Tessera

Ryan Saputo

@ryansaputo.bsky.social

History Ph.D. student at UCLA studying usurpation, civil wars, political violence, and political legitimacy in the Roman Empire during Late Antiquity https://history.ucla.edu/person/ryan-saputo/

0 Posts265 Follower 539 Folgt

Jacob Wasserman @jacoblwasserman.bsky.social · 2w ago

August 7 will be the last day of service for Hilgard Terminal, open since *1929* but finally killed by NIMBYs with @cityofsantamonica.bsky.social Big Blue Bus and @ucla.edu's acquiesce. A significant loss of 1/4-mile access to much of north campus for thousands of students and workers. More below:

Service Changes - Big Blue Bus

bigbluebus.com

Alison Fisk @alisonfisk.bsky.social · 4w ago

Ancient pottery with personality!🏺 Face pots from Roman Britain some 2,000 years ago! Museum of London 📷 by me #Archaeology

My photo shows a Museum of London display featuring three Roman face pots, ceramic vessels decorated with stylized human faces. There are two larger pots with a smaller pot placed in front. They have rounded bodies with horizontal concentric ridges around the lower half of the body. The upper body of each pot has a face with prominent brows, almond-shaped eyes, a broad nose coming down from between the brows, and a small mouth. All have loop handles near the rim. The large pot on the left has visible restoration cracks. The pots are displayed in a glass case on a dark gravel-like surface alongside other Roman artefacts, including fragments of metal objects, a small bell, and fragments of face pot.

Note: The Museum of London Wall has closed due to relocation. The new London Museum opens later this year. I hope these face pots will make an appearance!

Nina Willburger @drnwillburger.bsky.social · last mo.

For #MosaicMonday this fantastic photo of a mosaic (and a lovely fish 🐟) that was discovered in the submerged ruins of #Roman Baiae. 📷 Parco Archeologico Campi Flegrei

The photo was taken underwater. It shows a partially uncovered mosaic on the ground of the sea and a fish swimming above it

Mateusz Fafinski @calthalas.bsky.social · last mo.

Friends, Romans, fellow late antiquity fans! The first issue of Essays in Long Late Antiquity, a new journal published fully in open access by Liverpool University Press is out! We have a stunning volume for you to read with amazing contributions. 1/ liverpooluniversitypress.co.uk/toc/ella/cur...

Contents | Essays in Long Late Antiquity 1, 1

This editorial introduction explains the rationale for this journal and its place in the current research landscape of late antique studies. While this field has “exploded”, different specialisms and disciplines continue to approach the period through ...

liverpooluniversitypress.co.uk

Alison Fisk @alisonfisk.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Kitty paw prints on a Roman clay tile! 😻 🐾 A tiny moment in time preserved in clay some 2,000 years ago when a kitten walked across this wet clay tile which was lying out to dry before firing. Lullingstone Roman Villa, Kent 📷 by me #Caturday #Archaeology

My photo shows two kitten pawprints imprinted on a Roman red clay roof tile (tegula). There are two prints, one print near the upper left corner of the tile and another below it closer to the centre. Each imprint has four toe pads arranged in a gentle arc at the top of a larger central pad. There are no visible claw marks (unlike with dogs prints) as cats usually retract their claws when walking.
The imprints were made as a kitten walked across a wet clay tile which was lying out to dry before firing. The tile was found at Lullingstone Roman Villa in Kent, where it is on display at the site museum.

rogueclassicist ~ david meadows @rogueclassicist.bsky.social · 2mo ago

'Extraordinary' Somerset ring sheds light on how Romans navigated unrest www.bbc.com/news/article...

'Extraordinary' Somerset ring sheds light on how Romans navigated unrest

The Roman gold ring and extensive hoard dates back to 297 AD and was discovered in Somerset.

bbc.com

Nina Willburger @drnwillburger.bsky.social · 4mo ago

For #MosaicMonday and #Easter Monday a lovely image of a #rabbit, a detail from a mosaic showing Orpheus surrounded by enchanted #animals. Found in Antioch, modern-day Antakya, Türkiye. Dating 4th c. AD. On display at Museum Kestner Hannover. 📷 me 🏺 #archaeology

The photo shows a detail of a Roman mosaic featuring a rabbit

Carausius @carausius286.bsky.social · 4mo ago

Every now and then, if you’re feeling down, just have a look at this little fellow & everything is instantly better. 🕰️C2-3rd AD 🏛️📷National Archaeological Museum, Madrid

The Byzantine Legacy @thebyzantinelegacy.bsky.social · 5mo ago

Solidus of Julian (355-363) Minted at Antioch in 362 At Dumbarton Oaks

Alison Fisk @alisonfisk.bsky.social · 5mo ago

The Trier Gold Hoard! The largest #Roman gold coin hoard ever found! More than 2,650 Roman aurei, weighing 18.5 kg, were discovered inside a bronze vessel wrapped in leather bags, during construction work in 1993. The coins date from 63 AD to 196 AD. Rheinisches Landesmuseum Trier 📷 by me

My photo shows the so-called ‘Trier Gold Treasure’ in a museum display case. It is a Roman coin hoard made up of some 2,650 gold aurei. The small round gold coins are spread randomly in a dense pile across a light-coloured display case surface. To the upper right of the coin mound is the broken bowl-shaped bottom of the original copper alloy vessel that held the hoard. The metal is coloured green with corrosion. Several gold coins are scattered inside the bowl. In the lower left corner of the display case is another large, irregular fragment of the original container.

Museum information label:

In 1993, a bronze vessel with 2650 Roman gold coins (aurei) is discovered in Trier. It is the largest Roman gold coin treasure ever found. The Aureus was in the 1st and 2nd Century the standard coin of the Roman gold minting with an average weight of 7.27 g, with a very high fineness of approx. 980/1000. The coins depict 29 different emperors, empresses or relatives of the imperial house. The oldest coins were minted between 63 and 64 AD, the youngest between 193 and 196 AD. The coins were inside the vessel, which was accidentally discovered by an excavator, rolled up in leather bags. The bags were decorated with leather straps and closed enamel seal capsules.

The treasure revealed numerous secrets in its scientific processing: it probably did not represent private assets, but a state treasury that was carefully managed and over a longer period of time and enlarged. During a civil war, the gold coins were finally buried in a cellar in 196 AD and then fell into oblivion. Presumably the former administrator of the treasury took his knowledge of the hiding place with him to the grave.

Nina Willburger @drnwillburger.bsky.social · 6mo ago

Two perforated altar reliefs from the Mithraeum at Mundelsheim. One depicts Sol, the sun god, with the radiant. the other shows Luna, the goddess of the moon, with the crescent. In Roman times, they were illuminated from behind, creating a striking play of light and shadow that must ...🧵1/2

Close-up of a stone altar featuring the bust of Luna with a serene facial expression, and draped cloak. Perforated crescent moon above her head.

Close-up of a stone altar featuring the bust of Sol with long curly hair, serene expression, and draped cloak. Perforated radiant above his head. The upper part of the altar is missing.

Alison Fisk @alisonfisk.bsky.social · 6mo ago

To bring a smile to your face this weekend … An ancient bowl with human feet! Made in predynastic Egypt around 5,500 years ago. The Met www.metmuseum.org/art/collecti... 📷 by me #Archaeology

My photo shows a hemispherical red pottery bowl with underside supports in the shape of a pair of human feet. It is handmade from red Nile clay, slipped and polished to give a light surface sheen. The front of the bowl tips slightly forward as if offering its contents. The museum catalogue entry informs us that a bowl standing on feet is very similar in form to the Egyptian hieroglyph meaning "to bring." Dimensions: diameter 13.2 cm x width 13.7 cm x depth 9.8 cm. This type of bowl is dated to Predynastic Egypt, Late Naqada I-early Nagada lI period, circa 3700-3450 BC. I saw this bowl on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. The museum purchased the bowl from M. Mohassib in Egypt in 1910.

Nina Willburger @drnwillburger.bsky.social · 7mo ago

Weekend timeline cleanse! A #Greek rhyton in the shape of a #dog's head. 🐕🐶 Vessels such as this were used in drinking parties. Since they didn't have a base, their contents had to be consumed before the vessel could be put down Dating ca. 475 BC. 📷 Museo Nazionale Etrusco di Villa Giulia 🏺

Pottery drinking cup shaped like an animal’s head. The vessel is glossy black, featuring a rounded snout, raised eyes, and a handle. A red-digured banquet scene encircles the lower part. The cup is photographed against a plain light background

Alison Fisk @alisonfisk.bsky.social · 7mo ago

WOW! This late Roman blue glass cup made an epic 12,000 km journey! Made in the eastern Mediterranean, it was excavated from the Cheonmachong Tomb, a royal tomb of the ancient Silla Kingdom in Korea! 🤯 Early AD 500s. Gyeongju National Museum, South Korea. 📷 by me #FindsFriday #Archaeology

My photo shows a short cylindrical translucent blue glass cup which flares outwards towards the rim. The glass is darker near the rim and lighter toward the base where the display light passes through. The rim is slightly irregular and worn at the back. The glass surface is textured with vertical ridges running down the upper half, while the lower half has a texture which resembles loosely shaped hexagon and pentagon shapes, some larger than others, clustered together like cells of an irregular honeycomb. The glass cup sits on a white surface against a light grey background. The display lighting creates circular shadows and glowing blue reflections around the base of the glass.

This glass cup was excavated in 1973 from the richly-furnished Cheonmachong Tomb, also known as the Tomb of the Heavenly Horse. The tomb belonged to a royal male from the ancient Silla Kingdom of the Korean peninsula.

I saw this cup on display at the British Museum’s ‘Silk Roads’ exhibition in 2024, on loan from the Gyeongju National Museum in South Korea. It is an example of ancient trading of Roman goods through the Steppe Route, the original Silk Road over the Eurasian plains stretching to Far East Asia. The British Museum label reads:

“This glass cup was discovered in the tomb of a royal male, alongside an ornate gold crown and other precious objects. It is of a late Roman type found across the eastern Mediterranean region. Scientific analysis indicates it was probably made in Egypt, which had a major centre of glassmaking in Alexandria. The presence of Mediterranean glass objects in tombs as far as the Korean peninsula and Japanese archipelago reflects their valued status as luxury items in the ancient world. Probably made in Egypt; excavated from Cheonmachong Tomb, Gyeongju, Korea. Early AD 500s”.

Dr Jo Ball @drjeball.bsky.social · 7mo ago

Happy New Year - 2026 already, wow! In the #Roman world, lamps were often given as New Year's gifts - on this example, a winged Victory inscribes a shield with a wish for happiness in the new year, surrounded by coins & dried fruits (also traditional new year gifts).

rogueclassicist ~ david meadows @rogueclassicist.bsky.social · 8mo ago

Anatolia’s only known ‘Good Shepherd’ Jesus fresco uncovered in Iznik, crafted in Roman style - Türkiye Today www.turkiyetoday.com/culture/anat...

Anatolia’s only known ‘Good Shepherd’ Jesus fresco uncovered in Iznik, crafted in Roman style - Türkiye Today

In a frescoed tomb at Iznik’s Hisardere Necropolis, a rare Good Shepherd image of Jesus offers a new glimpse into Early Christian faith in Anatolia

turkiyetoday.com

Dr Claire Millington ✍🏻🏺@clairemillington.bsky.social · 8mo ago

This is such brilliant archaeology. There's a bit of a persistent story that Britain was somehow culturally separate from europe in the Roman empire when it was so intertwined and connected by people and goods travelling. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Rare mosaic in Rutland reveals forgotten Trojan War tale - BBC News

A paper by experts at the University of Leicester has been described as a "fascinating development".

bbc.co.uk

Nina Willburger @drnwillburger.bsky.social · 8mo ago

One of my most favourite glass vessels: A marvellous Roman vessel in the form of a pig, made of blue glass. It was used to hold ointment or perfume. Found in a burial in Cologne. Dating late 2nd/early 3rd century AD 📷 Römisch-Germanisches Museum Köln 🏺 #archaeology

Deep blue glass vessel shaped like a stylized animal with four legs, a pointed snout, and decorative ridges along its back, resembling a whimsical pig.

Alison Fisk @alisonfisk.bsky.social · 8mo ago

A dog’s paw print on a Roman clay tile 🐾 🐕 😍 About 2,000 years-ago, a dog made its mark for ‘pawsterity’ when it wandered across the wet tile laid out to dry before firing. From Richborough Roman fort 📷 by me #TilesonTuesday #Archaeology

My photo shows a hand-sized, jagged, fragment of Roman red clay tile. There is an impression of a dog’s paw pressed into the clay. The imprint shows four toe pads arranged in an arc above a central pad. Above each toe imprint there is a small indent made by the dog’s claws. The imprint was made when the paw pressed into soft clay when the clay tile was laid out in the yard before firing. The tile fragment is set against a blue display case background. Excavated at Richborough Roman fort. My photo was taken in 2020.