Simon Bralee
@simonbralee.com
Advocate for arts and humanities. I believe in the importance of sharing the stories of research to create impact outside of universities. Comms professional and history postgrad researching Anubis in the Roman World. ๐๏ธ๐
He/him
He/him
Reposted by Simon Bralee
#MosaicMonday brings us to #Roman #Carthage in 375 CE, to a well-appointed #domus with a floor #mosaic showing the #seasons and #months. This fragment now in the #BritishMuseum shows #November as a priestess of #Isis, with a #sistrum in her hand. See the ALT text for why. #AncientBluesky ๐บ
January 12, 2026 at 2:11 PM
#MosaicMonday brings us to #Roman #Carthage in 375 CE, to a well-appointed #domus with a floor #mosaic showing the #seasons and #months. This fragment now in the #BritishMuseum shows #November as a priestess of #Isis, with a #sistrum in her hand. See the ALT text for why. #AncientBluesky ๐บ
Reposted by Simon Bralee
This engraved Romano-Egyptian magical gem (green jasper) depicts the Egyptian god and psychopomp Anubis holding an ointment jar and standing over a lion-shaped bier. The mummified body of Osiris lies on top. ๐๐บ #ancientbluesky 1/
100-125 CE. #GettyVilla
๐ธ me
100-125 CE. #GettyVilla
๐ธ me
January 11, 2026 at 1:28 AM
This engraved Romano-Egyptian magical gem (green jasper) depicts the Egyptian god and psychopomp Anubis holding an ointment jar and standing over a lion-shaped bier. The mummified body of Osiris lies on top. ๐๐บ #ancientbluesky 1/
100-125 CE. #GettyVilla
๐ธ me
100-125 CE. #GettyVilla
๐ธ me
I have even more questions about veterinary medicine now ๐น I always thought arsenic paint was a later development? Did they have it back then? It reminds me that thereโs a lab, where I work, which has a protective transparent screen over the 19th century paint because itโs radioactive or poisonous.
January 12, 2026 at 2:42 PM
I have even more questions about veterinary medicine now ๐น I always thought arsenic paint was a later development? Did they have it back then? It reminds me that thereโs a lab, where I work, which has a protective transparent screen over the 19th century paint because itโs radioactive or poisonous.
Reposted by Simon Bralee
One month to goโฆ UCL turns 200! ๐
On 11 February, we kick off #UCL200 โ a year of celebrations marking our radical founding in 1826 as Londonโs first university, open to all. Expect parties, exhibitions, student festivals, art, books, performances, and more.
Get ready!
@uclspeccoll.bsky.social
On 11 February, we kick off #UCL200 โ a year of celebrations marking our radical founding in 1826 as Londonโs first university, open to all. Expect parties, exhibitions, student festivals, art, books, performances, and more.
Get ready!
@uclspeccoll.bsky.social
January 11, 2026 at 2:08 PM
One month to goโฆ UCL turns 200! ๐
On 11 February, we kick off #UCL200 โ a year of celebrations marking our radical founding in 1826 as Londonโs first university, open to all. Expect parties, exhibitions, student festivals, art, books, performances, and more.
Get ready!
@uclspeccoll.bsky.social
On 11 February, we kick off #UCL200 โ a year of celebrations marking our radical founding in 1826 as Londonโs first university, open to all. Expect parties, exhibitions, student festivals, art, books, performances, and more.
Get ready!
@uclspeccoll.bsky.social
Itโs a great discovery. Curious why it turned into a cemetery! Possibly long after the sanctuary ceased operating. Not my specialism at all but the arsenic could have been used as a medicine in small doses (or maybe thatโs why it turned into a cemetery)
Mass murder and marvellous medicine
Find out how arsenic has been used for good and ill, to cure and kill, for centuries.
wellcomecollection.org
January 12, 2026 at 12:31 PM
Itโs a great discovery. Curious why it turned into a cemetery! Possibly long after the sanctuary ceased operating. Not my specialism at all but the arsenic could have been used as a medicine in small doses (or maybe thatโs why it turned into a cemetery)
Items related to the Egyptian gods found in Tenea, Greece including votive clay mask possibly depicting Harpocrates, an oil lamp with image of Serapis and gold lotus leaves, dated late Hellenistic to Roman period ๐บ #AncientBluesky #Egyptology
Significant New Archaeological Findings in Tenea, Greece - The National Herald
ATHENS โ The Greek Ministry of Culture on January 9 announced the results of the systematic excavation of ancient Tenea,โฆ Continue reading Significant New Archaeological Findings in Tenea, Greece
www.thenationalherald.com
January 12, 2026 at 11:04 AM
Items related to the Egyptian gods found in Tenea, Greece including votive clay mask possibly depicting Harpocrates, an oil lamp with image of Serapis and gold lotus leaves, dated late Hellenistic to Roman period ๐บ #AncientBluesky #Egyptology
Reposted by Simon Bralee
Article about retrieval of items stolen from the British Museum. 654 out of an estimated 1,500 missing items have been recovered ๐บ #AncientBluesky
Inside the hunt for British Museumโs missing treasures
More than two years have passed since the British Museum revealed it was missing hundreds of precious artefacts. Alex Ross spoke to the man tasked with tracking the prized items down
www.independent.co.uk
January 11, 2026 at 1:36 PM
Article about retrieval of items stolen from the British Museum. 654 out of an estimated 1,500 missing items have been recovered ๐บ #AncientBluesky
Reposted by Simon Bralee
January 11, 1897: After finding little, 70 Egyptian workers are sent by Grenfell & Hunt to excavate a trash heap near Oxyrhynchus. They immediately found a fragment of the Gospel of Thomas & 1000s more papyri, proving trash heaps are archaeological treasures. oxyrhynchus.web.ox.ac.uk/waste-paper-...
January 11, 2026 at 12:32 PM
January 11, 1897: After finding little, 70 Egyptian workers are sent by Grenfell & Hunt to excavate a trash heap near Oxyrhynchus. They immediately found a fragment of the Gospel of Thomas & 1000s more papyri, proving trash heaps are archaeological treasures. oxyrhynchus.web.ox.ac.uk/waste-paper-...
Reposted by Simon Bralee
Ancient Greek Sites Serve as Unexpected Havens for Wildlife
#Greece #heritage
greekcitytimes.com/2026/01/09/a...
#Greece #heritage
greekcitytimes.com/2026/01/09/a...
January 9, 2026 at 2:54 PM
Ancient Greek Sites Serve as Unexpected Havens for Wildlife
#Greece #heritage
greekcitytimes.com/2026/01/09/a...
#Greece #heritage
greekcitytimes.com/2026/01/09/a...
Not for future historians, thatโs for sure.
January 8, 2026 at 8:45 PM
Not for future historians, thatโs for sure.
โTech industry sources refer to the process of "Harvest Now, Decrypt Later" to describe how state agencies are believed to be saving all of the worlds encrypted data at home and abroad with the expectation of future generations being able to access itโ.
Google Willow: The secrets of the world's most powerful quantum computer
Faisal Islam gets rare access to Willow - Google's quantum computer.
www.bbc.co.uk
January 8, 2026 at 8:16 PM
โTech industry sources refer to the process of "Harvest Now, Decrypt Later" to describe how state agencies are believed to be saving all of the worlds encrypted data at home and abroad with the expectation of future generations being able to access itโ.
War trumpet in 'shape of a snarling wild animal' and bronze boar head battle standard showing the importance of animals to iron age self presentation. Great discovery. ๐บ #AncientBluesky
โExtraordinaryโ iron age war trumpet find in Britain may have Boudicca links
Bronze instrument or carnyx dug up in Norfolk in area inhabited by Celtic tribe led by warrior who fought Romans
www.theguardian.com
January 7, 2026 at 8:50 AM
War trumpet in 'shape of a snarling wild animal' and bronze boar head battle standard showing the importance of animals to iron age self presentation. Great discovery. ๐บ #AncientBluesky
A bronze figurine of Isis-Tyche-Fortuna holding a steering oar and not one but two cornucopias for double the blessings. Donโt settle for anything less this year.
Roman, 2nd Century CE. British Museum. ๐บ #AncientBluesky #Egyptology
Roman, 2nd Century CE. British Museum. ๐บ #AncientBluesky #Egyptology
January 1, 2026 at 6:46 PM
A bronze figurine of Isis-Tyche-Fortuna holding a steering oar and not one but two cornucopias for double the blessings. Donโt settle for anything less this year.
Roman, 2nd Century CE. British Museum. ๐บ #AncientBluesky #Egyptology
Roman, 2nd Century CE. British Museum. ๐บ #AncientBluesky #Egyptology
Reposted by Simon Bralee
Happy New Year and good fortune to everyone during 2026! Below is a relief of the Roman goddess Fortuna which was found at Castlecary Roman Fort on the Antonine Wall. Now part of the collections at the Hunterian Museum in Glasgow. ๐ธ My own. #RomanFortThursday #NewYear
January 1, 2026 at 7:38 AM
Happy New Year and good fortune to everyone during 2026! Below is a relief of the Roman goddess Fortuna which was found at Castlecary Roman Fort on the Antonine Wall. Now part of the collections at the Hunterian Museum in Glasgow. ๐ธ My own. #RomanFortThursday #NewYear
Interesting stuff. It makes sense to save different versions in the archive. You also can sometimes find very revealing information in track changes and review comments unintentionally left in!
December 31, 2025 at 10:50 AM
Interesting stuff. It makes sense to save different versions in the archive. You also can sometimes find very revealing information in track changes and review comments unintentionally left in!
Fascinating. You could get a lot of info from this, but is there a reason they would keep the track changes in the archive copies? I always think these should be removed from final versions of documents and are normally accidentally kept in.
December 31, 2025 at 9:09 AM
Fascinating. You could get a lot of info from this, but is there a reason they would keep the track changes in the archive copies? I always think these should be removed from final versions of documents and are normally accidentally kept in.
Reposted by Simon Bralee
Votive Plaque: Swallow (Egypt, Ptolemaic Period, 332-30 BCE)
Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, Washington
Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, Washington
December 30, 2025 at 3:45 PM
Votive Plaque: Swallow (Egypt, Ptolemaic Period, 332-30 BCE)
Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, Washington
Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, Washington
Reposted by Simon Bralee
'Josephine Burton...was recently appointed practitioner in residence at the University of Londonโs Institute of Classical Studies, where she will be working on a music-theatre project, Songs of Solidarity, to create a collective epic for our time drawing on both Classical and non-Western models.'
Artist-academic collaborations can lead to โunexpected magicโ
Joint projects require academics to โshow up and feel a bit uncomfortableโ, argues theatre maker who is taking up a new position at the University of London
www.timeshighereducation.com
December 29, 2025 at 1:17 PM
'Josephine Burton...was recently appointed practitioner in residence at the University of Londonโs Institute of Classical Studies, where she will be working on a music-theatre project, Songs of Solidarity, to create a collective epic for our time drawing on both Classical and non-Western models.'
This may be how the shepherds appeared at the manger in Bethlehem, those many years ago.
A small statuette of a satyr carrying a goat, Egyptian, 1 or 2 century CE. Held in the British Museum.
๐บ #AncientBluesky #Egyptology
A small statuette of a satyr carrying a goat, Egyptian, 1 or 2 century CE. Held in the British Museum.
๐บ #AncientBluesky #Egyptology
December 28, 2025 at 1:27 PM
This may be how the shepherds appeared at the manger in Bethlehem, those many years ago.
A small statuette of a satyr carrying a goat, Egyptian, 1 or 2 century CE. Held in the British Museum.
๐บ #AncientBluesky #Egyptology
A small statuette of a satyr carrying a goat, Egyptian, 1 or 2 century CE. Held in the British Museum.
๐บ #AncientBluesky #Egyptology
Just found out thereโs a new movie about Mother Ann Lee and the Shakers to be released in February. Love a bit of millenarianism (and interiors inspo).
Film lookahead: Twenty highlights to watch out for in 2026
We look ahead to 20 notable films to watch for in 2026, from Oscar hopefuls to potential blockbusters.
www.bbc.co.uk
December 28, 2025 at 10:05 AM
Just found out thereโs a new movie about Mother Ann Lee and the Shakers to be released in February. Love a bit of millenarianism (and interiors inspo).
Itโs worth a visit. Has a similar mix of architectural styles to Chatham.
December 27, 2025 at 2:27 PM
Itโs worth a visit. Has a similar mix of architectural styles to Chatham.
Highlights from Boxing Day walk around Rainham, initially the site of a Thames ferry (part of a pilgrim route) and later โHavering Rivieraโ with pleasure trips from London before a fish manure works put stop to it all. A fascinating area with Georgian houses, industry and a bird sanctuary #history
December 27, 2025 at 9:55 AM
Highlights from Boxing Day walk around Rainham, initially the site of a Thames ferry (part of a pilgrim route) and later โHavering Rivieraโ with pleasure trips from London before a fish manure works put stop to it all. A fascinating area with Georgian houses, industry and a bird sanctuary #history
As I wait for festivities to begin, I am thinking of my favourite Christmas mornings in literature. Nothing beats Oscar and Lucinda when the hero tries a Christmas Pudding against the wishes of his puritanical father who has strong feelings towards โSatan's fruitโ.
Whatโs your favourite? ๐๐
Whatโs your favourite? ๐๐
December 25, 2025 at 11:06 AM
As I wait for festivities to begin, I am thinking of my favourite Christmas mornings in literature. Nothing beats Oscar and Lucinda when the hero tries a Christmas Pudding against the wishes of his puritanical father who has strong feelings towards โSatan's fruitโ.
Whatโs your favourite? ๐๐
Whatโs your favourite? ๐๐
1. It has Joe Pesci in it.
2. It has a Christmas tree in it.
Itโs a Christmas film.
2. It has a Christmas tree in it.
Itโs a Christmas film.
December 24, 2025 at 8:58 PM
1. It has Joe Pesci in it.
2. It has a Christmas tree in it.
Itโs a Christmas film.
2. It has a Christmas tree in it.
Itโs a Christmas film.