Alison Fisk
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alisonfisk.bsky.social
Alison Fisk
@alisonfisk.bsky.social
13K followers 3.6K following 2K posts
Recent Masters degree in Archaeological Practice at Birkbeck, University of London.
Here to share my love of archaeology.
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Reposted by Alison Fisk
kpw1453.bsky.social
The Bronze Age ‘Corrard Torc’ which was found in a bog in County Fermanagh by a metal detectorist in 2009. Now part of the collections at the Ulster Museum in Belfast. 📸 My own. #Prehistory #Archaeology #UlsterMuseum
February 16, 2026 at 7:06 AM
Reposted by Alison Fisk
pottedhistory.bsky.social
The sigh of relief upon completion of this Bronze-Age beaker, with decoration requiring around 2400 individual tool impressions. #Archaeology 🏺The burnishing on the surface is just the result of turning it round in my hands while decorating it. For more Prehistoric Pottery visit potted-history.co.uk
February 18, 2026 at 12:11 PM
Reposted by Alison Fisk
willsheehan.bsky.social
Just wow.
alisonfisk.bsky.social Alison Fisk @alisonfisk.bsky.social · 23h
The Roman Pharos (lighthouse) at Dover, still standing after almost 2,000 years! 🤩

It is the tallest surviving Roman structure in Britain, and one of only three surviving lighthouses from the former Roman Empire! Dated 1st-2nd century AD.

📷 me

#Archaeology
My photo shows the ruin of an eight-sided Roman brick lighthouse with four stepped levels. There is a central arched opening (doorway) at ground level. On the upper three levels, in line with the doorway, there are narrow rectangular window openings. The lighthouse stands 15.8 metres high and is 12.2 metres wide at the base. Roman fabric survives to a height of 12.5 m. The brickwork of the uppermost level was reconstructed for use as a church bell tower for the adjacent Anglo-Saxon church of St Mary in Castro, which can be glimpsed on the right-hand side of my photo. The lighthouse is dated circa 1st century to early- 2nd century AD. It was one of a pair originally built on each side of the Roman port of Dubris (Dover). The other does not survive. This lighthouse stands within the grounds of Dover Castle.
February 17, 2026 at 8:31 PM
Reposted by Alison Fisk
kpw1453.bsky.social
Roman parade helmet showing a winged cupid riding a chariot. The brass helmet was found at Trimontium Roman Fort, near Newstead in the Scottish Borders. Now part of the collections at the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh. 📸 My own. #ReliefWednesday #RomanScotland
February 18, 2026 at 8:41 AM
Reposted by Alison Fisk
kpw1453.bsky.social
The Fiskerton Log Boat which was discovered during excavations on the banks of the River Witham near Fiskerton in Lincolnshire. The oak boat dates to the Iron Age, and is now on display at Lincoln Museum. 📸 My own. #Woodensday #Prehistory #Fiskerton #LincolnMuseum
February 18, 2026 at 8:41 AM
Reposted by Alison Fisk
antiquity.ac.uk
1959 research suggested Dover Castle, where the Pharos is located, began as an Iron Age hillfort! #HillfortsWednesday

The earthworks conform to neither Norman nor Plantagenet standards, so may have been a holdover from the ancient defences.

(£) doi.org/10.1017/S000...

📷 Chensiyuan / CC BY-SA 4.0
Aerial view of Dover Castle atop a hill.
February 18, 2026 at 12:24 PM
Reposted by Alison Fisk
alisonfisk.bsky.social
The Roman Pharos (lighthouse) at Dover, still standing after almost 2,000 years! 🤩

It is the tallest surviving Roman structure in Britain, and one of only three surviving lighthouses from the former Roman Empire! Dated 1st-2nd century AD.

📷 me

#Archaeology
My photo shows the ruin of an eight-sided Roman brick lighthouse with four stepped levels. There is a central arched opening (doorway) at ground level. On the upper three levels, in line with the doorway, there are narrow rectangular window openings. The lighthouse stands 15.8 metres high and is 12.2 metres wide at the base. Roman fabric survives to a height of 12.5 m. The brickwork of the uppermost level was reconstructed for use as a church bell tower for the adjacent Anglo-Saxon church of St Mary in Castro, which can be glimpsed on the right-hand side of my photo. The lighthouse is dated circa 1st century to early- 2nd century AD. It was one of a pair originally built on each side of the Roman port of Dubris (Dover). The other does not survive. This lighthouse stands within the grounds of Dover Castle.
February 17, 2026 at 6:36 PM
Reposted by Alison Fisk
japrenticewrites.bsky.social
I love this lighthouse. I really like places where you can see the evolution and incorporation of older structures. A Roman Pharos getting used as part of a Medieval church inside a major castle is such a fun bit of history.
Roman Pharos from outside, against the church Roman Pharos from inside. Floors are missing but you can see the light spilling through the windows Another shot of the church and pharos
February 17, 2026 at 8:08 PM
alisonfisk.bsky.social
The Roman Pharos (lighthouse) at Dover, still standing after almost 2,000 years! 🤩

It is the tallest surviving Roman structure in Britain, and one of only three surviving lighthouses from the former Roman Empire! Dated 1st-2nd century AD.

📷 me

#Archaeology
My photo shows the ruin of an eight-sided Roman brick lighthouse with four stepped levels. There is a central arched opening (doorway) at ground level. On the upper three levels, in line with the doorway, there are narrow rectangular window openings. The lighthouse stands 15.8 metres high and is 12.2 metres wide at the base. Roman fabric survives to a height of 12.5 m. The brickwork of the uppermost level was reconstructed for use as a church bell tower for the adjacent Anglo-Saxon church of St Mary in Castro, which can be glimpsed on the right-hand side of my photo. The lighthouse is dated circa 1st century to early- 2nd century AD. It was one of a pair originally built on each side of the Roman port of Dubris (Dover). The other does not survive. This lighthouse stands within the grounds of Dover Castle.
February 17, 2026 at 6:36 PM
Reposted by Alison Fisk
drnwillburger.bsky.social
During various excavations at the Roman fort in Osterburken, more than 120 arrowheads and spearheads were discovered. Some are of Roman origin, most are of Germanic type. The fort was attacked around the middle of the 3rd c.AD. These finds highlight the intense threat to Roman territory...🧵1/2
Close-up photo of over various arrowheads and spearheads arranged in a dense cluster on a black background, showcasing their varied shapes.
February 17, 2026 at 11:14 AM
Reposted by Alison Fisk
archiremag.bsky.social
In Archaeology Ireland (Summer 2015), Nora White, Gary Devlin & Fionbarr Moore explored 3D recording of ogham inscriptions.

Now you can explore the ogham stone at Kilmalkedar Church in high-resolution 3D via The Discovery Programme.

sketchfab.com/3d-models/ki...
Kilmalkedar Ogham Stone (RGB) - 3D model by The Discovery Programme (@discoveryprogramme)
Kilmalkedar Ogham Stone (RGB) - 3D model by The Discovery Programme (@discoveryprogramme)
sketchfab.com
February 13, 2026 at 7:13 AM
Reposted by Alison Fisk
archaeologymag.bsky.social
The little 2.5-inch copper-alloy tool was first thought to be an awl or simple punching tool, but archaeologists have now determined it was a drill, the earliest known one from Egypt—used some 5,300 years ago!

archaeology.org/news/2026/02/11/oldest-egyptian-metal-drill-identified/
February 13, 2026 at 7:30 PM
Reposted by Alison Fisk
londoner007.bsky.social
Love this. Other goodies to be seen at Fitzwilliam, Cambridge uk till 12 Apr fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/plan-your-vi...
Made in Ancient Egypt
Made in Ancient Egypt exhibition at Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge
fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk
February 15, 2026 at 12:50 PM
Reposted by Alison Fisk
alisonfisk.bsky.social
Happy #WorldHippoDay! 🦛❤️

To celebrate here’s a lovely naturalistic painting of a hippo on a small flake of limestone. Painted by an Egyptian artist some 3,500 years ago!

📷 The Met www.metmuseum.org/art/collecti...

#Archaeology
Photo of an Ancient Egyptian artists’s small, naturalistic painting of a standing hippopotamus on a flake of white limestone, dated c. 1479–1425. The hippo is painted in profile with head lowered and to the right. The body is outlined with black paint and painted brown. The belly, eyes, and ears are painted red. Although the ancient Egyptians were well aware of the danger and destructive power of hippos, this painted hippo has rather a friendly face! Dimensions: H. 10.8 cm (4 1/4 in); W. 12 cm (4 3/4 in); Th. 1.7 cm (11/16 in) Egyptian artists made practice sketches on flakes of limestone, sometimes for use as templates when transferring an image to the wall of a tomb or a temple. Limestone flakes were readily available because of the constant construction of temples and rock-cut tombs. A number of such sketches were recovered at Deir el-Bahri during the 1922-23 MMA excavations. This painting was acquired by the museum in the division of finds.
February 15, 2026 at 11:30 AM
Reposted by Alison Fisk
archaeohawke.bsky.social
#WorldHippoDay

#Roman mosaic with hippopotamus
on display in Naples Archaeological Museum. This is one of the Nile mosaics found in the House of the Faun in the ancient ruined Roman city of #Pompeii. #art
#AncientBlueSky
February 15, 2026 at 2:07 PM
Reposted by Alison Fisk
drnwillburger.bsky.social
Apparently it's #WorldHippoDay! 🦛🦛
Let's celebrate with this #Egyptian carving of a Hippo, made 5.000 years ago from calcite.

Hippopotami were associated with life, regeneration, and rebirth.

On display at Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek

📷 me 🏺
Carving of a hippopotamus figurine made from calcite, featuring a stocky body, prominent bulging eyes, short legs, and textured surface, displayed on a glass shelf.
February 15, 2026 at 12:23 PM
Reposted by Alison Fisk
vanadissaves.bsky.social
Here's my contribution to this special day.
Egyptian hippo figure from probably 2130 -1991 B.C.
February 15, 2026 at 4:44 PM
Reposted by Alison Fisk
apistone.bsky.social
LOOK AT THIS LITTLE GUY! 😍😍😍
alisonfisk.bsky.social Alison Fisk @alisonfisk.bsky.social · 3d
Happy #WorldHippoDay! 🦛❤️

To celebrate here’s a lovely naturalistic painting of a hippo on a small flake of limestone. Painted by an Egyptian artist some 3,500 years ago!

📷 The Met www.metmuseum.org/art/collecti...

#Archaeology
Photo of an Ancient Egyptian artists’s small, naturalistic painting of a standing hippopotamus on a flake of white limestone, dated c. 1479–1425. The hippo is painted in profile with head lowered and to the right. The body is outlined with black paint and painted brown. The belly, eyes, and ears are painted red. Although the ancient Egyptians were well aware of the danger and destructive power of hippos, this painted hippo has rather a friendly face! Dimensions: H. 10.8 cm (4 1/4 in); W. 12 cm (4 3/4 in); Th. 1.7 cm (11/16 in) Egyptian artists made practice sketches on flakes of limestone, sometimes for use as templates when transferring an image to the wall of a tomb or a temple. Limestone flakes were readily available because of the constant construction of temples and rock-cut tombs. A number of such sketches were recovered at Deir el-Bahri during the 1922-23 MMA excavations. This painting was acquired by the museum in the division of finds.
February 15, 2026 at 2:09 PM
alisonfisk.bsky.social
Happy #WorldHippoDay! 🦛❤️

To celebrate here’s a lovely naturalistic painting of a hippo on a small flake of limestone. Painted by an Egyptian artist some 3,500 years ago!

📷 The Met www.metmuseum.org/art/collecti...

#Archaeology
Photo of an Ancient Egyptian artists’s small, naturalistic painting of a standing hippopotamus on a flake of white limestone, dated c. 1479–1425. The hippo is painted in profile with head lowered and to the right. The body is outlined with black paint and painted brown. The belly, eyes, and ears are painted red. Although the ancient Egyptians were well aware of the danger and destructive power of hippos, this painted hippo has rather a friendly face! Dimensions: H. 10.8 cm (4 1/4 in); W. 12 cm (4 3/4 in); Th. 1.7 cm (11/16 in) Egyptian artists made practice sketches on flakes of limestone, sometimes for use as templates when transferring an image to the wall of a tomb or a temple. Limestone flakes were readily available because of the constant construction of temples and rock-cut tombs. A number of such sketches were recovered at Deir el-Bahri during the 1922-23 MMA excavations. This painting was acquired by the museum in the division of finds.
February 15, 2026 at 11:30 AM
Reposted by Alison Fisk
alisonfisk.bsky.social
This Ancient Egyptian board game is almost 4,000 years old!

Known as ‘Hounds and Jackals’ or ‘Game of 58 holes’, its original name is unknown. It’s suggested it was played in a similar way to ‘Snakes and Ladders’.

📷 The Met www.metmuseum.org/art/collecti...

#Archaeology
Met Museum photo of an ancient Egyptian board game carved from cream-coloured ivory displayed against a dark background. The original name of the game is unknown. It is now known as ‘Hounds and Jackals’ or the ‘Game of 58 holes’. The game board rests on four bulls' legs. One of the legs, seen at back of the board on the right of photo, is completely restored. Another has a restored hoof (seen at front of the board on left). The board is shaped like an axe head. In the centre of the upper surface is an incised palm tree topped by a ‘Shen’ symbol (a circle atop a a horizontal line to which it is tied). The palm’s trunk runs down the length of the board. There are 58 holes in the upper surface; 29 arranged evenly on either side of the palm tree. At the lower side of the game board there is a drawer with a bolt to store the playing pieces. The playing pieces are made up of ten long pins (sticks) with carved animal heads. Five are hounds and five are jackals. In the photo, the ten pins are arranged randomly in holes on the game board. The board is carved from ivory with ebony detailing around the 58 holes. The pins are ivory. Measurements: Game board: H 6.8cm W 10.1 cm, D 15.6 cm. Hound pins: H 6 cm to 6.8 cm Jackal pins: H 7 cm to 8.5 cm
 The game was excavated in 1910 by Howard Carter from the tomb of an official named Reniseneb at Thebes. The tomb is dated to Dynasty 12, Reign of Amenemhat IV, circa 1814–1805 BC. “Ancient Egyptians likened the intricate voyage through the underworld to a game. This made gaming boards and gaming pieces appropriate objects to deposit in tombs” (The Met).
February 14, 2026 at 11:05 AM
Reposted by Alison Fisk
chapps.bsky.social
This is an extremely rare and the best example of Roman glassware with wavy sides, a type known as a ‘handkerchief‘ bowl - so named because the design mimics the folded, drooping appearance of a cloth handkerchief. 🏺 #ancientbluesky 1/

3rd-4th c. CE. #MetMuseum
📸 me
Translucent blue green glass; trail in the same color. Intact; a few large bubbles; small patches of soil encrustation, weathering, and iridescence. Vessels that have been deliberately worked to create a wavy rim and sides are extremely rare in Roman glassware. This bowl is perhaps the best example known to have survived. A handkerchief bowl (or vase) is a decorative glass piece designed to mimic the folded, drooping appearance of a cloth handkerchief. Popularized in the modern era by Italian glassmakers in the 1940s and 50s, it remains a popular form. 3rd-4th century CE. H.: 3 5/8 in. (9.3 cm) Met Museum, New York (17.194.314)
February 14, 2026 at 3:08 PM
Reposted by Alison Fisk
alisonfisk.bsky.social
Look at the superb hound and jackal detail on these ancient game pieces! 😍

📷 The Met
A close up side view of nine of the ivory hound and jackal pins placed in holes on the game board
February 14, 2026 at 11:11 AM
Reposted by Alison Fisk
rikworth.bsky.social
We added Hound and Jackals to Pet Tell Tales: Ancient Egypt. Seemed fitting as it’s a chapter about a bored girl and her dog.

Plus I like the games rule gag at the bottom of the first page.
A comic strip of a girl and a dog arriving to play an ancient Egyptian game
February 14, 2026 at 1:40 PM
Reposted by Alison Fisk
shirleyrl.bsky.social
Ancient #BoardGames 🙂
alisonfisk.bsky.social Alison Fisk @alisonfisk.bsky.social · 4d
This Ancient Egyptian board game is almost 4,000 years old!

Known as ‘Hounds and Jackals’ or ‘Game of 58 holes’, its original name is unknown. It’s suggested it was played in a similar way to ‘Snakes and Ladders’.

📷 The Met www.metmuseum.org/art/collecti...

#Archaeology
Met Museum photo of an ancient Egyptian board game carved from cream-coloured ivory displayed against a dark background. The original name of the game is unknown. It is now known as ‘Hounds and Jackals’ or the ‘Game of 58 holes’. The game board rests on four bulls' legs. One of the legs, seen at back of the board on the right of photo, is completely restored. Another has a restored hoof (seen at front of the board on left). The board is shaped like an axe head. In the centre of the upper surface is an incised palm tree topped by a ‘Shen’ symbol (a circle atop a a horizontal line to which it is tied). The palm’s trunk runs down the length of the board. There are 58 holes in the upper surface; 29 arranged evenly on either side of the palm tree. At the lower side of the game board there is a drawer with a bolt to store the playing pieces. The playing pieces are made up of ten long pins (sticks) with carved animal heads. Five are hounds and five are jackals. In the photo, the ten pins are arranged randomly in holes on the game board. The board is carved from ivory with ebony detailing around the 58 holes. The pins are ivory. Measurements: Game board: H 6.8cm W 10.1 cm, D 15.6 cm. Hound pins: H 6 cm to 6.8 cm Jackal pins: H 7 cm to 8.5 cm
 The game was excavated in 1910 by Howard Carter from the tomb of an official named Reniseneb at Thebes. The tomb is dated to Dynasty 12, Reign of Amenemhat IV, circa 1814–1805 BC. “Ancient Egyptians likened the intricate voyage through the underworld to a game. This made gaming boards and gaming pieces appropriate objects to deposit in tombs” (The Met).
February 14, 2026 at 11:11 AM
alisonfisk.bsky.social
This Ancient Egyptian board game is almost 4,000 years old!

Known as ‘Hounds and Jackals’ or ‘Game of 58 holes’, its original name is unknown. It’s suggested it was played in a similar way to ‘Snakes and Ladders’.

📷 The Met www.metmuseum.org/art/collecti...

#Archaeology
Met Museum photo of an ancient Egyptian board game carved from cream-coloured ivory displayed against a dark background. The original name of the game is unknown. It is now known as ‘Hounds and Jackals’ or the ‘Game of 58 holes’. The game board rests on four bulls' legs. One of the legs, seen at back of the board on the right of photo, is completely restored. Another has a restored hoof (seen at front of the board on left). The board is shaped like an axe head. In the centre of the upper surface is an incised palm tree topped by a ‘Shen’ symbol (a circle atop a a horizontal line to which it is tied). The palm’s trunk runs down the length of the board. There are 58 holes in the upper surface; 29 arranged evenly on either side of the palm tree. At the lower side of the game board there is a drawer with a bolt to store the playing pieces. The playing pieces are made up of ten long pins (sticks) with carved animal heads. Five are hounds and five are jackals. In the photo, the ten pins are arranged randomly in holes on the game board. The board is carved from ivory with ebony detailing around the 58 holes. The pins are ivory. Measurements: Game board: H 6.8cm W 10.1 cm, D 15.6 cm. Hound pins: H 6 cm to 6.8 cm Jackal pins: H 7 cm to 8.5 cm
 The game was excavated in 1910 by Howard Carter from the tomb of an official named Reniseneb at Thebes. The tomb is dated to Dynasty 12, Reign of Amenemhat IV, circa 1814–1805 BC. “Ancient Egyptians likened the intricate voyage through the underworld to a game. This made gaming boards and gaming pieces appropriate objects to deposit in tombs” (The Met).
February 14, 2026 at 11:05 AM