James Donaldson

@cairojim.bsky.social

Australians, Antiquities and WW1. The Shellal Mosaic. Collecting Antiquities in the Antipodes. Manager/Curator at UQ Antiquities Museum.

Pleased to have this out and open access with @jas-jozstudies.bsky.social my great grandfather, Major RJ Donaldson DSO, was one of the Aussie engineers at Brightlingsea so this had a special connection for me

Journal of Australian Studies@jas-jozstudies.bsky.social · last mo.

In our final article for 50.2, @paulkiem.bsky.social and @cairojim.bsky.social examine the at times whimsical evidence for Australian sappers encountering Roman antiquities at Brightlingsea, Essex during World War I. #OzStudies #OzHist #antiquities #OpenAccess tinyurl.com/ycx6pfvk

Screenshot of journal article. Title: The Centurion and the Sapper: Did Australian Soldiers Souvenir Roman Artefacts While Training at Brightlingsea During World War I? Authors: Paul Kiem (Independent scholar) and James Donaldson (UQ). Abstract: As a result of exposure to a classical education or to the histories permeating the popular culture of the British Empire, many Australian soldiers who went overseas during World War I were receptive to encounters with the past. There are examples of soldiers practising amateur archaeology and souveniring artefacts. The officially sanctioned excavation and appropriation of the Shellal Mosaic is the most well known, but there were many small-scale instances of similar activity. This article assesses the evidence for Australian encounters with Roman antiquities at Brightlingsea, Essex. Notwithstanding the limitations of this evidence and the scope for further research, we argue that the likelihood is that Australians did unearth and souvenir Roman artefacts at Brightlingsea. Like similar incidents from other theatres of the war, many of which were also poorly documented, it helps to illustrate the way in which engagement with the material culture of the past was a significant aspect of Australians’ wartime experience.

Anne Mackay @ BMCR #review: Candace Richards, Elizabeth Minchin, Mediterranean collections in Australia & Aotearoa NZ... bmcr.brynmawr.edu/2026/2026.03... "multi layered perspectives on.. post-colonial era problems of curation &.. societal relevance of antipodean Mediterranean antiquities"

Mediterranean collections in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand: perspectives from afar – Bryn Mawr Classical Review

bmcr.brynmawr.edu

Great to have this article with @paulkiem.bsky.social out in @jas-jozstudies.bsky.social today, all about Roman artefacts and Australian soldiers at Brightlingsea, Essex, during the First World War, with an intriguing ghost story at its heart

Paul Kiem@paulkiem.bsky.social · 6mo ago

Enjoyed exploring some whimsical history and archaeology with @cairojim.bsky.social Our article, 'The Centurion and the Sapper', has just been published, open access, in the Journal of Australian Studies @jas-jozstudies.bsky.social www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

The final chapter, 20, offers a distribution guide to the known publicly accessible collections in the region - 66 in total. Each institution is given a short entry that situates the ancient Med. artefacts within its broader collections, with the aim of increasing visibility of these materials 🏺📜🏛.

Candace Richards@circa-candace.bsky.social · last yr.

Out now! A collaborative volume that explores provenance, pedagogy, participatory programming and ethics for managing ancient Mediterranean collections in this region by #museum experts and researchers. 🏺📜🖼🏛 www.taylorfrancis.com/books/edit/1...

Chapter 6 focuses on the Antiquities Collection of the Uni of Queensland in the mid 20th century and the journey of the Classics department to form the RD Milns museum. It provides a historic framework from which to understand the place of ancient world studies in contemporary Australian education.

Candace Richards@circa-candace.bsky.social · last yr.

Out now! A collaborative volume that explores provenance, pedagogy, participatory programming and ethics for managing ancient Mediterranean collections in this region by #museum experts and researchers. 🏺📜🖼🏛 www.taylorfrancis.com/books/edit/1...

Chapter 16 by Brit Asmussen and @cairojim.bsky.social explores the sticky-ness of objects. They consider the relevance of antiquities held in museums and the varied contributions they make to the contemporary world via people’s engagement with them today.

Candace Richards@circa-candace.bsky.social · last yr.

Out now! A collaborative volume that explores provenance, pedagogy, participatory programming and ethics for managing ancient Mediterranean collections in this region by #museum experts and researchers. 🏺📜🖼🏛 www.taylorfrancis.com/books/edit/1...

Oh hey, it's my thing! Looted text finds from recent war zones! You know, the thing I've been thinking about for, uh, *checks notes* about seven years now! I haven't found an easy answer that lets me sleep soundly, but apparently, some people have. Good for them. Allow me to add some thoughts.🧵

Chasing Aphrodite@chasingaphrodite.bsky.social · last yr.

Should educators ever teach with materials obtained illegally or unethically? “As an archaeologist who teaches at Emory, I have decided yes: Learning with and from these objects can help amend their problematic acquisition—so long as that history pervades the lesson” www.sapiens.org/archaeology/...

Should educators ever teach with materials obtained illegally or unethically? “As an archaeologist who teaches at Emory, I have decided yes: Learning with and from these objects can help amend their problematic acquisition—so long as that history pervades the lesson” www.sapiens.org/archaeology/...

When Wartime Plunder Comes to Campus

An archaeologist considers whether she should teach with antiquities looted during the U.S invasion of Iraq.

sapiens.org