Adrián Maldonado
@archaeonado.bsky.social
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
Pinned
Tolkien: The True Story of the Rings - Watch the full documentary | ARTE in English
J.R.R Tolkien’s fantasy novels hold a unique place in twentieth century English literature and are much loved by readers the world over. This documentary explores the real places in England and elsewh...
www.arte.tv
Yes! By popular demand, TOLKIEN: The True Story of the Rings, is back - and with English subtitles!
A continent-spanning film on the places that inspired JRR Tolkien, which inexplicably has me in it. Co-pro by @artefr.bsky.social and Phoenix, first aired December 2024
www.arte.tv/en/videos/11...
A continent-spanning film on the places that inspired JRR Tolkien, which inexplicably has me in it. Co-pro by @artefr.bsky.social and Phoenix, first aired December 2024
www.arte.tv/en/videos/11...
A mysterious ceramic cross pendant found at the fortress of Dumbarton Rock, but is it early or later medieval? Now on display at the Castle alongside other finds from the early medieval hillfort. Read more on scientific analysis by Historic Environment Scotland: blog.engineshed.scot/2025/07/09/u...
February 16, 2026 at 3:04 PM
A mysterious ceramic cross pendant found at the fortress of Dumbarton Rock, but is it early or later medieval? Now on display at the Castle alongside other finds from the early medieval hillfort. Read more on scientific analysis by Historic Environment Scotland: blog.engineshed.scot/2025/07/09/u...
Reposted by Adrián Maldonado
An upcoming exhibition on Roman Scotland at the National Museum of Scotland will include two Mithraic stone altars found at Inveresk, near Edinburgh 🏛
One of the altars was designed to be backlit in the lamplit gloom of a Mithraeum!🕯
Read more: open.substack.com/pub/historyh...
One of the altars was designed to be backlit in the lamplit gloom of a Mithraeum!🕯
Read more: open.substack.com/pub/historyh...
February 14, 2026 at 3:02 PM
An upcoming exhibition on Roman Scotland at the National Museum of Scotland will include two Mithraic stone altars found at Inveresk, near Edinburgh 🏛
One of the altars was designed to be backlit in the lamplit gloom of a Mithraeum!🕯
Read more: open.substack.com/pub/historyh...
One of the altars was designed to be backlit in the lamplit gloom of a Mithraeum!🕯
Read more: open.substack.com/pub/historyh...
Reposted by Adrián Maldonado
Great new study on early medieval foodways, specifically a lack of fish in cooking pots! Glad it's not just our #ArchaeoFINS pots that lack 🐟! Implication with the human isotopes is that the Vikings adapted to local cuisine & left their fishy ways behind! doi.org/10.15184/aqy...
Cuisine and culture-contact: lipid residue analysis reveals lack of aquatic products in pottery from Viking Age England | Antiquity | Cambridge Core
Cuisine and culture-contact: lipid residue analysis reveals lack of aquatic products in pottery from Viking Age England
doi.org
February 13, 2026 at 9:35 AM
Great new study on early medieval foodways, specifically a lack of fish in cooking pots! Glad it's not just our #ArchaeoFINS pots that lack 🐟! Implication with the human isotopes is that the Vikings adapted to local cuisine & left their fishy ways behind! doi.org/10.15184/aqy...
Reposted by Adrián Maldonado
👀 Post Doctoral Researcher - Osteoarchaeology (18mths/PT)
"This post is part of a Historic Environment Scotland-funded project to collate, record and disseminate the archive of a 1970s excavation of an important Pictish/Norse cemetery at Newark, Orkney ..."
www.uhi.ac.uk/en/staff/vac...
"This post is part of a Historic Environment Scotland-funded project to collate, record and disseminate the archive of a 1970s excavation of an important Pictish/Norse cemetery at Newark, Orkney ..."
www.uhi.ac.uk/en/staff/vac...
Staff - Vacancies - Post-doctoral Researcher - University of the Highlands and Islands
Current listing of UHI jobs with vacancies from all across our partnership.
www.uhi.ac.uk
February 12, 2026 at 12:04 PM
👀 Post Doctoral Researcher - Osteoarchaeology (18mths/PT)
"This post is part of a Historic Environment Scotland-funded project to collate, record and disseminate the archive of a 1970s excavation of an important Pictish/Norse cemetery at Newark, Orkney ..."
www.uhi.ac.uk/en/staff/vac...
"This post is part of a Historic Environment Scotland-funded project to collate, record and disseminate the archive of a 1970s excavation of an important Pictish/Norse cemetery at Newark, Orkney ..."
www.uhi.ac.uk/en/staff/vac...
Mark your calendars!
Roman Scotland: Life on the Edge of Empire
14 November 2026 to 28 April 2027 at National Museums Scotland
Roman Scotland: Life on the Edge of Empire
14 November 2026 to 28 April 2027 at National Museums Scotland
Ancient Roman alters to go on display in Edinburgh
Two Mithraic Roman altars are to be displayed as a part of an upcoming exhibition after being acquired for the nation.
www.bbc.co.uk
February 11, 2026 at 7:26 AM
Mark your calendars!
Roman Scotland: Life on the Edge of Empire
14 November 2026 to 28 April 2027 at National Museums Scotland
Roman Scotland: Life on the Edge of Empire
14 November 2026 to 28 April 2027 at National Museums Scotland
Reposted by Adrián Maldonado
Disturbingly detailed analysis of my first rewatch incoming
February 9, 2026 at 2:30 AM
Disturbingly detailed analysis of my first rewatch incoming
Pictish cross from a broch alert! From Crosskirk Broch, Caithness
PICTURES: Winter stroll leads to historic find: Thurso mother and daughter uncover ancient cross near St Mary’s Chapel
A casual winter stroll along the Caithness coast led a mother and daughter to discover an archaeological marvel hiding in plain sight.
www.johnogroat-journal.co.uk
February 8, 2026 at 10:43 PM
Pictish cross from a broch alert! From Crosskirk Broch, Caithness
Proud of my colleagues @earlymedieval.bsky.social et al. I saw the years of work that went into this firsthand.
Available NOW, free to read online, completely beautiful and packed with discoveries rewriting the end of Empire in Britain and beyond
Available NOW, free to read online, completely beautiful and packed with discoveries rewriting the end of Empire in Britain and beyond
February 6, 2026 at 9:38 AM
Proud of my colleagues @earlymedieval.bsky.social et al. I saw the years of work that went into this firsthand.
Available NOW, free to read online, completely beautiful and packed with discoveries rewriting the end of Empire in Britain and beyond
Available NOW, free to read online, completely beautiful and packed with discoveries rewriting the end of Empire in Britain and beyond
Museum job alert!!
Assisstant Curator Renaissance and Early Modern History at National Museums Scotland
Full time but temporary (mat leave cover)
Closes 18 Feb so don't dilly-dally
careers.nms.ac.uk/job/829206
Assisstant Curator Renaissance and Early Modern History at National Museums Scotland
Full time but temporary (mat leave cover)
Closes 18 Feb so don't dilly-dally
careers.nms.ac.uk/job/829206
Asst Curator Renaissance and Early Modern History
careers.nms.ac.uk
February 5, 2026 at 1:38 PM
Museum job alert!!
Assisstant Curator Renaissance and Early Modern History at National Museums Scotland
Full time but temporary (mat leave cover)
Closes 18 Feb so don't dilly-dally
careers.nms.ac.uk/job/829206
Assisstant Curator Renaissance and Early Modern History at National Museums Scotland
Full time but temporary (mat leave cover)
Closes 18 Feb so don't dilly-dally
careers.nms.ac.uk/job/829206
SMA Conference 2026!
The Society for Medieval Archaeology annual symposium will be in York 19 September 2026, on the theme of Heritage Science.
Call for papers and posters closes Friday 10th April 2026
#MedievalArchaeology #MedievalSky
medievalarchaeology.co.uk/sma-conferen...
The Society for Medieval Archaeology annual symposium will be in York 19 September 2026, on the theme of Heritage Science.
Call for papers and posters closes Friday 10th April 2026
#MedievalArchaeology #MedievalSky
medievalarchaeology.co.uk/sma-conferen...
February 4, 2026 at 8:38 AM
SMA Conference 2026!
The Society for Medieval Archaeology annual symposium will be in York 19 September 2026, on the theme of Heritage Science.
Call for papers and posters closes Friday 10th April 2026
#MedievalArchaeology #MedievalSky
medievalarchaeology.co.uk/sma-conferen...
The Society for Medieval Archaeology annual symposium will be in York 19 September 2026, on the theme of Heritage Science.
Call for papers and posters closes Friday 10th April 2026
#MedievalArchaeology #MedievalSky
medievalarchaeology.co.uk/sma-conferen...
Reposted by Adrián Maldonado
Some incredible claims being made here. The location of Laithlind as Cumbria speculative, mound is most probably *not* the burial location of Ivarr the Boneless, very doubtful this was the location of palace, have yet to see convincing evidence of ship burial. Worrying hyperbole. #medievalsky
February 3, 2026 at 4:31 PM
Some incredible claims being made here. The location of Laithlind as Cumbria speculative, mound is most probably *not* the burial location of Ivarr the Boneless, very doubtful this was the location of palace, have yet to see convincing evidence of ship burial. Worrying hyperbole. #medievalsky
Pictish round barrows, log coffin and decorated IA daub alert!! Finds from Windhill, Muir of Ord in this reel.
Big ups to @hornesupremacy.bsky.social for alerting me to this! If you're not subscribed to his A Whole Lot of History newsletter, you're missing out!!
www.facebook.com/share/r/1Arq...
Big ups to @hornesupremacy.bsky.social for alerting me to this! If you're not subscribed to his A Whole Lot of History newsletter, you're missing out!!
www.facebook.com/share/r/1Arq...
Redirecting...
www.facebook.com
January 31, 2026 at 5:02 PM
Pictish round barrows, log coffin and decorated IA daub alert!! Finds from Windhill, Muir of Ord in this reel.
Big ups to @hornesupremacy.bsky.social for alerting me to this! If you're not subscribed to his A Whole Lot of History newsletter, you're missing out!!
www.facebook.com/share/r/1Arq...
Big ups to @hornesupremacy.bsky.social for alerting me to this! If you're not subscribed to his A Whole Lot of History newsletter, you're missing out!!
www.facebook.com/share/r/1Arq...
Reposted by Adrián Maldonado
Happy St Brigid's weekend! To celebrate we bring you a journey through Europe w/Prof. Jean-Michel Picard, UCD. He has unreal stories of hunting down manuscripts (incl. Napoleon & nazis!) & helps us understand the appeal of Brigid in lands far from Kildare! #brigid open.spotify.com/episode/0Bl4...
St Brigit in Continental Europe with Prof. Jean-Michel Picard
open.spotify.com
January 30, 2026 at 11:16 AM
Happy St Brigid's weekend! To celebrate we bring you a journey through Europe w/Prof. Jean-Michel Picard, UCD. He has unreal stories of hunting down manuscripts (incl. Napoleon & nazis!) & helps us understand the appeal of Brigid in lands far from Kildare! #brigid open.spotify.com/episode/0Bl4...
Reposted by Adrián Maldonado
Job alert: Director for Historic Churches Scotland, deadline Monday 9th February 2026.
Anderson Knight is delighted to be partnering with our member Historic Churches Scotland to appoint a new Director at a pivotal stage in the charity’s development.
For more information, go to: buff.ly/eteYlh1
Anderson Knight is delighted to be partnering with our member Historic Churches Scotland to appoint a new Director at a pivotal stage in the charity’s development.
For more information, go to: buff.ly/eteYlh1
January 29, 2026 at 4:53 PM
Job alert: Director for Historic Churches Scotland, deadline Monday 9th February 2026.
Anderson Knight is delighted to be partnering with our member Historic Churches Scotland to appoint a new Director at a pivotal stage in the charity’s development.
For more information, go to: buff.ly/eteYlh1
Anderson Knight is delighted to be partnering with our member Historic Churches Scotland to appoint a new Director at a pivotal stage in the charity’s development.
For more information, go to: buff.ly/eteYlh1
Reposted by Adrián Maldonado
🚨 Vacancy alert! 🚨 www.sal.org.uk/about-us/vac...
Join us as our Museum Collections Manager and be in charge of a globally important Museum Collection including, but not limited to, Roman, Greek & Egyptian artefacts, Prehistoric & Romano-British Antiquities, Ango-Saxon & Viking objects, & more!
Join us as our Museum Collections Manager and be in charge of a globally important Museum Collection including, but not limited to, Roman, Greek & Egyptian artefacts, Prehistoric & Romano-British Antiquities, Ango-Saxon & Viking objects, & more!
January 29, 2026 at 2:16 PM
🚨 Vacancy alert! 🚨 www.sal.org.uk/about-us/vac...
Join us as our Museum Collections Manager and be in charge of a globally important Museum Collection including, but not limited to, Roman, Greek & Egyptian artefacts, Prehistoric & Romano-British Antiquities, Ango-Saxon & Viking objects, & more!
Join us as our Museum Collections Manager and be in charge of a globally important Museum Collection including, but not limited to, Roman, Greek & Egyptian artefacts, Prehistoric & Romano-British Antiquities, Ango-Saxon & Viking objects, & more!
This is not a drill- Llanbedrgoch finally published!!
This absolute behemoth of a book landed on my doorstep this week, excited to dive into it - but it’s so huge it might take me a good long while! But I spy lots of C14, isotopes & aDNA! ⚛️🧬The much awaited tome on Llanbedrgoch! 🏴 ⚔️ #medievalsky #archaeology @oxbowbooks.bsky.social
January 24, 2026 at 2:02 PM
This is not a drill- Llanbedrgoch finally published!!
Be still my heart
January 22, 2026 at 10:55 AM
Be still my heart
Find out what our favourite osteoarch Jess Thompson has achieved in her first year at NMS!
This seminar is on TODAY (Thurs 22nd of March) at 4:15pm in the Meadows Lecture Theatre! It’s FREE and open to all to attend!
☠️ This week’s OHA/ArchSoc research seminar is by Dr Jess Thompson (National Museums Scotland) “Curating Scotland’s Archaeological Human Remains: Past, Present & Future” 22/01 @ 16:15 in the Meadows LT 📷 Credit: Neil Hanna https://hca.ed.ac.uk/news-events/events/research-seminars/archaeology-seminars
January 22, 2026 at 10:41 AM
Find out what our favourite osteoarch Jess Thompson has achieved in her first year at NMS!
The only good explanation of what's going on in Greenland I've seen anywhere, by Andrew Jennings, UHI Prof of Island Studies
"There is a lesson here for island nations globally: When you sit on critical resources during a great power conflict, 'sovereignty' becomes a negotiation, not a given."
"There is a lesson here for island nations globally: When you sit on critical resources during a great power conflict, 'sovereignty' becomes a negotiation, not a given."
The Arctic Ultimatum:
When "Island Resilience" Meets Great Power Desire
substack.com
January 15, 2026 at 8:55 AM
The only good explanation of what's going on in Greenland I've seen anywhere, by Andrew Jennings, UHI Prof of Island Studies
"There is a lesson here for island nations globally: When you sit on critical resources during a great power conflict, 'sovereignty' becomes a negotiation, not a given."
"There is a lesson here for island nations globally: When you sit on critical resources during a great power conflict, 'sovereignty' becomes a negotiation, not a given."
Hadrian’s Wall and its Trees, ed. by David J. Breeze @archaeopress.bsky.social
Just flipped through a copy of this, and it's rather beautiful. A celebration of life inspired by the death of a tree. All short contributions, from the academic to the poetic
www.archaeopress.com/Archaeopress...
Just flipped through a copy of this, and it's rather beautiful. A celebration of life inspired by the death of a tree. All short contributions, from the academic to the poetic
www.archaeopress.com/Archaeopress...
January 8, 2026 at 9:42 AM
Hadrian’s Wall and its Trees, ed. by David J. Breeze @archaeopress.bsky.social
Just flipped through a copy of this, and it's rather beautiful. A celebration of life inspired by the death of a tree. All short contributions, from the academic to the poetic
www.archaeopress.com/Archaeopress...
Just flipped through a copy of this, and it's rather beautiful. A celebration of life inspired by the death of a tree. All short contributions, from the academic to the poetic
www.archaeopress.com/Archaeopress...
Reposted by Adrián Maldonado
More on the stunning Iron Age carnyx found in #Norfolk with boar standard and shield bosses
👇👇👇
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Found by PreConstruct Archaeology and featuring in episode 2 of the new series of #DiggingForBritain with @profaliceroberts.bsky.social on BBC2
Wowzers 🤩
👇👇👇
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Found by PreConstruct Archaeology and featuring in episode 2 of the new series of #DiggingForBritain with @profaliceroberts.bsky.social on BBC2
Wowzers 🤩
January 7, 2026 at 9:31 AM
More on the stunning Iron Age carnyx found in #Norfolk with boar standard and shield bosses
👇👇👇
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Found by PreConstruct Archaeology and featuring in episode 2 of the new series of #DiggingForBritain with @profaliceroberts.bsky.social on BBC2
Wowzers 🤩
👇👇👇
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Found by PreConstruct Archaeology and featuring in episode 2 of the new series of #DiggingForBritain with @profaliceroberts.bsky.social on BBC2
Wowzers 🤩
Reposted by Adrián Maldonado
A thrilling find from Norfolk - an Iron Age boar standard and a fabulous carnyx to rival the one found in the nineteenth century at Deskford, Moray, in proto-Pictland.
Thetford dig unearths Iron Age war trumpet and boar standard
The discoveries are
www.bbc.co.uk
January 7, 2026 at 9:05 AM
A thrilling find from Norfolk - an Iron Age boar standard and a fabulous carnyx to rival the one found in the nineteenth century at Deskford, Moray, in proto-Pictland.
Reposted by Adrián Maldonado
... not only a carnyx but also a 'bronze boar’s head battle standard'... So much about this that's Deerhurst label stop/ Coppergate helmet but not quite. A reminder perhaps of how much more Iron Age material was still around in the early middle ages?
January 7, 2026 at 9:46 AM
... not only a carnyx but also a 'bronze boar’s head battle standard'... So much about this that's Deerhurst label stop/ Coppergate helmet but not quite. A reminder perhaps of how much more Iron Age material was still around in the early middle ages?
My project over the holiday break was just a lot of rewatching Andor
New post on #AlmostArchaeology! The thrilling conclusion of Luthen and The Louvre: How Andor foretold 2025, by @archaeonado.bsky.social on how the antiquities trade in the Star Wars galaxy predicted a year of museum heists in ours
Luthen and the Louvre: How Andor foretold 2025 (part 2)
By Adrián Maldonado
Among all the ways that Andor seemed to predict the events of 2025, shining a light on the trade in illicit antiquities was probably not on anyone’s bingo card.
In part one of...
almostarchaeology.com
January 6, 2026 at 7:55 AM
My project over the holiday break was just a lot of rewatching Andor
Reposted by Adrián Maldonado
I spent the holiday break thinking about Andor, and so should you! The latest post on #AlmostArchaeology by @archaeonado.bsky.social, with a sequel to follow
Luthen and the Louvre: How Andor foretold 2025 (part 1)
By Adrián Maldonado
It is long ago, and we are far away. In the imperial capital of Coruscant, the gallery of Galactic Antiquities and Objects of Interest receives some visitors. One of them admires.....
almostarchaeology.com
January 2, 2026 at 12:48 PM
I spent the holiday break thinking about Andor, and so should you! The latest post on #AlmostArchaeology by @archaeonado.bsky.social, with a sequel to follow