Dr Claire Harris
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drclaireharris.bsky.social
Dr Claire Harris
@drclaireharris.bsky.social
1.5K followers 560 following 180 posts
#Palaeolithic and #Intertidal Archaeologist. 🦣🏺⚓

MOLA Public Impact | Associate Lecturer @ Birkbeck | Honorary Research Fellow @ QMUL Geography | Research Associate @ Pathways to Ancient Britain | she/her

#Thames #TalkingBallast
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drclaireharris.bsky.social
The map includes clips of oral history interviews with local residents. These records share the story of coastal change as told by the people living with those changes.

cim.mola.org.uk/map/records/...
A screenshot of a record on the Coasts In Mind community archive map. The record "Over the Edge: WWII Coastal Defence Structure Erodes at Rapid Rate" is linked to an oral history clip from a local resident.
October 3, 2025 at 10:57 AM
drclaireharris.bsky.social
I've been supporting @coastsinmind.bsky.social Team Swale. This week we've launched the #CoastsInMind community map.

cim.mola.org.uk/map

#CoastsInMind is a MOLA project made possible by @heritagefunduk.bsky.social and #NationalLottery players.

#ForeshoreFriday 🏺🌊⚓️
A derelict Warden Point Radar Station structure lies at angle on the beach. The concrete is stained green in places from exposure in the intertidal zone. Black text on a bright blue background reads, "it took it about 20 years to work down the cliff but it's something you could sort of monitor because it was a big item." The Heritage Fund logo is in the top right corner.
October 3, 2025 at 10:52 AM
drclaireharris.bsky.social
Back on the foreshore today for a guided walk. It's always a pleasure to bump into mudlarks like Sean (@seanclarkmudlark on Insta) who can tell tales of London from the finds they discover.
#LiquidHistory #mudlarking
A group of people on the Thames foreshore. They are gathered around looking intently at a small find held in the hand of one of the people. A mudlark keeps the group enthralled with a tale of trade tokens and the Great Fire of London. The guided walk was undertaken with the permission of the PLA.
July 15, 2025 at 1:32 PM
drclaireharris.bsky.social
If you see this, share your most recent photo of a London River!

(Don't forget to include alt text.)

#LondonRiversWeek
Kayaking on the River Lea. The photo is taken from the paddler's point of view and shows the front of an orange kayak on the water. The river is calm and the greenery hugging the banks of the river is lit by evening sunlight. A heron sits in a branch above the river and calmly watches the paddler.
May 30, 2025 at 7:00 AM
drclaireharris.bsky.social
Paging @theduncanmackay.bsky.social!

#BenchmarkMonday
A closeup of a stone wall with two benchmarks, marking High Water.
January 20, 2025 at 6:38 PM
drclaireharris.bsky.social
One for @everyheron.bsky.social
A photo of a section of the Queenhithe mosaic. The photo is centred on a magnificent heron. To the right of the heron is depicted a section of London Bridge, above the heron is the river with wooden ships under full sail. Find out more about the mosaic by visiting: https://www.lsomosaic.com/projects-1/2019/4/8/queenhithe-dock-mosaic-2011-2014
January 3, 2025 at 3:53 PM
drclaireharris.bsky.social
I've been out and about on the Thames foreshore thinking about access points as persistent places and places as spaces where stories gather.
A close-up photograph of the Thames foreshore with oyster shells, ceramic building material and other finds, all nestling amongst sand, gravel, and silt.
January 3, 2025 at 3:05 PM
drclaireharris.bsky.social
What a gorgeous day to be down by the river!

#Rivers 🏺 #Thames
A photo taken from the Thames foreshore looking down stream towards London Bridge. Large timbers can be seen rising out of the water. To the left of the photo, the river wall rises to the cityscape. The sky is blue and cloudless.
January 3, 2025 at 2:35 PM
drclaireharris.bsky.social
Forest sunset at Connaught Water.

#EppingForest
Photo of an orange sun setting over an expanse of water. The water is surrounded by leafless trees and the trees are reflected in the still water.
January 2, 2025 at 5:56 PM
drclaireharris.bsky.social
Great line from The Eight Mountains.
Still from the film The Eight Mountains showing four people in conversation outdoors. The subtitles read, "Only you city folks call it nature."
December 26, 2024 at 7:59 PM
drclaireharris.bsky.social
Epping Forest was giving folk horror vibes this afternoon.
A skeleton oak tree stands at the centre of the photograph, silhouetted against a wintery late afternoon sky. Other, living, oak trees are crowded behind the skeleton tree, their twisted branches bare of leaves. A closer photo of the skeleton tree.
December 26, 2024 at 5:31 PM
drclaireharris.bsky.social
Boxing Day morning - coffee, cat, and "Landscapes of Detectorists".
A close-up photograph of a tortoiseshell cat's face against a background of an orange throw blanket. Bookcover for "Landscapes of Detectorists" - 2 figures metal detecting in a field.
December 26, 2024 at 10:27 AM
drclaireharris.bsky.social
"Christmas Eve. It was the day when the delight of Christmas really took fire in the Stanton family."

Remember to pin your holly over the window and over the door!

#TheDarkIsRising
1970s Penguin book cover for The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper. A horned figure seated on a horse stares out at the reader.
December 24, 2024 at 10:23 AM
drclaireharris.bsky.social
Happy Solstice!
A green man type tree ornament representing the Oak king with blurred multi colour fairy lights in the background. Dark silhouettes of leafless trees against a cloudy winter sky as the sun sets. A close-up photo of a Christmas tree decorated with multicolour fairy lights and various tree ornaments, including a stained glass mistletoe, a bird, and a cat in an greatcoat!
December 21, 2024 at 11:17 PM
drclaireharris.bsky.social
#Thames
December 16, 2024 at 10:05 PM
drclaireharris.bsky.social
It was a beautiful morning to be out on the water. We were joined by a kingfisher for a while, but they were too quick to catch on camera!
View from a kayak. The bows of three orange kayaks, nestled together under leafless branches that overhang the water. In the distance, the water is covered in a bright green blanket of pennywort. The sky is a wintery blue.
December 15, 2024 at 7:19 PM
drclaireharris.bsky.social
Today I've been talking about 'persistent places', 'blue mind', and how championing access might reconnect people with the Thames.

Photo: foreshore access in a state of disrepair.

#Woodensday #TidalThames
Detail of wooden river stairs. The timber of the stairs is green with algae and weathered by the tide.
December 4, 2024 at 4:45 PM
drclaireharris.bsky.social
Today's project meeting for the Thames Evolving Foreshore project involved another early alarm but we were rewarded with glorious weather for our site visits.

#TidalTuesday #TidalThames
A photo of the Thames foreshore at Greenwich. The winter sunlight reflects off the water, adding a warmth to the image.
December 3, 2024 at 1:15 PM
drclaireharris.bsky.social
Good Morning! Heading north for a project meeting.
A photo of the BT Tower in London taken from outside Euston Station. Behind the tower, the sky is blue and almost cloudless. The tower has the words "Good Morning L(ondon)" showing at the top. To the right of the tower is a tall building. The early morning sun bounces off the glass of the tower and the building creating a feeling of warmth.
December 2, 2024 at 8:42 AM
drclaireharris.bsky.social
If you see this, post a beach from your gallery.

Happisburgh, Norfolk
Happpisburgh beach, taken from the top of the earth ramp in 2018. Bright blue sky with fluffy white clouds above a still sea and sandy beach. To the left of the earth ramp down to the beach are large boulders, placed to protect the cliffs.
November 28, 2024 at 11:30 AM
drclaireharris.bsky.social
For #BedfordshireDay, an early #Palaeolithic find. 🏺🦣

The handaxe was discovered in 1830 by a Bedfordshire farmer, 29 years before Prestwich and Evans' visit to the Somme Valley, which formally established the connection between handaxes and extinct mammals.

journal.lithics.org/wp-content/u...
Left of image (a): A line drawing of the Dallow Farm handaxe. Smith’s (1894, figure 123) illustration. Right of image (b): a recent photograph of the handaxe.
November 28, 2024 at 11:23 AM
drclaireharris.bsky.social
Two more photos from the foreshore at Deptford for #WoodWednesday!

🏺 #Thames
A photo taken from the Thames foreshore at Deptford, looking up the river stairs. A metal handrail runs up the centre of the stairs. In the top left of the photo is the facade of an impressive brick building with large arched windows in an Italianate style. The building, Paynes Wharf, is Grade II listed - Historic England List Entry Number 1067833. On the right of the photo is the impressive river wall of the former Royal Dockyard. This early 19th century river wall is also Grade II listed - List Entry Number 1416575. The concrete upper section of the wall was added in the 20th as a flood defence measure. The listing states this is of "not of special interest," but this addition tells a story of rising sea levels. The wall is covered in green algae and mosses and looks almost velvet-like in places. A substantial upright timber protects vessels from rubbing against the wall. The timber is also upolstered with bright green moss and is decaying after years of being exposed by the falling and rising tide. The original knots and grain of the wood are becoming more visible and the carefully shaped timber appears to be returning to its tree form. A close-up photo of the upright timber and river wall showing brickwork and decaying wood.
November 27, 2024 at 10:29 AM
drclaireharris.bsky.social
Flood warning for Ching Brook.

#WalthamForest #E17

check-for-flooding.service.gov.uk/target-area/...
Screenshot of a map showing flood warning for Ching Brook, Walthamstow Forest on 27 November 2024.
November 27, 2024 at 8:46 AM
drclaireharris.bsky.social
I'm not unfamiliar with working on sites in woodland! (I'm in the foreground of the photo in the duffle coat!)

Photo from: www.pabproject.org/2022-field-s...

#BeechesPit #Palaeolithic
A rather gloomy photograph of 2018 fieldwork at the site of Beeches Pit, Suffolk. Much of the site is covered in black plastic, although the sections around the edges of the pit have been cleaned back. Four people can be seen in the photo: one figure stands towards the centre of the trench watching as two crouched figures are excavating. A figure, facing away from the camera and dressed in green combat trousers and a navy duffle coat with the hood up, stands in the foreground of the photo. At the feet of this figure are two buckets, one black and one yellow. The trench is surrounded by trunks of trees and much of the ground outside of the trench is covered in fallen leaves. The yellow of the bucket and the hi-viz jacket of one of the crouched figures stands out against the muted colours of the rest of the photo!
November 26, 2024 at 9:42 PM
drclaireharris.bsky.social
Screenshot from report with text: The proposed values and our recommendations centre on four recurring key areas of challenge: 1. Collection and use of data, including collection/capture, processing, repurposing, exploitation of ‘subjects’, inadvertent misuse, legacy, access, retention and preservation. 2. Use of technology, including its impacts and harms, and investments in computational methods and emerging technologies (e.g. Large Language Models) that have been created in problematic ways and continue to perpetrate and perpetuate bias. 3. Concern for people, including treatment of people as source and subject, ownership, relationship management, expectation management, (un)fair terms of employment and recompense. 4. Climate impacts, including lack of clarity about digital carbon footprints and other impacts on the ecology of the world.
November 26, 2024 at 5:54 PM