Roberta Mazza
@robertamazza.bsky.social
Papyrologist and Ancient Historian
https://www.unibo.it/sitoweb/r.mazza/en
https://facesandvoices.wordpress.com/
https://www.unibo.it/sitoweb/r.mazza/en
https://facesandvoices.wordpress.com/
Reposted by Roberta Mazza
We’re thrilled that @robertamazza.bsky.social is at the CSMC today! Tonight, she will give a talk on ‘Papyrology and Reparations’, addressing the regimes of violence, injustice, and inequality that papyrology has been enmeshed in since colonial times.
Hybrid event, all welcome!
uhh.de/csmc-mazza
Hybrid event, all welcome!
uhh.de/csmc-mazza
October 23, 2025 at 10:12 AM
We’re thrilled that @robertamazza.bsky.social is at the CSMC today! Tonight, she will give a talk on ‘Papyrology and Reparations’, addressing the regimes of violence, injustice, and inequality that papyrology has been enmeshed in since colonial times.
Hybrid event, all welcome!
uhh.de/csmc-mazza
Hybrid event, all welcome!
uhh.de/csmc-mazza
Reposted by Roberta Mazza
‘Thanks to journalists such as Anas al-Sharif and his colleagues who risked their lives, for over six hundred days the genocide has been live-streamed for the world to see. And yet we are told we must wait for the experts.’
Stefan Tarnowski on Gaza and the media: www.lrb.co.uk/blog/2025/au...
Stefan Tarnowski on Gaza and the media: www.lrb.co.uk/blog/2025/au...
Stefan Tarnowski | Plausible Deniability
From the sieges within the siege, Palestinian journalists are smeared as terrorists and assassinated by airstrike. Even...
www.lrb.co.uk
August 19, 2025 at 10:55 AM
‘Thanks to journalists such as Anas al-Sharif and his colleagues who risked their lives, for over six hundred days the genocide has been live-streamed for the world to see. And yet we are told we must wait for the experts.’
Stefan Tarnowski on Gaza and the media: www.lrb.co.uk/blog/2025/au...
Stefan Tarnowski on Gaza and the media: www.lrb.co.uk/blog/2025/au...
Reposted by Roberta Mazza
Currently compiling a mailing list for my blog. If you would like to be added to the list to receive updates about new posts and related presentations, please send me a brief message at the address given here:
About
This blog is dedicated to the dispersed manuscript heritage of St Catherine’s Monastery at Mount Sinai, Egypt. The library of this ancient monastery hosts one of the world’s most important manuscript ...
medisi.hypotheses.org
August 19, 2025 at 9:37 AM
Currently compiling a mailing list for my blog. If you would like to be added to the list to receive updates about new posts and related presentations, please send me a brief message at the address given here:
Reposted by Roberta Mazza
Okay I'm going to join in.
One like, one fact/opinion about portrait panels/Roman Egypt.
One like, one fact/opinion about portrait panels/Roman Egypt.
I'll play.
One like, one Athenian legal case.
One like, one Athenian legal case.
I'm knackered after a full day of travelling yesterday, so let's do this.
One like, one curse tablet.
One like, one curse tablet.
August 7, 2025 at 8:48 AM
Okay I'm going to join in.
One like, one fact/opinion about portrait panels/Roman Egypt.
One like, one fact/opinion about portrait panels/Roman Egypt.
When students are better than those who teach them...
The student newspaper.
This fell. To the student. Newspaper.
This fell. To the student. Newspaper.
Stanford University’s student-run newspaper sued two senior Trump administration officials Wednesday, challenging Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s ability to revoke student visas and deem an individual deportable based on the content of their speech.
August 7, 2025 at 7:59 AM
When students are better than those who teach them...
Reposted by Roberta Mazza
By the way, it's a very interesting podcast, thank you for working on that with the BBC! For those who haven't listened to it yet: pca.st/6qsrnxx4
Intrigue
Ben Lewis unravels the tangled story of a Christian billionaire family, stolen relics, fake treasures and the scholar turned sleuth who exposed the scandal of biblical proportions. Intrigue: 'Jaw-drop...
pca.st
August 6, 2025 at 7:16 AM
By the way, it's a very interesting podcast, thank you for working on that with the BBC! For those who haven't listened to it yet: pca.st/6qsrnxx4
Reposted by Roberta Mazza
Second Rare Inscription Honoring Justinian and Theodora Unearthed in Kosovo’s Ancient City of Ulpiana - Arkeonews
arkeonews.net/second-rare-...
arkeonews.net/second-rare-...
Second Rare Inscription Honoring Justinian and Theodora Unearthed in Kosovo’s Ancient City of Ulpiana - Arkeonews
A second rare inscription dedicated to Emperor Justinian and Empress Theodora has been unearthed at the ancient city of Ulpiana, offering new
arkeonews.net
August 3, 2025 at 5:08 PM
Second Rare Inscription Honoring Justinian and Theodora Unearthed in Kosovo’s Ancient City of Ulpiana - Arkeonews
arkeonews.net/second-rare-...
arkeonews.net/second-rare-...
Reposted by Roberta Mazza
This was an incredible season to record. I would like to thank our season 4 guests for sharing their wisdom and making our fields better through their scholarship and advocacy. They demonstrate everyday that things do not need to go on as they always have.
For the final episode of #PeoplingPodcast Season 4, we are joined by Dr. Yannis Hamilakis to discuss his vision for a decolonial future for ancient archaeology.
peoplingthepast.com/2025/07/29/p...
#Ancient #Mediterranean #Archaeology #Decolonialism #CulturalHeritage /1
peoplingthepast.com/2025/07/29/p...
#Ancient #Mediterranean #Archaeology #Decolonialism #CulturalHeritage /1
July 29, 2025 at 4:10 PM
This was an incredible season to record. I would like to thank our season 4 guests for sharing their wisdom and making our fields better through their scholarship and advocacy. They demonstrate everyday that things do not need to go on as they always have.
Reposted by Roberta Mazza
Project Brazen, producer of the “Dynamite Doug” podcast, has published 3 letters illustrating some of the historic collaboration between London dealer Spink & Son and indicted trafficker Douglas Latchford. There are many interesting details. Here are a few. (Thread)
shorturl.at/jabhT
shorturl.at/jabhT
Explosive Rockefeller Letters Expose Met Museum's Looted Harihara
At Whale Hunting, we illuminate hidden worlds and expose closely-held secrets. Today, we’re pulling back the velvet curtain on one of the world’s most prestigious museums: the Met.
Our latest investi...
shorturl.at
July 29, 2025 at 4:30 PM
Project Brazen, producer of the “Dynamite Doug” podcast, has published 3 letters illustrating some of the historic collaboration between London dealer Spink & Son and indicted trafficker Douglas Latchford. There are many interesting details. Here are a few. (Thread)
shorturl.at/jabhT
shorturl.at/jabhT
Reposted by Roberta Mazza
This seems to have resonated on here too (I cannot tell you how happy this makes me) so I'll add some of the reasoning:
I asked a lot of friends & family who are not academics (often not readers of non-fiction what they would do if they wanted to know more about a topic they were interested in).
🧵
I asked a lot of friends & family who are not academics (often not readers of non-fiction what they would do if they wanted to know more about a topic they were interested in).
🧵
A lot of people have mentioned they loved the 'Want to Know More?' section of my book – basically an annotated bibliography but with a clear statement on citation ethics (shout out to Sara Ahmed) and a focus on *accessible* scholarship.
That means blogs, podcasts, books for a popular audience.
🧵
That means blogs, podcasts, books for a popular audience.
🧵
July 9, 2025 at 12:47 PM
This seems to have resonated on here too (I cannot tell you how happy this makes me) so I'll add some of the reasoning:
I asked a lot of friends & family who are not academics (often not readers of non-fiction what they would do if they wanted to know more about a topic they were interested in).
🧵
I asked a lot of friends & family who are not academics (often not readers of non-fiction what they would do if they wanted to know more about a topic they were interested in).
🧵
Reposted by Roberta Mazza
See also Nadia Abu El-Haj's _Facts on the Ground: Archaeological Practice and Territorial Self-Fashioning in Israeli Society_ (2002)
July 6, 2025 at 2:16 AM
See also Nadia Abu El-Haj's _Facts on the Ground: Archaeological Practice and Territorial Self-Fashioning in Israeli Society_ (2002)
Reposted by Roberta Mazza
The needs of our communities cannot be subject to the whims of the wealthy.
Charity is no substitute for taxation.
Charity is no substitute for taxation.
Priscilla Chan’s decision to stop funding the school she opened to help struggling families shows the risks for communities reliant on wealthy private donors.
The Chan-Zuckerbergs stopped funding social causes. 400 kids lost their school.
Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg’s retreat from funding social issues forced the closure of a school Chan opened for disadvantaged families in Silicon Valley.
www.washingtonpost.com
June 29, 2025 at 6:40 PM
The needs of our communities cannot be subject to the whims of the wealthy.
Charity is no substitute for taxation.
Charity is no substitute for taxation.
Reposted by Roberta Mazza
Check out this gorgeous Sri Lankan purple sapphire ring found in a medieval castle in Slovakia. It might have belonged to a bishop. 🏺🧪
Medieval gold ring found in castle in Slovakia has rare purple sapphire imported from Sri Lanka
An analysis of a 700-year-old ring found in a Hungarian castle reveals a unique reddish-purple sapphire set in 18-karat gold with a lion decoration.
www.livescience.com
June 20, 2025 at 8:01 PM
Check out this gorgeous Sri Lankan purple sapphire ring found in a medieval castle in Slovakia. It might have belonged to a bishop. 🏺🧪
Reposted by Roberta Mazza
Fascinating feature in @theobserveruk.bsky.social about identifying counterfeit objects from contemporary luxury goods to ancient papyrus. @msrachelcooke.bsky.social and @donnalferguson.bsky.social speak to experts on spotting fakes.
observer.co.uk/style/featur...
observer.co.uk/style/featur...
The real deal: our fascination with fakes – and how to sp...
With talented counterfeiters at the top of their game, how on earth do you spot a fake? And does it really matter anyway?
observer.co.uk
June 16, 2025 at 10:04 AM
Fascinating feature in @theobserveruk.bsky.social about identifying counterfeit objects from contemporary luxury goods to ancient papyrus. @msrachelcooke.bsky.social and @donnalferguson.bsky.social speak to experts on spotting fakes.
observer.co.uk/style/featur...
observer.co.uk/style/featur...
Reposted by Roberta Mazza
What’s next on ‘Collecting Religion?’ Kathryn Barush digs into Major Arcana iconography, working across historical collections & her own. Read “Shuffle the Codex: Collecting tarot cards as medieval pilgrimage narratives” here: collectingreligion.wordpress.com/2025/06/09/s...
Shuffle the Codex: Collecting tarot cards as medieval pilgrimage narratives
by Kathryn Barush Twenty years ago, I set off for Dharamsala, a hill station in North India, with a backpack stuffed full of notebooks, watercolor tubes, brushes, masking tape, and folding plastic …
collectingreligion.wordpress.com
June 10, 2025 at 11:54 AM
What’s next on ‘Collecting Religion?’ Kathryn Barush digs into Major Arcana iconography, working across historical collections & her own. Read “Shuffle the Codex: Collecting tarot cards as medieval pilgrimage narratives” here: collectingreligion.wordpress.com/2025/06/09/s...
Reposted by Roberta Mazza
What a gorgeous postdoc - for a moment I thought they were looking for a papyrologist with Latin AND Greek AND Demotic, which seemed like a LOT for 34k, but there are TWO jobs on this great project - phew! www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DNL359/p...
Postdoctoral Research Associate in Papyrology (Demotic Papyri) at University of Exeter
Discover Postdoctoral Research Associate in Papyrology (Demotic Papyri) jobs and more in higher education on jobs.ac.uk. Apply for further details on the top job board.
www.jobs.ac.uk
June 10, 2025 at 12:02 PM
What a gorgeous postdoc - for a moment I thought they were looking for a papyrologist with Latin AND Greek AND Demotic, which seemed like a LOT for 34k, but there are TWO jobs on this great project - phew! www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DNL359/p...
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Several German collections hold manuscripts from St Catherine's Monastery, Sinai, whose current situation was recently covered by various international news outlets. How and when did they get there? I wrote about this for the Qalamos blog @qalamos.bsky.social. Read here:
@dehypotheses.bsky.social
@dehypotheses.bsky.social
Das Erbe eines Gescheiterten – Überreste der Sammlung Grote in Deutschland
Von Peter Tarras Die Plünderung der Handschriftensammlung des St. Katharinenklosters im Süden der Sinaihalbinsel durch europäische Gelehrte, besonders in der zweiten Hälfte des 19. Jahrhunderts, ist e...
od-portal.hypotheses.org
June 10, 2025 at 9:20 AM
👇👇👇
Reposted by Roberta Mazza
Excellent reporting on the surge in looting in Syria post-Assad. Featuring @atharproject.bsky.social. @counteringcrime.bsky.social @museumofloot.bsky.social www.theguardian.com/world/2025/j...
Looted from Syria, sold on Facebook: antiquities smuggling surges after fall of Assad
Collapse of once-feared security apparatus, coupled with widespread poverty, has triggered a gold rush
www.theguardian.com
June 9, 2025 at 1:32 AM
Excellent reporting on the surge in looting in Syria post-Assad. Featuring @atharproject.bsky.social. @counteringcrime.bsky.social @museumofloot.bsky.social www.theguardian.com/world/2025/j...
Reposted by Roberta Mazza
a must listen for anyone who loves museums! When and why were cultural &anthropological museums founded? What is the connection to empire & colonialism? Listen to learn about museum origins & what we can do to move museums in more ethical directions 👏
#PeoplingThePast #CulturalHeritage #MuseumLife
#PeoplingThePast #CulturalHeritage #MuseumLife
In today’s episode of #PeoplingPodcast, we are joined by @profdanhicks.bsky.social to discuss the role of modern museums in colonial mythologies, and what a path forward for ethical museums might look like: peoplingthepast.com/2025/05/27/p...
#Ancient #Mediterranean #Museums #Colonialism
#Ancient #Mediterranean #Museums #Colonialism
May 30, 2025 at 10:37 PM
a must listen for anyone who loves museums! When and why were cultural &anthropological museums founded? What is the connection to empire & colonialism? Listen to learn about museum origins & what we can do to move museums in more ethical directions 👏
#PeoplingThePast #CulturalHeritage #MuseumLife
#PeoplingThePast #CulturalHeritage #MuseumLife
Reposted by Roberta Mazza
Case of the Day: Head of Alexander
In February 2018, the Manhattan DA's office seized this long-missing head of Alexander from dealer Alan Safani's Safani Gallery, in NYC. Excavated from the Basilica Emilia in the Roman Forum some time after 1909, it was stolen from Museo Forense in 1958.
In February 2018, the Manhattan DA's office seized this long-missing head of Alexander from dealer Alan Safani's Safani Gallery, in NYC. Excavated from the Basilica Emilia in the Roman Forum some time after 1909, it was stolen from Museo Forense in 1958.
May 30, 2025 at 5:58 PM
Case of the Day: Head of Alexander
In February 2018, the Manhattan DA's office seized this long-missing head of Alexander from dealer Alan Safani's Safani Gallery, in NYC. Excavated from the Basilica Emilia in the Roman Forum some time after 1909, it was stolen from Museo Forense in 1958.
In February 2018, the Manhattan DA's office seized this long-missing head of Alexander from dealer Alan Safani's Safani Gallery, in NYC. Excavated from the Basilica Emilia in the Roman Forum some time after 1909, it was stolen from Museo Forense in 1958.
Reposted by Roberta Mazza
I think I'd honestly like to know how someone justifies this with their faith www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
Family of four-year-old who would ‘die within days’ fighting deportation from US to Mexico
Deysi Vargas, her husband and ‘Sofia’ entered country legally in 2023 on humanitarian grounds to seek medical care
www.theguardian.com
May 29, 2025 at 6:59 PM
I think I'd honestly like to know how someone justifies this with their faith www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
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Did you know there are now FIVE episodes of #PeoplingPodcast Season 4 available to listen to?! If you've missed any of these fantastic discussions, here's a handy recap thread for you! In episode 1, we chatted to @anthropaulicy.bsky.social about illicit antiquities trading
bsky.app/profile/peop... 👇
bsky.app/profile/peop... 👇
The #PeoplingPodcast is BACK! Today, to kick off Season 4, we are joined by Katie Paul to discuss the role of Facebook in the illicit antiquities trade, and how the company has been complicit in the sale and destruction of cultural heritage. Listen here: peoplingthepast.com/2025/04/29/p...
May 29, 2025 at 5:55 PM
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On today’s new #PeoplingPodcast, we are joined by the wonderful Dr. Heba Abd el Gawad to discuss the legacies of colonialism in the field of Egyptology, and the importance of community-based research in anti-colonial action. Listen in here: peoplingthepast.com/2025/05/13/p...
May 13, 2025 at 4:33 PM
I was dreaming of being a guest of #PeoplingPodcast @peoplingthepast.bsky.social and then it finally happened! Follow them NOW 🔥❤️👇
New #PeoplingPodcast alert! Today, we are joined by @robertamazza.bsky.social to discuss the antiquities trade in both the past and the present, the ethics behind papyrology, and the illicit papyrus trade in academia. Listen in to “Fragments and Falsehoods” here: peoplingthepast.com/2025/05/06/p...
May 6, 2025 at 3:11 PM
I was dreaming of being a guest of #PeoplingPodcast @peoplingthepast.bsky.social and then it finally happened! Follow them NOW 🔥❤️👇