Tom Elliott
@paregorios.bsky.social
Roman Historian and Human Digitalist. Works for NYU's https://isaw.nyu.edu, but lives near Huntsville, Alabama. Editor/PI of the Pleiades gazetteer of ancient places (https://pleiades.stoa.org).
Primary social account: https://hcommons.social/@paregorios/
Primary social account: https://hcommons.social/@paregorios/
Reposted by Tom Elliott
When I got the contract to write a history of concentration camps in 2014, I hoped to keep the US from ending up here. That didn't work out! But now it's critical to understand how much is already in process and the enormity of what's coming. The sooner we act to stop it, the more people we'll save.
Building the camps
The warehouseification of detention and initial thoughts on stopping it.
degenerateart.beehiiv.com
February 11, 2026 at 2:24 AM
When I got the contract to write a history of concentration camps in 2014, I hoped to keep the US from ending up here. That didn't work out! But now it's critical to understand how much is already in process and the enormity of what's coming. The sooner we act to stop it, the more people we'll save.
Reposted by Tom Elliott
I really feel like: Donald Trump is building a prison camp system on the scale of Hitler, Stalin, and Mao … would be a good and true headline to run every day. Advertisements across media. Speeches on the Senate. Everywhere.
When I got the contract to write a history of concentration camps in 2014, I hoped to keep the US from ending up here. That didn't work out! But now it's critical to understand how much is already in process and the enormity of what's coming. The sooner we act to stop it, the more people we'll save.
Building the camps
The warehouseification of detention and initial thoughts on stopping it.
degenerateart.beehiiv.com
February 11, 2026 at 3:44 AM
I really feel like: Donald Trump is building a prison camp system on the scale of Hitler, Stalin, and Mao … would be a good and true headline to run every day. Advertisements across media. Speeches on the Senate. Everywhere.
Reposted by Tom Elliott
A high-speed car chase involving a federal agent in St. Paul ended with a multi-vehicle crash and injuries to the fleeing driver, who was taken away in an ambulance. bit.ly/4kvJo0M
📸: Leila Navidi
📸: Leila Navidi
February 11, 2026 at 7:38 PM
A high-speed car chase involving a federal agent in St. Paul ended with a multi-vehicle crash and injuries to the fleeing driver, who was taken away in an ambulance. bit.ly/4kvJo0M
📸: Leila Navidi
📸: Leila Navidi
Reposted by Tom Elliott
This is the aftermath of an ICE kidnapping a few blocks from my home in St. Paul—an hour ago. A quiet street full of broken glass and at least three wrecked cars. The target of the kidnapping was taken away by ambulance. He was on a stretcher and covered by a sheet, though a cop said he was alive.
February 11, 2026 at 4:46 PM
This is the aftermath of an ICE kidnapping a few blocks from my home in St. Paul—an hour ago. A quiet street full of broken glass and at least three wrecked cars. The target of the kidnapping was taken away by ambulance. He was on a stretcher and covered by a sheet, though a cop said he was alive.
Reposted by Tom Elliott
I feel nauseous. thedailytexan.com/2026/02/10/f...
February 11, 2026 at 7:35 PM
I feel nauseous. thedailytexan.com/2026/02/10/f...
An allusion to the wisest words ever uttered by C3PO: "No! Impeach them all! Hurry!"
February 11, 2026 at 8:20 PM
An allusion to the wisest words ever uttered by C3PO: "No! Impeach them all! Hurry!"
Reposted by Tom Elliott
Likely-historic photo by NBC News of all the Epstein victims asked to raise their hands if they've not yet been asked to meet with the DOJ as Bondi testifies in foreground
February 11, 2026 at 5:15 PM
Likely-historic photo by NBC News of all the Epstein victims asked to raise their hands if they've not yet been asked to meet with the DOJ as Bondi testifies in foreground
Reposted by Tom Elliott
Digital Encoding of Epigraphic Manuscripts and Surrogates (online discussion led by Gabriel Bodard and @carolinebarron.bsky.social), Friday 20th February 2026 at 14:00–15:30 GMT
ics.sas.ac.uk/news-events/...
ics.sas.ac.uk/news-events/...
Digital Encoding of Epigraphic Manuscripts and Surrogates
ics.sas.ac.uk
February 11, 2026 at 6:00 PM
Digital Encoding of Epigraphic Manuscripts and Surrogates (online discussion led by Gabriel Bodard and @carolinebarron.bsky.social), Friday 20th February 2026 at 14:00–15:30 GMT
ics.sas.ac.uk/news-events/...
ics.sas.ac.uk/news-events/...
Reposted by Tom Elliott
Reposted by Tom Elliott
Exploring the potential of VR coin handling and exhibitions with classics students and the amazing Rob O'Toole in anticipation of the Money and Medals Day next week!
February 11, 2026 at 5:11 PM
Exploring the potential of VR coin handling and exhibitions with classics students and the amazing Rob O'Toole in anticipation of the Money and Medals Day next week!
Reposted by Tom Elliott
Last year's shutdown of @glitch.com was a huge blow to my pedagogy. Glitch was ideal for creative coding classes and workshops. I looked around for alternatives. But there was nothing that was open, decentralized, and not at the mercy of VCs or Big Tech.
So I built my own. Here's Glitchlet.
So I built my own. Here's Glitchlet.
February 11, 2026 at 5:27 PM
Last year's shutdown of @glitch.com was a huge blow to my pedagogy. Glitch was ideal for creative coding classes and workshops. I looked around for alternatives. But there was nothing that was open, decentralized, and not at the mercy of VCs or Big Tech.
So I built my own. Here's Glitchlet.
So I built my own. Here's Glitchlet.
Reposted by Tom Elliott
ICE in my neighborhood in East St Paul this morning. They have not drawn down. They are outside of a school.
February 11, 2026 at 1:44 PM
ICE in my neighborhood in East St Paul this morning. They have not drawn down. They are outside of a school.
So, was it just that Sean Duffy woke up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat just sure that somebody was going to wear pajamas on a flight out of El Paso this morning?
February 11, 2026 at 2:06 PM
So, was it just that Sean Duffy woke up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat just sure that somebody was going to wear pajamas on a flight out of El Paso this morning?
CNN reporting RE El Paso: "a source ... briefed by the FAA tells CNN ... the sweeping flight ban was driven by military operations from nearby Biggs Army Airfield, located on Fort Bliss. Drones, helicopters and other aircraft operate from the facility."
www.cnn.com/2026/02/11/u...
www.cnn.com/2026/02/11/u...
February 11, 2026 at 2:01 PM
CNN reporting RE El Paso: "a source ... briefed by the FAA tells CNN ... the sweeping flight ban was driven by military operations from nearby Biggs Army Airfield, located on Fort Bliss. Drones, helicopters and other aircraft operate from the facility."
www.cnn.com/2026/02/11/u...
www.cnn.com/2026/02/11/u...
Either there are US military units that have received warning orders, or there are not. Reporting on that would tell us a lot about El Paso. Of course, such orders will have been classified, so there is risk in release and reporting.
February 11, 2026 at 1:57 PM
Either there are US military units that have received warning orders, or there are not. Reporting on that would tell us a lot about El Paso. Of course, such orders will have been classified, so there is risk in release and reporting.
Reposted by Tom Elliott
We have received numerous credible reports of torture, killing, and inhumane treatment of detained individuals at the Camp East Montana migrant detention facility, located within Fort Bliss. #txlege
February 10, 2026 at 6:47 PM
We have received numerous credible reports of torture, killing, and inhumane treatment of detained individuals at the Camp East Montana migrant detention facility, located within Fort Bliss. #txlege
Reposted by Tom Elliott
I have a paper out in JRS, on Roman imperialism at the local level 43 BCE-69 CE, using the testcase of the Helvetians and archaeological material to comment on a few paragraphs of Tacitus.
PS Abolish ICE. Impeach the Trump administration.
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
PS Abolish ICE. Impeach the Trump administration.
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
Autonomy, martial culture and empire in eastern Gaul during the first century c.e.: The case of the Helvetians | The Journal of Roman Studies | Cambridge Core
Autonomy, martial culture and empire in eastern Gaul during the first century c.e.: The case of the Helvetians
www.cambridge.org
February 11, 2026 at 8:54 AM
I have a paper out in JRS, on Roman imperialism at the local level 43 BCE-69 CE, using the testcase of the Helvetians and archaeological material to comment on a few paragraphs of Tacitus.
PS Abolish ICE. Impeach the Trump administration.
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
PS Abolish ICE. Impeach the Trump administration.
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
Reposted by Tom Elliott
Sunoikisis Digital Classics: Epigraphic Object Encoding, with Gabriel Bodard, Anna Clara Maniero Azzolini (University of London), Polina Yordanova (University of Helsinki). Thursday 5th March 2026. 16:00-17:30 GMT. ics.sas.ac.uk/news-events/...
Sunoikisis Digital Classics: Epigraphic Object Encoding
ics.sas.ac.uk
February 11, 2026 at 11:31 AM
Sunoikisis Digital Classics: Epigraphic Object Encoding, with Gabriel Bodard, Anna Clara Maniero Azzolini (University of London), Polina Yordanova (University of Helsinki). Thursday 5th March 2026. 16:00-17:30 GMT. ics.sas.ac.uk/news-events/...
Reposted by Tom Elliott
Sunoikisis Digital Classics: Ethics, Sustainability & Paradata in 3D Heritage, with Thomas Flynn (Digital Heritage Consulting), Alicia Walsh (Leiden University), Thursday March 12, 2026. 16:00-17:30 GMT. ics.sas.ac.uk/news-events/...
Sunoikisis Digital Classics: Ethics, Sustainability & Paradata in 3D Heritage
ics.sas.ac.uk
February 11, 2026 at 12:19 PM
Sunoikisis Digital Classics: Ethics, Sustainability & Paradata in 3D Heritage, with Thomas Flynn (Digital Heritage Consulting), Alicia Walsh (Leiden University), Thursday March 12, 2026. 16:00-17:30 GMT. ics.sas.ac.uk/news-events/...
Reposted by Tom Elliott
Woke up to news that Rachel M. L. Simpson’s and Sandra J. Garvie-Lok’s important new study on “Lead exposure in the Roman Empire: a review of the written, material, and bioarchaeological evidence” is out today in JRA. www.cambridge.org/core/journal... also, notation of bias in favor of western Med.
February 11, 2026 at 12:49 PM
Woke up to news that Rachel M. L. Simpson’s and Sandra J. Garvie-Lok’s important new study on “Lead exposure in the Roman Empire: a review of the written, material, and bioarchaeological evidence” is out today in JRA. www.cambridge.org/core/journal... also, notation of bias in favor of western Med.
Reposted by Tom Elliott
Protesters gathered at the Stonewall National Monument in New York City after President Trump's administration removed a large rainbow Pride flag.
February 11, 2026 at 4:39 AM
Protesters gathered at the Stonewall National Monument in New York City after President Trump's administration removed a large rainbow Pride flag.
AP reporting RE El Paso airspace closure just now: "When asked if the ban was related to U.S. military operations, the Pentagon referred comment to the FAA in an email."
apnews.com/live/faa-el-...
apnews.com/live/faa-el-...
February 11, 2026 at 1:46 PM
AP reporting RE El Paso airspace closure just now: "When asked if the ban was related to U.S. military operations, the Pentagon referred comment to the FAA in an email."
apnews.com/live/faa-el-...
apnews.com/live/faa-el-...
Reposted by Tom Elliott
Enslaved persons did often work on ships but 1) All three cultures used sails to maximize wind power 2) most Roman rowers were not enslaved & thetes in Athens were poor but free men 3) most Punic rowers were freeborn. Slavery is so important to understand but let’s be intentional and factual.
February 11, 2026 at 1:05 PM
Enslaved persons did often work on ships but 1) All three cultures used sails to maximize wind power 2) most Roman rowers were not enslaved & thetes in Athens were poor but free men 3) most Punic rowers were freeborn. Slavery is so important to understand but let’s be intentional and factual.
