Fiona Campbell-Howes
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fortrenn.bsky.social
Fiona Campbell-Howes
@fortrenn.bsky.social
2.4K followers 600 following 1.3K posts
PhD student at the University of Glasgow, researching the early medieval Moray Firthlands in Scotland. Live in Penryn, Cornwall. FSAScot. Posts about early medieval Scottish history and archaeology. Blog: https://fortrenn.ghost.io
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fortrenn.bsky.social
Yess, just realised my 2pm call is with a client who conducts all Teams calls with video off, so I don't have to get up from my favoured winter work mode of sitting on the floor in front of the radiator.
November 10, 2025 at 1:44 PM
Reposted by Fiona Campbell-Howes
jamesbluecat.bsky.social
Pagans in paperback early next year! With RED SPREDGES!
moonflowerbooks.bsky.social Moonflower Books @moonflowerbooks.bsky.social · 22h
We couldn't be happier to share the pre-order link for the @waterstones.bsky.social special edition of PAGANS in paperback. With a beautiful foiled cover, red spredges and an exclusive short story, it is a treat. Limited numbers, so pre-order now if you want it! www.waterstones.com/book/pagans/...
November 10, 2025 at 12:15 PM
Reposted by Fiona Campbell-Howes
louiestowell.bsky.social
Can anyone recommend any academic essays (that are publicly available online or that you could send me) exploring the parallels between Loki and Ulysses expanding on Snorri's slightly throwaway lines on the topic. Or failing that, general explorations of Troy-as-Asgard? #MedievalSky #ClassicsSky
November 9, 2025 at 7:33 AM
fortrenn.bsky.social
A write-up of the talk I gave at today's Scottish Place-Name Society conference. I've been looking at three Black Isle place-names that are thought to contain a Scots form of the name Curetán, an eighth-century bishop of Ross. [Spoiler: I don't think they do.]
Kincurdy, Cuthilcurdy, Hill o’ Hirdie: Evidence of a Scots cult of St Curetán?
This post is more or less the transcript of a talk I gave this afternoon at the Scottish Place-Name Society Autumn conference, which took place on Zoom. Many thanks to Simon Taylor, Bill Patterson, So...
fortrenn.ghost.io
November 8, 2025 at 8:44 PM
fortrenn.bsky.social
Good thread on the revised assessment of the previously-presumed 'Pictish-to-Norse' transition site at Buckquoy, Orkney. It looks like that interpretation needs to be put to bed.
antiquity.ac.uk Antiquity Journal @antiquity.ac.uk · 4d
NEW Were the Picts of northern Scotland wiped out by Viking conquest? New radiocarbon dates from the 1st millennium AD settlement of Buckquoy, Orkney paint a more complex picture of cultural interaction in the Northern Isles.

#AntiquityThread 1/15 🧵

@northernpicts.bsky.social🏺 #Archaeology
Double-sided comb made from bone.
November 7, 2025 at 9:02 AM
fortrenn.bsky.social
As the AI bubble gets ready to burst, here comes the next about-to-be-ludicrously-overhyped tech thing.
Will quantum be bigger than AI?
The highly complex technology is increasingly being tipped to transform computing.
www.bbc.co.uk
November 7, 2025 at 8:19 AM
fortrenn.bsky.social
Help to get a nationally-important monograph printed. A pledge of £34 will get you a print copy of the Rhynie book + UK shipping if the full £10k is raised. A bargain price for what will be a very detailed account of this major Pictish site and its environs. (The ebook will be free.)
socantscot.bsky.social Society of Antiquaries of Scotland @socantscot.bsky.social · 5d
CROWDFUNDING CAMPAIGN LAUNCH: ‘Rhynie, A Powerful Place of Pictland’

Please pre-order or donate before 6 December to enable us to print this book by Professor Gordon Noble FSAScot, which will have a major impact on the study of Pictish kingship and society: www.kickstarter.com/projects/soc...
Carved standing stone in front of mountain landscape with the words Crowdfunding Campaign Launch over it
November 6, 2025 at 9:28 AM
Reposted by Fiona Campbell-Howes
natlibscot.bsky.social
We've just added more historic Ordnance Survey maps of Ireland to our website. You can now compare first edition one-inch to the mile maps dating from the 1860s to 1870s with second edition maps published between 1898 and 1902. maps.nls.uk/os/one-inch-...
Side by side view of historic one-inch to the mile maps of Bray, Ireland comparing 1880s with 1900s
November 3, 2025 at 9:01 AM
fortrenn.bsky.social
Still v. tickled that Jane Geddes's theory about the conical structure on Sueno's Stone has inspired a t-shirt! The 'furnace of the damned' interpretation is elaborated in her award-winning 2024 PSAS article (now open access): journals.socantscot.org/index.php/ps...
November 2, 2025 at 4:35 PM
fortrenn.bsky.social
After wrestling with some difficult sources, I'm quite excited about my paper next Saturday at the Scottish Place-Name Society conference. New research on the cult of Curetán/Boniface in the Black Isle, and the possible layout of early medieval Rosemarkie. Details here: spns.org.uk/spns-autumn-...
Abstract for my paper at the SPNS Autumn Conference. Title: 'Kincurdy, Cuthilcurdy, Hill o’ Hirdie: The Scotticisation of an eighth-century saint?’ Abstract: 'The area around Rosemarkie on the Black Isle has long been noted as a cult centre for St Curetán, a bishop who is reliably attested as being active in the Moray Firthlands around the turn of the eighth century. Three Black Isle place-names appear to preserve his name in Scotticised form: Kincurdy, Cuthilcurdy and Hill o’ Hirdie, suggesting that his cult survived into the late Middle Ages or later. This paper will examine whether these names do contain Scotticisations of Curetán, and what they can tell us about the longevity of Curetán’s cult.' Ordnance Survey 25-inch first edition map of Rosemarkie (c.1872), site of an early medieval monastery and bishop's see. The 'Court Hill' is prominent and will be discussed in my paper. Signage at the Munlochy Clootie Well, which reads: 'For centuries, visitors have left offerings at the small well here and hoped for healing. The well is associated with the 7th-century bishop St Curitan (who is also known as Boniface). In earlier pre-Christian times, a goddess or nature spirit may have been associated with the well.' Aerial view of Kincurdie near Rosemarkie, copyright NOSAS, from the James Sloan Bone collection: https://www.trove.scot/image/2106396
November 2, 2025 at 12:02 PM
fortrenn.bsky.social
Scandalous that Furnace of the Damned are SHUNNING Kinloss, Rafford and Alves on their 2026 tour.
northernpicts.bsky.social NPicts @northernpicts.bsky.social · 10d
New NPixts Furnace of the Damned Band T-shirt just landed in the NPixts store. Touring Northern Pictland in 2026 including Forres, Lossie, Burghead, Findhorn and Johnny Foxes Inverness 🤣🤣🤣
Free UK post till midnight Sunday!
npixts.teemill.com/product/furn...
npixts.teemill.com/product/furn...
Furnace of the Damned! (Women\/Slimmer fit)
Rock on with Northern Pictland's finest!
npixts.teemill.com
November 1, 2025 at 5:10 PM
Reposted by Fiona Campbell-Howes
pictishartssociety.bsky.social
The next lecture in our 2025-2026 season is coming up on Friday 21 Nov! Professor Jane Geddes will present her research on the lost libraries of Pictland. (Lectures are for PAS members only - find out about the many benefits of PAS membership here: www.thepictishartssociety.org.uk/join-us.)
Flyer for the Pictish Arts Society lecture on Friday 21 November at 7.30pm via Zoom. Professor Jane Geddes will present a lecture entitled 'The lost libraries of Pictland'. The lecture abstract reads: 'Picts produced some of Europe’s finest sculpture between the fifth and ninth centuries and yet no contemporary manuscripts survive from Pictland. This talk reconstructs evidence for the lost libraries of Pictland whose images and ideas informed the sculpture. Behind the vivid imagery on cross slabs lie sources from a cosmopolitan visual world of manuscript illuminations. Picts both invented their own art form, their enigmatic ‘symbols’, and were inspired by Christian liturgical manuscripts from abroad. Influences went both ways whereby the distinctive features of Pictish animal art were adapted to become Evangelist symbols in Insular manuscripts elsewhere, while Pictish sculptors scoured incoming church documents for an expanded artistic repertoire of abstract pattern, monsters and holy men. Even without illustrations, it is possible to deduce which literary sources Pictish artists were aware of.' There is an illustration of the prophet Ezra in his scriptorium from folio 5r of the Codex Amiatinus.
October 30, 2025 at 9:31 PM
fortrenn.bsky.social
Important new article re-evaluating the demographic transition from Pictish to Norse in Orkney. Material previously categorised as 'Norse' or 'Viking' is now shown to date to the earlier Pictish period (pre-800).
northernpicts.bsky.social NPicts @northernpicts.bsky.social · 11d
A new consideration of the chronology of the key settlement of Buckquoy, Orkney - shows that the buildings here belong firmly in the Pictish tradition. This leads to a wider consideration of the timings and character of the Viking Age in the Northern Isles.
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
Buckquoy, Orkney: addressing the Pictish-Viking transition in northern Scotland | Antiquity | Cambridge Core
Buckquoy, Orkney: addressing the Pictish-Viking transition in northern Scotland
www.cambridge.org
October 30, 2025 at 8:37 PM
fortrenn.bsky.social
Idly wondering if I could get a travel bursary to go to Scotland to check the gender of a single Latin word in a fourteenth-century charter. #PhDLife
October 30, 2025 at 2:59 PM
Reposted by Fiona Campbell-Howes
archaeonado.bsky.social
Just in time for Halloween, a new Pictish vision of hell

In PSAS 153, 2024 @socantscot.bsky.social Jane Geddes argues the weird 'beehive' surrounded by headless corpses on Sueno's Stone, Forres, is the furnace of the damned

Nice shout-out to #CrucibleOfNations as a bonus

doi.org/10.9750/PSAS...
Detail of Sueno's Stone, Forres Pictish cross slab as drawn by John Borland and featured in Geddes 2024, showing a battle scene, headless corpses and a beehive-shaped feature with heads below it 3D model of Sueno's Stone, Forres Pictish cross slab, 9th century, by hfenton on sketchfab https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/suenos-stone-forres-pictish-cross-slab-f6f9183b09b94375bfd669499944a1e4
October 30, 2025 at 10:08 AM
Reposted by Fiona Campbell-Howes
archaeonado.bsky.social
And just because it's that time of year, I held my nose and dived back into the bad place myself to rescue one of my favourite threads: the original Pictish Vision of Hell: A Halloween Thread twitter-thread.com/t/1057601508...
The Pictish vision of Hell: a Halloween thread by @amaldon(Adrián Maldonado) | Twitter Thread Reader
The Pictish vision of Hell: a Halloween thread
twitter-thread.com
October 30, 2025 at 10:20 AM
Reposted by Fiona Campbell-Howes
thecelticist.bsky.social
To mark the launch of Colmán Etchingham's Vikings in Early Medieval Ireland, Boydell & Brewer are offering a **65%** discount on the book until the end of November. Enter the code BB158 when ordering it from their website (individual not institutional orders):

boydellandbrewer.com/book/vikings...
October 29, 2025 at 6:57 PM
fortrenn.bsky.social
I always find it extraordinary that we have a copy of the Life of Columba dating almost to Adomnán's own time. (The image here shows the BEST chapter of the Vita Sancti Columbae - the one with the River Ness monster.)
northages.bsky.social North Ages @northages.bsky.social · 14d
Oct 28: Feast of Dorbéne mac Altaíni (†713), abbot of Iona. Scribe of the earliest surviving copy of Adomnán’s Life of Columba. Fáelchú mac Dorbéni succeeded him. 📸Stadtbibliothek Schaffhausen #medievalsky
Dorbéne's copy of Adomnán's Life of Columba.
October 28, 2025 at 6:48 PM
fortrenn.bsky.social
An excellent and eye-opening read about the growing tensions between metal-detecting and archaeology/heritage conservation in England and Wales. Feels like something has to give here.
tessmachling.bsky.social Dr Tess Machling @tessmachling.bsky.social · 14d
The piece where I get to say everything that's bugging me about the world of detecting & archaeology & ask - why are we not more concerned about this?

(Thank you to everyone who read through drafts & offered thoughts, advice and ideas.)

#Archaeology #Detecting 🏺

bigbookoftorcs.com/2025/10/27/t...
The system is broken, so why are we not more concerned?
by Tess Machling [A download/print PDF version can be found at the end of the paper] Abstract The Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS) – the detectorist-facing branch of archaeology – whic…
bigbookoftorcs.com
October 27, 2025 at 6:31 PM
fortrenn.bsky.social
I almost posted this on LinkedIn for all my fellow freelance copywriter friends, but it's just too sweary. But also very accurate.
jamesbluecat.bsky.social James Alistair Henry @jamesbluecat.bsky.social · 17d
The greatest song every written about being a freelance creative (and sweary even by Australian standards, which is saying something). www.youtube.com/watch?v=YZ36...
No Worries If Not!
YouTube video by Tom Cardy
www.youtube.com
October 24, 2025 at 12:00 PM
fortrenn.bsky.social
Fantastic trailer for @jamesbluecat.bsky.social's paperback launch in Jan! Excellent work by @emmajwaring.bsky.social.
moonflowerbooks.bsky.social Moonflower Books @moonflowerbooks.bsky.social · 18d
Drumroll please... here is the reveal of the cover for the paperback edition of Pagans by @jamesbluecat.bsky.social! Featuring a brand-new colourway by British Book Awards Designer of the Year @jackflag.bsky.social, it is a thing of beauty – and ready for pre-order: www.moonflowerbooks.co.uk/pagans
October 24, 2025 at 10:51 AM
Reposted by Fiona Campbell-Howes
downham.bsky.social
Scottish Society for Northern Studies day conference!! lots on Picts and Vikings www.ssns.org.uk/events/ssns-... #scotland #history #archaeology #medievalsky
SSNS 2025 Day Conference - Scottish Society for Northern Studies
We are happy to announce our next in-person conference at 10:45 BST on 22nd November in Arbroath. The conference will be followed by an optional visit to the St Vigeans Sculptured Stones Museum. There...
www.ssns.org.uk
October 22, 2025 at 9:29 PM
Reposted by Fiona Campbell-Howes
orkat3.bsky.social
Broch-tastic news. Taking experimental #archaeology to the extreme! Such a fantastic project, great news for #Caithness and Scottish archaeology. #IronAge #Broch #Scotland

www.northern-times.co.uk/news/scotlan...
Scotland’s first new broch for 2000 years wins planning approval
The approval of the Caithness Broch Project’s plans represents a major milestone for their bid to build a “faithful replica” on a site near Latheron.
www.northern-times.co.uk
October 21, 2025 at 11:54 AM
Reposted by Fiona Campbell-Howes
archaeonado.bsky.social
Finally got the chance to meet this guy last week. A completely unique and haunting cross from Riasg Buidhe, Colonsay, in the gardens of Colonsay House. Its dating remains up for debate, ranging from the 7th to the 10th century AD www.trove.scot/image/384171
Riasg Buidhe cruciform stone Colonsay, a stone carved with a bearded face above a cross with spirals in the arms and a shaft ending in a fish tail. Detail of face, Riasg Buidhe stone cross, Colonsay. Reverse of Riasg Buidhe stone cross, Colonsay Detail of vaguely phallic ornament on reverse of the Riasg Buidhe stone cross, Colonsay
October 21, 2025 at 4:51 PM
fortrenn.bsky.social
A photo by Dimitar Dilkoff via AFP and Getty Images of French police surrounding a truck with a hydraulic extending ladder outside the Louvre in Paris. A scene from Arrested Development, with a prisoner in orange jumpsuit escaping from prison via the Bluth Company stair car (a vehicle with a set of stairs for boarding a plane).
October 19, 2025 at 5:59 PM