Dig diary – final week at Skaill, Rousay An update on the final week of excavation from Dan Lee....
Dig diary – final week at Skaill, Rousay
An update on the final week of excavation from Dan Lee.
archaeologyorkney.com
Matthew Blake
@matthew-blake.bsky.social
This week: Commonplace book of James Whitehall, Poaching, Orkney, Churchwardens, Early Medieval stuff, Cider, Mercia, Orchards, little people
Here's another gem from the cult of Saint Olaf on his feast-day. These doors are from an altarpiece from the early 1500s once situated in Røldal stave church in Western Norway & probably made in Northern Germany. [Museum of Cultural History, Oslo, CC5067]
Excellent @thetls.bsky.social piece on the Mercian Golden Age by Sarah Foot, including high praise for @rorynaismith.bsky.social's biography of Offa #medievalsky www.the-tls.com/history/medi...
The golden age of eighth-century Mercia
The eighth-century king Offa of Mercia retains a place in the collective memory of both the English and the Welsh as the instigator of the great dyke that
the-tls.com
I really missed a trick not writing this blogpost a year ago (read it to find out why): norseandviking.blogspot.com/2026/07/i-wr... Anyway, in honour of St Ólafr's feast day today, better late than never! #runology #olsok
norseandviking.blogspot.com
Cubbie Roo's Castle is the earliest documented medieval stone castle in Scotland, built around 1145 on the island of Wyre in Orkney by the Norse chieftain Kolbein Hruga. #CubbieRooCastle
I’ve finally got to see the mural of St Mungo in Glasgow. The image depicts the city’s patron saint in modern clothing as a homeless man holding a robin, in a reference to one of his four legendary miracles.
Read about my walking experiments behind my book below⏬️👀
Boydell & Brewer@boydellandbrewer.bsky.social · 2w ago"Like many saints, Guthlac’s death didn’t stop him going places." Emma Nuding explores St Guthlac’s journeys through the Fens to his lasting literary legacy in saints’ lives, poetry and modern writing. #BookSky #MedievalSky #Skystorians @eknuding.bsky.social Read the blog ➡️ buff.ly/GrxtCRP
Dig diary – week two at Skaill, Rousay An update from Skaill farm, Rousay, by Dan Lee....
Dig diary – week two at Skaill, Rousay
An update from Skaill farm, Rousay, by Dan Lee.
archaeologyorkney.com
An update on the first week at Skaill from site director Dan Lee.
Dig diary – Week one at Skaill, Rousay
An update on the first week at Skaill from site director Dan Lee.
archaeologyorkney.com
That's a new one for me! What a fab record Matthew! - I don't have records of that term being used in my database. I see Edelyn's edition of William Harrison suggests it might be the marsh harrier 🙀
The Churchwardens seem a bit perplexed by the presentation of crows heads and that of a 'donnekite' The OED says Dunkite (obsolete) was 'a bird of prey...not identified...perhaps a harrier or buzzard'. doi.org/10.1093/OED/....
Look closely, is it a rabbit? a cat? Wolverhampton churchwardens accounts getting a little bit jolly.
The churchwardens accompte for Wolverhampton have unexpectedly gone rather ornate. The face in the capital 'T' almost looks as if it is singing, if a little angrily.
John Clare's grave, surrounded by local school children's midsummer cushions in St Botolph's churchyard, Helpston, today, at the JC society festival.
The OED has the use of Restall (for a 'burial place') to be found 'only in Shropshire' this subheading in Wolverhampton (Staffordshire) from 1566 also pre dates the earliest OED entry. The entries below the heading give the more common laystall doi.org/10.1093/OED/... See ALT text for transcription
A new project looking at sowens – a heritage food made from oats and a dietary staple in bygone years – has launched, with a special event at Kirbuster Farm, Orkney, at the weekend.
Kirbuster Farm event marks launch of new ‘Sooans’ project
A new project looking at sowens – a heritage food made from oats and a dietary staple in bygone years – has launched, with a special event at Kirbuster Farm, Orkney, at the weekend.
archaeologyorkney.com
Researching any aspect of Staffordshire history? Call for papers celebrating 150 years of Staffordshire Record Society in 2027 @blackcountrysoc.bsky.social @staffsarch.bsky.social @balhnews.bsky.social
Matthew Blake@matthew-blake.bsky.social · last mo.A call for papers Staffordshire Histories Celebration: 150 years of Staffordshire Record Society. Please share! And do get in touch if you are interested in contributing. @midlandhistory.bsky.social @staffsarch.bsky.social @archiveswm.bsky.social @ihr.bsky.social
If this 1556 Wolverhampton Churchwardens Account entry of 'quarrelse' is used to mean Quarry tiles, then it pre-dates the OED entry by nearly 50 years. Oxford English Dictionary, “quarrel (n.1), sense 4,” December 2025, doi.org/10.1093/OED/....
A call for papers Staffordshire Histories Celebration: 150 years of Staffordshire Record Society. Please share! And do get in touch if you are interested in contributing. @midlandhistory.bsky.social @staffsarch.bsky.social @archiveswm.bsky.social @ihr.bsky.social
A call for papers Staffordshire Histories Celebration: 150 years of Staffordshire Record Society. Please share! And do get in touch if you are interested in contributing. @midlandhistory.bsky.social @staffsarch.bsky.social @archiveswm.bsky.social @ihr.bsky.social
Gerrard Winstanley was a religious radical, a Digger, but did you know that he was also churchwarden in his local parish? @annlaurahughes.bsky.social explores the paradox of English religious dissenters' continued participation in parish life throughout the upheavals of the mid-17th century.
Ann Hughes, Church and State in Early Modern England: Views from the Parish
YouTube video by Koch History Centre
youtu.be
Quail, videoed by island resident Anne Hourston outside Cott, early Monday morning #BirdingOrkney Would have probably been my bird of the year so far, had I been lucky enough to see it! @patchbirding.bsky.social
My review of Dr David Appleby's latest monograph has been published today with @midlandhistory.bsky.social! A wonderful book that provides an accessible narrative of the British Civil Wars, whilst emphasising non-elite perspectives. #earlymodern #skystorians www.tandfonline.com/eprint/ZDNJW...
A Short History of the English Revolution and the Civil Wars
Published in Midland History (Ahead of Print, 2026)
tandfonline.com
Just back from the printers, very excited! Being sent out to Staffordshire Record Society members soon.
Call for papers! Our Autumn Meeting will be held on Saturday 14 November 10-4 at the University of Sheffield and online. The theme is 'Names and Power'. Thanks @chegchenko.bsky.social for organising! Abstracts are invited by 4 September 2026. For more information, see the flyer attached!
Dr Ragnhild Ljosland’s new paper examining family origin legends from Orkney is now available online.
New paper explores family origin legends in Orkney
Dr Ragnhild Ljosland’s new paper examining family origin legends from Orkney is now available online.
archaeologyorkney.com
Very exciting day scheduled on Saturday at Nottingham’s Life and Landscape postgraduate research showcase. Looking forward to hearing all of our speakers!
www.theguardian.com/artanddesign...
‘The Edward Hopper of the Black Country’: the photographer whose epic shots captured Sikh life in Walsall
Paths You Take is a show that finds beauty in images of alienation as Billy Dosanjh turns his lens on race, identity, empire – and the men who kept the furnaces glowing
theguardian.com
More about my book here 😁 bsky.app/profile/leaf...
Lee Raye@leafyhistory.bsky.social · 5mo agoBook announcement!! 🎉 CREATURES OF STORY AND SONG looks through Britain’s stories and poems to rediscover our lost species. It’s time to remember what people thought about wolves, lynxes, great whales, great auks, sturgeon & more when they were all still here! 🐺🦫🐳💚 @reaktionbooks.bsky.social
