Ellen Laird
@ellaird.bsky.social
Prehistory and rock art | Nature enthusiast | Swimming outdoors | A good coffee makes my day
Reposted by Ellen Laird
A look at 'Skaill knives' - a very common Neolithic stone tool - their use and fabrication.
www.nessofbrodgar.co.uk/focus-on-fin...
www.nessofbrodgar.co.uk/focus-on-fin...
Focus on finds: Skaill knives (and how to make them)
A look at ‘Skaill knives’ – a very common Neolithic stone tool – their use and fabrication.
www.nessofbrodgar.co.uk
November 13, 2025 at 10:26 AM
A look at 'Skaill knives' - a very common Neolithic stone tool - their use and fabrication.
www.nessofbrodgar.co.uk/focus-on-fin...
www.nessofbrodgar.co.uk/focus-on-fin...
Reposted by Ellen Laird
Early 1900s red sandstone gushet tenement overlooking Alexander 'Greek' Thomson's 1870s Sixty Steps in the North Kelvinside area of Glasgow.
#glasgow #architecture #glasgowbuildings #alexandergreekthomson
#sixtysteps #northkelvinside #tenement #glasgowtenements #architecturephotography
#glasgow #architecture #glasgowbuildings #alexandergreekthomson
#sixtysteps #northkelvinside #tenement #glasgowtenements #architecturephotography
November 13, 2025 at 12:38 PM
Early 1900s red sandstone gushet tenement overlooking Alexander 'Greek' Thomson's 1870s Sixty Steps in the North Kelvinside area of Glasgow.
#glasgow #architecture #glasgowbuildings #alexandergreekthomson
#sixtysteps #northkelvinside #tenement #glasgowtenements #architecturephotography
#glasgow #architecture #glasgowbuildings #alexandergreekthomson
#sixtysteps #northkelvinside #tenement #glasgowtenements #architecturephotography
Reposted by Ellen Laird
The menhir known as La Demoiselle de Rhuis in Rhuis (Oise) is a little over 3m tall. In 1764 it was recorded as part of a group of six menhirs; by 1789 there were only two and one of those was destroyed in 1793. This card pre-1904.
November 6, 2025 at 8:25 AM
The menhir known as La Demoiselle de Rhuis in Rhuis (Oise) is a little over 3m tall. In 1764 it was recorded as part of a group of six menhirs; by 1789 there were only two and one of those was destroyed in 1793. This card pre-1904.
Reposted by Ellen Laird
First Light on Primrose Lane, 2022, painting by Peak District artist Clare Allan. #WomensArt
November 3, 2025 at 8:40 AM
First Light on Primrose Lane, 2022, painting by Peak District artist Clare Allan. #WomensArt
Reposted by Ellen Laird
The beached allée couverte of Guinivrit at low tide in #Brittany #Bretagne #Breizh It might have lost all its capstones but it remains a unique and captivating site #StandingStoneSunday
November 2, 2025 at 7:30 AM
The beached allée couverte of Guinivrit at low tide in #Brittany #Bretagne #Breizh It might have lost all its capstones but it remains a unique and captivating site #StandingStoneSunday
Reposted by Ellen Laird
#FlintFriday. Some beautiful Neolithic arrowheads from central Saudi Arabia that we published a few years ago (Alghabban et al., 2015).
October 31, 2025 at 7:27 AM
#FlintFriday. Some beautiful Neolithic arrowheads from central Saudi Arabia that we published a few years ago (Alghabban et al., 2015).
Reposted by Ellen Laird
#FindsFriday out in Trellech, Monmouthshire yesterday on fieldwork with Churchill Archaeology in the landscape around the famous Harold's Stones stone row.
..and we stumbled across a prone cupmarked slab which echoes the prominent pair of cupmarks on the cylindrical central stone 👍👌
📷 My own
..and we stumbled across a prone cupmarked slab which echoes the prominent pair of cupmarks on the cylindrical central stone 👍👌
📷 My own
October 31, 2025 at 6:40 AM
#FindsFriday out in Trellech, Monmouthshire yesterday on fieldwork with Churchill Archaeology in the landscape around the famous Harold's Stones stone row.
..and we stumbled across a prone cupmarked slab which echoes the prominent pair of cupmarks on the cylindrical central stone 👍👌
📷 My own
..and we stumbled across a prone cupmarked slab which echoes the prominent pair of cupmarks on the cylindrical central stone 👍👌
📷 My own
Reposted by Ellen Laird
#TombTuesday These carvings on the wall of a tomb are thought to be eyes and eyebrows 👀👀
They were carved 6000 years ago by Neolithic farmers on the tiny Holm of Papay in the Orkney islands
Why would people carve eyes in the wall of a tomb?? 😬
#archaeology #scotland #halloween #photooftheday 🏺
They were carved 6000 years ago by Neolithic farmers on the tiny Holm of Papay in the Orkney islands
Why would people carve eyes in the wall of a tomb?? 😬
#archaeology #scotland #halloween #photooftheday 🏺
October 28, 2025 at 5:06 PM
#TombTuesday These carvings on the wall of a tomb are thought to be eyes and eyebrows 👀👀
They were carved 6000 years ago by Neolithic farmers on the tiny Holm of Papay in the Orkney islands
Why would people carve eyes in the wall of a tomb?? 😬
#archaeology #scotland #halloween #photooftheday 🏺
They were carved 6000 years ago by Neolithic farmers on the tiny Holm of Papay in the Orkney islands
Why would people carve eyes in the wall of a tomb?? 😬
#archaeology #scotland #halloween #photooftheday 🏺
Reposted by Ellen Laird
Stunning autumnal colours of the ancient beeches in Padley Gorge, Peak District
October 27, 2025 at 5:15 PM
Stunning autumnal colours of the ancient beeches in Padley Gorge, Peak District
Reposted by Ellen Laird
#FindsFriday
Some lovely Early Bronze Age arrowheads and scrapers from fieldwalking near Aldwark
We don't do enough fieldwalking these days (kudos to ARS Ltd for this one) - on an unploughed site topsoil lithics can capture activity patterns on a landscape scale - hunting, settlement, ceremonial
Some lovely Early Bronze Age arrowheads and scrapers from fieldwalking near Aldwark
We don't do enough fieldwalking these days (kudos to ARS Ltd for this one) - on an unploughed site topsoil lithics can capture activity patterns on a landscape scale - hunting, settlement, ceremonial
October 24, 2025 at 2:59 PM
#FindsFriday
Some lovely Early Bronze Age arrowheads and scrapers from fieldwalking near Aldwark
We don't do enough fieldwalking these days (kudos to ARS Ltd for this one) - on an unploughed site topsoil lithics can capture activity patterns on a landscape scale - hunting, settlement, ceremonial
Some lovely Early Bronze Age arrowheads and scrapers from fieldwalking near Aldwark
We don't do enough fieldwalking these days (kudos to ARS Ltd for this one) - on an unploughed site topsoil lithics can capture activity patterns on a landscape scale - hunting, settlement, ceremonial
Reposted by Ellen Laird
Derbyshire Archaeology Day 2026
Talks include:
"Rowtor Rocks: prehistoric art and ritual in the White Peak"
Prof. George Nash and Anna Clark of the Derbyshire Rock Art Group
A special one, this - some stunning new rock art finds at Rowtor!
Tickets here: chesterfieldtheatres.co.uk/shows/derbys...
Talks include:
"Rowtor Rocks: prehistoric art and ritual in the White Peak"
Prof. George Nash and Anna Clark of the Derbyshire Rock Art Group
A special one, this - some stunning new rock art finds at Rowtor!
Tickets here: chesterfieldtheatres.co.uk/shows/derbys...
October 21, 2025 at 3:38 PM
Derbyshire Archaeology Day 2026
Talks include:
"Rowtor Rocks: prehistoric art and ritual in the White Peak"
Prof. George Nash and Anna Clark of the Derbyshire Rock Art Group
A special one, this - some stunning new rock art finds at Rowtor!
Tickets here: chesterfieldtheatres.co.uk/shows/derbys...
Talks include:
"Rowtor Rocks: prehistoric art and ritual in the White Peak"
Prof. George Nash and Anna Clark of the Derbyshire Rock Art Group
A special one, this - some stunning new rock art finds at Rowtor!
Tickets here: chesterfieldtheatres.co.uk/shows/derbys...
Reposted by Ellen Laird
Knowth passage tomb, Co Meath, Ireland. Built c 3000 BCE, part of the Bru na Boinne complex in the bend of the River Boyne. Here are some of its many decorated kerbstones #TombTuesday
October 21, 2025 at 2:54 PM
Knowth passage tomb, Co Meath, Ireland. Built c 3000 BCE, part of the Bru na Boinne complex in the bend of the River Boyne. Here are some of its many decorated kerbstones #TombTuesday
Reposted by Ellen Laird
Delighted to find 3 stones in a row up at Cwm Nantcol, even more delighted to find out that they are not on any maps !
#StandingstoneSunday
#StandingstoneSunday
October 19, 2025 at 7:26 AM
Delighted to find 3 stones in a row up at Cwm Nantcol, even more delighted to find out that they are not on any maps !
#StandingstoneSunday
#StandingstoneSunday
Reposted by Ellen Laird
Ardura Community Forest, Mull 🏴 The Mull & Iona Community Trust engaged us to find out the age of oaks which had been felled in the 1960s when the Sitka spruce plantation was created by the Forestry Commission. They were mostly around 200 years old.
#dendrochronology #ThickTrunkTuesday #Mull
#dendrochronology #ThickTrunkTuesday #Mull
October 14, 2025 at 5:02 AM
Ardura Community Forest, Mull 🏴 The Mull & Iona Community Trust engaged us to find out the age of oaks which had been felled in the 1960s when the Sitka spruce plantation was created by the Forestry Commission. They were mostly around 200 years old.
#dendrochronology #ThickTrunkTuesday #Mull
#dendrochronology #ThickTrunkTuesday #Mull
Reposted by Ellen Laird
A view of the Cairn de Barnenez near Morlaix in Brittany. #TombTuesday I have a few days away in Roscoff in a couple of weeks so may re-visit. Any suggestions for places to visit gratefully received! The more of the beaten track the better.
October 14, 2025 at 6:03 AM
A view of the Cairn de Barnenez near Morlaix in Brittany. #TombTuesday I have a few days away in Roscoff in a couple of weeks so may re-visit. Any suggestions for places to visit gratefully received! The more of the beaten track the better.
Reposted by Ellen Laird
Temple Wood stone circle and cairn, Kilmartin Glen, Argyll and Bute. Just before dawn this morning #StandingStoneSunday
October 12, 2025 at 10:21 AM
Temple Wood stone circle and cairn, Kilmartin Glen, Argyll and Bute. Just before dawn this morning #StandingStoneSunday
Reposted by Ellen Laird
Gone fishin'! Some examples of carved stone cups or basins commonly known as toll sollaidh (bait holes) from the Harris, Outer Hebrides, Scotland. Believed to have functioned a grinding pits for cockles, limpets, mussels and other shellfish as chum to attract fish. #coastalhistory
October 11, 2025 at 8:47 AM
Gone fishin'! Some examples of carved stone cups or basins commonly known as toll sollaidh (bait holes) from the Harris, Outer Hebrides, Scotland. Believed to have functioned a grinding pits for cockles, limpets, mussels and other shellfish as chum to attract fish. #coastalhistory
Reposted by Ellen Laird
The remains of Cairn Holy II - one of two Neolithic chambered cairns which overlook Wigtown Bay in Dumfries & Galloway. The Clyde-type chambered cairn was traditionally thought to be the tomb of Caldus, the mythical Scottish King. 📸 My own. #TombTuesday #Prehistory #CairnHoly
October 7, 2025 at 6:23 AM
The remains of Cairn Holy II - one of two Neolithic chambered cairns which overlook Wigtown Bay in Dumfries & Galloway. The Clyde-type chambered cairn was traditionally thought to be the tomb of Caldus, the mythical Scottish King. 📸 My own. #TombTuesday #Prehistory #CairnHoly
Reposted by Ellen Laird
I’ve started doing some work with the incredible Ronald Morris archive with a small team of @uofglasgow.bsky.social archaeology
students. I’ll share some gems in the coming months. Here’s Ronald himself! 📸 HES
students. I’ll share some gems in the coming months. Here’s Ronald himself! 📸 HES
October 1, 2025 at 4:22 PM
I’ve started doing some work with the incredible Ronald Morris archive with a small team of @uofglasgow.bsky.social archaeology
students. I’ll share some gems in the coming months. Here’s Ronald himself! 📸 HES
students. I’ll share some gems in the coming months. Here’s Ronald himself! 📸 HES
Reposted by Ellen Laird
Gavrinis is the most amazing megalithic site I have been privileged to visit. Taking a boat to reach, you encounter a remarkable concentration of #Neolithic rock art at a single megalithic monument. A deeply powerful & inspiring place.
@megalithic.bsky.social #rockart #archaeology #TombTuesday
@megalithic.bsky.social #rockart #archaeology #TombTuesday
September 30, 2025 at 7:13 PM
Gavrinis is the most amazing megalithic site I have been privileged to visit. Taking a boat to reach, you encounter a remarkable concentration of #Neolithic rock art at a single megalithic monument. A deeply powerful & inspiring place.
@megalithic.bsky.social #rockart #archaeology #TombTuesday
@megalithic.bsky.social #rockart #archaeology #TombTuesday
Reposted by Ellen Laird
A replica of a slab from an early Bronze Age cist burial which was discovered at Pool Tree Farm, West Harptree in Somerset. The foot carvings are very unusual in a British context. Now part of the collections at Wells & Mendip Museum in Wells. 📸 My own. #TombTuesday
September 30, 2025 at 6:17 AM
A replica of a slab from an early Bronze Age cist burial which was discovered at Pool Tree Farm, West Harptree in Somerset. The foot carvings are very unusual in a British context. Now part of the collections at Wells & Mendip Museum in Wells. 📸 My own. #TombTuesday
Reposted by Ellen Laird
Wonderful video by @antiquity.ac.uk summarising our research!
Europe's oldest blue pigment
Dating back ~13,000 years, it questions the long-held belief that Palaeolithic artists only used red or black and indicates a more vibrant Ice Age world than previously imagined
Read the original research in Antiquity 🆓 doi.org/10.15184/aqy...
🏺 #Archaeology
Dating back ~13,000 years, it questions the long-held belief that Palaeolithic artists only used red or black and indicates a more vibrant Ice Age world than previously imagined
Read the original research in Antiquity 🆓 doi.org/10.15184/aqy...
🏺 #Archaeology
September 29, 2025 at 4:32 PM
Wonderful video by @antiquity.ac.uk summarising our research!
Croft Moraig stone circle, Aberfeldy #StandingStoneSunday
September 28, 2025 at 1:53 PM
Croft Moraig stone circle, Aberfeldy #StandingStoneSunday
Reposted by Ellen Laird
I am excited to announce that I'll be talking about Roman Scotland and my book The Road to Mons Graupius in Glasgow as part of the Aye Write festival. I'll be at the Mitchell Library on Sunday 9th November at 12.45pm - tickets available here: www.glasgowlife.org.uk/event/1/the-...
#RomanSiteSaturday
#RomanSiteSaturday
The Road to Mons Gaupius: Alan Montgomery - Glasgow Life
Aye Write 2025 presents The Road to Mons Gaupius: Alan Montgomery
www.glasgowlife.org.uk
September 27, 2025 at 7:34 AM
I am excited to announce that I'll be talking about Roman Scotland and my book The Road to Mons Graupius in Glasgow as part of the Aye Write festival. I'll be at the Mitchell Library on Sunday 9th November at 12.45pm - tickets available here: www.glasgowlife.org.uk/event/1/the-...
#RomanSiteSaturday
#RomanSiteSaturday
Reposted by Ellen Laird
Rock art #boats coming alive! A captivating glimpse of its storytelling power. Enjoyed exploring the Ramberg #bronzeage #rockart site in eastern Norway with members of the CAS funded Climate, Crops and Crisis project (cas-nor.no/project/clim...). Video by @urbanprehistorian.bsky.social
September 24, 2025 at 2:30 PM
Rock art #boats coming alive! A captivating glimpse of its storytelling power. Enjoyed exploring the Ramberg #bronzeage #rockart site in eastern Norway with members of the CAS funded Climate, Crops and Crisis project (cas-nor.no/project/clim...). Video by @urbanprehistorian.bsky.social