Trevor Wiley
@mearcsteppende.bsky.social
History PhD candidate at Boston College dissertating on the environment, community, and landscape on the 4th-8th century Forth, Clyde, and Tay in Scotland. Originally from Appalachia.
RIP unnamed medieval people buried at Lundin Links, you would have loved quick oats
February 12, 2026 at 3:03 PM
RIP unnamed medieval people buried at Lundin Links, you would have loved quick oats
Keeping quite comfortably at the edge of both the archaeologists and classicists, as befits a medieval historian!
February 9, 2026 at 6:25 PM
Keeping quite comfortably at the edge of both the archaeologists and classicists, as befits a medieval historian!
Had a great time today talking about my (incredibly wildly messy) working research map in QGIS at our department Digital Humanities showcase. 2,000+ sites, 26 layers, and a lot of time spent data cleaning, but a personal resource I return to again and again!
January 23, 2026 at 7:07 PM
Had a great time today talking about my (incredibly wildly messy) working research map in QGIS at our department Digital Humanities showcase. 2,000+ sites, 26 layers, and a lot of time spent data cleaning, but a personal resource I return to again and again!
Nearby was the grave of Kelly Bennett, a contemporary and similar advocate for the park, whose story I had never heard, but am now glad I know.
January 19, 2026 at 1:51 PM
Nearby was the grave of Kelly Bennett, a contemporary and similar advocate for the park, whose story I had never heard, but am now glad I know.
Another visit from yesterday - the grave of Horace Kephart, author of Our Southern Highlanders and instrumental part of the creation of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, resting on a hill surrounded by the mountains he lived in and protected.
January 19, 2026 at 1:50 PM
Another visit from yesterday - the grave of Horace Kephart, author of Our Southern Highlanders and instrumental part of the creation of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, resting on a hill surrounded by the mountains he lived in and protected.
The half-paved road and blasted banks above it give way to a smaller path with a mountain laurel canopy which winds with the twists, turns and hollers of the ridge. A beautiful and yet somber hike. (3/3)
January 19, 2026 at 1:41 AM
The half-paved road and blasted banks above it give way to a smaller path with a mountain laurel canopy which winds with the twists, turns and hollers of the ridge. A beautiful and yet somber hike. (3/3)
The unfinished tunnel at the beginning of the trail acts like a portal, separating the beautiful few miles of finished parkway from a small stretch of rough pavement and broken guardrails. The dark and cold passage between the hopeful promise and its broken reality. (2/3)
January 19, 2026 at 1:41 AM
The unfinished tunnel at the beginning of the trail acts like a portal, separating the beautiful few miles of finished parkway from a small stretch of rough pavement and broken guardrails. The dark and cold passage between the hopeful promise and its broken reality. (2/3)
Took a hike on the "Road to Nowhere" in the Smokies today, an unfinished road which was supposed to supply access to areas cut off by the flooding of Fontana Lake, which submerged several smaller Appalachian towns. It was never finished, leaving the promise unfulfilled. (1/3)
January 19, 2026 at 1:41 AM
Took a hike on the "Road to Nowhere" in the Smokies today, an unfinished road which was supposed to supply access to areas cut off by the flooding of Fontana Lake, which submerged several smaller Appalachian towns. It was never finished, leaving the promise unfulfilled. (1/3)
A cold stream in the Smokies slowly melting and rushing down into Deep Creek.
January 18, 2026 at 4:09 PM
A cold stream in the Smokies slowly melting and rushing down into Deep Creek.
If anything can solve writer's block, it has to be an early morning sky in the mountains.
January 17, 2026 at 1:30 PM
If anything can solve writer's block, it has to be an early morning sky in the mountains.
I hope everyone is spending this holiday season comfortable and happy, with the people you most want to be with.
Beginning in on some newly acquired Christmas reading in a warm sweater, myself.
Beginning in on some newly acquired Christmas reading in a warm sweater, myself.
December 25, 2025 at 3:57 PM
I hope everyone is spending this holiday season comfortable and happy, with the people you most want to be with.
Beginning in on some newly acquired Christmas reading in a warm sweater, myself.
Beginning in on some newly acquired Christmas reading in a warm sweater, myself.
So grading ends, and holiday editing begins...
December 19, 2025 at 2:05 AM
So grading ends, and holiday editing begins...
Alright which one of you dumped a bunch of good stuff at your local used bookstore
December 1, 2025 at 5:33 PM
Alright which one of you dumped a bunch of good stuff at your local used bookstore
Saying goodbye to the beautiful venue of #Haskins2025 after two and a half days of brilliant papers and even better conversations over coffee and drinks. Eagerly looking forward to the next one.
November 16, 2025 at 8:07 PM
Saying goodbye to the beautiful venue of #Haskins2025 after two and a half days of brilliant papers and even better conversations over coffee and drinks. Eagerly looking forward to the next one.
A reminder that if you live in a place with elections today, no matter how local, you should get out and vote!
November 4, 2025 at 5:53 PM
A reminder that if you live in a place with elections today, no matter how local, you should get out and vote!
Our seals are a great reminder that big societal shifts changed life all the way down, and that in turn, they transformed the ways people lived their very ordinary coastal lives.
Also, they remind us that we have some great non-text sources for studying a poorly-understood place and time! (11/11)
Also, they remind us that we have some great non-text sources for studying a poorly-understood place and time! (11/11)
October 17, 2025 at 7:17 PM
Our seals are a great reminder that big societal shifts changed life all the way down, and that in turn, they transformed the ways people lived their very ordinary coastal lives.
Also, they remind us that we have some great non-text sources for studying a poorly-understood place and time! (11/11)
Also, they remind us that we have some great non-text sources for studying a poorly-understood place and time! (11/11)
It's Friday afternoon and I have a little time between meetings, so let's do a little mini-thread on early medieval seals in the Firth of Forth and why I think it's useful to us to study them. Join me as I bounce through a tiny bit of my dissertation! (1/11)
October 17, 2025 at 7:17 PM
It's Friday afternoon and I have a little time between meetings, so let's do a little mini-thread on early medieval seals in the Firth of Forth and why I think it's useful to us to study them. Join me as I bounce through a tiny bit of my dissertation! (1/11)
Celebrating a successful guest lecture with a little reading by the Charles on this beautiful day.
September 16, 2025 at 6:53 PM
Celebrating a successful guest lecture with a little reading by the Charles on this beautiful day.
For #StandingStoneSunday (though this might be more of a sitting stone), I had to go back a couple years to a visit to the Neolithic Carrowmore cemetery in County Sligo. This worn stone sentinel - Tomb 52 - silently declares the memory of those interred in and around it, 5-6,000 years on.
September 14, 2025 at 2:56 PM
For #StandingStoneSunday (though this might be more of a sitting stone), I had to go back a couple years to a visit to the Neolithic Carrowmore cemetery in County Sligo. This worn stone sentinel - Tomb 52 - silently declares the memory of those interred in and around it, 5-6,000 years on.
After years of living in Boston, finally went and visited Lowell and the mills and now am rabid to read more about them, which cannot be good for my very medieval dissertation
July 29, 2025 at 2:36 AM
After years of living in Boston, finally went and visited Lowell and the mills and now am rabid to read more about them, which cannot be good for my very medieval dissertation
planning a chapter looking at a lot of different animals in the landscape vs. actually incorporating the vast amount of scholarship done on each and every animal
July 22, 2025 at 2:02 PM
planning a chapter looking at a lot of different animals in the landscape vs. actually incorporating the vast amount of scholarship done on each and every animal
It's #CowAppreciationDay and one of my favorite dissertation chapters so far involves a lot of cows, so here's three of my favorite cow-related things I've read in my research so far. There's a lot to learn about past societies through the medium of the beloved bovine! (1/4)
July 8, 2025 at 4:35 PM
It's #CowAppreciationDay and one of my favorite dissertation chapters so far involves a lot of cows, so here's three of my favorite cow-related things I've read in my research so far. There's a lot to learn about past societies through the medium of the beloved bovine! (1/4)
Saw a seal, good weekend.
July 6, 2025 at 11:51 AM
Saw a seal, good weekend.
Spending some time hiking around American Atlantic fjords to jog that writing spirit
July 4, 2025 at 10:07 PM
Spending some time hiking around American Atlantic fjords to jog that writing spirit