Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Clare Burke @thesherdnerd.bsky.social · 2d

Real life culture vultures...🤯 www.popsci.com/environment/... #archaeology #nature 🏺

Multi-generational vulture nests hold 700 years of human artifacts

Crossbow bolts, sandals, slingshots, and more.

www.popsci.com

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Reposted by Clare Burke

Alison Fisk @alisonfisk.bsky.social · 6d

At almost 2,000 years old, this child’s wooden toy sword is a remarkable survival from Roman times!

Found in the living quarters of the cavalry barracks at Vindolanda fort in 2017. Dated c.120 AD. Chesterholm Museum 📷 by me

#RomanFortThursday
#Archaeology

My photo shows a Roman-era wooden toy sword made from oak. It is dark brown in colour, displayed against a cream and pale green background. It is carved to look like an adult sword, with a semi-circular handle, a blade with pointed tip, and a semi-circular guard embellished with a centrally-set oval polished stone. The wood is remarkably well-preserved except for a break across the hilt. Excavated in 2017 from the cavalry barracks at Vindolanda, a fort on the Roman Empire’s northern frontier. Dated c. AD 120.

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Clare Burke @thesherdnerd.bsky.social · 6d

JOB! au.career.emply.com/ad/teaching-... 🏺 #Archaeology #classics

Teaching associate professorship in classical archaeology (part-time) - au.dk

The School of Culture and Society, Department of History and Classical Studies, invites applications for a part-time teaching associate professorship in classical archaeology (Studielektor). The posit

au.career.emply.com

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Reposted by Clare Burke

Dr Rachel Pope @prehistorian.bsky.social · 12d

New paper. Recording the female experience of UK archaeology 1990-2010. Anne Teather and I document how an industry EDI agenda evolved in the 1990s and was dismantled, uncovering the ramifications of that for women archaeologists over the next decade.

www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

#openaccess✅

Documenting the profession: Recording historic access and retention issues for women in UK archaeology | Archaeological Dialogues | Cambridge Core

Documenting the profession: Recording historic access and retention issues for women in UK archaeology

www.cambridge.org

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Reposted by Clare Burke

Alison Fisk @alisonfisk.bsky.social · 10d

😂😂😂

Photo of an empty, muddy, old plastic bottle with a single handle. The bottle is lying on soil surrounded by stones of varying shapes and sizes. The side of the bottle with handle is uppermost. The mouth end of the container points towards bottom left of the picture.

There is text above the image of the plastic bottle which reads “Ancient skull found on archaeological dig is proof of our alien origins”. Having read the text, at first glance the plastic bottle looks similar to an alien skull. The body of the bottle looks like a long skull,the handle looks like a nose, and the indents with shadow either side of the handle look like eyes. An example of pareidolia!

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Clare Burke @thesherdnerd.bsky.social · 9d

Very interesting! Colour has always been important to different societies but perhaps not so well understood by us looking into the past #archaeology 🏺🧪

Dr Izzy Wisher @izzywisher.bsky.social · 9d

Time to update your Palaeolithic palettes... 🔵

Very proud to share our new research on the OLDEST use of blue pigment! We identified traces of azurite - a vibrant blue mineral - on a stone object around 14-13,000 years old. Why is this so exciting? 👇🏺

doi.org/10.15184/aqy...

Close-up image of a sand coloured stone, with a diagonal crack. The sand rock has a textured surface, and small spots of blue can be seen towards the centre of the stone. The background is grey.

Microscopic photo of the blue spots, that are irregular in shape and size and positioned diagonally across the image. The rest of the photo shows the rough sand coloured texture of the stone.

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Reposted by Clare Burke

Dr Susan Greaney @suegreaney.bsky.social · 27d

Can share this again now that the paper has been published: www.theguardian.com/science/2025...

People gathered for great meat feasts at end of British bronze age, study shows

Evidence of millions of animal bones at sites in West Country and Surrey points to ‘age of feasting’

www.theguardian.com

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Reposted by Clare Burke

European Association of Archaeologists @archaeologyeaa.bsky.social · Sep 4

Today's Keynote Lecture will be delivered by Liv Nilsson Stutz, Prof at Linnaeus University with title:

"What does it mean to be Ethical as an Archaeologist in 2025? Interrogating our relationship to Scientific Integrity, Activism, and Social Responsibility in uncertain times.

#EAA2025

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Clare Burke @thesherdnerd.bsky.social · Sep 3

😍😍

Reposted by Clare Burke

Kayt Hawkins @kayth.bsky.social · Sep 3

It includes a link to the annual EAA survey so you can make known your views on the 31st (this) conference 🏺

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Reposted by Clare Burke

Kayt Hawkins @kayth.bsky.social · Sep 3

Also, for EAA members here is the link to the meeting on Friday and relevant papers
www.e-a-a.org/EAA/News___P...

AMBM 2025

www.e-a-a.org

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Reposted by Clare Burke

The Black Trowel Collective @blacktrowel.bsky.social · Sep 2

📢 CALL TO ACTION | EAA Leadership Overturns Democratic Vote Following Threats

Intimidation tactics forced the EAA to abandon solidarity with Gaza.

Archaeologists:
Cancel membership | Speak up | Share

Full statement: blacktrowelcollective.wordpress.com/2025/09/02/b...

#EAA2025 #Archaeology #Gaza

CALL TO ACTION | EAA Leadership Overturns Democratic Vote Following Threats

Intimidation Tactics Force Archaeological Association to Abandon Gaza Solidarity Last week the executive board of the European Association of Archaeologists took the decision, in light of the ongoi…

blacktrowelcollective.wordpress.com

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Clare Burke @thesherdnerd.bsky.social · Sep 2

Yes Tom is great to follow!

Clare Burke @thesherdnerd.bsky.social · Sep 1

Oooo looking forward to reading this new research! www.cambridge.org/core/journal... 🏺🧪 #archaeology #Neolithic

New temporal dimensions of the Linearbandkeramik cemetery horizon in Schwetzingen (Germany) | Antiquity | Cambridge Core

New temporal dimensions of the Linearbandkeramik cemetery horizon in Schwetzingen (Germany)

www.cambridge.org

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Clare Burke @thesherdnerd.bsky.social · Sep 1

Pleased to have written a little about the Neolithic pottery with my colleague Marija in this new book about the interesting site of Svinjarička Čuka. The book is open access verlag.oeaw.ac.at/en/product/s... 🏺🧪 #archaeology

Svinjarička Čuka in Serbia. Свињаричка чука, Србија. Highlights from 8000 to 3000 years ago. Вишеслојно налазиште од пре 8000 до пре 3000 година | 978-3-7001-9717-1 | Verlag der ÖAW

Bestellen sie jetzt Svinjarička Čuka in Serbia. Свињаричка чука, Србија in unserem Verlagswebshop.

verlag.oeaw.ac.at

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Clare Burke @thesherdnerd.bsky.social · Sep 1

Thanks 😊

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Reposted by Clare Burke

Nature @nature.com · Aug 29

Posts about research on Bluesky receive substantially more attention than similar posts on X, formerly called Twitter

go.nature.com/45Ftiw4

Research posts on Bluesky are more original — and get better engagement

Bluesky posts about science garner more likes and reposts than similar ones on X.

go.nature.com

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Clare Burke @thesherdnerd.bsky.social · Aug 30

Connections have always been a key part of our history 🏺🧪 #archaeology #stonehenge

Antiquity Journal @antiquity.ac.uk · Aug 29

📰 Analysis of a cow jawbone from Stonehenge finds it originated in Wales, the same region the monument's iconic bluestones were quarried, adding to evidence for connections across Neolithic southern Britain.

🏺 #ArchaeologyNews via @archaeologynews.bsky.social

archaeologymag.com/2025/08/neol...

Neolithic cow tooth links Stonehenge to Wales and supports the origin of its bluestones

5,000-year-old cow tooth links Stonehenge to Wales, revealing clues about how its massive stones were transported.

archaeologymag.com

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Clare Burke @thesherdnerd.bsky.social · Aug 29

Well this is it. My last day at York & as a post doc but for sure not the end of working with fabulous colleagues here. Monday, I head the other way on the M1 to start my new adventure at Nottingham!
🏺🧪

Photograph of a building with the word environment written on it.

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Clare Burke @thesherdnerd.bsky.social · Aug 27

To read more about this fabulous prehistoric site and its Neolithic origins ➡️ www.oeaw.ac.at/en/news/erst... 🏺🧪 #archaeol9gy #prehistory

First settlers in Europe: 8,000-year-old house discovered in Serbia

An extraordinary find in southern Serbia sheds light on the origins of the first sedentary societies in Europe: an 8000-year-old house has been discovered in Svinjarička Čuka. The archaeological disco...

www.oeaw.ac.at

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Clare Burke @thesherdnerd.bsky.social · Aug 27

Sad to have had to cancel plans to join the opening of this exhibition of finds from Svinjarička Čuka at the museum in Leskovac, Serbia. It's going to be brilliant, congrats @barbarahorejs.bsky.social Vladar, & all the team!🏺🧪 #archaeology #Neolithic #Balkans

Image of a poster advertising a new exhibition

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Clare Burke @thesherdnerd.bsky.social · Aug 13

Looking forward to reading this one!
www.cambridge.org/core/journal... #archaeology 🏺🧪

West African ancestry in seventh-century England: two individuals from Kent and Dorset | Antiquity | Cambridge Core

West African ancestry in seventh-century England: two individuals from Kent and Dorset

www.cambridge.org

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Clare Burke @thesherdnerd.bsky.social · Aug 13

Our article on pottery from Europe's oldest goldmine is out! This took years to pull together, so I'm really pleased to see it out in the world! link.springer.com/article/10.1... #Archaeology #prehistory #pottery 🏺🔬

Mining gold and shaping clay: The production and consumption of bronze age pottery at ada tepe goldmine, Bulgaria - Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences

This paper examines the production of Late Bronze Age pottery (1480–1150 calBC) from two settlement areas of Ada Tepe, SE Bulgaria, Europe’s oldest goldmine. We present the results of an integrated ap...

link.springer.com

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Reposted by Clare Burke

Antiquity Journal @antiquity.ac.uk · Aug 4

How were ochre pigments sourced and used in prehistory? 🏺

Check out our review of 'The usage of ochre at the verge of Neolithisation from the Near East to the Carpathian Basin' in our #NewBookChronicle on the 'Scientific search for a colourful past'

🆓 doi.org/10.15184/aqy...

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Reposted by Clare Burke

Dr Izzy Wisher @izzywisher.bsky.social · Jul 30

🚨DEADLINE ON FRIDAY!🚨 Do you do art-related archaeological research? Are you itching to discuss how we identify individual artists in the past, or the agency art had in societies? Then make sure to get your abstracts in for @tag2025york.bsky.social! You can send them to me at: [email protected] 🏺

Dr Izzy Wisher @izzywisher.bsky.social · Jun 17

How can we visualise the agency of art and artists in past societies? Mine and @dparrott.bsky.social's session at @tag2025york.bsky.social intends to bring together exciting new research to explore this question! Interested? Why not submit an abstract!✋ 🎨🖌️🏺

ORGANISER(S): Izzy Wisher and Derek Parrott

AFFILIATION: Aarhus University

CONTACT: Izzy Wisher, izzywisher@cas.au.dk

ABSTRACT:

Art was, and continues to be, an active agent in societies. The first traces of artistic behaviour can be glimpsed in etched patterns produced nearly 100,000 years ago, and flourished into the rich, material culture visible in a wide array of both prehistoric and historic societies. It has the relational power to build new connections between individuals, generate cultural identities, or exert political or religious authority over a population. There have been significant efforts in recent years to shift away from “grand theories” of art – whether typological or narrative in nature – to instead appreciate the dialogical, multisensorial, and distributed engagements of art making and reception. Yet there remains a central challenge. In the fragmentary archaeological evidence of past artistic actions, how can we visualise individual artisans?

In this session, we intend to bring together a diverse range of perspectives that examine art from a range of spatial and temporal contexts to identify the actions of individual artists in the past. We particularly encourage submissions that have developed new theoretical and high-resolution methodological approaches to address this challenge. Our session will not be limited in period or object type – the organisers themselves specialise in Palaeolithic art (IW) and Viking Age art (DP), but share a common theoretical thread in their conceptions of art.

Themes could therefore include, but are not limited to:
Material engagements in artistic practices
Art and agency perspectives
Craft networks and the role of the artisan
High-resolution digital modelling
Archaeometric approaches to art

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