Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Adrián Maldonado

@archaeonado.bsky.social

2.2K followers 330 following 210 posts

Galloway Hoard Researcher at National Museums Scotland. Author of Crucible of Nations: Scotland from Viking Age to Medieval Kingdom and other archaeology content. https://www.nms.ac.uk/profile/dr-adrian-maldonado See also @almostarch.bsky.social

www.nms.ac.uk

Posts Media Videos Starter Packs

Pinned

Adrián Maldonado @archaeonado.bsky.social · Aug 13

Thrilled to say the new Whithorn guidebook by me is now available to buy online!

A Maldonado 2025. Cold Case Reopened: A Guide to Whithorn’s Early Medieval Archaeology. Whithorn Trust

I'll be speaking about it at this year's Wigtown Book Festival - stay tuned!

www.whithorn.com/product/whit...

Fanned display of copies of the guidebook Maldonado, A. (2025) Cold Case Reopened: A Guide to Whithorn’s Early Medieval Archaeology. Whithorn: Whithorn Trust.

9 23

Reposted by Adrián Maldonado

The Govan Stones @govanstones.bsky.social · 3d

🎯 Our #totaliser reaches 83%!

Can YOU help us get over the line?

🎯 tghts.enthuse.com/cf/graveyard...

Fundraiser target, with £8,255 of £10,000 raised.

14 14

Adrián Maldonado @archaeonado.bsky.social · 4d

Publication alert! An all-too-rare collab with Prof Stephen Driscoll, updating his chapter for the venerable old Archaeology of Britain textbook in its shiny new 3rd edition. A snapshot of current work on early medieval Scotland and Wales. Put it on your reading lists!
doi.org/10.4324/9780...

Early medieval Celtic Britain | 12 | v3 | The early historic period |

The vacuum created by the collapse of the Roman province of Britannia created a vortex of movement which would shape the centuries to come. Some Roman citizens

doi.org

3 9

Reposted by Adrián Maldonado

Dr Tom Horne @hornesupremacy.bsky.social · 5d

Probably from an early Viking raid, Jonah and the 'whale' feature on this Insular crozier found on the Swedish island of Helgö in Lake Mälaren, that region's central trade hub and productive site before the rise of Birka on neighbouring Björkö.

My 📷 | Ref. Historiska museet

Ornate crozier head with Biblical scenes.

8 55

Adrián Maldonado @archaeonado.bsky.social · 5d

Summary report and consultation here haveyoursay.historicenvironment.scot/comms-media/...

Properties and Collections Strategy: Towards Sustainable Stewardship consultation - Historic Environment Scotland - Citizen Space

Find and participate in consultations run by Historic Environment Scotland

haveyoursay.historicenvironment.scot

Adrián Maldonado @archaeonado.bsky.social · 5d

HES asking the public which properties they should dump next?

"...the strategy acknowledges that 'not all sites and collections are equally important' and that 'it may not be possible or necessary for us to be the custodians of a place forever'"

The Scotsman @scotsman.com · 6d

Historic Environment Scotland embarks on 'difficult and emotional' decisions over future of 300 properties
www.scotsman.com/heritage-and...

'Difficult and emotional' decisions start on future of 300 of Scotland's historic sites

There are tough talks ahead on the future of Scotland’s prized historic sites as climate change, costs and rising visitor numbers take their toll

www.scotsman.com

1 3 7

Adrián Maldonado @archaeonado.bsky.social · 9d

Thanks to the Wigtown Book Festival for hosting the Whithorn Trust to formally launch the new guidebook Cold Case Reopened: A Guide to the Early Medieval Archaeology of Whithorn. 106 people filled the Main Hall on a dreich Wednesday evening! Get your copy here www.whithorn.com/product/whit...

Adrián Maldonado launching the guidebook Cold Case Reopened at the Wigtown Book Festival, 1 Oct 2025

Adrián Maldonado and Julia Muir Watt of the Whithorn Trust launching the guidebook Cold Case Reopened at the Wigtown Book Festival, 1 Oct 2025

Reposted by Adrián Maldonado

Helen Gittos @helengittos.bsky.social · 12d

Need to get that central parting just so? This is the (C13th) tool for you! A rare gravoir made of red deer antler found at Eilean Donan Castle & now @ntlmuseumsscot.bsky.social. This one's for @cfwood.bsky.social, thanks to @archaeonado.bsky.social for posting. www.thenational.scot/news/2550068...

3 13

Adrián Maldonado @archaeonado.bsky.social · 12d

Read the full story of the incredible medieval finds from excavations at Eilean Donan Castle via the National Museums Scotland website - now in English and Gaelic www.nms.ac.uk/discover-cat...

Excavating medieval Eilean Donan / A’ cladhach Eilean Donnain Meadhan-aoiseil | National Museums Scotland

Eilean Donan in Wester Ross is an iconic site. It's one of the most instantly recognisable and photographed castles in Scotland. Situated in a breathtaking

www.nms.ac.uk

4 15

Adrián Maldonado @archaeonado.bsky.social · 12d

Cool colleagues doing cool stuff again - that's Dr Blackwell @earlymedieval.bsky.social nearly blurred out back there in this story of cool medieval finds from excavations at Eliean Donan Castle www.thenational.scot/news/2550068...

Rare medieval hair-styling tool found during Highland castle excavation

A RARE 13th-century tool for styling hair has been acquired by a museum after it was discovered in an excavation ...

www.thenational.scot

1 11 30

Adrián Maldonado @archaeonado.bsky.social · 14d

Scenes from the Wigtown Book Festival

Poster depicting a softly-lit woman reading placidly in the woods, with the message, 'Reading: because murder is wrong'

The Scottish Room of The Bookshop, Wigtown, showing antiquarian volumes lit by a deer-antler chandelier

Memorial blue plaque for Captain Cat, who was black and white and took no shite, outside The Bookshop, Wigtown

Adrián Maldonado @archaeonado.bsky.social · 14d

Happening this Wednesday! Come get nerdy and support the fabulous Whithorn Trust!

Adrián Maldonado @archaeonado.bsky.social · Sep 9

Excited to speak at the fabulous Wigtown Book Festival this year! Hear how we squeezed the 656-page excavation monograph plus new analysis into a 36-page guidebook. Cold Case Reopened: Whithorn's Origins Explained: 1 October, tickets still available! tickets.wigtownbookfestival.com/sales/events...

Adrián Maldonado @archaeonado.bsky.social · 16d

And for anyone really wanting to get nerdy, the full published account of Martin Carver and his team's excavations at Portmahomack is now available to download for FREE via @socantscot.bsky.social books.socantscot.org/digital-book...

Portmahomack on Tarbat Ness: Changing Ideologies in North-East Scotland, Sixth to Sixteenth Century AD | Open Access E-Books

books.socantscot.org

4 10

Adrián Maldonado @archaeonado.bsky.social · 16d

Portmahomack in the news! Come see the inscribed stone mentioned here on display at National Museums Scotland, and then head up to the Tarbat Discovery Centre for ultimate enlightenment www.theguardian.com/books/2025/s...

New research may rewrite origins of the Book of Kells, says academic

Exclusive: Author challenges assumption monks on Iona created manuscript, instead positing its origins are Pictish

www.theguardian.com

1 3 9

Reposted by Adrián Maldonado

The Pictish Arts Society @pictishartssociety.bsky.social · 16d

Next weekend! The Pictish Arts Society conference 2025, with 8 expert speakers on Pictish metalwork and sculpture - from the legacy of Roman silver to new insights on Sueno's Stone, cross-slabs at Skinnet and Ulbster, and Pictish bull carvings. 4-5 Oct, online via Zoom. Agenda and booking link:

Conf | The PAS

www.thepictishartssociety.org.uk

1 5 9

Reposted by Adrián Maldonado

Clare Downham @downham.bsky.social · 17d

Free book download of collected papers on Knowledge Commons ‘No Horns on their Helmets? essays on the Insular Viking Age’ #medievalsky #history #vikingsky #archaeology works.hcommons.org/records/xc6k...

No Horns on their Helmets? Essays on the Insular Viking Age

Collected papers, including 1 An imaginary viking-raid on Skye in 795? 2 Annals, armies, and artistry: 'The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle', 865–96 3 'Hiberno-Norwegians' and 'Anglo-Danes': anachronistic ethni...

works.hcommons.org

15 27

Reposted by Adrián Maldonado

NTS-Archaeology @nts-archaeology.bsky.social · 22d

Find of the dig so far! Fantastic medieval carved boss from ribbed vaulting of Melrose Abbey. What a cracker! #Priorwood Garden @n-t-s.bsky.social

1 5 42

Reposted by Adrián Maldonado

The Govan Stones @govanstones.bsky.social · 19d

🎉 We've hit 10,000 Facebook followers!

💲 Please help us raise £10,000 of crucial funding - Just £1 per follower would get us to our goal.

Thank you all so much for following, and for any donation you can make!

tghts.enthuse.com/cf/graveyard...

Graveyard Guardians: showcasing Govan's Archaeology and Natural Heritage

Govan Heritage Trust is hoping you can help us raise £10,000 for a project that will transform the future of the Govan Stones and Govan Old. We're raising money for a 2-year initiative that will showc

tghts.enthuse.com

12 17

Adrián Maldonado @archaeonado.bsky.social · 19d

The author will be joined by master craftsman and artist Thomas Keyes who uses the vellum-making technology used to make the pages of the Book of Kells, and as uniquely discovered in excavations at the early medieval monastery of Portmahomack, for his Kells-inspire artwork scribalstyles.net

Naomh Calumcille Ann an Alba by Thomas Keyes via https://scribalstyles.net/

1 6

Adrián Maldonado @archaeonado.bsky.social · 19d

Exciting book launch event!!

Dr Victoria Whitworth: The Book of Kells: Unlocking the Enigma is finally out, and you can celebrate it (and snag a copy) at the Tarbat Discovery Centre on 11 October.

Tickets at www.tickettailor.com/events/tarba...

(1/2)

1 10 20

Reposted by Adrián Maldonado

The Pictish Arts Society @pictishartssociety.bsky.social · 23d

Just to add that the conference is fully online, not (per the link below) in Brechin. We look forward to seeing you there!

Daniel MacLean @danielmaclean.bsky.social · 23d

THE PICTISH ARTS SOCIETY CONFERENCE!!

Day 1, Metal and Metalwork
Day 2, New research on Pictish Art and it’s Context

Book below!

facebook.com/events/s/pas...

PAS Annual Conference 2025

Event in Brechin, United Kingdom by The Pictish Arts Society on Saturday, October 4 2025

facebook.com

3 6

Reposted by Adrián Maldonado

National Museum of Ireland @nmireland.bsky.social · 23d

One of the highlights of Words on the Wave at @NMIreland is Cod. Sang. 51—an 8th-c. Irish Gospel book with rare depictions of the Crucifixion & Second Coming. On display until 24 Oct. 🕊️
More: www.museum.ie/en-IE/Collec...

Depiction of the Second Coming in the ‘Irish Gospels of St Gall’; St. Gallen, Stiftsbibliothek, Cod. Sang 51, p. 267. © Stiftsbibliothek St. Gallen

27 95

Reposted by Adrián Maldonado

David Stifter 🍵📄🦊 @davidstifter.bsky.social · 29d

Breaking news: The new, revised, updated Ogham in 3D website is now live:

ogham.celt.dias.ie

Choose "inscriptions" in the menu.

Ogham

ogham.celt.dias.ie

2 38 87

Reposted by Adrián Maldonado

Trix @trixranderson.bsky.social · Sep 12

By the 9th century, ringed pins were a common dress accessory, with Scandinavian designs swiftly altering and adapting the more plain Insular originals. Adrián Maldonado @archaeonado.bsky.social's 2024 article for History Scotland charts this development, and is well worth a read - link below. /5

The long, strange journey of Viking-age ringed pins

An illustrated overview of the evidence for Viking-age ringed pins in Scotland, with an emphasis on their long-term changes over time and connections across Gaeldom in the ninth to twelfth centuries. ...

www.academia.edu

1 1 4

Reposted by Adrián Maldonado

ArchaeoPlays @archaeoplays.bsky.social · 29d

Pre-orders for Carved in Stone are open!! This book is gorgeous, and I am so grateful to use it (and the artwork!) in my videos.

You can pre-order from @stoutstoat.co.uk here: www.stoutstoat.co.uk/carvedinstone

Thanks to @archaeonado.bsky.social for the endorsement!

🏺 #archaeology #ArchaeologySky

A young person with braided red hair rides a spotted brown horse through trees, a determined look on their face. They have a brown cloak, a yellow tunic/dress, and black leggings. They're carrying a water flask and a leather book satchel. Whatever message they're carrying, it's clearly urgent.

On the left of the image, there is a quote: "It's basically the best book on the Picts ever written. By starting from Scotland's environment and incorporating lessons from archaeology, history and art, this brings the Picts to life more effectively than any other depiction I've yet seen." from Dr Adrián Maldonado, National Museums Scotland.

2 17 48

Adrián Maldonado @archaeonado.bsky.social · Sep 11

Glasgow's radical history! Check out this @gbptrust.bsky.social event next week on 'how ordinary Glaswegians took on an arrogant landowner and successfully defended the "liberties of the banks of the Clyde"'

Just one of many events for Glasgow Doors Open Days www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/harvies-dy...

4 7