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Dr Jo Ball

@drjeball.bsky.social

6.6K followers 1.4K following 550 posts

#Roman & conflict archaeologist; Lecturer in Ancient History at Manchester Met University; University Teacher at the University of Liverpool; Early Career Research Fellow at the Centre for Integrative Research in Conflict Archaeology.

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Dr Jo Ball @drjeball.bsky.social · Jun 30

Really thrilled that my second book is now published! It explores the life of Tacfarinas, a C1st AD auxiliary soldier-deserter-bandit-rebel who came to lead a revolt against #Rome in NW Africa during the early reign of Tiberius. He is a truly fascinating figure in #Roman history! 🏺AncientBlueSky

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Dr Jo Ball @drjeball.bsky.social · 1d

Wow, #Roman tombstones really do get around - this one was rediscovered in New Orleans, after being transported across the Atlantic by unknown persons in the chaotic aftermath of WW2...

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

New Orleans couple discovers ancient Roman grave marker in their yard

Discovery of 1,900-year-old headstone dedicated to Roman sailor sets off effort to repatriate item to Italy

www.theguardian.com

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Dr Jo Ball @drjeball.bsky.social · 1d

I might make this a regular thing, posting every week about some of the underappreciated Roman deities out there!

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Dr Jo Ball @drjeball.bsky.social · 1d

Thinking today about some less well-known (but still important!) ancient #Roman deities:

Cardea: goddess of door hinges
Suadela: goddess of persuasion
Fornax: divine personification of ovens & properly-baked bread
Verminus: god who protected cattle from worms

🏺 #AncientBlueSky #MythologyMonday

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Reposted by Dr Jo Ball

Jon Hawke @archaeohawke.bsky.social · 2d

#MosaicMonday

As we move into Winter proper. A final look at summer 👀

Lullingstone floor mosaic depicts the mythical figure of Summer wearing a garland of corn.

#AncientBlueSky🏺
#Archaeology #History

Lullingstone Roman Villa is a villa built during the Roman occupation of Britain, situated in Lullingstone near the village of Eynsford in Kent, south-eastern England. The villa is located in the Darent Valley, along with six others, including those at Crofton, Crayford and Dartford. Constructed in the 1st century, perhaps around AD 80–90, the house was repeatedly expanded and occupied until it was destroyed by fire in the 4th or 5th century. The villa was occupied over various periods within the Romano-British period, but after its destruction, it is only thought to have been reoccupied during the medieval period. The occupants were most likely wealthy Romans or native Britons who had adopted Roman customs.

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Reposted by Dr Jo Ball

Alison Fisk @alisonfisk.bsky.social · 3d

A 3,500 year-old Egyptian glass cosmetic jar with two little duck heads!

Glass was a relatively new material at that time, so this jar would have been a precious possession.

From Merit’s beauty case, found inside Theban tomb (TT8) of Merit and her husband Kha in 1906. 📷 Museo Egizio

#Archaeology

Museo Egizio Turin photo showing a small, dark-blue, core-formed, round glass jar which tapers in at the shoulders below the neck. It has yellow, white, and light blue festoon decoration trailed around the main body. There is a single yellow trail just below the neck of the jar. There is a dark-blue circular glass lid, the top of which is adorned with two dark-blue duck heads with yellow bills, a yellow trailed stripe on the top of each duck’s head, and indents for their eyes. The jar is displayed on a perspex (?) stand against a grey background. Glass jar dimensions: 7.6 cm x 9.6 cm.

Core-forming is one of the earliest glassmaking techniques. Glassmakers shaped the body of the vessel around a core, wound colored trails around it. They then let the vessel cool and removed the core.

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Dr Jo Ball @drjeball.bsky.social · 2d

A #Roman dodecahedron, found in the Netherlands; they look so cool - now if only we knew for sure what they were for! 🏺 #AncientBlueSky

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Dr Jo Ball @drjeball.bsky.social · 7d

A metal face mask from a #Roman cavalry helmet; the blank expression is quite off-putting even now, & must have been pretty intimidating in antiquity (whether or not they were ever worn in battle) 🏺 #AncientBlueSky

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Reposted by Dr Jo Ball

Matthew Selheimer, PhD @mselheimer.bsky.social · 8d

The Baths of the Seven Sages are a public bathing complex in Ostia Antica, ancient Rome’s port city. Named for frescoes depicting Greek philosophers, it features a rotunda with a well-preserved mosaic floor in its frigidarium (cold room) dating to the Hadrianic period (117-138 CE). #mosaicmonday

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Dr Jo Ball @drjeball.bsky.social · 8d

A beautiful #Roman mosaic wall-niche, containing a garden scene with lush plants & birds, including a peacock. About 2000 years ago it decorated the garden or courtyard of a luxurious home in Baiae (near Naples, Italy) 🏺 #AncientBlueSky #MosaicMonday

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Dr Jo Ball @drjeball.bsky.social · 9d

A #Roman glass bowl in amber-brown & blue glass with white irregulat spots running through. A beautiful piece of ancient glassware made about 2000 years ago #AncientBluesky 🏺

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Dr Jo Ball @drjeball.bsky.social · 11d

He is just over 10cm long - could fit in the palm of your hand.

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Dr Jo Ball @drjeball.bsky.social · 11d

A #Roman figurine of a lizard, carved from a single piece of hyaline quartz. It was found in a Gallo-Roman tomb in Belgium, where it was buried as part of an assortment of grave goods about 2000 years ago (📷 MFAH, Brussels) 🏺 AncientBlueSky #Archaeology #RomanArchaeology

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Dr Jo Ball @drjeball.bsky.social · 12d

This is in the RMO in Leiden.

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Dr Jo Ball @drjeball.bsky.social · 12d

The tombstone of a #Roman gladiator named Apollonios; the portrait identifies him as a retiarius, armed with a trident & fishing net. He was obviously good at what he did, with the inscription - dedicated by his wife Zosime - revealing that he won 48 combats in his career 🏺 AncientBlueSky

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Reposted by Dr Jo Ball

classicstober.bsky.social @classicstober.bsky.social · 16d

#ClassicsTober prompts for October ‘25
#ClassicsTober25

ClassicsTober25: Katabasis

1. Hypnos
2. Thanatos
3. Graeae
4. Shroud
5. Hermes Psychopompos
6. Moirai
7. φαρμακίς (pharmakis) - witch, sorceress
8. Erebos
9. Lampades
10. Hekate
11. Torch
12. Styx
13. Empousa
14. Cocytus
15. Τέρατα (Térata) - monsters
16. Typhon
17. Echidna
18. Kharon
19. Shade
20. Acheron
21. Kerberos
22. Judge
23. Lamia
24. Phlegethon
25. Tartarus
26. Punishment
27. Erinyes
28. Phobos & Deimos
29. Mysteries
30. Lethe
31. Elysian Fields

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Reposted by Dr Jo Ball

Nina Willburger @drnwillburger.bsky.social · 13d

Roman horse terracotta figurine found in Rottweil, dating 2nd or 3rd century AD.
Horse figurines served as offerings in sanctuaries or domestic shrines and occasionally as grave goods. Their use and meaning shift depending on context but reflect associations ... 🧵1/2

📷 me

🏺 #archaeology

A close-up of a clay figurine of a horse

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Dr Jo Ball @drjeball.bsky.social · 13d

My cultural referencing is pretty out of date now too, yes. So it goes!

Dr Jo Ball @drjeball.bsky.social · 13d

No PowerPoint - any images through physical photo slides or an acetate sheet on an overhead projector!

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Dr Jo Ball @drjeball.bsky.social · 13d

Absolutely! I also remember the downside that if they were off ill, you didn't find out until you went to the lecture & found a note on the door - I'm glad that bit has changed for students, at least!

Dr Jo Ball @drjeball.bsky.social · 13d

Nothing makes me feel old like the start of a new semester.

When I was an undergrad, I registered my module choices with a paper form. I took all my notes by hand. All my books were physical. I submitted my essays in print into a box outside the departmental secretary's office. Good times.

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Dr Jo Ball @drjeball.bsky.social · 18d

An #AncientGreek chicken on wheels - a child's toy made & first played with at least 2400 years ago in ancient Athens. If it wasn't made of terracotta it could probably pass for a modern toy; apparently the things kids find fun has not changed that much in over two millennia!

AncientBlueSky

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Dr Jo Ball @drjeball.bsky.social · 18d

The Allard Pierson in Amsterdam.

Dr Jo Ball @drjeball.bsky.social · 19d

A #Roman ribbed glass bowl, in a pale shade of bluey-green. It is in beautiful condition despite being about 2000 years old; this type of glass vessel was very popular in the early Imperial period.

AncientBlueSky #Archaeology #RomanArchaeology

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Reposted by Dr Jo Ball

Nina Willburger @drnwillburger.bsky.social · 21d

Like a scene from "Ben Hur": For #ReliefWednesday a terracotta relief depicting an accident at a chariot-race at the Circus Maximus.
The famous circus in #Rome can be recognised due to the seven movable dolphins on the central dividing barrier, the... 🧵1/2

🏺 #archaeology

A rectangular clay relief with detailed carving shows a dramatic accident at a chariot race: a two-horse chariot crashes as the horses rear and fall, while the driver struggles with the reins. Ornamental columns and a decorated border frame the scene. On the right, two male figures stand near a building; one appears distressed, witnessing the incident. The top edge features a floral motif.

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Nina Willburger @drnwillburger.bsky.social · 22d

For #EpigraphyTuesday an amazing #Roman gold fibula (a decorative pin for fastening garments/a brooch) carrying the Latin inscription VTERE FELIX - use this happily, one of the most common inscriptions on Roman finger rings and fibulae.

From Ostrovany, Slovakia, late 3rd c. AD

📷 KHM Wien

🏺

Roman gold fibula shaped like an ornate crossbow, richly decorated with filigree and granulation, featuring a Latin inscription “VTERE FELIX” on the bow. Photographed on a neutral grey background.

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