Ulla Rajala
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ullamr.bsky.social
Ulla Rajala
@ullamr.bsky.social
An archaeologist who loves Eurovision and popular tv. Sharing content on heritage, politics and entertainment.
She/her
My opinions are my own.
🫤
Doing our best for them. If only I could get the Antiqs to change the deadline of their Wheeler Travel Fund: January 🙃
February 16, 2026 at 8:02 AM
Reposted by Ulla Rajala
Have any of your colleagues recently been made redundant by a UK university? Have you? Do you fear losing your job? What has been the effect of redundancies on departmental morale? We are keen to hear your views
UK university staff: please complete our survey about redundancies
Academic or professional staff, employed or unemployed, we are anxious to hear your perspectives
www.timeshighereducation.com
February 16, 2026 at 7:20 AM
Reposted by Ulla Rajala
So disappointing.
Archaeology and history belong to us all, not just the wealthy.
Has it been studied? Conserved properly? Published?
Just depriving the rest of us of knowledge and understanding.
*Academic sells history off to the highest bidder*

There, BBC, we sorted that headline for you

If he truly feels *a connection* to the find, as the article claims, would he not have donated it to a museum?

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Professor finds Iron Age coin hoard near Bury St Edmunds
Tom Licence says he feels a personal connection to the coins, which are to be auctioned.
www.bbc.co.uk
February 15, 2026 at 10:43 AM
Reposted by Ulla Rajala
We are officially open from TODAY!! 10.30am-4pm daily for half term week and then open from Tuesday to Saturday. We have events, Hands on History workshops and VR available for booking, plus our ever popular crafts, kids activities & dressing up. Trimontium is calling YOU! Book now ➡️ zurl.co/3nFdL
February 13, 2026 at 8:31 AM
Reposted by Ulla Rajala
Apart from anything else, I’m astonished that they are prepared to take such an ahistorical position. The name, meaning “Land of the Philistines”, is of very ancient origin. So, of course, is “Israel” - but it must be possible to hold two thoughts in your head at once.
February 16, 2026 at 7:38 AM
Hi, @britishmuseum.bsky.social, we want 'Palestine' reinstated. The Lawyers for Israel complainded and you jumped. It is a colonial act... #AncientBluesky ⚱️🦋 #Archaeolog
www.change.org/p/erasing-a-...
Sign the Petition
Erasing a Word Erases a People: Reinstate Palestine in the British Museum
www.change.org
February 16, 2026 at 7:31 AM
Reposted by Ulla Rajala
6th century mosaic of a child playing chariot racing from the Great Palace at Constantinople. Pushing wheels on sticks represents the chariot and four horses. Part of the collections at the Great Palace Mosaic Museum in Istanbul. 📸 My own. #MosaicMonday
February 16, 2026 at 7:07 AM
Reposted by Ulla Rajala
"The version of Christianity that Trump's most devout supporters embrace (and he pretends to) has no room for Christ’s actual teachings. Anyone who references Jesus’s declarations to aid the sick, poor, and vulnerable is quickly labeled a socialist and/or antifa."
Trump is clowning his evangelical base
He's not even bothering to pretend anymore.
www.publicnotice.co
February 16, 2026 at 12:27 AM
Reposted by Ulla Rajala
The Bronze Age ‘Corrard Torc’ which was found in a bog in County Fermanagh by a metal detectorist in 2009. Now part of the collections at the Ulster Museum in Belfast. 📸 My own. #Prehistory #Archaeology #UlsterMuseum
February 16, 2026 at 7:06 AM
My Top12 in #Eurovision. Even if placed lowly, I listen to Denmark. But Estonia, you had Ollie and ANT + Minimal Wind, but you chose the blandest of the bland.
February 16, 2026 at 6:45 AM
Reposted by Ulla Rajala
Very useful analysis here for those who are pro universities, setting out the areas which lead to less public/political support for HE. Worth considering how the sector will strategically respond to its critics (even if it thinks some of their views are misplaced)
With the debate on student loans raging, why did England fall out of love with universities?

1. High fees and crushing debt.

2. Mass over-expansion

3. Culture wars: free speech, antisemitism, 'decolonisation'.

4. Quality concerns and grade inflation.

www.edrith.co.uk/p/how-did-en...
How Did England Fall Out of Love with Universities?
The Four Horsemen of Fees, Culture, Expansion and Quality
www.edrith.co.uk
February 15, 2026 at 10:00 PM
Reposted by Ulla Rajala
Student loans show that hard policy choices will only get harder ft.trib.al/yHPoWrB | opinion
Student loans show that hard policy choices will only get harder
The debate over university funding is a good example of the intractable challenges facing the UK government
ft.trib.al
February 16, 2026 at 5:08 AM
Reposted by Ulla Rajala
‘The goal has been to demystify’: how a colonial Nairobi library was restored and given back to the people
‘The goal has been to demystify’: how a colonial Nairobi library was restored and given back to the people
Once a whites-only enclave, the grand McMillan Memorial library is one of three in the Kenyan capital that have been transformed for the community
www.theguardian.com
February 16, 2026 at 5:24 AM
Reposted by Ulla Rajala
Archaeologists study how people lived in the past by digging into the ground and examining the artifacts they left behind. A team of researchers has now applied that same logic to the International Space Station. The results offer a revealing look at how humans adapt to life beyond Earth.
🧪 🏺
Archaeology conducted in space
Archaeology conducted in space - Earth.com
www.earth.com
February 16, 2026 at 5:27 AM
Reposted by Ulla Rajala
· #AcademicSky ·
When asked to draw a scientist, school-age kids in the United States are increasingly sketching women. That's the main conclusion of a new study that compiled information about 20,860 pictures drawn by students age 5 to 18 over 5 decades.
What does a scientist look like? Children are drawing women more than ever before
Study is based on 20,860 sketches drawn by children over 5 decades
www.science.org
February 13, 2026 at 12:57 PM
Reposted by Ulla Rajala
A Trump administration official said Moderna might have more luck with its vaccine application if it resubmitted with a little “humility”

Does that sound like the “gold-standard science” RFK Jr. promised?

Or a mob boss threat?

www.thebulwark.com/p/this-is-wh...
This Is What Destroying the Vaccine Market Looks Like
A shocking move by RFK Jr.’s team has the industry spooked—for good reason.
www.thebulwark.com
February 15, 2026 at 3:39 PM
Ulysses and the Sirens, from The Odyssey by Homer, a Roman mosaic from 3rd century AD Dougga. Now in Musee du Bardo, Tunis, Tunisia. #MosaicMonday
February 16, 2026 at 5:36 AM
Reposted by Ulla Rajala
Here's the real reason the government keeps freezing the student loan threshold

The part of the loan that's repaid is classed as an asset on Treasury spreadsheets. But when plan 2 student loans started to be repaid, the percentage received back was less than expected...

1/4
February 15, 2026 at 11:53 AM
This afternoon I took part in Leicestershire Fieldworkers desktop study training. It was very good. #Archaeology
February 15, 2026 at 5:38 PM
Reposted by Ulla Rajala
The Vaughan Exhibition Visitors will visit the Leicester Society of Artists Annual Exhibition in the New Walk Museum on MARCH 13. We will meet in the foyer at 2pm. Pre-exhibition meet at 1.30pm in the Soft Touch cafeteria. Photo: Phillips Strand, Upton, Bude (Aerial) by Deborah Bird.
February 15, 2026 at 2:21 AM
Yes!!! Israel not the leader anymore! FINLAND leads the #Eurovision odds.
February 15, 2026 at 3:01 AM
Next to the tennis courts in the southern part of Båstad in Skåne, Sweden, stand two standing stones. They are at the bottom of a gravel path and with a large tree between them both. The two stones are believed to be from the Iron Age and placed over burials from that period. #StandingStoneSunday
February 15, 2026 at 2:34 AM
Reposted by Ulla Rajala
@simelius.bsky.social This is for you 😁
Exciting news! I'm the incoming Executive Editor for 'World Archaeology' and here is my first CfP!

Call for Papers for ‘World Archaeology’: Debates and Emerging Issues in Archaeology

howardwilliamsblog.wordpress.com/2026/02/14/c...

Direct link here: think.taylorandfrancis.com/special_issu...
February 14, 2026 at 5:33 PM
Reposted by Ulla Rajala
Gonna be viewing Eesti Laul, DMGP and Benidorm Fest today. There's quite a few from each NF I wouldn't mind, so today will likely turn out fine for me 😁
February 14, 2026 at 5:23 PM