Helen Gittos
@helengittos.bsky.social
Associate Professor of Medieval History, University of Oxford
Chair, Family Expert Reference Group, National Maternity & Neonatal Taskforce
(I can't read private messages here.)
Chair, Family Expert Reference Group, National Maternity & Neonatal Taskforce
(I can't read private messages here.)
'Occasionally showers of dead wasps rain down from the ceiling of our asbestos lined offices...
... like many places in post-industrial Britain, York is gradually moving from being a net producer to a net consumer of history.'
... like many places in post-industrial Britain, York is gradually moving from being a net producer to a net consumer of history.'
My latest post: On the deindustrialisation of the university. And on being "in defence of history" at a time of extinction. thehistoryfactory.substack.com/p/the-histor...
The History Factory 2: The Deindustrialisation of the University
A few years ago, my employer, the University of York, commissioned a civil engineering firm named Tilbury Douglas to build a new nursery for the children of its employees and students.
thehistoryfactory.substack.com
September 17, 2026 at 8:30 AM
'Occasionally showers of dead wasps rain down from the ceiling of our asbestos lined offices...
... like many places in post-industrial Britain, York is gradually moving from being a net producer to a net consumer of history.'
... like many places in post-industrial Britain, York is gradually moving from being a net producer to a net consumer of history.'
What a list! Lyndal, @lswisnom.bsky.social, @drfrancisyoung.bsky.social! So many congratulations to everyone on it.
We're thrilled to announce the 2026 #WolfsonHistoryPrize shortlist, showcasing six exceptional books that explore how societies navigate periods of seismic change.
Congratulations to all the authors! 👏📚
bit.ly/4yCLe5T
Congratulations to all the authors! 👏📚
bit.ly/4yCLe5T
September 17, 2026 at 8:24 AM
What a list! Lyndal, @lswisnom.bsky.social, @drfrancisyoung.bsky.social! So many congratulations to everyone on it.
'What matters is that patients come first.'
Reading Thirlwall before our next Maternity Taskforce meeting this afternoon...
Report: thirlwall.public-inquiry.uk/the-report/#...
Recommendations: thirlwall.public-inquiry.uk/wp-content/u...
Reading Thirlwall before our next Maternity Taskforce meeting this afternoon...
Report: thirlwall.public-inquiry.uk/the-report/#...
Recommendations: thirlwall.public-inquiry.uk/wp-content/u...
September 15, 2026 at 12:28 PM
'What matters is that patients come first.'
Reading Thirlwall before our next Maternity Taskforce meeting this afternoon...
Report: thirlwall.public-inquiry.uk/the-report/#...
Recommendations: thirlwall.public-inquiry.uk/wp-content/u...
Reading Thirlwall before our next Maternity Taskforce meeting this afternoon...
Report: thirlwall.public-inquiry.uk/the-report/#...
Recommendations: thirlwall.public-inquiry.uk/wp-content/u...
Reposted by Helen Gittos
'The goals of the AI companies and the goals of the mathematical community are severely misaligned. We see these as part of broader alignment issues impacting other scientific and creative professions, as well as the whole of society.'
So. Much. This. 👇
So. Much. This. 👇
A group of 25 Fields Medalists, including myself, have made a joint declaration on Math and AI: mathandai.org . We welcome additional signatories. See also this article in the Economist announcing the declaration: www.economist.com/science-and-...
Declaration — Math and AI
Read the declaration and add your name.
mathandai.org
September 11, 2026 at 7:48 PM
'The goals of the AI companies and the goals of the mathematical community are severely misaligned. We see these as part of broader alignment issues impacting other scientific and creative professions, as well as the whole of society.'
So. Much. This. 👇
So. Much. This. 👇
Reposted by Helen Gittos
Coming soon to British Library, London - Conquest: The Making of Norman England events.bl.uk/exhibitions/...
Conquest: The Making of Norman England | British Library
Beyond the battlefield lies a story of ambition, upheaval and reinvention. Spanning the generations before and after 1066, this exhibition traces the impac
events.bl.uk
September 11, 2026 at 10:13 AM
Coming soon to British Library, London - Conquest: The Making of Norman England events.bl.uk/exhibitions/...
'The goals of the AI companies and the goals of the mathematical community are severely misaligned. We see these as part of broader alignment issues impacting other scientific and creative professions, as well as the whole of society.'
So. Much. This. 👇
So. Much. This. 👇
A group of 25 Fields Medalists, including myself, have made a joint declaration on Math and AI: mathandai.org . We welcome additional signatories. See also this article in the Economist announcing the declaration: www.economist.com/science-and-...
Declaration — Math and AI
Read the declaration and add your name.
mathandai.org
September 11, 2026 at 7:48 PM
'The goals of the AI companies and the goals of the mathematical community are severely misaligned. We see these as part of broader alignment issues impacting other scientific and creative professions, as well as the whole of society.'
So. Much. This. 👇
So. Much. This. 👇
.... And sometimes our hunches prove good, and sometimes not so much. A fascinating if frustratingly futile few days... !
September 11, 2026 at 7:43 PM
.... And sometimes our hunches prove good, and sometimes not so much. A fascinating if frustratingly futile few days... !
A complete copy of the gospel of St John written in Coptic in 1099/1100 and found in a twelfth-century burial in Naqlun, Egypt in 2002 by the Polish Centre of Archaeology. (!!)
pcma.uw.edu.pl/en/2019/02/1...
pcma.uw.edu.pl/en/2019/02/1...
September 11, 2026 at 6:27 PM
A complete copy of the gospel of St John written in Coptic in 1099/1100 and found in a twelfth-century burial in Naqlun, Egypt in 2002 by the Polish Centre of Archaeology. (!!)
pcma.uw.edu.pl/en/2019/02/1...
pcma.uw.edu.pl/en/2019/02/1...
Reposted by Helen Gittos
New *DRAFT* text from our team in #Somerset on the parish of Trull, to the south west (and now a suburb) of #Taunton.
#Skystorians - please note we make this text available for researchers and residents alike. All comments/extra information/corrections gratefully recieved. #LocalHistory
#Skystorians - please note we make this text available for researchers and residents alike. All comments/extra information/corrections gratefully recieved. #LocalHistory
Somerset vols. XIII-XV - The Hundred and Manor of Taunton Deane
The great vale of Taunton Deane fills the space between west Somerset's three ranges of hills: the Brendons in the west, the Quantocks in the east and the Blackdowns in the south.
www.history.ac.uk
September 3, 2026 at 1:40 PM
New *DRAFT* text from our team in #Somerset on the parish of Trull, to the south west (and now a suburb) of #Taunton.
#Skystorians - please note we make this text available for researchers and residents alike. All comments/extra information/corrections gratefully recieved. #LocalHistory
#Skystorians - please note we make this text available for researchers and residents alike. All comments/extra information/corrections gratefully recieved. #LocalHistory
God, I love Corfe.
September 11, 2026 at 4:05 PM
God, I love Corfe.
Reposted by Helen Gittos
Early medievalists may be happy to know that Simon Keynes’s collection of maps of Anglo-Saxon England has now been made freely available via @trincolllibcam.bsky.social These were commissioned by Simon and drawn (by hand) by Reg Piggott between 1991 and 2012. archives.trin.cam.ac.uk/index.php/ma...
Maps of Anglo-Saxon England - archives.trin.cam.ac.uk
archives.trin.cam.ac.uk
September 11, 2026 at 3:10 PM
Early medievalists may be happy to know that Simon Keynes’s collection of maps of Anglo-Saxon England has now been made freely available via @trincolllibcam.bsky.social These were commissioned by Simon and drawn (by hand) by Reg Piggott between 1991 and 2012. archives.trin.cam.ac.uk/index.php/ma...
30 years ago today in the Bulgarian mountains...
September 11, 2026 at 8:34 AM
30 years ago today in the Bulgarian mountains...
Now this 👇 is my idea of a commute!
What if giant slides were part of your commute? The town of Calw in Germany has installed two slides, one 17 metres long and the other 43 metres long, which allow a rapid transfer from the higher district (which has a large school) to the lower inner city.
Calw: Hier kann man künftig einfach vom Stadtgarten Richtung Innenstadt rutschen
Zwei XXL-Rutschen sollen in Calw einen Park mit der Innenstadt verbinden. Vorausgesetzt, der TÜV gibt grünes Licht, geht es dann mit bis zu 35 Kilometern pro Stunde bergab.
www.spiegel.de
September 11, 2026 at 8:04 AM
Now this 👇 is my idea of a commute!
Reposted by Helen Gittos
Alongside national surveillance data, the MBRRACE-UK report brings together findings from confidential enquiries into care and sets out practical recommendations for improving maternity services.
https://www.npeu.ox.ac.uk/mbrrace-uk/reports/maternal-reports/maternal-report-2022-2024
https://www.npeu.ox.ac.uk/mbrrace-uk/reports/maternal-reports/maternal-report-2022-2024
September 10, 2026 at 6:32 AM
Alongside national surveillance data, the MBRRACE-UK report brings together findings from confidential enquiries into care and sets out practical recommendations for improving maternity services.
https://www.npeu.ox.ac.uk/mbrrace-uk/reports/maternal-reports/maternal-report-2022-2024
https://www.npeu.ox.ac.uk/mbrrace-uk/reports/maternal-reports/maternal-report-2022-2024
Reposted by Helen Gittos
MBRRACE-UK recommendations to address the rising UK maternal death rate in the UK - which remains 20% higher than in 2009–11.
Read more here: bit.ly/4iWKtQw
Read more here: bit.ly/4iWKtQw
September 10, 2026 at 3:37 PM
MBRRACE-UK recommendations to address the rising UK maternal death rate in the UK - which remains 20% higher than in 2009–11.
Read more here: bit.ly/4iWKtQw
Read more here: bit.ly/4iWKtQw
Reposted by Helen Gittos
A sixth-century hanging from Egypt, perhaps once a sanctuary curtain and later a burial pall. It shows a processional or altar cross with a tang in a base block - akin to the one in the Staffordshire Hoard. That contained fragments of a silver-gilt casing interpreted as from a wooden cross base.
September 10, 2026 at 7:25 AM
A sixth-century hanging from Egypt, perhaps once a sanctuary curtain and later a burial pall. It shows a processional or altar cross with a tang in a base block - akin to the one in the Staffordshire Hoard. That contained fragments of a silver-gilt casing interpreted as from a wooden cross base.
Reposted by Helen Gittos
Patrick is in Winchester for the Annual Meeting of the British Archaeological Association. With a focus on Roman to Medieval Winchester, what better place to bring the Winchester Studies volumes, including the recently published 3 vol. study, The Anglo-Saxon Minsters of Winchester?
July 20, 2026 at 5:18 PM
Patrick is in Winchester for the Annual Meeting of the British Archaeological Association. With a focus on Roman to Medieval Winchester, what better place to bring the Winchester Studies volumes, including the recently published 3 vol. study, The Anglo-Saxon Minsters of Winchester?
Another plea for @archaeopress.bsky.social to deposit print copies of their books in copyright libraries. I really want to be able to read this 👇
September 10, 2026 at 1:13 PM
Another plea for @archaeopress.bsky.social to deposit print copies of their books in copyright libraries. I really want to be able to read this 👇
There was a bear in Richmond castle in the late eleventh century 👇.
…. in England. References to baiting in sermons, songs and stories also increased. It was particularly associated with music, weddings, and feasts. Both men and women participated and it occurred in castles and in towns. We also radiocarbon dated a bear from Richmond, North Yorkshire…
September 10, 2026 at 12:30 PM
There was a bear in Richmond castle in the late eleventh century 👇.
A sixth-century hanging from Egypt, perhaps once a sanctuary curtain and later a burial pall. It shows a processional or altar cross with a tang in a base block - akin to the one in the Staffordshire Hoard. That contained fragments of a silver-gilt casing interpreted as from a wooden cross base.
September 10, 2026 at 7:25 AM
A sixth-century hanging from Egypt, perhaps once a sanctuary curtain and later a burial pall. It shows a processional or altar cross with a tang in a base block - akin to the one in the Staffordshire Hoard. That contained fragments of a silver-gilt casing interpreted as from a wooden cross base.
A sixth(?)-century hanging from Egypt, perhaps once a sanctuary curtain and later a burial pall. It shows a processional or altar cross with a tang, placed in a base block.
collections.artsmia.org/art/3149/cur...
collections.artsmia.org/art/3149/cur...
September 10, 2026 at 7:04 AM
A sixth(?)-century hanging from Egypt, perhaps once a sanctuary curtain and later a burial pall. It shows a processional or altar cross with a tang, placed in a base block.
collections.artsmia.org/art/3149/cur...
collections.artsmia.org/art/3149/cur...
Reposted by Helen Gittos
As important, I think, is that we can reveal that the 15th-century Battle Cross in Aldborough is another ‘missing’ Arrow, hiding in plain sight.
September 9, 2026 at 6:17 AM
As important, I think, is that we can reveal that the 15th-century Battle Cross in Aldborough is another ‘missing’ Arrow, hiding in plain sight.
The complexity of the finest #lateantique art! A diagram of how this early sixth-century disc brooch is constructed. From Matthias Friedrich's 'Image & Ornament in the Early Medieval West'. Images: Archäologische Staatssammlung Munich.
September 8, 2026 at 9:40 AM
The complexity of the finest #lateantique art! A diagram of how this early sixth-century disc brooch is constructed. From Matthias Friedrich's 'Image & Ornament in the Early Medieval West'. Images: Archäologische Staatssammlung Munich.
A heart-warming thread 👇 for a grey September day!
In Joyce’s Ulysses, Leopold Bloom buys a bar of lemon soap from Sweny’s Chemist. A small episode in an enormous novel, not enough perhaps to stake a substantial claim for this chemist as a Dublin landmark. Modern-day Sweny’s could so easily be an attempt to cash in on this tenuous association -
September 8, 2026 at 7:43 AM
A heart-warming thread 👇 for a grey September day!
