Alex D
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alexdown.bsky.social
Alex D
@alexdown.bsky.social
9 followers 51 following 5 posts
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Reposted by Alex D
theguardian.com
Egypt’s vast $1bn museum to open in Cairo after two-decade build
Egypt’s vast $1bn museum to open in Cairo after two-decade build
Grand Egyptian Museum near Giza pyramids billed as world’s largest archaeological facility for single civilisation
www.theguardian.com
October 31, 2025 at 6:32 AM
Reposted by Alex D
nytimes.com
The Grand Egyptian Museum, outside Cairo, has been delayed by revolutions, wars, financial crises and a pandemic. At long last, here’s a look inside.
The Grand Egyptian Museum Is Finally Open. (Well, Mostly.)
The Grand Egyptian Museum, outside Cairo, has been delayed by revolutions, wars, financial crises and a pandemic. At long last, here’s a look inside.
www.nytimes.com
April 16, 2025 at 5:06 PM
alexdown.bsky.social
Loved it Jim @mosaicjim.bsky.social - fantastic to read about your experiences in, on and around the dig. And thanks to @hellenicsociety.bsky.social for making me aware of the book in Argo!
August 25, 2026 at 5:02 PM
Reposted by Alex D
wmarybeard.bsky.social
The wonderful Pat Easterling has sadly died. I remember her here: her collaborative scholarship (coffee or a drink not a tetchy email) & her great bon mot that Classics teaches you "to read difficult things", www.the-tls.com/regular-feat...
Farewell to Pat Easterling
There can hardly have been a classicist in the UK (or many further afield) whose professional and personal lives were not in some way touched by Professor
www.the-tls.com
August 20, 2026 at 6:32 PM
Reposted by Alex D
wmarybeard.bsky.social
There's been a lot online about Cambridge and its teaching. I'm retired (recently) but in my book Talking Classics I try to capture what my career of teaching at Cambridge entailed & meant. www.amazon.co.uk/Talking-Clas... Or listen to Tom Hiddleston on just that podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/c...
Talking Classics: THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER: Amazon.co.uk: Beard, Professor Mary: 9781805220312: Books
Buy Talking Classics: THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER Main by Beard, Professor Mary (ISBN: 9781805220312) from Amazon's Book Store. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders.
www.amazon.co.uk
August 9, 2026 at 8:42 PM
Reposted by Alex D
wmarybeard.bsky.social
You can still catch up with Count Binface explaining the classical roots of his political philosophy here! www.youtube.com/watch?v=FfMv...
Classic Chats: Count Binface (Bonus episode)
YouTube video by Instant Classics
www.youtube.com
August 6, 2026 at 8:46 AM
Reposted by Alex D
emilyrcwilson.bsky.social
I wrote about the Nolan Odyssey for the LRB. I'll summarize some of my main points below, in case you don't feel like reading all that.

www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
Emily Wilson · An Uncomplicated Man
As they say at the awards shows, I was humbled to learn that Christopher Nolan has read at least the first line of my...
www.lrb.co.uk
July 27, 2026 at 12:58 PM
Reposted by Alex D
kingsclassics.bsky.social
How do you make a Roman mosaic? In May, KCL students were guided by Dr Will Wootton and mosaic artist Giulia Vogrig to create the new mosaic for the Roman villa at Butser Ancient Farm! You can watch it being made here:

#MosaicMonday

www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZIiG...
Making the corridor mosaic at Butser Ancient Farm
YouTube video by Art Making
www.youtube.com
July 13, 2026 at 12:38 PM
Reposted by Alex D
hellenicsociety.bsky.social
'The Odyssey (2026): a few thoughts' smugfacelazybones.wordpress.com/2026/07/17/t...
The Odyssey (2026): a few thoughts
Just back from watching Christopher Nolan’s much-hyped and long-awaited cinematic adaptation of The Odyssey, so I wanted to get a few thoughts down quickly because my goldfish brain doesn’t h…
smugfacelazybones.wordpress.com
July 20, 2026 at 7:21 PM
Reposted by Alex D
rezekjoe.bsky.social
The inimitable, sublime Louise Glück:
TELEMACHUS DETACHMENT When I was a child looking at my parents' lives, you know what I thought? I thought heartbreaking. Now I think heartbreaking, but also insane. Also very funny.
July 17, 2026 at 2:51 PM
Reposted by Alex D
nelsonjenny.bsky.social
Mark Kermode's Surround Sound is here in all its hardback glory! Out on Sept 11th on @picadorbooks.bsky.social and available to pre-order now.

@kermodemovie.bsky.social and I will be chatting about it on Tuesday 5.45pm at @edbookfest.bsky.social - our first official publicity event for the book!
August 8, 2025 at 2:58 PM
Reposted by Alex D
cambup-archaeology.cambridge.org
Published in #Cambridge's #ClassicalStudies and #Archaeology journals, articles in this free-access collection bring together recent scholarly research on the #history, archaeology and cultural dynamics of #RomanBritain: ✅➡️ cup.org/3YMP1hO
Promotional image titled 'Roman Britain from Cambridge' featuring two people walking along the remnants of Hadrian's Wall in a lush, green landscape.
May 19, 2025 at 9:26 AM
Reposted by Alex D
emilyrcwilson.bsky.social
This beautiful new metrical verse translation of the Aeneid, by Scott McGill and Susannah Wright, with introduction by me, will be available in August. You can pre-order now!
cover of "The Aeneid by Virgil", gold and dark blue, showing Roman image of wounded warrior Aeneas with his weeping son, Astyanax/ Iulus.
May 17, 2025 at 2:38 PM
Reposted by Alex D
theromansoc.bsky.social
'Sussex archaeology project gains registered charity status'
Sussex archaeology project gains registered charity status
The popular Culver Archaeological Project has celebrated its 21 years of investigations into the Roman heritage of Barcombe and Ringmer by becoming a registered charity (no. 1212865). The project has...
www.sussexexpress.co.uk
May 15, 2025 at 5:09 PM
Reposted by Alex D
aucpress.bsky.social
This #EarthDay, we spotlight "The Ghosts of Iraq’s Marshes" by Steve Lonergan & Jassim Al-Asadi—on the destruction and restoration of a #UNESCO-protected #Ecosystem .
tinyurl.com/ReadaboutIra...
Q&A with Steve Lonergan: tinyurl.com/QnAwithAuthor

#earhday #Heritage #books #aucpress
April 22, 2025 at 5:19 PM
Reposted by Alex D
reblambert.bsky.social
“His dream must have seemed so close that he could hardly fail to grasp it. He did not know that it was already behind him…”

100 years ago today…
The front cover of the first edition of The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald
April 10, 2025 at 6:53 AM
Reposted by Alex D
theromansoc.bsky.social
New 5-week course 'The Origins of Rome' by Professor Tim Cornell

Starts Wednesday 2 April, 6pm-7.30pm (UK time) with online recordings available.

More information and registration at: www.hellenicandromanlibrary.org/Events/Event...

Image: 'Aeneas fleeing from Troy' painted by Pompeo Batoni
March 19, 2025 at 6:09 PM
Reposted by Alex D
rogueclassicist.bsky.social
The Edithorial: My Telegraph article on Gladiators in Britain
edithorial.blogspot.com/2025/01/my-t...
My Telegraph article on Gladiators in Britain
The brutal reality of gladiators in Roman Britain Headless skeletons, feral bears and female fighters – a new British Museum show revolu...
edithorial.blogspot.com
January 26, 2025 at 7:25 PM
Reposted by Alex D
romanpalace.bsky.social
For Blue Monday we can't think of anything more appropriate than this charming depiction of a man getting his face eaten off by a leopard.

#MosaicMonday
A horrific image of a someone who seems to have his hands tied behind his back. A big cat (the predator kind, not the overfed pet kind) has jumped up at him and is devouring his face. Blood splashes on the floor.
January 20, 2025 at 9:30 AM
Reposted by Alex D
theduncanmackay.bsky.social
If you’re interested in the story of the Roman conquest of Britain, this new episode of the Ancients has just dropped in which Tristan Hughes & I trace the bloody events of AD43 & beyond. Hope you enjoy!
open.spotify.com/episode/1lTa...
The Roman Invasion of Britain
The Ancients · Episode
open.spotify.com
January 16, 2025 at 1:17 PM
Reposted by Alex D
theguardian.com
Axing the Latin excellence scheme: a classic mistake I Letters
Axing the Latin excellence scheme: a classic mistake I Letters
Senior academics call for a government rethink on scrapping the Latin excellence programme We are representatives of university departments offering classical studies and of learned societies concerned with classics nationally and internationally, and we…
www.theguardian.com
January 12, 2025 at 4:12 PM
Reposted by Alex D
theclassicslibrary.bsky.social
‘They see it is living’: Durham professor’s mission to get more pupils into classics
‘They see it is living’: Durham professor’s mission to get more pupils into classics
Arlene Holmes-Henderson wants all children in UK to have equal access to classical education
buff.ly
January 2, 2025 at 2:00 PM
Reposted by Alex D
whatsfsaid.bsky.social
As we move into the holidays, please remember: READING FOR PLEASURE has the biggest impact of any factor on children's life chances. So never stop sharing books with kids, talking about books, making books central to everything you do. Never stop changing their lives! #literacy #EduSky #books
December 18, 2024 at 10:42 PM