Dr Eleri Cousins
@elericousins.bsky.social
Asst Prof in Roman Archaeology at Durham. Likes all things Roman Britain/Gaul/Germany and Roman religion, with a side helping of art and epigraphy. Also likes trees and hills.
Pinned
Publication day! “What’s in a name? Cocidius and the Epigraphy of Local Deities in the Roman Empire” now out in Religion in the Roman Empire special issue edited by @ericorlin.bsky.social doi.org/10.1628/rre-... 🥰
This is my first really meaty article to drop post-pandemic and motherhood…🧵🏺
This is my first really meaty article to drop post-pandemic and motherhood…🧵🏺
Reposted by Dr Eleri Cousins
Days when the headlines actually don't over-sell the findings. Both the excavated hoard-with-carnyx and this whetstone industry give us so much more information about local histories.
I know we’ve all got our eyes on that carnyx 👀, but meanwhile in Sunderland we’ve got OVER 800(!) Roman whetstones and seemingly the largest whetstone production site ever found 🤯
We’ve been cautious for months about the date, but the OSL is now in, and yes, it’s Roman 🤩
We’ve been cautious for months about the date, but the OSL is now in, and yes, it’s Roman 🤩
Roman industrial site unearthed on North East riverbank rewrites region's history
Compelling evidence of a Roman industrial hub uncovered on the banks of a North East river has rewritten archaeologists' understanding of the…
www.thenorthernecho.co.uk
January 8, 2026 at 5:10 PM
Days when the headlines actually don't over-sell the findings. Both the excavated hoard-with-carnyx and this whetstone industry give us so much more information about local histories.
I’m glad to be a contributor to this, and it is indeed a lovely book!
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 9:44 AM
I’m glad to be a contributor to this, and it is indeed a lovely book!
It was really exciting to visit this site and advise on the material - it’s just LITTERED with Roman whetstones at all stages of production. So many questions remain about who was making them (and who for!) But over 800 whetstones (so far…) is a scale like nothing we’ve seen before…
January 7, 2026 at 12:38 PM
It was really exciting to visit this site and advise on the material - it’s just LITTERED with Roman whetstones at all stages of production. So many questions remain about who was making them (and who for!) But over 800 whetstones (so far…) is a scale like nothing we’ve seen before…
I know we’ve all got our eyes on that carnyx 👀, but meanwhile in Sunderland we’ve got OVER 800(!) Roman whetstones and seemingly the largest whetstone production site ever found 🤯
We’ve been cautious for months about the date, but the OSL is now in, and yes, it’s Roman 🤩
We’ve been cautious for months about the date, but the OSL is now in, and yes, it’s Roman 🤩
Roman industrial site unearthed on North East riverbank rewrites region's history
Compelling evidence of a Roman industrial hub uncovered on the banks of a North East river has rewritten archaeologists' understanding of the…
www.thenorthernecho.co.uk
January 7, 2026 at 11:55 AM
I know we’ve all got our eyes on that carnyx 👀, but meanwhile in Sunderland we’ve got OVER 800(!) Roman whetstones and seemingly the largest whetstone production site ever found 🤯
We’ve been cautious for months about the date, but the OSL is now in, and yes, it’s Roman 🤩
We’ve been cautious for months about the date, but the OSL is now in, and yes, it’s Roman 🤩
Delightfully unexpected treat of a visit to the site museum at Vallon (Switzerland) yesterday and its stunning mosaic of Bacchus and Ariadne 🤩
I’ve driven by on the motorway dozens of times and had no idea it existed 🤦🏻♀️
#MosaicMonday
I’ve driven by on the motorway dozens of times and had no idea it existed 🤦🏻♀️
#MosaicMonday
January 5, 2026 at 10:12 AM
Delightfully unexpected treat of a visit to the site museum at Vallon (Switzerland) yesterday and its stunning mosaic of Bacchus and Ariadne 🤩
I’ve driven by on the motorway dozens of times and had no idea it existed 🤦🏻♀️
#MosaicMonday
I’ve driven by on the motorway dozens of times and had no idea it existed 🤦🏻♀️
#MosaicMonday
Reposted by Dr Eleri Cousins
Don’t miss Prof Alex Mullen’s free webinar on November 26th at 7pm!
She’ll be presenting the Joan Pye lecture on ‘Tales from the Tablets: recovering the voices of Roman Britain’.
#archaeology #classics #roman 🏺
Book your tickets here: tinyurl.com/Romanvoices
She’ll be presenting the Joan Pye lecture on ‘Tales from the Tablets: recovering the voices of Roman Britain’.
#archaeology #classics #roman 🏺
Book your tickets here: tinyurl.com/Romanvoices
November 10, 2025 at 4:58 PM
Don’t miss Prof Alex Mullen’s free webinar on November 26th at 7pm!
She’ll be presenting the Joan Pye lecture on ‘Tales from the Tablets: recovering the voices of Roman Britain’.
#archaeology #classics #roman 🏺
Book your tickets here: tinyurl.com/Romanvoices
She’ll be presenting the Joan Pye lecture on ‘Tales from the Tablets: recovering the voices of Roman Britain’.
#archaeology #classics #roman 🏺
Book your tickets here: tinyurl.com/Romanvoices
Reposted by Dr Eleri Cousins
New issue of Religion in the Roman Empire Vol. 11, No.2 (2025) www.mohrsiebeck.com/en/issue/rel... @mohrsiebeck.bsky.social The Epigraphy of Roman Religion: Problems and Solutions @ericorlin.bsky.social @elericousins.bsky.social
October 23, 2025 at 10:55 PM
New issue of Religion in the Roman Empire Vol. 11, No.2 (2025) www.mohrsiebeck.com/en/issue/rel... @mohrsiebeck.bsky.social The Epigraphy of Roman Religion: Problems and Solutions @ericorlin.bsky.social @elericousins.bsky.social
Reposted by Dr Eleri Cousins
Oooh. Reading this RIGHT NOW
Publication day! “What’s in a name? Cocidius and the Epigraphy of Local Deities in the Roman Empire” now out in Religion in the Roman Empire special issue edited by @ericorlin.bsky.social doi.org/10.1628/rre-... 🥰
This is my first really meaty article to drop post-pandemic and motherhood…🧵🏺
This is my first really meaty article to drop post-pandemic and motherhood…🧵🏺
October 23, 2025 at 1:34 PM
Oooh. Reading this RIGHT NOW
Publication day! “What’s in a name? Cocidius and the Epigraphy of Local Deities in the Roman Empire” now out in Religion in the Roman Empire special issue edited by @ericorlin.bsky.social doi.org/10.1628/rre-... 🥰
This is my first really meaty article to drop post-pandemic and motherhood…🧵🏺
This is my first really meaty article to drop post-pandemic and motherhood…🧵🏺
October 23, 2025 at 1:32 PM
Publication day! “What’s in a name? Cocidius and the Epigraphy of Local Deities in the Roman Empire” now out in Religion in the Roman Empire special issue edited by @ericorlin.bsky.social doi.org/10.1628/rre-... 🥰
This is my first really meaty article to drop post-pandemic and motherhood…🧵🏺
This is my first really meaty article to drop post-pandemic and motherhood…🧵🏺
This story from @clairemillington.bsky.social about her great grandad and the discovery of the Rudston Venus Mosaic has me completing flipping out…😱🤯🤩 #MosaicMonday
It's the third time this mosaic has popped up for me this week - was reading @elericousins.bsky.social chapter about it and also chatting to mum about the discovery (her mum's dad was the labourer. He was out on his bike when the farmer had ploughed up a few tesserae and was thinking of ploughing...
October 20, 2025 at 8:25 PM
This story from @clairemillington.bsky.social about her great grandad and the discovery of the Rudston Venus Mosaic has me completing flipping out…😱🤯🤩 #MosaicMonday
Hadrian’s Wall and the Whin Sill viewed from Steel Rigg. With some lucky resident cows who I hope enjoy the view 🐄
📷 my own, taken today
📷 my own, taken today
September 11, 2025 at 5:20 PM
Hadrian’s Wall and the Whin Sill viewed from Steel Rigg. With some lucky resident cows who I hope enjoy the view 🐄
📷 my own, taken today
📷 my own, taken today
Reposted by Dr Eleri Cousins
Having a nephew to occupy last week gave me just the excuse i needed to revisit @romanpalace.bsky.social
Now in some ways they need no introduction, they're kinda living legends round these parts but sometimes its nice to have other people say nice things about you
so: thread time 🧵👇
#MosaicMonday
Now in some ways they need no introduction, they're kinda living legends round these parts but sometimes its nice to have other people say nice things about you
so: thread time 🧵👇
#MosaicMonday
August 25, 2025 at 6:04 AM
Having a nephew to occupy last week gave me just the excuse i needed to revisit @romanpalace.bsky.social
Now in some ways they need no introduction, they're kinda living legends round these parts but sometimes its nice to have other people say nice things about you
so: thread time 🧵👇
#MosaicMonday
Now in some ways they need no introduction, they're kinda living legends round these parts but sometimes its nice to have other people say nice things about you
so: thread time 🧵👇
#MosaicMonday
Reposted by Dr Eleri Cousins
🧵/10
The Medusa room, also a place where you can see the palimpsest of later Mosaics being laid over older designs
#MosaicMonday
The Medusa room, also a place where you can see the palimpsest of later Mosaics being laid over older designs
#MosaicMonday
August 25, 2025 at 8:24 AM
🧵/10
The Medusa room, also a place where you can see the palimpsest of later Mosaics being laid over older designs
#MosaicMonday
The Medusa room, also a place where you can see the palimpsest of later Mosaics being laid over older designs
#MosaicMonday
Okay, the Levantine Neolithic is officially scaring the pants off me.
August 11, 2025 at 10:29 AM
Okay, the Levantine Neolithic is officially scaring the pants off me.
I still can’t get over how good this photo of Roman lead bullets taken by @arcdurham.bsky.social students Rowan Colley and Isla Mustin is 🥰.
They did amazing work on the trail I describe in this thread - please do check it out!
www.armittdigitaltrail.co.uk/roman-ambles...
#RomanFortThursday
They did amazing work on the trail I describe in this thread - please do check it out!
www.armittdigitaltrail.co.uk/roman-ambles...
#RomanFortThursday
And here is the final photo for the trail itself 😱 Recent work by Edinburgh Uni and @trimontiumtrust.bsky.social suggests the sling bullets, all found scattered extramurally, are evidence for at least one battle outside the fort between the Roman army and the local population.
#RomanFortThursday
#RomanFortThursday
August 7, 2025 at 3:57 PM
I still can’t get over how good this photo of Roman lead bullets taken by @arcdurham.bsky.social students Rowan Colley and Isla Mustin is 🥰.
They did amazing work on the trail I describe in this thread - please do check it out!
www.armittdigitaltrail.co.uk/roman-ambles...
#RomanFortThursday
They did amazing work on the trail I describe in this thread - please do check it out!
www.armittdigitaltrail.co.uk/roman-ambles...
#RomanFortThursday
Reposted by Dr Eleri Cousins
Had an amazing time with The Armitt, and @nattrustarch.bsky.social . We loved meeting everyone who came along for the tours and got some fantastic feedback!
The trail was officially launched last weekend as part of The Armitt and @nattrustarch.bsky.social’s Ambleside Roman Fort open day for the #FestivalOfArchaeology, with Rowan and @aliceeliz.bsky.social giving trail tours to the public, supported by an @ics.bsky.social public engagement grant.
August 7, 2025 at 1:46 PM
Had an amazing time with The Armitt, and @nattrustarch.bsky.social . We loved meeting everyone who came along for the tours and got some fantastic feedback!
Reposted by Dr Eleri Cousins
A (very short) look at some of what I’m working on during my fellowship at St John’s: www.sjc.ox.ac.uk/discover/res...
Dr Carolyn La Rocco: Female patronage in the late Roman and post-Roman west
In this article, Dr Carolyn La Rocco (CDRF in Classics and Ancient History) discusses her research on female patronage in Late Antiquity (c. 250-750 CE).
www.sjc.ox.ac.uk
August 6, 2025 at 10:08 PM
A (very short) look at some of what I’m working on during my fellowship at St John’s: www.sjc.ox.ac.uk/discover/res...
Reposted by Dr Eleri Cousins
This looks great - hopefully going up to Ambleside next month, so will be keen to try this out! 👇😃
So delighted to announce the official launch of The Armitt’s new digital trail through Roman Ambleside! The trail was developed by our fabulous @arcdurham.bsky.social 2nd-years Rowan Colley and Isla Mustin, with initial work by LU student Bastien Hamilton… 🧵
#RomanFortThursday #RomanBritain 🏺
#RomanFortThursday #RomanBritain 🏺
Roman Ambleside | Armitt
Explore the history of the Ambleside Roman fort through archaeological objects at The Armitt in this digital trail - Roman Ambleside.
www.armittdigitaltrail.co.uk
August 7, 2025 at 9:26 AM
This looks great - hopefully going up to Ambleside next month, so will be keen to try this out! 👇😃
So delighted to announce the official launch of The Armitt’s new digital trail through Roman Ambleside! The trail was developed by our fabulous @arcdurham.bsky.social 2nd-years Rowan Colley and Isla Mustin, with initial work by LU student Bastien Hamilton… 🧵
#RomanFortThursday #RomanBritain 🏺
#RomanFortThursday #RomanBritain 🏺
Roman Ambleside | Armitt
Explore the history of the Ambleside Roman fort through archaeological objects at The Armitt in this digital trail - Roman Ambleside.
www.armittdigitaltrail.co.uk
August 7, 2025 at 8:46 AM
So delighted to announce the official launch of The Armitt’s new digital trail through Roman Ambleside! The trail was developed by our fabulous @arcdurham.bsky.social 2nd-years Rowan Colley and Isla Mustin, with initial work by LU student Bastien Hamilton… 🧵
#RomanFortThursday #RomanBritain 🏺
#RomanFortThursday #RomanBritain 🏺
Reposted by Dr Eleri Cousins
I'm knackered after a full day of travelling yesterday, so let's do this.
One like, one curse tablet.
One like, one curse tablet.
August 6, 2025 at 1:45 PM
I'm knackered after a full day of travelling yesterday, so let's do this.
One like, one curse tablet.
One like, one curse tablet.
Reposted by Dr Eleri Cousins
A horned god with spear and shield - a local god from Roman Maryport in Cumbria. The relief is now part of the collections at Senhouse Roman Museum at Maryport. 📸 My own. #ReliefWednesday #RomanBritain #SenhouseRomanMuseum
August 6, 2025 at 5:52 AM
A horned god with spear and shield - a local god from Roman Maryport in Cumbria. The relief is now part of the collections at Senhouse Roman Museum at Maryport. 📸 My own. #ReliefWednesday #RomanBritain #SenhouseRomanMuseum
My former colleagues at Lancaster are facing grave redundancy threats: 1 in 4 jobs are at risk, after already enduring hugely increased workload through staff departures and voluntary severance and major admin and curriculum changes over the last two years. Please consider signing/supporting them.
Join us in signing and sharing this petition to prevent layoffs of over 400 people (both academic & professional services staff) at Lancaster University. We are all at risk and it's a scary time.
Hello UK friends - please, please could you sign this petition against the job cuts at my place of work - 1 in 4 us will be out of a job by August next year if we don't stop the cuts. And once you've signed it, please share. We need your help! www.change.org/p/stop-mass-...
August 5, 2025 at 2:03 PM
My former colleagues at Lancaster are facing grave redundancy threats: 1 in 4 jobs are at risk, after already enduring hugely increased workload through staff departures and voluntary severance and major admin and curriculum changes over the last two years. Please consider signing/supporting them.
Spot the Roman bit…
(Entablature fragment from the Sanctuaire du Cigognier at Avenches, Switzerland, built into the medieval church Ste-Marie-Madeleine. 📷 My own )
🏺 #archaeology
(Entablature fragment from the Sanctuaire du Cigognier at Avenches, Switzerland, built into the medieval church Ste-Marie-Madeleine. 📷 My own )
🏺 #archaeology
August 5, 2025 at 9:14 AM
Spot the Roman bit…
(Entablature fragment from the Sanctuaire du Cigognier at Avenches, Switzerland, built into the medieval church Ste-Marie-Madeleine. 📷 My own )
🏺 #archaeology
(Entablature fragment from the Sanctuaire du Cigognier at Avenches, Switzerland, built into the medieval church Ste-Marie-Madeleine. 📷 My own )
🏺 #archaeology
If you’re in the South Lakes tomorrow, head to Ambleside Roman Fort for the @nationaltrust.org.uk and The Armitt’s free #FestivalOfArchaeology open day! Our amazing @arcdurham.bsky.social students will be doing trail tours as part of the festivities - and there’s a ballista, apparently…
Ambleside Roman Fort open day 2025
<p>Get hands-on at Ambleside Roman Fort on this special open day including stalls, walk and talks, demonstrations and reenactments.
www.archaeologyuk.org
August 2, 2025 at 4:36 PM
If you’re in the South Lakes tomorrow, head to Ambleside Roman Fort for the @nationaltrust.org.uk and The Armitt’s free #FestivalOfArchaeology open day! Our amazing @arcdurham.bsky.social students will be doing trail tours as part of the festivities - and there’s a ballista, apparently…
This…is the most exciting news I have seen in a long time 😳 Actually squeaking with joy 🤩
I basically tithed to the Topping & Co in St Andrews when I lived there - I guess if this one is a train ride away I’ll still have a chance of keeping at least some of my money! 😅
www.bbc.com/news/article...
I basically tithed to the Topping & Co in St Andrews when I lived there - I guess if this one is a train ride away I’ll still have a chance of keeping at least some of my money! 😅
www.bbc.com/news/article...
'Country's largest independent bookshop' set to open in York
Councillors approve plans for Topping & Company Bookseller’s new city centre bookshop.
www.bbc.com
July 17, 2025 at 3:25 PM
This…is the most exciting news I have seen in a long time 😳 Actually squeaking with joy 🤩
I basically tithed to the Topping & Co in St Andrews when I lived there - I guess if this one is a train ride away I’ll still have a chance of keeping at least some of my money! 😅
www.bbc.com/news/article...
I basically tithed to the Topping & Co in St Andrews when I lived there - I guess if this one is a train ride away I’ll still have a chance of keeping at least some of my money! 😅
www.bbc.com/news/article...