Kathryn Murphy
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kmurphster.bsky.social
Kathryn Murphy
@kmurphster.bsky.social
1K followers 360 following 43 posts
Archaeologist. GIS, databases & survey. Mostly Romans, but now straying into the Early Medieval. She/Her. 🇨🇦 in 🇬🇧. Wear a mask! 😷
Views my own.

Currently Data Scientist on @remade-uor.bsky.social
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kmurphster.bsky.social
Kathryn Murphy @kmurphster.bsky.social · Nov 14
Lots of new folks joining the last few days - hi! I'm an archaeologist focused on data & GIS, with some digging too. Mostly Romans, but some early medieval as well. Currently working on @remade-uor.bsky.social - check out what I've been up to: research.reading.ac.uk/remade/progr...

🏺 #archaeology
Progress Update October 2024 – Kathryn Murphy, Data Scientist - REMADE
Since joining the REMADE team a year ago, I have been busy working on all things data within the project. My biggest task of the last year was developing and...Read More >
research.reading.ac.uk
Reposted by Kathryn Murphy
caa-uk.bsky.social
Registration is open for #CAAUK2025!

Join us in Cambridge, 9–10 Dec, for talks, posters & workshops on digital & quantitative archaeology.

👉 Register: www.eventbrite.com/e/caa-uk-202...
CAA UK 2025 Annual Conference
Join us at CAA UK 2025, featuring research & workshops in the application of quantitative methods and computing to archaeology and heritage.
www.eventbrite.com
October 29, 2025 at 1:01 PM
Reposted by Kathryn Murphy
tessmachling.bsky.social
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 4:52 PM
kmurphster.bsky.social
Saw some remains of Traiectum Roman fort in Utrecht. It sits under the Dom Square & was built over by different layers of religious buildings. You can see some of the remains on an underground tour & the line of the walls is marked by metal panels showing the line of the frontiers
#RomanFortThursday
A short section of Roman stone wall, dramatically lit. In the background, a red and black image of a reconstructed Roman building A pile of Roman roof tiles. Two of the pieces of tile have cat or drop paw prints on them A dramatically lit Roman copper alloy brooch, with inlaid enamel decoration A metal panel in the pavement. The line of the British frontier (Hadrian's Wall) is carved into the panel. The panel marks the location of the fort walls, which still survive below ground.
October 23, 2025 at 12:05 PM
Reposted by Kathryn Murphy
drdragases.bsky.social
Nothing screams "First day back on the job", like urging colleagues everywhere to delete their Academia Dot Edu pages.

Which I'm about to do myself as soon as I got coffee in me.
September 18, 2025 at 5:48 AM
Reposted by Kathryn Murphy
remade-uor.bsky.social
In case you missed it earlier this week, read the lastest @uor-research.bsky.social blog to learn all about how REMADE is tracing rebellion during the Crisis of the 3rd century in the chemistry of Roman radiate coins! 🪙 rdg.ac/4notWE9

#FindsFriday #Archaeology #AncientSky
Tracing rebellion in the chemistry of Roman coins - Connecting Research
rdg.ac
September 12, 2025 at 8:35 AM
kmurphster.bsky.social
I've written up some of @remade-uor.bsky.social's latest results for @uor-research.bsky.social! Check out the blog post to learn how the chemistry of the Cunetio Hoard coins is revealing details of the rebellions during the 3rd c. Crisis.
#archaeology #AncientSky 🏺
uor-research.bsky.social Research at Reading @uor-research.bsky.social · Sep 9
Britannia, 274 AD. A rogue general has defied Rome to form a splinter state and, somewhere in Wiltshire, 55,000 coins are buried in the dirt.

Now, analysis of their alloys is letting archaeologist @kmurphster.bsky.social track an empire's rise & fall

Read our blog 🔗 rdg.ac/4notWE9
#AncientSky
Tracing rebellion in the chemistry of Roman coins - Connecting Research
rdg.ac
September 9, 2025 at 11:13 AM
Reposted by Kathryn Murphy
caa-uk.bsky.social
⏳ 2 weeks left to submit for #CAAUK2025!

📝 Abstracts ≤300 words in digital & quantitative archaeology welcome.

£100 Masters Award 🏆 for outstanding dissertations!

🗓️ 9–10 Dec | 📍 @Cambridge_Uni
Due 15 Sept, 12pm |📧 caauk25@mcdonald.cam.ac.uk

#DigitalArchaeology #ECR
September 1, 2025 at 7:35 PM
kmurphster.bsky.social
Visited St Catherine's Hill hillfort, outside Winchester, a few weeks ago. The univallate fort encloses about 9ha. It was partially excavated in the 1920s, finding a IA settlement spanning 550-50 BC, Roman occupation & a mid 12th c Norman style chapel & earthworks on the summit. #HillfortsWednesday
Looking across the landscape at St Catherine's Hill hillfort. There are small shrubs and bushes in the foreground. On the hill, you can see the line of the hillfort defenses cutting across the side of the hill. There is a big cluster of trees right on the summit. Looking down the tree shaded rampart ditch of the hillfort, with the bank rising up on the left. The ditch is now one of the walking paths on the hill Looking out across the landscape from the top of the defensive hillfort bank. The line of the bank stretches out in front of you, with a steep drop into the ditch on the left. The top of the bank is marked by a white chalk path where the vegetation has been worn away by many footsteps. A plan drawing of the hillfort from an interpretive board on the site. It shows the oblong line of the defensive ramparts and ditch outlining the top of the hill, as well as the location of the Norman chapel on the summit.
September 3, 2025 at 9:03 AM
Reposted by Kathryn Murphy
animalarchaeology.com
@blacktrowel.bsky.social has posted some actions that members of EAA can do in protest of this despicable act, both in-person at #EAA2025 and online.
Text which reads: “If you are an EAA member or generally a concerned member of the archaeological community you can take many forms of action this week: • Cancel your membership with immediate effect and boycott the conference. • Attend the conference and speak up in your session (and other sessions to attend). • Go to the ABMB on Friday and speak up. We expect considerable discussion on this topic, be a loud voice against the genocide. Urge members of the executive and officers who forced a revote to step down • If you are not a member, please circulate this widely, make public statements”
September 2, 2025 at 1:00 PM
Reposted by Kathryn Murphy
blacktrowel.bsky.social
BTC Call for Action - EAA

EAA reversed its decision to exclude Israeli institutions complicit in the genocide of Palestinians after intimidation campaigns.

Read & share the full statement: blacktrowelcollective.wordpress.com/2025/09/02/b...
September 2, 2025 at 12:46 PM
kmurphster.bsky.social
I biked out to Caesar's Camp hillfort a couple weeks ago. It covers about 17.2 acres & is one of the largest in southern England. It isn't the best land for farming, so it's thought to have been more of a marketplace under the Catuvellanuni. I found the bank & ditch in the trees! #HillfortsWednesday
Looking across the steep slopes and defensive ramparts on the north side of the hillfort. The slopes are covered in ferns and purple blooming heathers. There are trees in the distance. A sea of purple blooming heather in the interior of the hillfort. The field of heather is ringed by trees that are growing on the banks of the hillfort. Looking along the defensive ditch with the steep bank on the right hand side of the photo. Plan drawing of the hillfort. It is shaped like an oak leaf, with a ditch and two banks surrounding the entire site.
August 27, 2025 at 7:49 AM
kmurphster.bsky.social
I'll be @romanpalace.bsky.social next week with the @remade-uor.bsky.social team for the Meet the Experts event. We'll be showing off some of the amazing artefacts we've analysed, discussing results & striking some replica #Roman coins! Should be a great #FestivalOfArchaeology event!
July 15, 2025 at 9:21 AM
kmurphster.bsky.social
Currently on holiday in Scotland and of course I found myself at a hillfort! Here's Craig Phadrig, west of Inverness. 1st photo - worn path is the top of the ramparts, 2nd photo - the outer slope of the ramparts. Parts of it were vitrified! #HillfortsWednesday
A worn path along the top of the ramparts of Craig Phadrig hillfort. The center of the enclosure is overgrown with ferns and there are trees encircling the enclosure. Lush, green overgrown slope of the outer bank of the hillfort ramparts
June 11, 2025 at 5:20 PM
kmurphster.bsky.social
A great activity for a Friday!
remade-uor.bsky.social REMADE - Roman & Early Medieval Alloys Defined @remade-uor.bsky.social · May 2
We've been busy with some experimental #Archaeology & have been striking our own coins! We had some custom dies made - official & barbarous portraits of Tetricus, the project & the @uniofreading.bsky.social logo. We've got enough for a hoard now! #FindsFriday
Copper and brass coins struck with official and barbarous images of Tetricus, the REMADE logo and the University of Reading logo on a plank of wood, with a hammer and the metal dies behind them The images on the 4 custom coin dies. All images are mirrored. Top left is the official Tetricus portrait, top right is the barbarous copy portrait, bottom left is the Celtic knot style design of the REMADE logo with a capital R in the middle, and the bottom right is the university of reading logo, which is a shield with 3 shells across the top.
May 2, 2025 at 11:03 AM
Reposted by Kathryn Murphy
remade-uor.bsky.social
A very hoppy #FindsFriday - an adorable little crouched hare plate brooch (only 2cm long!). It has a tinned surface with bands of niello inlay and a hinged pin. It was found in the Forum Basilica excavations at Silchester #Roman Town. #Easter #Archaeology
A Roman plate brooch in the form of a crouched hare sits on a white backdrop. It is silvery coloured, which comes from.the surface being tinned. There are bands of black niello inlay, and the eye is a turquoise colour
April 18, 2025 at 8:31 AM
Reposted by Kathryn Murphy
cancic.bsky.social
We’re back! Our traditional ‘We Three’ photo at the end of fieldwork. Best. Team. Ever. Jane Harrison @kmurphster.bsky.social @sarahmiles.bsky.social
Three smiling archaeologists in a sunny garden
April 15, 2025 at 8:17 PM
kmurphster.bsky.social
Not a bad spot for a test pit & lunch break! #Archaeology @cancic.bsky.social
A view of the back of an old stone house with a garden plot in the foreground. There are big trees around the edge of the garden and blue skies overhead
April 12, 2025 at 12:25 PM
Reposted by Kathryn Murphy
cancic.bsky.social
Have you seen our new community archaeology website? cancic.com
Community Archaeology North CIC
Community-based heritage projects for people of all ages
cancic.com
March 29, 2025 at 12:26 PM
kmurphster.bsky.social
Did you know that every fort along Hadrian's Wall has a record (& associated GIS shapefiles) in the WallCAP WallGIS available on @ads-update.bsky.social? Search the database & explore the map here archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/archives/col... for #RomanFortThursday
#AncientSky #Archaeology 🏺
WallCAP: The Hadrian's Wall Community Archaeology Project Collections and Map
WallCAP, funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, combined the ethos of community archaeology to meet key aims relating to the archaeological research and conservation and management of the Hadri...
archaeologydataservice.ac.uk
January 9, 2025 at 10:03 AM
Reposted by Kathryn Murphy
intarcheditor.bsky.social
New in IA67: WallGIS: A Database and GIS for Hadrian's Wall (Data paper)' doi.org/10.11141/ia....
The WallGIS digital archive hosted by @ads-update.bsky.social is a geodatabase capturing the characteristics of the features of Hadrian's Wall
Screen shot of map interface of digital archive
December 10, 2024 at 11:14 AM
kmurphster.bsky.social
I'm super excited to let you know that the WallCAP WallGIS is now available on @ads-update.bsky.social! Every feature of Hadrian’s Wall has a record in the WallGIS with detailed info & spatial data, which can all be searched/viewed online! shorturl.at/FSr2z #Archaeology 🏺
Map showing the line of Hadrian's Wall with the symbols representing the forts, milecastles and turrets, and lines for the Wall, Vallum and north ditch. The basemap is different shades of green, and there is a legend on the right side of the map.
December 10, 2024 at 10:14 AM
kmurphster.bsky.social
Want to know what Jane Harrison, @sarahmiles.bsky.social & I have been up to in Northumberland? Listen to this podcast all about our early medieval site. Highlights include sunken feature buildings, lots of cool small finds, insitu loom weights off a burnt loom & a loom weight production site!
hornesupremacy.bsky.social Dr Tom Horne @hornesupremacy.bsky.social · Dec 4
NEW VIDEO PODCAST 📺 Sensational early Anglo-Saxon and Viking Great Army finds in northern Northumbria!

🎙️ Join me and @thebigelbee.bsky.social as we chat with Jane Kershaw, Jane Harrison, Kathryn Murphy, and Lynn Amadio about the internationally-important Near Felton site.

youtu.be/nu-2zZtnOj8?...
A Lost Anglo-Saxon Estate and the Viking Great Army #Viking #anglosaxon #history
YouTube video by Red River Archaeology Group
youtu.be
December 8, 2024 at 12:56 PM
kmurphster.bsky.social
Long Meg and some of her daughters in Little Salkeld, Cumbria from a trip in 2021. Long Meg is 3.7m tall, and there are 66 stones in the 120m wide circle (the 3rd widest in the UK) #StandingStoneSunday
A large standing stone, Long Meg, is on the left side of the image, with smaller standing stones, her daughters, in the background under a bright blue sky with some big white clouds.
December 8, 2024 at 10:36 AM
Reposted by Kathryn Murphy
remade-uor.bsky.social
For #FindsFriday, we thought we should introduce Owen Humphreys, the REMADE Artefact Specialist. You can find out more about what Owen has been up to and which artefact assemblages we have analysed so far by reading his recent blog post! research.reading.ac.uk/remade/progr... #Archaeology 🏺
Progress Update October 2024 – Owen Humphreys, Artefact Specialist - REMADE
Hi all. For those who haven’t met me yet, I’m Owen. I joined the REMADE project in April (has it only been 6 months?), taking over from Philippa in the...Read More >
research.reading.ac.uk
November 29, 2024 at 9:29 AM
kmurphster.bsky.social
Making my way home after a couple days of excellent talks at the CAA UK conference. I haven't been in a few years, and it was great to be in a room full of archaeology data nerds again!
Managed to do a little bit of sightseeing around Canterbury before the conference (and Storm Bert) started too.
Canterbury Cathedral's towers rising up into a blue cloudy sky, with Christmas market stalls and a carousel in the square next to the Cathedral
November 23, 2024 at 3:04 PM