Dr Ian Friel
@drianfriel.bsky.social
Independent historian, FSA and FRHistS, specialising in maritime, local and house history, based in UK. Author of five books on maritime history, multiple research papers and house histories. www.ianfriel.co.uk Rep: @donaldwin.bsky.social
🚨Our BBC is under attack 🚨 We can't let those that want to see it torn up & replaced by the likes of GBNews or Fox win. Sign the open letter now to demand the new BBC boss is someone that will protect the BBC, not let its enemies tear it down: 38d.gs/2sa8
Sign the petition: save our BBC: don't let the likes of Trump and his UK cronies meddle with our public broadcaster
🚨Our BBC is under attack 🚨 We can't let those that want to see it torn up & replaced by the likes of GBNews or Fox win. Sign the open letter now to demand the new BBC boss is someone that will protect...
38d.gs
November 15, 2025 at 3:26 PM
🚨Our BBC is under attack 🚨 We can't let those that want to see it torn up & replaced by the likes of GBNews or Fox win. Sign the open letter now to demand the new BBC boss is someone that will protect the BBC, not let its enemies tear it down: 38d.gs/2sa8
Reposted by Dr Ian Friel
Assistance requested: came across reference to 'English East Indian ship' brought 'a peice [sic] of Lywaet, which is very good' to Cormontine, 23 October 1658 (n.s.). 'Lywaet' (translator's spelling) is unknown to me. Many thanks in advance for any and all advice #earlymodern #maritimehistory
November 13, 2025 at 7:45 PM
Assistance requested: came across reference to 'English East Indian ship' brought 'a peice [sic] of Lywaet, which is very good' to Cormontine, 23 October 1658 (n.s.). 'Lywaet' (translator's spelling) is unknown to me. Many thanks in advance for any and all advice #earlymodern #maritimehistory
Reposted by Dr Ian Friel
November 14, 2025 at 7:41 AM
Reposted by Dr Ian Friel
Lead ingot stamped with the name and titles of #Roman emperor Domitian, found in 1735 on Heyshaw Moor #NorthYorkshire and now in the excellent Craven Museum #Skipton
Made in AD 81, *BRIG* on the side records it was mined and taken from the land of the #Brigantes
📷 Aug 2022
#FindsFriday
Made in AD 81, *BRIG* on the side records it was mined and taken from the land of the #Brigantes
📷 Aug 2022
#FindsFriday
November 14, 2025 at 7:48 AM
Lead ingot stamped with the name and titles of #Roman emperor Domitian, found in 1735 on Heyshaw Moor #NorthYorkshire and now in the excellent Craven Museum #Skipton
Made in AD 81, *BRIG* on the side records it was mined and taken from the land of the #Brigantes
📷 Aug 2022
#FindsFriday
Made in AD 81, *BRIG* on the side records it was mined and taken from the land of the #Brigantes
📷 Aug 2022
#FindsFriday
Reposted by Dr Ian Friel
It looks like an ancient dance floor, aching for lights and .music, the swish of silk and perfume and flirting again
November 12, 2025 at 7:30 PM
It looks like an ancient dance floor, aching for lights and .music, the swish of silk and perfume and flirting again
Reposted by Dr Ian Friel
Today is #RLSDay which marks the birthday of the Scottish writer Robert Louis Stevenson who would have been 175 today.
It's also a good day to remember that it is NOT actually his birthday because in 1891 he gave it away to a young girl because she didn't like her birthday. 🧵
It's also a good day to remember that it is NOT actually his birthday because in 1891 he gave it away to a young girl because she didn't like her birthday. 🧵
November 13, 2025 at 11:14 AM
Today is #RLSDay which marks the birthday of the Scottish writer Robert Louis Stevenson who would have been 175 today.
It's also a good day to remember that it is NOT actually his birthday because in 1891 he gave it away to a young girl because she didn't like her birthday. 🧵
It's also a good day to remember that it is NOT actually his birthday because in 1891 he gave it away to a young girl because she didn't like her birthday. 🧵
Reposted by Dr Ian Friel
During a recent russian-caused blackout in #Kyiv, Flamenco dancers kept on dancing
Even amidst war and energy terror life goes on.
📹 United24
Even amidst war and energy terror life goes on.
📹 United24
November 12, 2025 at 7:48 PM
During a recent russian-caused blackout in #Kyiv, Flamenco dancers kept on dancing
Even amidst war and energy terror life goes on.
📹 United24
Even amidst war and energy terror life goes on.
📹 United24
Reposted by Dr Ian Friel
Keen to explore maritime environments and histories without going to sea? The Royal Museums Greenwich Caird Fellowship deadline is 18 January 2026.
Fellowships at Royal Museums Greenwich
Apply for funding to support research at Royal Museums Greenwich through our Caird Research Fellowships
www.rmg.co.uk
November 12, 2025 at 11:56 AM
Keen to explore maritime environments and histories without going to sea? The Royal Museums Greenwich Caird Fellowship deadline is 18 January 2026.
Reposted by Dr Ian Friel
Nautical types! How big would an 18-20 ton ship have been in the late 16th century? It was to carry 16 cannons so I imagine big-ish?
November 12, 2025 at 3:57 PM
Nautical types! How big would an 18-20 ton ship have been in the late 16th century? It was to carry 16 cannons so I imagine big-ish?
Reposted by Dr Ian Friel
Nautical types! How big would an 18-20 ton ship have been in the late 16th century? It was to carry 16 cannons so I imagine big-ish?
November 12, 2025 at 4:09 PM
Reposted by Dr Ian Friel
There is still time to apply for one of our 50+ Visiting Fellowships @bodleian.ox.ac.uk for the 2026-27 academic year! A vibrant interdisciplinary research centre in the heart of one of the world’s great libraries!
VISITING FELLOWSHIPS: Applications are now open for 2026-27!
The deadline for applications is Friday 28 November 2025.
For more information on how to apply: https://www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/csb/fellowships/bodleian-visiting-fellowships
The deadline for applications is Friday 28 November 2025.
For more information on how to apply: https://www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/csb/fellowships/bodleian-visiting-fellowships
November 12, 2025 at 4:22 PM
There is still time to apply for one of our 50+ Visiting Fellowships @bodleian.ox.ac.uk for the 2026-27 academic year! A vibrant interdisciplinary research centre in the heart of one of the world’s great libraries!
Reposted by Dr Ian Friel
When the Lighthouse of Alexandria, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, tumbled to the seafloor, it was lost for some 500 years.
https://archaeology.org/issues/november-december-2025/collection/lighthouse-of-alexandria/secrets-of-the-seven-wonders/
https://archaeology.org/issues/november-december-2025/collection/lighthouse-of-alexandria/secrets-of-the-seven-wonders/
November 12, 2025 at 4:12 PM
When the Lighthouse of Alexandria, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, tumbled to the seafloor, it was lost for some 500 years.
https://archaeology.org/issues/november-december-2025/collection/lighthouse-of-alexandria/secrets-of-the-seven-wonders/
https://archaeology.org/issues/november-december-2025/collection/lighthouse-of-alexandria/secrets-of-the-seven-wonders/
Reposted by Dr Ian Friel
Honestly, I think I could do a better job running Downing St communications and the BBC as a job share. Am available.
November 12, 2025 at 1:05 PM
Honestly, I think I could do a better job running Downing St communications and the BBC as a job share. Am available.
Reposted by Dr Ian Friel
Let the mind take its photograph
Of the bright scene, something to wear
Against the heart in the long cold.
from 'A Day in Autumn' by R.S. Thomas
Of the bright scene, something to wear
Against the heart in the long cold.
from 'A Day in Autumn' by R.S. Thomas
November 11, 2025 at 3:40 PM
Let the mind take its photograph
Of the bright scene, something to wear
Against the heart in the long cold.
from 'A Day in Autumn' by R.S. Thomas
Of the bright scene, something to wear
Against the heart in the long cold.
from 'A Day in Autumn' by R.S. Thomas
Reposted by Dr Ian Friel
Like a time capsule: a #Roman tile marked with #finger lines, hobnail #shoe prints, #dog's paw prints, and a #stamp of the LEG(io) XIIII G(emina). Tiles with imprints are very common, since tiles were laid out to dry in the open air ahead of firing, where...🧵1/2
#TilesOnTuesday 🏺
#TilesOnTuesday 🏺
November 11, 2025 at 8:08 AM
Piece about 12th/13th-century wrecks discovered off the coast of South Korea - some important finds, as well as hull structures. #archaeology #maritimearchaeology #maritimehitsory #coastalhistory
www.chosun.com/english/trav...
www.chosun.com/english/trav...
12th-Century Goryeo Shipwreck Found in Taean's 'Underwater Gyeongju'
12th-Century Goryeo Shipwreck Found in Taeans Underwater Gyeongju Celadon, Rice Grains, and Ship Hull Discovered; 15th-Century Joseon Ship Also Raised
www.chosun.com
November 11, 2025 at 3:16 PM
Piece about 12th/13th-century wrecks discovered off the coast of South Korea - some important finds, as well as hull structures. #archaeology #maritimearchaeology #maritimehitsory #coastalhistory
www.chosun.com/english/trav...
www.chosun.com/english/trav...
Reposted by Dr Ian Friel
Delightful detail from the Roman “unswept floor” mosaic by Heraclitus, showing a mouse nibbling a walnut.
Superb use of darker tiles for subtle shadow effect!
2nd century AD. Vatican Museums www.museivaticani.va/content/muse...
#MosaicMonday
#Archaeology
Superb use of darker tiles for subtle shadow effect!
2nd century AD. Vatican Museums www.museivaticani.va/content/muse...
#MosaicMonday
#Archaeology
November 10, 2025 at 1:07 PM
Delightful detail from the Roman “unswept floor” mosaic by Heraclitus, showing a mouse nibbling a walnut.
Superb use of darker tiles for subtle shadow effect!
2nd century AD. Vatican Museums www.museivaticani.va/content/muse...
#MosaicMonday
#Archaeology
Superb use of darker tiles for subtle shadow effect!
2nd century AD. Vatican Museums www.museivaticani.va/content/muse...
#MosaicMonday
#Archaeology
Reposted by Dr Ian Friel
We might also wonder why the BBC entrusts episodes of its leading current affairs strand to outside producers. But that takes us back to Conservative govmt demands, under the guise of market liberalisation, that they shift spending to independents. The slow death of the BBC was planned long ago…
3/3
3/3
November 10, 2025 at 11:05 PM
We might also wonder why the BBC entrusts episodes of its leading current affairs strand to outside producers. But that takes us back to Conservative govmt demands, under the guise of market liberalisation, that they shift spending to independents. The slow death of the BBC was planned long ago…
3/3
3/3
Across the world, storms are exposing some very old #shipwrecks. #maritimehistory
www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/typhoon...
www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/typhoon...
Typhoon Kalmaegi exposes centuries-old shipwreck off Vietnam port
HOI AN: Severe coastal erosion caused by Typhoon Kalmaegi exposed a centuries-old shipwreck in Vietnam, providing a narrow window to salvage what experts say could be a historically significant find.I...
www.channelnewsasia.com
November 10, 2025 at 3:42 PM
Across the world, storms are exposing some very old #shipwrecks. #maritimehistory
www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/typhoon...
www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/typhoon...
I like this photo, so thought I would post it. This visitor arrived in our back garden in Chichester in April 2024. A peregrine falcon, I think, but happy to be corrected (nesting peregrines have taken up residence in the tower of #Chichester Cathedral every year for the last 20 years+).
November 10, 2025 at 10:47 AM
I like this photo, so thought I would post it. This visitor arrived in our back garden in Chichester in April 2024. A peregrine falcon, I think, but happy to be corrected (nesting peregrines have taken up residence in the tower of #Chichester Cathedral every year for the last 20 years+).
Reposted by Dr Ian Friel
When you suddenly realise you've been saying hello to all the villagers without changing back into human form.
November 9, 2025 at 1:05 PM
When you suddenly realise you've been saying hello to all the villagers without changing back into human form.
Reposted by Dr Ian Friel
Margarette Lincoln has always been extremely kind to me.
Right, enough of James Watson - who's a senior academic you've met who's been an utter delight?
I'll go first: Jocelyn Bell Burnell
I'll go first: Jocelyn Bell Burnell
November 8, 2025 at 3:19 PM
Margarette Lincoln has always been extremely kind to me.
Reposted by Dr Ian Friel
A window to the ancient world...
The Roman Amphitheatre of El Djem, Tunisia
📸 Mine
#RomanSiteSaturday #archaeology #photooftheday 🏺
The Roman Amphitheatre of El Djem, Tunisia
📸 Mine
#RomanSiteSaturday #archaeology #photooftheday 🏺
November 8, 2025 at 1:49 PM
A window to the ancient world...
The Roman Amphitheatre of El Djem, Tunisia
📸 Mine
#RomanSiteSaturday #archaeology #photooftheday 🏺
The Roman Amphitheatre of El Djem, Tunisia
📸 Mine
#RomanSiteSaturday #archaeology #photooftheday 🏺
Moving & interesting piece on NPR about archaeologists from the US & Sweden helping Ukrainian colleagues rescue parts of a wreck (from an 18th-cent Russian military expedition) exposed by the current war. The archaeologists made out their wills before they travelled.
www.npr.org/2025/11/07/n...
www.npr.org/2025/11/07/n...
Racing to Save a Ukrainian Archaeological Site Exposed by the War : State of the World from NPR
The war with Russia has touched all aspects of Ukrainian life, including efforts to preserve the nation’s history. We go to an island in the Dnipro River where archaeologists from around the world ar...
www.npr.org
November 8, 2025 at 4:18 PM
Moving & interesting piece on NPR about archaeologists from the US & Sweden helping Ukrainian colleagues rescue parts of a wreck (from an 18th-cent Russian military expedition) exposed by the current war. The archaeologists made out their wills before they travelled.
www.npr.org/2025/11/07/n...
www.npr.org/2025/11/07/n...
Reposted by Dr Ian Friel
Really pleased to announce the launch of the all-new, all-dancing, London Lives website - www.londonlives.org It has been thoroughly re-engineered to facilitate more types of search, and redesigned for phones and tablets. The team very much hopes peope like it. 1/
London Lives
www.londonlives.org
November 5, 2025 at 11:24 AM
Really pleased to announce the launch of the all-new, all-dancing, London Lives website - www.londonlives.org It has been thoroughly re-engineered to facilitate more types of search, and redesigned for phones and tablets. The team very much hopes peope like it. 1/