palaepaphos’

Amazing season results by the University of Cyprus team led by Maria Iacovou
#archaeologynews 🏺

cyprus-mail.com/2025/12/23/c... A
Classical fortifications unearthed at ancient Palaepaphos
Archaeologists announced on Tuesday the discovery of extensive fortifications at ancient Palaepaphos. Researchers uncovered a series of large stone towers forming part of a massive fortification wall ...
cyprus-mail.com
December 23, 2025 at 10:59 AM
drcraigb.bsky.social
Archaeology Advent Calendar Day 23

Cypriot Limestone head of a bearded man
Archaic, early 6th century BCE

From the sanctuary of Golgoi–Ayios Photios, Cyprus

Metropolitan Museum of Art 74.51.2857

www.metmuseum.org/art/collecti...
Limestone male head over 88cm high with cap and big long beard. The articulation of the beard, with its round, generalized curls, is often interpreted as an indication of the influence of terracotta sculpture on stoneworking.
December 23, 2025 at 10:34 AM
drcraigb.bsky.social
My new friend

#cockatoo
A sulphur-crested cockatoo (Cacatua galerita) sitting on the balcony overlooking North Wollongong beach
December 23, 2025 at 9:27 AM
drcraigb.bsky.social
Archaeology Advent Calendar Day 22

Byzantine mosaic of Apostle Markos
Church of Panagia Kanakaria in Lythragkomi, 6th century CE

Looted 1977-79 and repatriated to Cyprus in 2018
Now Byzantine Museum, Nicosia
#MosaicMonday

edition.cnn.com/style/articl...
December 22, 2025 at 12:19 PM
drcraigb.bsky.social
Archaeology Advent Calendar Day 21

"Jug with a Man and Deer"
Cypriot Red-Polished Ware Jug with figurative scene of seated human, deer and bowl. Perhaps he is milking the deer?
Early-Middle Cypriot, c. 2300–1600 BCE

Getty Museum 2001.79

www.getty.edu/art/collecti...
" the shoulder of this Red Polished Ware jug carries a group of figures arranged in a vignette, perhaps depicting a scene of ancient life on the island. On top of the rounded body of this jug, a man sits on a stool with a wide basin at his side and a small jug between his feet. To the right are a pair of fallow deer—a spotted stag and a doe—that were native to the island. This scene likely relates to actual life in Cypriot communities. Other similar vessels also show scenes of people engaged in every-day activities, such as bread making and herding animals. The presence of the basin and the small jug between the man’s legs suggest that he may be preparing to milk the doe or to collect the animals’ blood as a sacrifice—a practice well known in the context of ancient Mediterranean religions. The placement of the miniature jug at his feet, which replicates the form of the full-sized vessel it decorates, suggests that this shape was employed for a similar activity."
December 21, 2025 at 9:53 AM
Reposted by Craig Barker
pompei79.bsky.social
Possibly the most sublime Roman fresco of a temple.
The architectural detail of the spiky-topped wooden barrier, the painted relief in the pediment, & the offerings burning on the altar; it’s a symphony of observations.
Archaeological Museum of Capri (no provenance)
#FrescoFriday
Fresco of a facade of a Roman temple. A short flight of steps leading up to a portico with Corinthian columns. Between the double colannade is a decorated wooden barrier with lattice work and a spiky top. The wooden doors to the temple are closed. The pediment contains a painted relief. In front of the steps is an ornate altar on which offerings burn.
December 19, 2025 at 3:27 PM
drcraigb.bsky.social
Archaeology Adventure Calendar Day 20

Terracotta figurine shaped like a horse
Cypriot-Archaic I, c. 750-600 BCE

Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge GR.1.2003

data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/93...
Terracotta figurine shaped like a horse with an elongated neck and head
December 20, 2025 at 11:23 AM
drcraigb.bsky.social
Archaeology Advent Calendar Day 19

Cypriot Bichrome V Ware amphora decorated on either side with a large marine creature
Cypro-Archaic II, 600BC-475BCE
From Amathus, Site D Tomb 52

British Museum 1894,1101.133

But is it a fish or a dolphin do you think?

www.britishmuseum.org/collection/o...
Ceramic vase with two rounded handles and a neck and a painted decoration of a marine creature
December 19, 2025 at 6:28 AM
drcraigb.bsky.social
Academia has gone to the dogs..,

Exciting new archaeological academic position announcement here in Australia
#archaeology

www.eurekalert.org/news-release...
Bluey’s dad offered professorial chair in archaeology at Griffith University
Griffith University, in Queensland, Australia, is delighted to announce renowned archaeologist and 2019 Father of the Year Dr Bandit Heeler of Bluey fame has been offered a professorial chair.
www.eurekalert.org
December 18, 2025 at 10:20 PM
drcraigb.bsky.social
Archaeology Advent Calendar Day 18

Cypriot Red Polished Ware Plank figure with two heads
ca. 2300-1900 BCE

Louvre Abu Dhabi LAD 2011.025

collection.louvreabudhabi.ae/en/object/pl...
December 18, 2025 at 12:23 PM
drcraigb.bsky.social
‘Parents, here’s why you should stop steering your kids away from the humanities’

On the day tens of thousands of Australian students received their school results a timely reminder by my colleague & friend Julia Kindt of the myths of humanities degrees (paywalled)

www.smh.com.au/education/pa...
Parents, here’s why you should stop steering your kids away from the humanities
As AI transforms our world it is humanities graduates who can shape its effect on our lives.
www.smh.com.au
December 17, 2025 at 1:31 PM
drcraigb.bsky.social
Archaeology Adventure Calendar Day 17

White slip II ware spouted bowl
Late Cypriot II, ca. 1400–1200 BCE

Princeton University Art Museum y270

artmuseum.princeton.edu/art/collecti...
Bowl with handle and spout decorated in White slip style with applied slip and then brown painted decorations
December 17, 2025 at 12:03 PM
drcraigb.bsky.social
Archaeology Advent Calendar Day 16

Jug with depiction of horse and rider

Possibly from Ormidhia, Cyprus
Crypto-Archaic I, ca. 750–600 BCE

Metropolitan Museum of Art 74.51.539

www.metmuseum.org/art/collecti...
Ceramic vase with painted decoration of a stylised horse and human riding it
December 16, 2025 at 11:14 AM
drcraigb.bsky.social
'New Kition-Bamboula Findings Shed Light on Early Cyprus Settlement History'

#archaeologynews 🏺

greekreporter.com/2025/12/11/n...
New Kition-Bamboula Findings Shed Light on Early Cyprus Settlement History - GreekReporter.com
New findings at Kition-Bamboula highlight Phoenician inscriptions and Archaic structures that broaden insight into early Cyprus.
greekreporter.com
December 15, 2025 at 1:00 PM
drcraigb.bsky.social
Archaeology Advent Calendar Day 15

Marble statue of Asklepios
From the Gymnasium of Salamis
2nd century CE.

Cyprus Museum, Nicosia SAL. St. 4

www.academia.edu/96458894/Rom...
Marble torso. legs and arms of statue of Asklepios
December 15, 2025 at 12:58 PM
drcraigb.bsky.social
Archaeology Advent Calendar Day 14

Terracotta figuring in the shape of a dog (hund!)
Cypriot. 6th century BCE

Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien, Antikensammlung V 3247

www.khm.at/en/artworks/...
Terracotta statuette shaped like a dog
December 14, 2025 at 12:14 PM
drcraigb.bsky.social
I am of course somewhat biased, but very pleased to see Paphos Archaeological Park make the @sydmorningherald.bsky.social list of ‘Ranked and rated: The world’s 50 greatest surviving Roman treasures’

No prizes for guessing No. 1
#archaeology 🏺 (paywalled)

www.smh.com.au/traveller/in...
Ranked and rated: The world’s 50 greatest surviving Roman treasures
You don’t have to visit Rome to have a Roman holiday, with a large legacy of Roman Empire ruins – ranked and rated here – surviving in some form to this day.
www.smh.com.au
December 14, 2025 at 6:13 AM