David

I wrote about rats for @racketmn.com!

Marble head of a Greek general: Roman copy from 1st-2nd century CE of a Greek bronze statue from the mid-4th century BCE. At the Met in NYC.

Good coverage of current threats to the National Historic Preservation Act - passed 60 years ago on Oct 15 - and the Section 106 consultation process.

leefs

My telework colleague is a bad influence.

Ceiling detail at Passport in Brainerd

Leefs

Past the peak, but still some good autumn colors at Mille Lacs.

“Job Lot Cheap” by John Frederick Peto (1892).

One of the half-human, half-deer headdresses from the important Mesolithic site at Star Carr in North Yorkshire. Dating to around 9000 BC, over 30 headdresses have been found at the site. This example is part of the collections at the British Museum. 📸 My own #Mesolithic #StarCarr

Halloween is near! It's time to post this marvellous articulated #Roman skeleton, presumably meant to be a reminder to enjoy life to the fullest, since pleasure ends irrevocably with death. In Petronius’ Satyricon, the host of a dinner party brings out a small skeleton with moveable...🧵 1/2

boop

Black squirrel with zoomies

This young army engineer from Massachusetts really enjoyed drawing ships when he was stationed in Louisiana and Mississippi during the Civil War. Big fan of the river monitors. (Houghton Library) @pptsapper.bsky.social

A blue jay landed on my windowsill and watched me for a while as I interviewed two experts on passenger pigeons via zoom. Coincidence? haha yes probably, or maybe I should write about blue jays next.

With cat & coffee while reading about extinct passenger pigeon genetics on Friday morning, highly recommended.

leefs

It’s our season, y’all 🦂 And in honor of all my σκορπιοί, here is a fav: Ptolemaic or early Roman (299 BCE-99 CE) cartonnage put on the outside of mummified remains to make it look like the body has sandals with scorpions on the bottom. But you can’t get rid of us! www.metmuseum.org/art/collecti...

This year Cambridge University’s Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology (MAA) repatriated 116 “Benin bronzes” in its collection to Nigeria, following years of dialogue with Nigerian authorities and the Oba of Benin.

Scared the bejeebus out of me on a black & white tv in 1979.

Because “Archaeologists digging at Sanam Temple in Napata, the old capital of the Kushite Empire in Sudan, have uncovered a faience workshop” dating to the 7th century BCE. I give you my favorite faience object archaeologymag.com/2026/10/anci... It is a New Kingdom rolled up hedgehog (at the Met) 🦔.

📰 Whilst hunting penguins in 1873, Argentine sailor Luis Piedra Buena's ship 'Espora' sank off the coast of Patagonia. Now, archaeologists believe they have found the camp built by the castaways 🏝️ 🏺 #AntiquityResearch #ArchaeologyNews via @iflscience.com www.iflscience.com/the-nineteen...

Good job little tomato plant! Don’t worry, I’m sure there’s plenty of time left.

Excellent autumn leaves on the best tree ⭐️