Dan Stewart
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drdanstewart1.bsky.social
Dan Stewart
@drdanstewart1.bsky.social
1.3K followers 650 following 330 posts
Ancient historian/archaeologist at the University of Leicester. Likes ancient landscapes, Roman Crete, Peloponnese, & Pausanias. Spuddling. He/him.
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drdanstewart1.bsky.social
Alright, let’s do this one more time… #UKHE
A photo of the roof of St Pancras station
September 22, 2025 at 6:43 AM
drdanstewart1.bsky.social
League tables are total bullsh… wait a second, 5th?!? I love league tables!
The Guardian 2026 league table for classics and ancient history, showing Leicester is 5th
September 13, 2025 at 7:58 AM
drdanstewart1.bsky.social
The #Minoan Palace of #Knossos has been added to the UNESCO World Heritage list - but only the palace site. The palace sits within a 70 ha ancient city, and @britschoolathens.bsky.social will be investigating it for at least the next 5 years. #archaeology #AncientBlueSky 🏺
Panorama of ground penetrating radar at Knossos, looking down a slope and across the valley
July 14, 2025 at 6:58 PM
drdanstewart1.bsky.social
Pulling together some teaching material on ruins, Rome, and end of empire and can't stop snickering at my own jokes. I know the logic doesn't quite hold together, but I'm still laughing. #AncientBlueSky #TheCure
Robert Smith of the Cure preparing to launch an attack of the goths
June 27, 2025 at 11:45 AM
drdanstewart1.bsky.social
I always get a little thrill spotting the labyrinth motifs around the place, like these gates Evans had made for the Villa Ariadne.
Dan gurning like a fool in front of the bronze gates of the Villa Ariadne, which have labyrinth decoration The shadow cast by the gates of the Villa Ariadne, in the shape of 3 small labyrinths
June 20, 2025 at 7:10 AM
drdanstewart1.bsky.social
Every June 16, I slick back my hair, say “I’m a role model” to myself, and put this banner up to surprise/annoy my daughter. #TGG #StarTrek
A banner that says ‘Captain Picard Day’ against a pale green wall
June 16, 2025 at 7:31 AM
drdanstewart1.bsky.social
No respect for my marking process
Georgie the cat cleans his butt on my computer
June 6, 2025 at 12:46 PM
drdanstewart1.bsky.social
One of my favourite things about #Greece is the random bits of public art, like this mad strawberry that appears to be fleeing the dark skies, or this chalk graffiti that is maybe about school bullying (both in Rethymno). #AncientBluesky 🏺
An anthropomorphic strawberry statue A chalkboard with a drawing of Rodin's thinker, the Greek phrase "School bullying" and then in English, "O Captain! My Captain. No dark sarcasm in the classroom"
June 6, 2025 at 8:41 AM
drdanstewart1.bsky.social
My favourite touch was this faucet, with decorative rosettes and just a completely unnecessary level of detail. The Villa was very cool at night, and while it shook in the the 6.2 earthquake, the worst thing that happened was I woke up in a cold sweat in only my pants while the world shifted.
Just a neato outdoor tap - modelled after a dolphin or horse maybe?
June 4, 2025 at 7:25 PM
drdanstewart1.bsky.social
Evans embellished it with all sorts of little #Minoan touches - like the Labrys on the drain pipes, and the horns of consecration doubling as stair railings.
Drain pipe showing an embossed 1906 and a double axe Railings on the front stairs, modelled after horns of consecration and therefore massively impractical.
June 4, 2025 at 7:25 PM
drdanstewart1.bsky.social
Another delight of my fieldwork at #Knossos was the opportunity to stay in the Villa Ariadne, Sir Arthur Evans' palatial dig house. He gifted it to the BSA, who gifted it to the Greek government after WW2. It has a history of ghosts, Nazis, and echoes with old-skool colonialism. #ClassicsBluesky 🏺
The front entrance to the Villa Ariadne
June 4, 2025 at 7:25 PM
drdanstewart1.bsky.social
The other neat thing about my return to Crete was visiting Gortyn during a Saharan sand storm. Look at that light! #ClassicalArchaeology #RomanCrete #ClassicsBluesky 🏺
The Roman odeon at Gortyn, in the orange light of a sand storm. Part of the Gortyn Law Code built in to the Roman Odeon retaining wall, with a beautiful orange glow
June 3, 2025 at 11:23 AM
drdanstewart1.bsky.social
Dakos doesn't only sleep, he also sits in taverna chairs while *almost* sleeping
Dakos the cat feeling sleepy on a wooden chair
June 2, 2025 at 1:30 PM
drdanstewart1.bsky.social
Dakos loves to sleep, especially in pots
Dakos the cat asleep in a plant pot (not ancient)
June 2, 2025 at 1:30 PM
drdanstewart1.bsky.social
I was back in the field at Knossos recently, so managed to snap some photos of BSA cats. Here's Dakos chilling in front of some Roman architectural marbles. #ClassicsBlueSky #ArchaeoCats
Dakos the cat lies on the ground in front of various Roman architectural members, at the BSA Knossos site
June 2, 2025 at 1:30 PM
drdanstewart1.bsky.social
I feel ya, bag of soil
A slumped and dejected-looking bag of soil
April 3, 2025 at 8:47 AM
drdanstewart1.bsky.social
We included the case study of Harry Truman's piece of the Athena Nike temple - presented to him in 1949 by the Greek gov't, with a new inscription naming Truman a proxenos. How we assign 'value' to the past has real world implications!
An extract from Truman's official appointment calendar. The entry for March 28, 1949 at 12:00 pm reads: "The President and Mrs. Truman will receive the Ambassador of Greece and a Delegation from Greece, as follows: Mr. Zalacosta, Member of Parliament Corporal of the Commando Regiment, Greek Army Petty Officer, of Greek Navy 2nd Lieutenant, Greek Air Force Sergeant, Greek Gendarmerie One Lieutenant of the Royal Guard Madame Zalacosta Miss Skouse Miss Tsimonou Miss Kyrou Miss Londou (The Greek Ambassador requested this through Stanley Woodward. This Delegation here in connection with celebration of 128th anniversary of Greek Independence, March 25th, known as the "Work and Victory" rally, organized in Greece under patronage of the King & Queen. As token of gratitude of Greek people to U. S. they are bringing for presentation to the President, an antique Greek vase and fragment of marble from the Temple of the Wingless Victory with inscription in ancient Anthenian style, naming the President as "Proxenos of Greece" which was highest honor that could be conferred on anyone in ancient Athens. An embroidered dress of Queen Amelia style will be offered to Mrs. Truman on behalf of women of Greece.)"
March 24, 2025 at 12:28 PM
drdanstewart1.bsky.social
Early morning light
The dawn hitting the roof of St Pancras station
March 19, 2025 at 6:47 AM
drdanstewart1.bsky.social
There is no soup, only orzo
A Tupperware container with orzo, carrots, and chicken but not liquid
March 18, 2025 at 9:00 AM
drdanstewart1.bsky.social
We had a wonderful discussion of the architectural refinements and decorative scheme, framed around the question of 'why bother?' I took delight in explaining about the 'lean' of the columns, and how it would form a pyramid if the line was extended up (photo stolen from FB, sketch by Manolis Korre)
A photo of the Parthenon lit at night, with lights following the lines of the columns and creating a tall narrow pyramid. The top right corner of the images shows a sketch of the lines of the columns and their points of intersection
March 13, 2025 at 2:15 PM
drdanstewart1.bsky.social
When you start your business in 1837 I guess you can just say what you do
The blue side of a panel van with the word “Flagmakers” on the side
March 11, 2025 at 9:33 AM
drdanstewart1.bsky.social
Great (and timely) review of Nooter's "Ancient Guide to Sexuality" by @thedancinggrad.bsky.social in BMCR (bmcr.brynmawr.edu/2025/2025.03...). The closing paragraph in particular I found quite moving. #AncientBlueSky 🏺
A screen capture of text that says: "The hopeful note sounded by Nooter at the end of the introduction frames for this queer reviewer the stakes of a volume like this: “Reader, whatever your own sense of your own identity, sexuality, or place in the world, I hope that you will find this volume by turns buoyant, playful, and passionate. If there is one thing the Greeks can teach us, it is that the erotic and the queer are a source of life and a cause for celebration” (xi). In an era where queer identities are increasingly under threat, including but not limited to legislation aimed at disenfranchisement of trans people and court cases aimed at curtailing LGBTQIA+ rights more generally, the celebration of “non-normative” identities and practices works towards demystifying the other, bridging the gap to make those who identify as “normative” realize that the distance between “us” and “them” is perhaps not quite so large."
March 10, 2025 at 12:26 PM
drdanstewart1.bsky.social
#tinyjoys this morning is the sun streaming through the roof of St Pancras station
Sunny roof of St Pancras station: a photo showing the 19th century iron framework and the sun and blue sky behind
March 6, 2025 at 9:40 AM
drdanstewart1.bsky.social
Love me some London stratigraphy #archaeology #ancientbluesky
A photo of Thames water holes for telling water pipes, showing some nice stratigraphy in the scarp
March 3, 2025 at 8:16 AM
drdanstewart1.bsky.social
Apropos of nothing, here's some posters I made for outside my office in case anyone wants them. Text on one edited from @blacktrowel.bsky.social, the other from an Eco article (both cited of course). If you'd like the PDF files, just email me. #antifascist #AncientBluesky 🏺
A poster titled "Don't Panic! How to fight fascism as a student of the past". 14 points are listed: 1. Document. 2. Work Together. 3. Leverage your skills. 4. De-escalate. 5. Beware entryism. 6. Know the tools of fascism. 7. Solidarity over charity. 8. Thank local, plan big. 9. Money works. 10. Get trained. 11. Grow your roots. 12. Push through discomfort. 13. Stay safe. 14. Remember, tolerance becomes a crime when applied to evil. A poster entitled "How to Spot a Fascist". Taken from an Umberto Eco 1995 Article in the New York Review of Books. 14 signs are listed: 1. The cult of tradition. 2. The rejection of modernism. 3. The cult of action for action's sake. 4. Disagreement is treason. 5. Fear of difference. 6. Appeal to social frustration. 7. The obsession with a plot. 8. The enemy is both weak and strong. 9. Pacifism is trafficking with the enemy. 10. Contempt for the weak. 11. Everybody is educated to become a hero. 12. Machismo and weaponry. 13. Selective populism. 14. Un-fascism through Newspeak.
February 26, 2025 at 12:38 PM