Dr Jo Ball
@drjeball.bsky.social
#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.
A lovely #Roman glass bowl, in shades of green & yellow. It was made about 2000 years ago, probably in Italy, but ended up in a grave in the Rhineland; it is one of the largest glass bowls ever found north of the Alps (📷 Clemens Sels Museum Neuss) #AncientBlueSky
February 17, 2026 at 9:06 PM
A lovely #Roman glass bowl, in shades of green & yellow. It was made about 2000 years ago, probably in Italy, but ended up in a grave in the Rhineland; it is one of the largest glass bowls ever found north of the Alps (📷 Clemens Sels Museum Neuss) #AncientBlueSky
A Romano-British relief sculpture of a warrior (or maybe a war god?) on horseback, with a spear in their left hand & a shield in the right. It has a somewhat unusual approach to the relative sizes of the figures though!
#AncientBlueSky #Roman #RomanArchaeology #Archaeology
#AncientBlueSky #Roman #RomanArchaeology #Archaeology
February 14, 2026 at 8:28 PM
A Romano-British relief sculpture of a warrior (or maybe a war god?) on horseback, with a spear in their left hand & a shield in the right. It has a somewhat unusual approach to the relative sizes of the figures though!
#AncientBlueSky #Roman #RomanArchaeology #Archaeology
#AncientBlueSky #Roman #RomanArchaeology #Archaeology
A cute little #Roman brooch in the shape of a hare or rabbit - animal brooches were popular in the Roman world, & this may once have been a very treasured possession for someone who lived 1800+ years ago 🏺 #AncientBlueSky
February 9, 2026 at 9:51 PM
A cute little #Roman brooch in the shape of a hare or rabbit - animal brooches were popular in the Roman world, & this may once have been a very treasured possession for someone who lived 1800+ years ago 🏺 #AncientBlueSky
A beautiful Byzantine necklace (dated C6-7th AD), made of amethyst, glass, & gold beads linked by delicate gold thread. A lovely piece of ancient jewellery! (📷 NY Met Museum) #AncientBlueSky
February 4, 2026 at 10:57 PM
A beautiful Byzantine necklace (dated C6-7th AD), made of amethyst, glass, & gold beads linked by delicate gold thread. A lovely piece of ancient jewellery! (📷 NY Met Museum) #AncientBlueSky
A #Roman glass bowl in cobalt blue with white irregular swirls; it was made about 2000 years ago, probably in Italy, but ended up in a C1st AD grave in Roman Britain
#AncientBlueSky #Archaeology #RomanArchaeology #AncientRome
#AncientBlueSky #Archaeology #RomanArchaeology #AncientRome
February 3, 2026 at 8:19 PM
A #Roman glass bowl in cobalt blue with white irregular swirls; it was made about 2000 years ago, probably in Italy, but ended up in a C1st AD grave in Roman Britain
#AncientBlueSky #Archaeology #RomanArchaeology #AncientRome
#AncientBlueSky #Archaeology #RomanArchaeology #AncientRome
The entrance to a building in #Roman #Pompeii, decorated with a beautiful monochrome mosaic - makes a very good first impression! #AncientBlueSky #AncientRome ##Archaeology #RomanArchaeology
February 2, 2026 at 8:54 PM
The entrance to a building in #Roman #Pompeii, decorated with a beautiful monochrome mosaic - makes a very good first impression! #AncientBlueSky #AncientRome ##Archaeology #RomanArchaeology
February 1, 2026 at 10:20 PM
A #Roman glass ridged bowl, in a lovely shade of pale green. It was made about 2000 years ago & was found in #Pompeii
#AncientBlueSky
#AncientBlueSky
January 29, 2026 at 4:52 PM
A #Roman glass ridged bowl, in a lovely shade of pale green. It was made about 2000 years ago & was found in #Pompeii
#AncientBlueSky
#AncientBlueSky
A #Roman gladiator's helmet, missing the face mask it originally had, found in Hawkedon (Britain). It dates to the C1st AD, suggesting that gladiatorial combats were introduced to Roman Britain quite early in its history 🏺 #AncientBlueSky
January 26, 2026 at 11:20 PM
A #Roman gladiator's helmet, missing the face mask it originally had, found in Hawkedon (Britain). It dates to the C1st AD, suggesting that gladiatorial combats were introduced to Roman Britain quite early in its history 🏺 #AncientBlueSky
An animal footprint on a #Roman tile from Dalton Parlours, a villa in West Yorkshire - amazing to think of it walking over the drying clay more than 1600 years ago!
#AncientBlueSky
#AncientBlueSky
January 19, 2026 at 12:04 AM
An animal footprint on a #Roman tile from Dalton Parlours, a villa in West Yorkshire - amazing to think of it walking over the drying clay more than 1600 years ago!
#AncientBlueSky
#AncientBlueSky
A loaf of #Roman bread, which was being baked in an oven in #Pompeii when Vesuvius erupted in AD 79; it was carbonised by the disaster & left in the oven until being excavated nearly 1800 years later 🏺 #AncientBlueSky
January 11, 2026 at 11:21 AM
A loaf of #Roman bread, which was being baked in an oven in #Pompeii when Vesuvius erupted in AD 79; it was carbonised by the disaster & left in the oven until being excavated nearly 1800 years later 🏺 #AncientBlueSky
A snowy scene in the Alps, viewed from 39,000ft one year ago today
January 9, 2026 at 6:25 PM
A snowy scene in the Alps, viewed from 39,000ft one year ago today
An assortment of engraved #Roman gems, found in the drains of the legionary bathhouse at Caerleon (Wales). Originally set in pieces of jewellery - especially rings - until the glue softened in the heat & they fell out; similar collections are found in many Roman bathhouse drains
#AncientBlueSky 🏺
#AncientBlueSky 🏺
January 5, 2026 at 5:59 PM
An assortment of engraved #Roman gems, found in the drains of the legionary bathhouse at Caerleon (Wales). Originally set in pieces of jewellery - especially rings - until the glue softened in the heat & they fell out; similar collections are found in many Roman bathhouse drains
#AncientBlueSky 🏺
#AncientBlueSky 🏺
A #Roman mosaic from a villa in Baiae (Italy), now underwater due to seismic activity in the region. Baiae - a coastal town not too far from Naples - was once a pleasure resort for Rome's elite (📷 Andreas Solaro/AFP)
🏺 #RomanSiteSaturday #AncientBlueSky
🏺 #RomanSiteSaturday #AncientBlueSky
January 3, 2026 at 7:58 PM
A #Roman mosaic from a villa in Baiae (Italy), now underwater due to seismic activity in the region. Baiae - a coastal town not too far from Naples - was once a pleasure resort for Rome's elite (📷 Andreas Solaro/AFP)
🏺 #RomanSiteSaturday #AncientBlueSky
🏺 #RomanSiteSaturday #AncientBlueSky
The tombstone of a #Roman soldier named Gaius Valerius, who served in the Legio XV Apollinaris as a tubicen - a military musician who played a tuba to give commands, particularly on the battlefield. He died at the age of 36 after 16 years of service in the #RomanArmy
🏺 #AncientBlueSky
🏺 #AncientBlueSky
January 2, 2026 at 4:45 PM
The tombstone of a #Roman soldier named Gaius Valerius, who served in the Legio XV Apollinaris as a tubicen - a military musician who played a tuba to give commands, particularly on the battlefield. He died at the age of 36 after 16 years of service in the #RomanArmy
🏺 #AncientBlueSky
🏺 #AncientBlueSky
Happy New Year - 2026 already, wow!
In the #Roman world, lamps were often given as New Year's gifts - on this example, a winged Victory inscribes a shield with a wish for happiness in the new year, surrounded by coins & dried fruits (also traditional new year gifts).
In the #Roman world, lamps were often given as New Year's gifts - on this example, a winged Victory inscribes a shield with a wish for happiness in the new year, surrounded by coins & dried fruits (also traditional new year gifts).
January 1, 2026 at 3:44 PM
Happy New Year - 2026 already, wow!
In the #Roman world, lamps were often given as New Year's gifts - on this example, a winged Victory inscribes a shield with a wish for happiness in the new year, surrounded by coins & dried fruits (also traditional new year gifts).
In the #Roman world, lamps were often given as New Year's gifts - on this example, a winged Victory inscribes a shield with a wish for happiness in the new year, surrounded by coins & dried fruits (also traditional new year gifts).
A lovely #Roman necklace, made of gold & small chunks of emerald - a delicate, beautiful, & timeless piece of jewellery, made more than 1800 years ago.
December 27, 2025 at 11:18 AM
A lovely #Roman necklace, made of gold & small chunks of emerald - a delicate, beautiful, & timeless piece of jewellery, made more than 1800 years ago.
A beautiful #Roman glass bowl, cobalt blue with an irregular white swirling pattern - it must have looked fantastic on an ancient table! (📷 Bonhams) 🏺 #AncientBlueSky
December 3, 2025 at 8:05 PM
A beautiful #Roman glass bowl, cobalt blue with an irregular white swirling pattern - it must have looked fantastic on an ancient table! (📷 Bonhams) 🏺 #AncientBlueSky
A #Roman necklace plaited gold set with sapphires & garnets, with a lovely butterfly pendant, also set with precious stones. Hard to believe this piece of jewellery is about 1800-2000 years old! 🏺 #AncientBlueSky
November 29, 2025 at 10:09 AM
A #Roman necklace plaited gold set with sapphires & garnets, with a lovely butterfly pendant, also set with precious stones. Hard to believe this piece of jewellery is about 1800-2000 years old! 🏺 #AncientBlueSky
A #Roman glass bottle, made about 2000 years ago & probably used to store perfume or perfumed oil #AncientBlueSky
November 28, 2025 at 12:54 AM
A #Roman glass bottle, made about 2000 years ago & probably used to store perfume or perfumed oil #AncientBlueSky
The Nijmegen Helmet - a #Roman 'cavalry sports' helmet with a slightly chilling face mask attached. It is about 1900-2000 years old, & was found in the Waal river near Nijmegen (Netherlands) in 1915 #AncientBlueSky
November 26, 2025 at 9:17 PM
The Nijmegen Helmet - a #Roman 'cavalry sports' helmet with a slightly chilling face mask attached. It is about 1900-2000 years old, & was found in the Waal river near Nijmegen (Netherlands) in 1915 #AncientBlueSky
A #Roman wooden ship, excavated from the bottom of the Rhine near Utrecht (Netherlands) in 2003. It sank about 1850-1800 years ago - probably very quickly, as a lot of artefacts were found inside, suggesting the crew were not able to salvage them in time 🏺 #AncientBlueSky
November 25, 2025 at 10:36 PM
A #Roman wooden ship, excavated from the bottom of the Rhine near Utrecht (Netherlands) in 2003. It sank about 1850-1800 years ago - probably very quickly, as a lot of artefacts were found inside, suggesting the crew were not able to salvage them in time 🏺 #AncientBlueSky