Hélène Rey
@helenerey.bsky.social
🏺 Archaeology & Cultural Studies postgrad at King's College London, with a touch of Digital Humanities | UCL IoA alumna
🔎 Researching cultural interactions in Mongol Eurasia (focus Syriac Christianity)
💼 Middle East Project Manager
📚 Returning to academia
🔎 Researching cultural interactions in Mongol Eurasia (focus Syriac Christianity)
💼 Middle East Project Manager
📚 Returning to academia
Pinned
Hélène Rey
@helenerey.bsky.social
· Jun 28
🎓 Very happy to share that I have received a ✨distinction✨ on my MA dissertation on the dynamics of cultural adaptation of Syriac Christianity by Turco-Mongol communities in 13th/14th century Central Eurasia, marking the end of my Global Cultures MA journey @kingscollegelondon.bsky.social #mongolsky
Very excited for this! My last CAA UK conference was in... 2013 – but it was a memorable one 😁🏺
#CAAUK2025 Programme Now Live!
Two days of digital archaeology & fresh methods: Bayesian workshops, AI, modelling, 3D animation, digital twins, simulation, landscape analysis, and more!
📘 Full programme & abstracts: Linktr.ee/caa_uk
#DigitalArchaeology
Two days of digital archaeology & fresh methods: Bayesian workshops, AI, modelling, 3D animation, digital twins, simulation, landscape analysis, and more!
📘 Full programme & abstracts: Linktr.ee/caa_uk
#DigitalArchaeology
November 21, 2025 at 12:23 PM
Very excited for this! My last CAA UK conference was in... 2013 – but it was a memorable one 😁🏺
Reposted by Hélène Rey
NEW In the heart of the Eurasian steppe, a #BronzeAge metropolis has been unearthed, showing that the settlements of nomadic steppe societies were just as sophisticated as contemporary, more traditionally 'urban' civilisations.
#AntiquityThread 1/14 🧵
🏺 #Archaeology
#AntiquityThread 1/14 🧵
🏺 #Archaeology
November 19, 2025 at 4:28 PM
Reposted by Hélène Rey
I don't know that this manusript- BnF Arabe 1997, a 1620 copy of an Arabic long form poem (by a member of the Ottoman military hierarchy) on early Islamic history- is the all time winner of the "how much text can you fit on a single page" contest but it's pretty dang close lol
November 19, 2025 at 7:04 PM
I don't know that this manusript- BnF Arabe 1997, a 1620 copy of an Arabic long form poem (by a member of the Ottoman military hierarchy) on early Islamic history- is the all time winner of the "how much text can you fit on a single page" contest but it's pretty dang close lol
Reposted by Hélène Rey
Our symposium on the 20th anniversary of the release of Saba Mahmood’s Politics of Piety is now available online, with thanks to @biqbal.bsky.social for bringing us together. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
November 20, 2025 at 12:52 AM
Our symposium on the 20th anniversary of the release of Saba Mahmood’s Politics of Piety is now available online, with thanks to @biqbal.bsky.social for bringing us together. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Reposted by Hélène Rey
New paper. Recording the female experience of UK archaeology 1990-2010. Anne Teather and I document how an industry EDI agenda evolved in the 1990s and was dismantled, uncovering the ramifications of that for women archaeologists over the next decade.
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
#openaccess✅
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
#openaccess✅
Documenting the profession: Recording historic access and retention issues for women in UK archaeology | Archaeological Dialogues | Cambridge Core
Documenting the profession: Recording historic access and retention issues for women in UK archaeology
www.cambridge.org
September 26, 2025 at 10:56 AM
New paper. Recording the female experience of UK archaeology 1990-2010. Anne Teather and I document how an industry EDI agenda evolved in the 1990s and was dismantled, uncovering the ramifications of that for women archaeologists over the next decade.
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
#openaccess✅
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
#openaccess✅
This was a great introduction to #archeoViz by Sébastien Plutniak & Élisa Caron-Laviolette! Thanks @dariaheu.bsky.social for organising it!
👉 A recording will be made available here: campus.dariah.eu
👉 A recording will be made available here: campus.dariah.eu
TODAY, at 11:30 CET, join DARIAH's free webinar on #archeoViz & the Spatial and Statistical Exploration of Archaeological Data for the first of DARIAH's #FridayFrontiers series!🏺
ℹ️ Info: www.dariah.eu/2025/06/13/r...
🔸Register: dariah.zoom.us/meeting/regi...
ℹ️ Info: www.dariah.eu/2025/06/13/r...
🔸Register: dariah.zoom.us/meeting/regi...
October 3, 2025 at 10:39 AM
This was a great introduction to #archeoViz by Sébastien Plutniak & Élisa Caron-Laviolette! Thanks @dariaheu.bsky.social for organising it!
👉 A recording will be made available here: campus.dariah.eu
👉 A recording will be made available here: campus.dariah.eu
Looking forward to this!
Our hybrid lecture series, 'Silk Roads: Empire and Everyday Voices in the Medieval Islamicate East', with @oxlifelonglearning.bsky.social starts Monday 13 October. For more information, and to book, visit: bit.ly/SilkRoadslectures
#skystorian #silkroads #lifelonglearning #studyatoxford
#skystorian #silkroads #lifelonglearning #studyatoxford
September 27, 2025 at 7:04 AM
Looking forward to this!
Still hard to believe: I've just arrived in central Mongolia where I'll participate in my first archaeological fieldwork since graduating from @uclarchaeology.bsky.social (2014)!
Very grateful to be able to join a project that both aligns with my research interests and expands my horizons!
Very grateful to be able to join a project that both aligns with my research interests and expands my horizons!
June 30, 2025 at 2:31 PM
Still hard to believe: I've just arrived in central Mongolia where I'll participate in my first archaeological fieldwork since graduating from @uclarchaeology.bsky.social (2014)!
Very grateful to be able to join a project that both aligns with my research interests and expands my horizons!
Very grateful to be able to join a project that both aligns with my research interests and expands my horizons!
Reposted by Hélène Rey
CFP for Borders, Boundaries, Barriers: Real and Imagined in the Middle Ages (20-21 April 2026). Deadline 15 September 2025.
June 28, 2025 at 7:41 PM
CFP for Borders, Boundaries, Barriers: Real and Imagined in the Middle Ages (20-21 April 2026). Deadline 15 September 2025.
🎓 Very happy to share that I have received a ✨distinction✨ on my MA dissertation on the dynamics of cultural adaptation of Syriac Christianity by Turco-Mongol communities in 13th/14th century Central Eurasia, marking the end of my Global Cultures MA journey @kingscollegelondon.bsky.social #mongolsky
June 28, 2025 at 7:59 AM
🎓 Very happy to share that I have received a ✨distinction✨ on my MA dissertation on the dynamics of cultural adaptation of Syriac Christianity by Turco-Mongol communities in 13th/14th century Central Eurasia, marking the end of my Global Cultures MA journey @kingscollegelondon.bsky.social #mongolsky
Reposted by Hélène Rey
Puisque c'est la saison des cadeaux, en guise de conte de noël mongol, laissez-moi vous raconter mon anecdote favorite sur la générosité proverbiale d'Ögödei. Elle est rapportée par l'historien persan Juvaynī, qui la tient cependant d'annales mongoles tenues à la cour au jour le jour. 1/17
December 24, 2024 at 3:34 PM
Puisque c'est la saison des cadeaux, en guise de conte de noël mongol, laissez-moi vous raconter mon anecdote favorite sur la générosité proverbiale d'Ögödei. Elle est rapportée par l'historien persan Juvaynī, qui la tient cependant d'annales mongoles tenues à la cour au jour le jour. 1/17
Reposted by Hélène Rey
Some reflections on my trip around some of Tolkien’s archaeological inspirations
NEW POST: "The riddle of the past": on Tolkien's archaeological trail, by @archaeonado.bsky.social
‘The riddle of the past’: on Tolkien’s archaeological trail
By Adrián Maldonado When I was a teenager reading The Lord of the Rings for the first time, a weird thing started happening. Whenever I had to walk any distance, I began to imagine I was embarking...
almostarchaeology.com
December 21, 2024 at 8:53 AM
Some reflections on my trip around some of Tolkien’s archaeological inspirations
Reposted by Hélène Rey
Charina Knutsson defends her important PhD thesis "Indigenous Archaeology in Sweden. Aligning Contract Archaeology with National and International Policies on Indigenous Archaeology" at LNU. In it she discusses the potential of integrating Sámi perspectives into the Swedish cultural heritage system.
December 20, 2024 at 10:03 AM
Charina Knutsson defends her important PhD thesis "Indigenous Archaeology in Sweden. Aligning Contract Archaeology with National and International Policies on Indigenous Archaeology" at LNU. In it she discusses the potential of integrating Sámi perspectives into the Swedish cultural heritage system.
Reposted by Hélène Rey
That’s right: we tend to project current political arrangements into the deep human past in a teleological fashion and assume there were no viable alternatives to what we have .. 1/4
Let's add @davidwengrow.bsky.social to this thread. My understanding is that until the beginning of the European Hegemony there were lots of other arrangements around the world. North America and the Amazon, for example, likely had lots more people than we've been taught living in lots of ways.
All of human history did lead to empire though didn't it? That's something I did not understand about Wengrow's book. Of course there were other quality political forms, & there was never a clear demarcation between them, but empires rule them all when they want to-until another empire comes along.
December 16, 2024 at 4:23 PM
That’s right: we tend to project current political arrangements into the deep human past in a teleological fashion and assume there were no viable alternatives to what we have .. 1/4
Reposted by Hélène Rey
Alright, I wrote a rant about my feelings about the Global Middle Ages as institutional, historiographical, and moral paradigm. You can read it here.
journals.library.columbia.edu/index.php/al...
journals.library.columbia.edu/index.php/al...
View of The Intricate World and the Mundane University
| Al-ʿUsur al-Wusta
journals.library.columbia.edu
December 13, 2024 at 3:42 PM
Alright, I wrote a rant about my feelings about the Global Middle Ages as institutional, historiographical, and moral paradigm. You can read it here.
journals.library.columbia.edu/index.php/al...
journals.library.columbia.edu/index.php/al...
Reposted by Hélène Rey
Comme je l'écrivais ailleurs : dire que "sarrasin" signifie "païen" et non "musulman" "𝘁𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗮𝘂 𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝗱𝘂 𝗠𝗼𝘆𝗲𝗻 𝗔𝗴𝗲" me paraît très discutable. Les voyageurs occidentaux dans l'Empire mongol qui emploient le mot le font sans équivoque pour désigner les musulmans. 1/10
#mongolsky #tengri
#mongolsky #tengri
December 10, 2024 at 8:42 AM
Comme je l'écrivais ailleurs : dire que "sarrasin" signifie "païen" et non "musulman" "𝘁𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗮𝘂 𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝗱𝘂 𝗠𝗼𝘆𝗲𝗻 𝗔𝗴𝗲" me paraît très discutable. Les voyageurs occidentaux dans l'Empire mongol qui emploient le mot le font sans équivoque pour désigner les musulmans. 1/10
#mongolsky #tengri
#mongolsky #tengri
Reposted by Hélène Rey
One of these days, someone will write a good article on the uses of "neo- #Chaghatay" in #Uzbekistan. The social dynamics of writing #Uzbek in Arabic script -- like on the catalogue at the Beruni Institute in #Toshkent -- are unlike any other language I know of that has officially switched scripts.
December 5, 2024 at 3:10 PM
One of these days, someone will write a good article on the uses of "neo- #Chaghatay" in #Uzbekistan. The social dynamics of writing #Uzbek in Arabic script -- like on the catalogue at the Beruni Institute in #Toshkent -- are unlike any other language I know of that has officially switched scripts.
Reposted by Hélène Rey
Very illuminating essay on @madeinchinajournal.com about how Inner Mongolia is being de-ethnicized by the new CCP narrative of "Northern Frontier Culture".
Specifically, enjoyed the discussion on "Khil" and "Khyazgaar" as the Mongolian term of choice.
madeinchinajournal.com/2024/12/03/c...
Specifically, enjoyed the discussion on "Khil" and "Khyazgaar" as the Mongolian term of choice.
madeinchinajournal.com/2024/12/03/c...
Constructing a De-Ethnicised Inner Mongolia | Made in China Journal
‘Northern frontier culture’ (北疆文化, umrat khiliin soyol) has recently become a trendy term in propaganda texts and academic publications in and about Inner Mongolia. Numerous activities, including cult...
madeinchinajournal.com
December 4, 2024 at 12:44 PM
Very illuminating essay on @madeinchinajournal.com about how Inner Mongolia is being de-ethnicized by the new CCP narrative of "Northern Frontier Culture".
Specifically, enjoyed the discussion on "Khil" and "Khyazgaar" as the Mongolian term of choice.
madeinchinajournal.com/2024/12/03/c...
Specifically, enjoyed the discussion on "Khil" and "Khyazgaar" as the Mongolian term of choice.
madeinchinajournal.com/2024/12/03/c...
Reposted by Hélène Rey
📆🎁1/24
Comme l'an dernier, à partir d'aujourd'hui et jusqu'au 24, je posterai chaque jour une miniature persane représentant les Mongols. J'ai choisi pour commencer cette cérémonie d'intronisation parce que les petites fenêtres sur les côtés m'ont fait penser à un calendrier de l'avent...
#mongolsky
Comme l'an dernier, à partir d'aujourd'hui et jusqu'au 24, je posterai chaque jour une miniature persane représentant les Mongols. J'ai choisi pour commencer cette cérémonie d'intronisation parce que les petites fenêtres sur les côtés m'ont fait penser à un calendrier de l'avent...
#mongolsky
December 1, 2024 at 8:22 AM
📆🎁1/24
Comme l'an dernier, à partir d'aujourd'hui et jusqu'au 24, je posterai chaque jour une miniature persane représentant les Mongols. J'ai choisi pour commencer cette cérémonie d'intronisation parce que les petites fenêtres sur les côtés m'ont fait penser à un calendrier de l'avent...
#mongolsky
Comme l'an dernier, à partir d'aujourd'hui et jusqu'au 24, je posterai chaque jour une miniature persane représentant les Mongols. J'ai choisi pour commencer cette cérémonie d'intronisation parce que les petites fenêtres sur les côtés m'ont fait penser à un calendrier de l'avent...
#mongolsky
Reposted by Hélène Rey
This. Three Ethiopian Christians attended the Council of Constance in, you know, modern-day Germany, in 1418 — likely quite by chance.
At least one of them had visited Jerusalem and Rome before that, and would go on to hang out in Geneva, modern-day Switzerland, after chilling with Pope Martin V.
At least one of them had visited Jerusalem and Rome before that, and would go on to hang out in Geneva, modern-day Switzerland, after chilling with Pope Martin V.
People travelled in the medieval period. The idea that medieval people were bound to the land, living their lives in one place, in one village, is a fiction of modernity.
Races and faiths mingled, migrants migrated, merchants, scholars, and pilgrims haunted the lanes and high ways of the world.
Races and faiths mingled, migrants migrated, merchants, scholars, and pilgrims haunted the lanes and high ways of the world.
What is common knowledge in your field but shocks outsiders?
We don't all have the same number of bones or muscles. There's an average, I guess. We all kind of cluster around it. Some muscles are pretty rare. Some people just invent their own artisanal bones.
We don't all have the same number of bones or muscles. There's an average, I guess. We all kind of cluster around it. Some muscles are pretty rare. Some people just invent their own artisanal bones.
November 26, 2024 at 12:24 AM
This. Three Ethiopian Christians attended the Council of Constance in, you know, modern-day Germany, in 1418 — likely quite by chance.
At least one of them had visited Jerusalem and Rome before that, and would go on to hang out in Geneva, modern-day Switzerland, after chilling with Pope Martin V.
At least one of them had visited Jerusalem and Rome before that, and would go on to hang out in Geneva, modern-day Switzerland, after chilling with Pope Martin V.
Reposted by Hélène Rey
The third curse comes from a Syriac Psalter, Sin. syr. 99, f. 1r. It reads: ‘This book is an endowment to Mt Sinai. No one has authority from God to take it away from the holy monastery. This was written by Arsenius the bishop.’
November 27, 2024 at 9:33 AM
The third curse comes from a Syriac Psalter, Sin. syr. 99, f. 1r. It reads: ‘This book is an endowment to Mt Sinai. No one has authority from God to take it away from the holy monastery. This was written by Arsenius the bishop.’
1. Time for an introduction. I am a part-time academic based (mostly) in Switzerland, completing a degree at @kingscollegelondon.bsky.social whilst working full-time as a project manager for a humanitarian NGO. Academia is what is keeping me sane! 1/10
November 27, 2024 at 3:23 PM
1. Time for an introduction. I am a part-time academic based (mostly) in Switzerland, completing a degree at @kingscollegelondon.bsky.social whilst working full-time as a project manager for a humanitarian NGO. Academia is what is keeping me sane! 1/10
Reposted by Hélène Rey
Writing something is like building a little house---lots of materials, some immediately visible, some visible once you inhabit it, some never visible but load-bearing
November 26, 2024 at 12:06 PM
Writing something is like building a little house---lots of materials, some immediately visible, some visible once you inhabit it, some never visible but load-bearing
Reposted by Hélène Rey
Colin Renfrew, a truly influential personality in archaeology, passed away the night before last. Few people have shaped #archaeology & in particular the theoretical debates as much as he did.
I really like the photo, because it connects a lot: The thinker in the field.
📷 ANA-MPA (Eleni Markou)
I really like the photo, because it connects a lot: The thinker in the field.
📷 ANA-MPA (Eleni Markou)
November 25, 2024 at 7:13 PM
Colin Renfrew, a truly influential personality in archaeology, passed away the night before last. Few people have shaped #archaeology & in particular the theoretical debates as much as he did.
I really like the photo, because it connects a lot: The thinker in the field.
📷 ANA-MPA (Eleni Markou)
I really like the photo, because it connects a lot: The thinker in the field.
📷 ANA-MPA (Eleni Markou)