Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Michael Fradley @mfradley.bsky.social · 20d

Our work at @eamena.bsky.social @unioxarchaeology.bsky.social on these sites will continue with sites visits to the camps in the near future. They also featured on a recent documentary on the Nabataean kingdom #Jordan #RomanFortThursday www.channel4.com/programmes/b...

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Première Urgence Internationale @premiereurgenceint.bsky.social · 21d

“It’s not just about Palestinian heritage or Christian heritage, it’s something important to the world heritage here, protected by UNESCO,” explained Kevin Charbel, the emergency field coordinator for @premiereurgenceint.bsky.social via @apnews.com
apnews.com/article/isra...
#Gaza #Palestine

A rushed rescue saves Gaza archeological items before an Israeli strike on a warehouse

Aid workers saved thousands of priceless archaeological artifacts in Gaza from destruction last week after Israel targeted the warehouse building in a strike.

apnews.com

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Michael Fradley @mfradley.bsky.social · 26d

Yes, odd that it had never been identified as it appears in records from C13, had standing earthworks alongside a main road (A530) with masonry fragments visible, and a rare C12 coin hoard found to the E in 1939. There will be a lot of evidence still surviving below ground - more research needed!

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Michael Fradley @mfradley.bsky.social · 26d

I had only identified the site in 2005 and it was not scheduled, so nothing to prevent landscaping. Sandstone pillar fragments alongside the road were also removed during roadworks around the same time.

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robertbewley.bsky.social @robertbewley.bsky.social · Sep 5

Final episode on Saturday. #apaame #eamena123 Thanks to Dr Michael Fradley’s discoveries #robertbewley

Seen 'Bettany Hughes' Lost Worlds: The Nabataeans'? Watch it here on Channel 4:

www.channel4.com/programmes/b...

Bettany Hughes' Lost Worlds: The Nabataeans

Bettany Hughes unravels the enigma of the influential ancient people who history forgot

www.channel4.com

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Michael Fradley @mfradley.bsky.social · 26d

2/2 The mound & outer ditches were levelled without investigation in the late 2000s. Here visible on a Infoterra/Blusesky image from 2005 via Google Earth Pro. For more info, including links to Combermere Abbey, a late C12 coin hoard + pos Roman origins: archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/library/brow...

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Michael Fradley @mfradley.bsky.social · 26d

1/1 The site of Newhall Tower #Cheshire on a new Airbus satellite image from 17 August 2025 via Google Earth Pro. The circular site of a mound- presumably the site of the tower first documented C13 belonging to the de Audley family- is visible as a cropmark.

A satellite image of the archaeological site of Newhall Tower in Cheshire, with buried features visible in the differential growth of crops being grown over the site.

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EAMENA @eamena.bsky.social · Sep 5

📣📣 This Saturday 6th September EAMENA features on Bettany Hughes show on Channel 4 about the Nabataeans, which features flights with our Bob Bewley over the Roman camps we identified in SE Jordan.
www.channel4.com/programmes/b...
For our original research paper:👇🏻
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

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EAMENA @eamena.bsky.social · Sep 4

📣📣 Our Bill Finlayson & fellow archaeologists help to uncover the mystery of the hundreds of 'desert kites' stretching across the Arabian desert. Find out who built these megastructures, the purpose they served & the ingenious discovery that was unearthed...👇🏻
www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/epis...

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(Mar)Chella Ward @luxmea.bsky.social · Sep 4

I have a new article out today in Public Humanities, where I try to find some words for how historicide is (and has always been) a project of European colonialism - and I try to find some words for the historians who continue to support it. 🇵🇸✊🏻

Open access: www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

How the Past Became a Weapon of Genocide in Palestine | Public Humanities | Cambridge Core

How the Past Became a Weapon of Genocide in Palestine - Volume 1

www.cambridge.org

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Michael Fradley @mfradley.bsky.social · Sep 4

Today's Pod Save the World podcast E486 @podsaveamerica.crooked.com covers how #archaeology is used for the annexation of the #WestBank #Palestine by the #Israeli settler campaign. Discussion starting about 1.42 hours in- important intro to a non-specialist audience: www.crooked.com/podcast-seri...

Pod Save The World | Crooked Media

Pod Save the World is a no-bullshit conversation about foreign policy hosted by Tommy Vietor that explores some of the most important decisions of our time.

www.crooked.com

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Jake Godin @godin.bsky.social · Aug 18

It appears the IDF are conducting more earthworks on top of Tell Ali Muntar, potentially further damaging a Bronze Age-era archeological hill in what little remains of Gaza City's Shejaiya neighborhood.

Michael Press shared some of the history of the site here:
bsky.app/profile/mich...

An August 8 2025 SkySat satellite image from Planet Labs showing part of Gaza City's Shejaiya neighborhood where the archeological mound Tell Ali Muntar is located. Much of the buildings surrounding the hill have been destroyed. There are temporary structures visible at an apparent IDF outpost on top of the hill.

An August 16 2025 SkySat satellite image from Planet Labs showing part of Gaza City's Shejaiya neighborhood where the archeological mound Tell Ali Muntar is located. Much of the buildings surrounding the hill have been destroyed. The temporary structures on the hill are gone. Part of the hill on the east side has been disturbed in an apparent earthworks effort.

An August 17 2025 SkySat satellite image from Planet Labs showing part of Gaza City's Shejaiya neighborhood where the archeological mound Tell Ali Muntar is located. Much of the buildings surrounding the hill have been destroyed. The temporary structures on the hill are gone, though small vehicles appear to be present. Part of the hill on the east side has been disturbed in an apparent earthworks effort and it appears there are heavy vehicles present.

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Jake Godin @godin.bsky.social · Jul 29

Thanks for sharing Dominic. Really important updates in that video from Fadel. There's been even more damage to the Byzantine church site since the early 2025 photo was taken: bsky.app/profile/godi...

Jake Godin @godin.bsky.social · Jul 17

Unfortunately there has been further damage at the Jabaliya Byzantine church archeological site after it was damaged earlier this year.

The reception buildings have been destroyed. The protective structure that surrounded the 1,500 year-old mosaics also appears to have been partially destroyed.

A Planet Labs satellite image of the Jabaliya Byzantine Church archeological site on June 14, 2025. There is heavy destruction surrounding the site.

A Planet Labs satellite image of the Jabaliya Byzantine Church archeological site on July 11, 2025. The church complex has been damaged further with the reception building being destroyed and parts of the protective structure around the mosaic.

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Dominic Manchee @dpmanchee.bsky.social · Jul 29

And this is destruction of a 5th - 7th C CE Byzantine basilica and chapel.

Right hand picture was taken in early 2025.

youtu.be/alb0mGJNJ9o?...

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Benedict Garman @benedictgarman.com · Jul 18

Entire towns being reduced to rubble in Gaza www.bbc.co.uk/news/resourc...

Israel levelling thousands of Gaza civilian buildings in controlled demolitions - BBC News

Investigation by BBC Verify using satellite images and verified footage to show the extent of destruction in Gaza, where the Israeli military have carried out demolitions to raze entire towns and subu...

www.bbc.co.uk

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Michael Fradley @mfradley.bsky.social · Jul 18

Really important updates from @godin.bsky.social @bellingcat.com. While there has been little effort by the Israeli military to protect cultural heritage in #Gaza #Palestine, it now looks like even if the best known and protected/preserved #archaeological sites are open to needless destruction.

Jake Godin @godin.bsky.social · Jul 17

Unfortunately there has been further damage at the Jabaliya Byzantine church archeological site after it was damaged earlier this year.

The reception buildings have been destroyed. The protective structure that surrounded the 1,500 year-old mosaics also appears to have been partially destroyed.

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Michael Fradley @mfradley.bsky.social · Jul 17

One of a number of Bronze Age ring ditch cropmarks at University Parks @ox.ac.uk visible on the ground in parched conditions today. Many of these features can be seen on recent aerial + satellite imagery (eg Apple Maps) as weather extremes become more common #climate @unioxarchaeology.bsky.social

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Chris Seddon @chrisseddon.bsky.social · Jun 26

A member of the Derbyshire Archaeological Society's Facebook page shared these images of a tile that her son found at the bottom of the River Derwent near Hathersage. Any tile experts on here fancy shining some light on what it might be? #archaeology #floortile #Derbyshire

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Jessie Slater PhD @subbasegirl.bsky.social · Jun 10

“Looting is a global issue, often fueled by armed conflicts, civil unrest, and weak governmental control,” 🏺

As war rages in Gaza, archaeological looting in the West Bank has spiked

Economic collapse in Palestinian territories has led to illegal digs at prominent Bronze Age site, new study finds

www.science.org

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Drug Science @drugscience.bsky.social · May 28

🚨 An important day for evidence-based drug policy reform.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan backs partial decriminalisation of cannabis possession, following findings from the London Drugs Commission that current policies are causing disproportionate harm to society.
theguardian.com/soci...

Sadiq Khan calls for partial decriminalisation of cannabis possession | Cannabis | The Guardian

London Drugs Commission also found disproportionate use of stop-and-search powers in black communities

www.theguardian.com

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Dr Will Wyeth @willwyeth.bsky.social · May 20

Owing to a withdrawal, I have a slot available at this year’s IMC in session #134. Anyone interested in sharing new research on castles, please get in touch!

imc-leeds.confex.com/imc/2025/pre...

Arguing about Castles: Worlds of Learning, Thinking, and Research in Castle Studies, I - Interrogating Castle Knowledges

How do we know about castles? How do we build arguments about castles? ‘Arguing about Castles’ presents new work which examine the structure and development of ideas in castle studies as a field of en...

imc-leeds.confex.com

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Dr Katherine Blouin @isisnaucratis.bsky.social · May 19

🚨 @gmandreou.bsky.social launched a fundraiser to help 12 Gazan students who worked on the GAZAMAP project pay their tuition fees. We at EO are fully behind this initiative, so we invited her to share it on the platform. Please donate!👇 everydayorientalism.wordpress.com/2025/05/19/h...

How to Help Gazan History & Archaeology Students Finish their Degree

cover picture by Georgia M. Andreou: GAZAMAP students at work before October 2023 Archaeology has a long legacy of separating heritage from its contemporary context. The ongoing destruction in Gaza…

everydayorientalism.wordpress.com

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Georgia Andreou @gmandreou.bsky.social · May 15

We are fundraising to support #archaeology #students in #Gaza to settle their tuition fees & complete their degrees. We've worked with them at the #GAZAMAP project monitoring vulnerable #culturalheritage. Please donate and share: gogetfunding.com/help-gazan-s...

Help Gazan students to complete their university degrees

The war in Gaza has devastated the region’s higher education infrastructure. Several universities have been damaged or destroyed, forcing students to continue their studies online under extremely diff...

gogetfunding.com

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Jake Godin @godin.bsky.social · May 15

New @planet.com SkySat imagery from May 13 gives us an updated look at the archeological site highlighted below.

In the newer imagery, we can see Tell Ali Muntar has been further damaged and turned into a military position, with new roads, gravel, and military infrastructure set up on the hill.

Planet Labs SkySat satellite imagery from May 13 2025 shows Tell Ali Muntar in Gaza City's Shejaiya neighborhood. The hill, an archeological site, has been partially terraformed with roads and berms set up on top of it, as well as a new gravel road and gravel pad along with military infrastructure and military vehicles visible. There is a large amount of destruction surrounding the hill compared with earlier imagery.

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EAMENA @eamena.bsky.social · May 13

Our Australian followers can currently watch a documentary on the Nabataeans (hopefully broadcasting in the UK soon) that includes flights over the Roman camps we identified in SE #Jordan back in 2023: www.sbs.com.au/ondemand/tv-...
For our original research paper: www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

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