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wadejones90.bsky.social
Wade Jones
@wadejones90.bsky.social
81 followers 53 following 380 posts
Archaeology🏺 New Forest 🌳
Ringwood, UK 🇬🇧
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Wade Jones @wadejones90.bsky.social · 26d
wadejones90.bsky.social
The exhibition of a generation has opened!
Bayeux Tapestry unveiled to UK public for first time at British Museum
Visitors tell the BBC it was a "real privilege" to be among the first to see the tapestry in England.
www.bbc.co.uk
September 10, 2026 at 5:39 PM
wadejones90.bsky.social
You know it’s serious when you brought a Wharram Percy Red English Heritage Guidebook on EBay for £25!
September 5, 2026 at 3:39 PM
Reposted by Wade Jones
alisonfisk.bsky.social
Some things never change! 😂

The oldest known written customer complaint dates back almost 4,000 years!

An angry customer called Nanni complained to his copper merchant about poor quality product, lack of refund, and rude customer service!

Sound familiar?

📷 Zunkir

#EpigraphyTuesday
#Archaeology
The image by Zunir shows a tall, rectangular ancient clay tablet densely covered with rows of cuneiform text, displayed upright on a clear stand against a dark museum background. The tablet is Nanni’s famous letter of complaint, written on a clay tablet to a copper merchant named Ea-nasir. Nanni complains that he has been sent low-grade copper, rather than the high quality copper agreed. Ea-nasir has treated Nanni and his messengers with contempt, sending them back without a refund, and telling them "If you want to take them (the copper ingots) take them, if you do not want to take them, go away!" 😮 The complaint was inscribed on a clay tablet using cuneiform script, one of the earliest systems of writing, characterized by its wedge-shaped characters. Tablet dimensions: height 11.6 cm, width 5 cm. Old Babylonian period, 1750 BC. The tablet was excavated by Sir Leonard Woolley at the ancient Mesopotamian city of Ur in modern-day Iraq in the 1920-30s. Acquired in the division of finds.
September 1, 2026 at 2:02 PM
wadejones90.bsky.social
Welcome to the Shire 🌳
August 31, 2026 at 2:31 PM
Reposted by Wade Jones
alisonfisk.bsky.social
Roman clay hot water bottles in the shape of human body parts used for therapeutic purposes some 2,000 years ago!

Found in a building which may have been a healing centre. Paphos Archaeological Museum, Cyprus 📷 by me

#Archaeology
My photo shows a museum display at Paphos Archaeological Museum of ancient Roman red clay vessels shaped like human body parts each of which has a spout with a handle either side, allowing it to be filled with hot water or oil. The clay walls of the vessels are only 3 mm thick so that heat would be conducted to the body. They are comparable in size to the corresponding human parts of the body including ears, torso, groin, hands, thigh, knee, shin, and feet. They are mounted for the display over a simple outline of a human figure, illustrating their possible therapeutic use around 2,000 years ago.
August 30, 2026 at 11:09 AM
Reposted by Wade Jones
drtobydriver.bsky.social
Remarkable Roman statue of Juno Regina standing on a heifer excavated at Chesters Roman fort on Hadrian's Wall 😮🥰

A very high quality example of Roman sculpture depicting the fashions of the day 💃

#RomanSiteSaturday

📷My own, 2025
A Roman stone statue depicting a headless female figure wearing a flowing dress
August 29, 2026 at 7:44 AM
Reposted by Wade Jones
kpw1453.bsky.social
A jet pendant from Roman York (Eboracum) depicting two lovers. The pendant is part of the collections at the Yorkshire Museum in York. 📸 My own. #ReliefWednesday #RomanBritain #YorkshireMuseum #York
August 26, 2026 at 6:14 AM
wadejones90.bsky.social
There is one Roman site I regret not to visit while studying at Newcastle was Corbridge.
August 25, 2026 at 7:35 AM
wadejones90.bsky.social
@playstation.com
August 24, 2026 at 9:16 PM
wadejones90.bsky.social
August 24, 2026 at 9:00 PM
wadejones90.bsky.social
#playstation #sony #nodiscnobuy

@playstation.com I do not accept, forced to accept the terms.
August 24, 2026 at 8:39 PM
wadejones90.bsky.social
Modern day Garum in the local Sainsbury’s
August 23, 2026 at 3:38 PM
Reposted by Wade Jones
durotrigesdig.bsky.social
Hic Arturus rex interfectus est

#Glastonbury #Somerset August 2026
A brown Department of the Environment style sign confirming that King Athur and Guinevere are no more with the remains of an abbey trashed by a later and sadly less fictional monarch behind
August 16, 2026 at 9:21 AM
Reposted by Wade Jones
chris-bh.bsky.social
Who else is climbing a hillfort to watch the solar eclipse this evening?
A perfect place to connect great views, awesome celestial events and the continuous fabric of humankind, surely?
#HillfortsWednesday
August 12, 2026 at 6:25 AM
wadejones90.bsky.social
Hurst Castle 🏰
August 12, 2026 at 8:59 PM
Reposted by Wade Jones
merchantshallyork.org
Is everyone ready for the near total eclipse here in the UK?

We are ready to go!
We are looking at two jaffa cakes - for those uninitiated these are sponge cakes with an orange jelly like filling covered in chocolate.
August 12, 2026 at 12:59 PM
Reposted by Wade Jones
nationaltrust.org.uk
ANNOUNCEMENT:

All our sundials will be out of order this evening between about 6pm and 8pm, we apologise for any inconvenience this may cause. Normal service will resume tomorrow.

In unrelated news, enjoy the eclipse later...

Photos: Mike Selby, Annapurna Mellor, Chris Davies, John Millar
A wall-mounted sundial inside a walled garden. Text on the sundial reads: "fear god, obey ye king" A traditional sundial on a plinth, formal gardens surround it The sun beams down on a traditional sundial, with heather visible in the background A shot of a sundial from above. It's mounted on a stone plinth. Text on the side reads "KEW BRIDGE"
August 12, 2026 at 9:00 AM
wadejones90.bsky.social
O great Pomona, goddess of Gardens, please hear our pray for rain 🌧️
August 11, 2026 at 1:55 PM
Reposted by Wade Jones
archaeohawke.bsky.social
#EpigraphyTuesday

On the site of the Lapis Niger (i.e. Black Stone), was found an ancient inscription in Old Latin from a cultic site where the #Roman Forum now stands, perhaps the earliest #Latin inscription dating to the 7th or 6th century BC.

#Archaeology #History
The Lapis Niger (Latin, "Black Stone") is an ancient shrine in the Roman Forum. Together with the associated Vulcanal (a sanctuary to Vulcan) it constitutes the only surviving remnants of the old Comitium, an early assembly area that preceded the Forum and is thought to derive from an archaic cult site of the 7th or 8th century BC. The black marble paving (1st century BC) and modern concrete enclosure (early 20th century) of the Lapis Niger overlie an ancient altar and a stone block with one of the earliest known Old Latin inscriptions (c. 570–550 BC). The superstructure monument and shrine may have been built by Julius Caesar during his reorganization of the Forum and Comitium space. Alternatively, this may have been done a generation earlier by Sulla during one of his construction projects around the Curia Hostilia. The site was rediscovered and excavated from 1899 to 1905 by Italian archaeologist Giacomo Boni. Mentioned in many ancient descriptions of the Forum dating back to the Roman Republic and the early days of the Roman Empire, the significance of the Lapis Niger shrine was obscure and mysterious to later Romans, but it was always discussed as a place of great sacredness and significance. It is constructed on top of a sacred spot consisting of much older artifacts found about 5 ft (1.5 m) below the present ground level. The name "black stone" may have originally referred to the black stone block (one of the earliest known Latin inscriptions) or it may refer to the later black marble paving at the surface. Located in the Comitium in front of the Curia Julia, this structure survived for centuries due to a combination of reverential treatment and overbuilding during the era of the early Roman Empire. The inscription on the stone block has various interesting features. The inscription is written boustrophedon. Many of the oldest Latin inscriptions are written in this style. The meaning of the inscription is difficult to discern as the beginning and end are missing and only one third to one half of each line survives. It appears, however, to mention a rex or king and to level grave curses at anyone who dares disturb a ritual. Attempts have been made at interpreting the meaning of the surviving fragment by Johannes Stroux, Georges Dumézil and Robert E. A. Palmer. Here is the reading of the inscription as given by Dumézil (on the right the reading by Arthur E. Gordon): I a 1 quoiho... b 2-3 sakros: es/ed:sord... II a 4-5 ...iaias/recei: lo... b 6-7 ...euam/quos: re... III a 8-9 ...m: kalato/rem: ha.... b 10-11 ...od: io: uxmen/takapia: dotau... IV a 12 ...m: i: te: r p e b 13-14 ...m: quoiha/uelod: nequ... c 15 ...od: iouestod/ V 16 loiuquiodpo qvoiho[.]... (or qvoi hoi...) sakros:es/ed:sord... ...[..]a[..]as/recei: ic (or io) ...evam/qvos: re... ...m:kalato/rem: hab (or hal) ...tod:iovxmen/ta: kapia:duo:tavr... m: iter[..]... ...m:qvoiha/velod: neqv... ...[.]od:iovestod/ loivqviodqo...
August 11, 2026 at 8:18 AM
Reposted by Wade Jones
durotrigesdig.bsky.social
A 4th century AD stamp-impressed colour coated New Forest Ware bowl found in a 6th century grave at Winterborne Kingston #Dorset in 2014

The heavily worn nature of bowl suggests it was a prized possession

A family heirloom?

#FindsFriday #Roman #Archaeology
A Roman pottery bowl with stamp impressed decoration held in the blue gloved hand of an archaeologist
August 7, 2026 at 6:48 AM
Reposted by Wade Jones
alisonfisk.bsky.social
Meet Tigernos, one of Britain’s earliest named sailors! ⚓️

A Briton and Roman fleet veteran, his story is recorded on the bronze Lanchester Diploma issued by Antoninus Pius in AD 150. It grants him honourable discharge from the Classis Germanica and Roman citizenship.

#EpigraphyTuesday
#Archaeology
My photo shows the Lanchester Diploma, a rare Roman bronze military diploma on display at Durham Archaeological Museum. The diploma originally consisted of two bronze leaves, each of which has broken into four quarters, making eight fragments. Latin inscriptions can be seen on each fragment. The fragments are green-patinated with age and are mounted on clear acrylic supports. The diploma was issued on 19 November 150 AD by emperor Antoninus Pius and awarded to a Briton named Tigernos who had served in the Roman German fleet known as the Classis Germanicus, probably for a period of 26 years. It records that he was granted an honourable discharge and Roman citizenship on his retirement. It was found by a metal detectorist in 2016 near the Roman fort of Longovicium in Lanchester, County Durham.
August 4, 2026 at 3:11 PM
Reposted by Wade Jones
anforsorrow.bsky.social
Archaeology news! Researchers in Sardis (Turkey) have found a 5th century BCE statue of a young man, which was later cut in two and reused face down as part of the pavement of a Roman road! It is suspected to belong to the Lydian culture and still has fragments of its original polychromy!
Archaeologists working on the statue found in the ancient city of Sardis, Manisa (Turkey) The statue is dated to the first half of the 5th century BCE. Lydian culture. TRT NEWS The statue how it was found, in two fragments, face down and part of the pavement of a Roman road. TRT NEWS. Archaeologists working on removing the statue fragments from the Roman pavement. TRT NEWS. The two main fragments of the statue, depicting a young man holding a fruit. Lydian culture. First half of the 5th century BCE. TRT NEWS.
August 4, 2026 at 12:24 PM
Reposted by Wade Jones
carausius286.bsky.social
This is an Etruscan sarcophagus lid showing a touching, naturalistic representation of a middle aged husband & wife. They lie in bed, toes poking out, holding each other tenderly. It’s a lovely piece but tinged with sadness as it’s a coffin lid & their days of embracing in bed are over
🏛️📷 Boston MFA
July 26, 2026 at 9:35 AM
wadejones90.bsky.social
I have made a decision about English Heritage Red Guides - any sites published before the change in format I will buy now. Any sites published after in the new format, those never been in the Red Guide style, I will continue buy on site. Good example is Gainsborough old Hall and Yarmouth Castle.
July 25, 2026 at 6:53 PM
wadejones90.bsky.social
Collect English Heritage Red Guidebooks from sites visited in person. Recently brought 5 from sites online that I didn’t get or the older version.

Just discovered large and narrow format is replaced with a standard small square. Prefer the classic format, the new one is crammed and small.
July 25, 2026 at 7:46 AM