British Institute for Libyan & Northern African Studies (BILNAS)
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bilnas.bsky.social
British Institute for Libyan & Northern African Studies (BILNAS)
@bilnas.bsky.social
We are a research institute and membership body sponsored by @britishacademy.bsky.social. We support scholars in Libya and the northern African region. Come visit our website at bilnas.org
🏛 Journey Through The BILNAS Archives

☠️ Image 1: Black and white photograph of Tomb D at Tocra. There is a collection of skulls, bones and pottery arranged on a stone slab in the centre of the image, in front of the entrance to the tomb.

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November 25, 2025 at 6:50 PM
📢 Just one week to go until this year's BILNAS Annual Lecture:

"The Making of Medieval Morocco – State-Building and Everyday Life on the Edge of Empire" by Prof Corisande Fenwick.

See below for more details and follow this link to reserve your spot: tinyurl.com/3t6w4yzu

See you all there!
November 20, 2025 at 5:43 PM
🏛 Journey Through The BILNAS Archives

Esso calendar, in English and Arabic, for the year 1967 (1967).

Sabbat from Darna, Cyrenaica. "The sabbat (traditional lady's shoe) which is produced in Darna, is characterised by colour and decoration and, more notably, classical Arab Style.”
November 18, 2025 at 4:51 PM
📣 Join us at @britishacademy.bsky.social for this year's BILNAS ANNUAL Lecture.

"The Making of Medieval Morocco: State-Building & Everyday Life on the Edge of Empire" by Corisande Fenwick.

📆 Thursday 27 November, 6:30pm

📍The British Academy, London

💻 Register: eventbrite.co.uk/e/bilnas-ann...
November 4, 2025 at 5:41 PM
BILNAS Lecture: “Women Explorers in North Africa."

Join us tomorrow (Tuesday) at 1pm (GMT) for what promises to be a fascinating and inspiring presentation by BILNAS Archivist Dr Anne Marie Williamson.

💻 Online via Zoom; register on the @theees.bsky.social website (link below). All welcome!
@theees.bsky.social-@bilnas.bsky.social Spotlight: Women Explorers in North Africa
📅TOMORROW⏰1pm🇬🇧3pm🇪🇬

Meet nine remarkable women who refused to be confined by society’s expectations, instead setting their sights on North Africa’s vast deserts and hidden histories.
🎫 www.ees.ac.uk/whats-on/eve...
November 3, 2025 at 4:52 PM
The next BILNAS lecture takes place tomorrow, Thursday 23 October, at 5pm (UK time).

"Crumbling History – The Fading Material Culture of the Tataouine Region (Tunisia) and the Jebel Nafusa (Libya)" by Anna Leone.
October 22, 2025 at 5:56 PM
📢 We are excited to announce our first joint lecture with the Egypt Exploration Society – @theees.bsky.social

“Women Explorers in North Africa.”

📆 Tuesday 4 November at 1pm (UK time)

BILNAS archivist Anne Marie Williamson combines Andrew Goudie’s research on the subject with her own findings.
October 14, 2025 at 3:48 PM
📣 Last month's lecture is now available to view on the BILNAS YouTube channel:

‘Street Art and Civil Society in Post-2011 Tunisia: Aesthetics, Civic Engagement and Organisational Challenges’ by Dr Anwar Tlili.

Click on the link to view the recording: youtu.be/BvYF8_Qxh-Y
Street Art & Civil Society in Post-2011 Tunisia: Aesthetics, Civic Engagement and Challenges
YouTube video by BILNAS
youtu.be
October 13, 2025 at 4:53 PM
📣 Join us for the next BILNAS Lecture

🏛 "Crumbling History – The Fading Material Culture of the Tataouine Region (Tunisia) and the Jebel Nafusa (Libya)" by Anna Leone

📆 Thursday 23 October at 5pm (UK time) via Zoom

💻 For more details and to register: www.bilnas.org/event/crumbl...

All welcome!
Crumbling History - The Fading Material Culture of the Tataouine Region (Tunisia) and the Jebel Nafusa (Libya) by Anna Leone
The arched cliff marking the edge of the pre-desert plateau between southern Tunisia and Tripolitania—known respectively as Dahar and Jebel Nafusa—has, for centuries, formed a unified cultural landsca...
www.bilnas.org
October 10, 2025 at 4:37 PM
🏛 Journey Through The BILNAS Archives

Photograph of Olwen Brogan near Nalut, c. 1970s and Giado, 1951.

© BILNAS Archive: Olwen Brogan Papers – BILNAS/D41/3/11/9/17 and BILNAS/D41/3/11/1/17

#نالوت
#جادو
October 1, 2025 at 3:48 PM
Join us tomorrow (Thursday) for the first BILNAS lecture of the year:

‘Street Art & Civil Society in Post-2011 Tunisia: Aesthetics, Civic Engagement and Organisational Challenges’ by Dr Anwar Tlili

🕔 Thurs 25 September 17:00hrs
💻 Online

Register here: us02web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...

All welcome!
September 24, 2025 at 4:12 PM
🏛 Our placement postgrad, Xuejiao Huang (Neva), has been creating person records for some of the amazing people who've contributed to our collections.

Her recent article shines a light on Olive Brittan, a beekeeper to King Idris.

Read Neva's article on our website: www.bilnas.org/olive-britta...
'Olive Brittan – Beekeeper to the King of Libya'
by Xuejiao Huang
Olive Brittan – Beekeeper to the King of Libya by Xuejiao Huang Image 1: L-R: Audrey Webb, Olive Brittan and Martyn Webb (1963). BILNAS/D15/1/5/5, ‘Libya’ (1963), Martyn and Audrey Webb Papers on Cy...
www.bilnas.org
September 22, 2025 at 5:10 PM
📣 One week to go until the next BILNAS event:

‘Street Art and Civil Society in Post-2011 Tunisia: Aesthetics, Civic Engagement and Organisational Challenges’ by Dr Anwar Tlili

📅 Thurs 25 Sept, 5pm UK time

💻 Online via Zoom

Please follow this link to register: us02web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...
September 17, 2025 at 3:37 PM
🏛 Journey Through The BILNAS Archives

Photographs of wild flowers from Tolemeita (Ptolemais), taken by archaeological illustrator David Hopkins in 2007.

© BILNAS Archive:
David Hopkins Papers
BILNAS/D50/5/4

#تولميتا
September 15, 2025 at 4:06 PM
🏛 Journey Through The BILNAS Archives

Phycus Expedition Photographs, 1950-1970.

© BILNAS Archive: David Smith Papers BILNAS/D1/11/3/2/2
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📚 Would YOU like to explore the BILNAS Archives? If so, visit our website for contact details and access information: www.bilnas.org/resources/ar...
September 9, 2025 at 5:28 PM
Great news! We're thrilled to announce that the BILNAS Archive has been awarded a £3,000 Archives Revealed Scoping Grant from The National Archives.

This grant will allow us to assess our valuable collection of maps and plans from over 70 years of British archaeological work in Libya.

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Current and Past Projects - Portals
The Archives Revealed Scoping Grant programme is funded by The National Lottery Heritage Fund, the Pilgrim Trust, the Wolfson Foundation and The National Archives. Grants Awarded 25-26 Grants Awarded ...
www.nationalarchives.gov.uk
September 3, 2025 at 5:25 PM
📢 BILNAS Bulletin

We are pleased to announce the launch of the BILNAS Bulletin, a member-exclusive publication with news and updates on the Institute’s activities.

For more information about the benefits of BILNAS membership visit our website:

bilnas.org/membership/
September 2, 2025 at 5:16 PM
🏛 Journey Through The BILNAS Archives

The axial chamber of the 'palatial suite' at the Fatimid Qasr.

BILNAS/D11/1/8/46: Ajdabiyah, Qasr Architecture 1 (1971-1976).

© BILNAS Archive: Donald M. Bailey and David Whitehouse Papers
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📚 Visit the BILNAS Archives: www.bilnas.org/resources/ar...
August 18, 2025 at 4:07 PM
Reposted by British Institute for Libyan & Northern African Studies (BILNAS)
Have you developed a new methodological technique for doing #archaeology? Or maybe you're applying a method for the first time? 🏺

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Submit an article
Interested in submitting an article to Antiquity? Find out more, including our submission guidelines for authors and details about our editorial processes, here.
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August 18, 2025 at 1:25 PM
🏛 Journey through the BILNAS Archives

We are thrilled to welcome Xuejiao Huang (Neva), a postgraduate placement student, to the BILNAS Archive for July and August. Neva's placement is part of her Masters degree in Museum Studies.
August 6, 2025 at 5:39 PM
🏛 Journey Through The BILNAS Archives

BILNAS/D54/10/1/14/1/57

Inscription: Gheriat el-Garbia oasis (Wadi Tula) (GG) (1981).

© BILNAS Archive: UNESCO Libyan Valleys Survey
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📚 Would you like to explore the BILNAS Archives yourself? If so, visit our website at bilnas.org/resources/ar...
August 1, 2025 at 5:03 PM
🏛 Journey Through The BILNAS Archives

Earlier this month, BILNAS welcomed Alla Abdunabi, a visual artist specialising in sculpture and installation, whose work explores the ‘material afterlives’ of objects through storytelling that weaves auto-ethnographic, historical and fictional narratives.

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July 23, 2025 at 5:46 PM
🏛 Roman Acholla

The BILNAS Assistant Director, Dr. Nichole Sheldrick is co-directing a new fieldwork project in Tunisia at the site of Acholla, along with co-directors Nesrine Nasr, Andrew Dufton and Sue Alcock.

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July 2, 2025 at 7:31 PM
🏛 Journey Through The BILNAS Archives

We're excited to share more progress in our ongoing efforts to digitise key archival collections.

Thanks to generous funding from @britishacademy.bsky.social, digitisation work is now underway on two historically significant collections...

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July 2, 2025 at 5:32 PM
🏛 Journey Through the BILNAS Archives

Black and white photograph shows five women on stage, performing in a historical play. The woman in the foreground is wrapped in the flag of the Kingdom of Libya.

© BILNAS Archive: Roland C. Shaw Photographs D8/1/65

– with @archanchistleic.bsky.social

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June 23, 2025 at 5:26 PM