Mappa Dan
@mappadan.bsky.social
Home of my thoughts about archaic maps and mappae mundi, reconstructions and snaps people have taken of them, and my own redrawings.
Third party stuff is believed to be in public domain. Copyright applies to own work.
Third party stuff is believed to be in public domain. Copyright applies to own work.
Reposted by Mappa Dan
This is haunting...
It's the oldest piece of music for which we have both the words and the notes. A song to the Hurrian goddess Nikkal, it was written on clay tablets around 3500 years ago, and was discovered in the 1950s in the ruins of the ancient city of Ugarit.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8tf...
It's the oldest piece of music for which we have both the words and the notes. A song to the Hurrian goddess Nikkal, it was written on clay tablets around 3500 years ago, and was discovered in the 1950s in the ruins of the ancient city of Ugarit.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8tf...
THE OLDEST SONG IN THE WORLD
YouTube video by Peter Pringle
www.youtube.com
January 15, 2026 at 7:48 PM
This is haunting...
It's the oldest piece of music for which we have both the words and the notes. A song to the Hurrian goddess Nikkal, it was written on clay tablets around 3500 years ago, and was discovered in the 1950s in the ruins of the ancient city of Ugarit.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8tf...
It's the oldest piece of music for which we have both the words and the notes. A song to the Hurrian goddess Nikkal, it was written on clay tablets around 3500 years ago, and was discovered in the 1950s in the ruins of the ancient city of Ugarit.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8tf...
Reposted by Mappa Dan
Reposted by Mappa Dan
The person who was clearing snow during the Russian attack on Lviv is a beautiful,courageous woman named Olha
"I cleaned the bus stop.I didn't know a Shahed drone was going to fly in.The police officer told us to run away,"she said
Miraculously,she remained unharmed
πΉ: Radio Liberty
"I cleaned the bus stop.I didn't know a Shahed drone was going to fly in.The police officer told us to run away,"she said
Miraculously,she remained unharmed
πΉ: Radio Liberty
January 15, 2026 at 7:51 PM
The person who was clearing snow during the Russian attack on Lviv is a beautiful,courageous woman named Olha
"I cleaned the bus stop.I didn't know a Shahed drone was going to fly in.The police officer told us to run away,"she said
Miraculously,she remained unharmed
πΉ: Radio Liberty
"I cleaned the bus stop.I didn't know a Shahed drone was going to fly in.The police officer told us to run away,"she said
Miraculously,she remained unharmed
πΉ: Radio Liberty
Reposted by Mappa Dan
In Sweden, self-driving electric buses are transforming daily life in remote villages. These compact, driverless shuttles now connect smaller communities to nearby town centers, offering elderly residents a safe, free,and reliable way to stay mobile and independent #ElectricVehicles #PublicTransport
January 13, 2026 at 5:46 PM
In Sweden, self-driving electric buses are transforming daily life in remote villages. These compact, driverless shuttles now connect smaller communities to nearby town centers, offering elderly residents a safe, free,and reliable way to stay mobile and independent #ElectricVehicles #PublicTransport
Reposted by Mappa Dan
Paradise at the feet of Christ
MΓΌnchen, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, BSB Clm 14159; Dialogus de laudibus sanctae crucis; c.1170-1180; Regensburg-PrΓΌfening; f.5v
MΓΌnchen, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, BSB Clm 14159; Dialogus de laudibus sanctae crucis; c.1170-1180; Regensburg-PrΓΌfening; f.5v
January 14, 2026 at 8:55 PM
Paradise at the feet of Christ
MΓΌnchen, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, BSB Clm 14159; Dialogus de laudibus sanctae crucis; c.1170-1180; Regensburg-PrΓΌfening; f.5v
MΓΌnchen, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, BSB Clm 14159; Dialogus de laudibus sanctae crucis; c.1170-1180; Regensburg-PrΓΌfening; f.5v
Cooperative pigeon!
You didn't mention the lovely golden doorway.
You didn't mention the lovely golden doorway.
January 14, 2026 at 10:53 AM
Cooperative pigeon!
You didn't mention the lovely golden doorway.
You didn't mention the lovely golden doorway.
Reposted by Mappa Dan
Watching the mist dancing across the Somerset levels this morning at sunrise was just magical. It was this pigeon that stole the show for me though and I spent far too long photographing it. π
January 14, 2026 at 10:30 AM
Watching the mist dancing across the Somerset levels this morning at sunrise was just magical. It was this pigeon that stole the show for me though and I spent far too long photographing it. π
Reposted by Mappa Dan
Oh to be a little Tardigrade walking across a microscope slide. π«§π»π§ͺ
January 13, 2026 at 5:01 PM
Oh to be a little Tardigrade walking across a microscope slide. π«§π»π§ͺ
Coincidentally, my horse pic with names of things placed on horses in the Middle Ages.
January 13, 2026 at 10:33 AM
Coincidentally, my horse pic with names of things placed on horses in the Middle Ages.
The names of the numerous parts of a horse are dead hard to remember.
Zebras learned from picures like his how hard it is to see a stripy horse.
Zebras learned from picures like his how hard it is to see a stripy horse.
January 13, 2026 at 10:27 AM
The names of the numerous parts of a horse are dead hard to remember.
Zebras learned from picures like his how hard it is to see a stripy horse.
Zebras learned from picures like his how hard it is to see a stripy horse.
Is it missing a leg?
That might be why it is unhappy.
That might be why it is unhappy.
January 13, 2026 at 10:25 AM
Is it missing a leg?
That might be why it is unhappy.
That might be why it is unhappy.
Oh, I should say, the resuscitation conversations are sometimes quite lengthy with the doctors.
Sometimes they go up their chain of command so you have more than one conversaion.
They can be quite insistent, in spite of my having a piece of paper with the pre-agreed answer on it.
Sometimes they go up their chain of command so you have more than one conversaion.
They can be quite insistent, in spite of my having a piece of paper with the pre-agreed answer on it.
January 13, 2026 at 8:50 AM
Oh, I should say, the resuscitation conversations are sometimes quite lengthy with the doctors.
Sometimes they go up their chain of command so you have more than one conversaion.
They can be quite insistent, in spite of my having a piece of paper with the pre-agreed answer on it.
Sometimes they go up their chain of command so you have more than one conversaion.
They can be quite insistent, in spite of my having a piece of paper with the pre-agreed answer on it.
Fortunately, I have a healthcare power of attorney and a brother who is an actual attorney, so at least we can fight our corner.
But what of other patients who have no one?
But what of other patients who have no one?
January 13, 2026 at 8:38 AM
Fortunately, I have a healthcare power of attorney and a brother who is an actual attorney, so at least we can fight our corner.
But what of other patients who have no one?
But what of other patients who have no one?
And knowing these things affects treatment decisions and decisions whether to resuscitate someone.
My conversations with doctors often involve them discovering their diagnosis is utterly wrong because they have little history for the patient.
It's scarey.
My conversations with doctors often involve them discovering their diagnosis is utterly wrong because they have little history for the patient.
It's scarey.
January 13, 2026 at 8:30 AM
And knowing these things affects treatment decisions and decisions whether to resuscitate someone.
My conversations with doctors often involve them discovering their diagnosis is utterly wrong because they have little history for the patient.
It's scarey.
My conversations with doctors often involve them discovering their diagnosis is utterly wrong because they have little history for the patient.
It's scarey.
No doubt.
My experience is bottom up. NHS staff complain about it too.
We visitors are the only source of knowledge transfer for actual life and death decisions.
"Oh, you didn't know he had cancer?"
"No, it's not dementia, it's a UTI, like in the last place."
Shakes head.
My experience is bottom up. NHS staff complain about it too.
We visitors are the only source of knowledge transfer for actual life and death decisions.
"Oh, you didn't know he had cancer?"
"No, it's not dementia, it's a UTI, like in the last place."
Shakes head.
January 13, 2026 at 8:14 AM
No doubt.
My experience is bottom up. NHS staff complain about it too.
We visitors are the only source of knowledge transfer for actual life and death decisions.
"Oh, you didn't know he had cancer?"
"No, it's not dementia, it's a UTI, like in the last place."
Shakes head.
My experience is bottom up. NHS staff complain about it too.
We visitors are the only source of knowledge transfer for actual life and death decisions.
"Oh, you didn't know he had cancer?"
"No, it's not dementia, it's a UTI, like in the last place."
Shakes head.
Data management is definitely a problem. And time spent on data entry.
It's a strange experience to observe.
It's a strange experience to observe.
January 13, 2026 at 8:03 AM
Data management is definitely a problem. And time spent on data entry.
It's a strange experience to observe.
It's a strange experience to observe.
Thank you.
More than just our experience, it's an example of the inefficiency.
They waste so much time on it. I've done the same conversation so many times it's no longer traumatic. It's boring.
More than just our experience, it's an example of the inefficiency.
They waste so much time on it. I've done the same conversation so many times it's no longer traumatic. It's boring.
January 13, 2026 at 8:00 AM
Thank you.
More than just our experience, it's an example of the inefficiency.
They waste so much time on it. I've done the same conversation so many times it's no longer traumatic. It's boring.
More than just our experience, it's an example of the inefficiency.
They waste so much time on it. I've done the same conversation so many times it's no longer traumatic. It's boring.
Also, being asked once whether a patient should be resuscitated is enough. Not at every hospital the patient visits. Which in this case is ten. Ten damned times.
January 13, 2026 at 7:51 AM
Also, being asked once whether a patient should be resuscitated is enough. Not at every hospital the patient visits. Which in this case is ten. Ten damned times.
Hope this is addressed by whoever is in power and whichever banner they work under.
January 13, 2026 at 7:41 AM
Hope this is addressed by whoever is in power and whichever banner they work under.
UK party politics not my thing.
But perhaps an underreported issue with the NHS (which is also internally recognised) is the abject failure of continuity in record-keeping and treatment for sick patients who are moved around between hospitals.
Speaking from current shocking experience (not me).
But perhaps an underreported issue with the NHS (which is also internally recognised) is the abject failure of continuity in record-keeping and treatment for sick patients who are moved around between hospitals.
Speaking from current shocking experience (not me).
January 13, 2026 at 7:41 AM
UK party politics not my thing.
But perhaps an underreported issue with the NHS (which is also internally recognised) is the abject failure of continuity in record-keeping and treatment for sick patients who are moved around between hospitals.
Speaking from current shocking experience (not me).
But perhaps an underreported issue with the NHS (which is also internally recognised) is the abject failure of continuity in record-keeping and treatment for sick patients who are moved around between hospitals.
Speaking from current shocking experience (not me).
Okay, I will say the obvious thing in spite of the conspiracy of silence.
Jerome Powell is Gandalf in disguise as a central banker.
Jerome Powell is Gandalf in disguise as a central banker.
January 13, 2026 at 7:24 AM
Okay, I will say the obvious thing in spite of the conspiracy of silence.
Jerome Powell is Gandalf in disguise as a central banker.
Jerome Powell is Gandalf in disguise as a central banker.
Reposted by Mappa Dan
There is a longer version of the video of a kidnapping of this kid - there really is no other word for it - here. As he is being shoved into the DHS vehicle he breaks down. At about the 2 minute mark you hear a DHS agent say "wow - fucking child" sarcastically.
bringmethenews.com/minnesota-ne...
bringmethenews.com/minnesota-ne...
January 13, 2026 at 12:10 AM
There is a longer version of the video of a kidnapping of this kid - there really is no other word for it - here. As he is being shoved into the DHS vehicle he breaks down. At about the 2 minute mark you hear a DHS agent say "wow - fucking child" sarcastically.
bringmethenews.com/minnesota-ne...
bringmethenews.com/minnesota-ne...
Reposted by Mappa Dan
#MetalMonday :
#Lion Bracteate
Achaemenid Empire, ca. 5th c. BCE
Gold, W 2 1/4 in. (5.72 cm)
freemansauction.com/auctions/206...
#AncientArt
#Lion Bracteate
Achaemenid Empire, ca. 5th c. BCE
Gold, W 2 1/4 in. (5.72 cm)
freemansauction.com/auctions/206...
#AncientArt
January 13, 2026 at 4:09 AM
#MetalMonday :
#Lion Bracteate
Achaemenid Empire, ca. 5th c. BCE
Gold, W 2 1/4 in. (5.72 cm)
freemansauction.com/auctions/206...
#AncientArt
#Lion Bracteate
Achaemenid Empire, ca. 5th c. BCE
Gold, W 2 1/4 in. (5.72 cm)
freemansauction.com/auctions/206...
#AncientArt
Reposted by Mappa Dan
PIGGY π·
Coin Bank, 1971-2
Collected in Colombia, Tolima Dept, La Chamba; probably Pijao culture
Pottery (modeled, drilled, incised, painted), 12 x 11 x 11.5 cm
Smithsonian NMAI 26/3733
#IndigenousArt #SouthAmericanArt #Pig
Coin Bank, 1971-2
Collected in Colombia, Tolima Dept, La Chamba; probably Pijao culture
Pottery (modeled, drilled, incised, painted), 12 x 11 x 11.5 cm
Smithsonian NMAI 26/3733
#IndigenousArt #SouthAmericanArt #Pig
January 13, 2026 at 4:36 AM
PIGGY π·
Coin Bank, 1971-2
Collected in Colombia, Tolima Dept, La Chamba; probably Pijao culture
Pottery (modeled, drilled, incised, painted), 12 x 11 x 11.5 cm
Smithsonian NMAI 26/3733
#IndigenousArt #SouthAmericanArt #Pig
Coin Bank, 1971-2
Collected in Colombia, Tolima Dept, La Chamba; probably Pijao culture
Pottery (modeled, drilled, incised, painted), 12 x 11 x 11.5 cm
Smithsonian NMAI 26/3733
#IndigenousArt #SouthAmericanArt #Pig