Dr Jo Ball

Really thrilled that my second book is now published! It explores the life of Tacfarinas, a C1st AD auxiliary soldier-deserter-bandit-rebel who came to lead a revolt against #Rome in NW Africa during the early reign of Tiberius. He is a truly fascinating figure in #Roman history! 🏺AncientBlueSky

A #Roman helmet, with a cap resembling hair, cheek-pieces (which include ears!), & brow- & neck-guards. It is decorated with scenes & figures from Roman myth - a way to bring divine protection to the wearer, perhaps #Archaeology #RomanArchaeology #AncientBlueSky

Some amazing experimental work on #Roman glass here Love the quote from Dr Lisa Hollands: “If the Romans could have seen me experimenting, they’d probably laugh and ask: ‘Why does she not know how to make this?’” - I think this would be the case! #AncientBlueSky www.theguardian.com/science/2026...

Two #Roman gold bracelets in the form of snakes. The craftsmanship on these is beautiful, with a lot of intricate detail including the scales. They were found in Herculaneum (Italy), lost or left behind when the city was abandoned following the eruption of Vesuvius in AD 79 #AncientBlueSky

A beautiful #Roman gold necklace, with large oval amethysts & square emerald chips set into the links. An absolutely lovely piece of ancient jewellery which is more than 1700 years old #Archaeology #RomanArchaeology #AncientBlueSky

An early entry for #MosaicMonday this week: the powerful and splendidly bearded head of Oceanus which I was lucky enough to see when the site was newly excavated. 📷 1990 #AncientBluesky🏺

A #Roman mosaic emerging from the ground in London - laid about 1800 years ago (likely in the dining room of what is believed to be a posh mansio, a roadside inn for travellers), it was discovered & excavated in 2022 - looking amazing! 🏺 #AncientBlueSky #MosaicMonday (📷 MOLA & Andy Chopping)

A #Roman coin minted in 8/7 BC in the province of Africa. It features the portrait of Publius Quinctilius Varus, the proconsular governor of Africa at the time - long before he ran into disaster in the Teutoburg Forest in AD 9... #Archaeology #Numismatics #AncientBlueSky

Amazing upcoming 11/5/26-5/2/27 exhibition at Rome's Ara Pacis Musuem, featuring the famous Roman-era portraits from the Fayyum. Almost 50 will be on display, including some never seen outside of Egypt. #Classics #Egyptology #AncientBlueSky www.finestresullarte.info/en/exhibitio...

Just some beautiful #Roman mosaic flowers for #MosaicMonday 🌺 🏺 #AncientBlueSky #Archaeology #RomanArchaeology

#RomanSiteSaturday - excavation of the granaries at #Usk. The horizontal lines running across the image are the foundations for the timber granaries, with the holes for vertical posts visible A vast #Roman #fortress was established at Usk in the 50s AD. Covering an area of 19.5ha

A selection of #Roman necklaces, in gold chain with various different gems & precious stones, including emerald, garnet, carnelian, & onyx. All of them still look incredible, & would not look out of place if worn today... #Archaeology #AncientBlueSky

Special K. For #EpigraphyTuesday, we look at two instances of the archaic K in the word EVOKATVS, normally EVOCATVS, recalled veterans who were "called out" of retirement to re-enlist, with many privileges for doing so. This one, Ingenuus, was a career soldier. #AncientBluesky 🏺

Beware of the dog! The Cave Canem entranceway from #Pompeii is such a timeless #Roman mosaic; the dog still symbolically protects his owner's house, nearly 2000 years after it was destroyed when Mt Vesuvius erupted in AD 79 🐶 #Archaeology #MosaicMonday #AncientBlueSky

Miniatures steal the show! A tiny krater and table from a cult space in a house beside Selinunte’s Agora, alongside an extraordinary terracotta assemblage, an altar, and a sacrificial installation. On display in the brilliant exhibition on the German agora excavations.🏺 #AncientBlueSky #archaeology

A #mosaicmonday from the House of the Birds at the ancient roman site of Itálica - birthplace of the Emperor Hadrian. Particularly loving the proud peacock second from bottom, strutting confidently into the week 🦚. #archeology #classicsbluesky #ancientbluesky #hadrian #ancientrome

For #MosaicMonday, a c. 60-50 BCE #mosaic floor from the basis villæ, the Late Republican core of Hadrian's Villa. If his wife Vibia #Sabina inherited this estate, her Antonine relatives held a 200-year connection to these local stones, unified by descent rather than adoption. #AncientBluesky 🏺

A beautiful #Roman glass bottle, in green & gold with small patches of blue - a lovely thing, although I suspect the original owner would be stunned to know that it had survived nearly 2000 years, & was now on display to the public... #Archaeology #AncientBlueSky

A #Roman pie or pastry mould in the shape of a pig - probably used to create a 'showstopper' dish for a dinner party, some 2000 years ago #Archaeology #AncientBlueSky

A #Roman figurine of a dog with a raised paw, looking upwards to an unseen viewer. Dogs were popular in the Roman world as both working animals & pets, as well as being associated with healing #Archaeology #AncientBlueSky

The entranceway to a #Roman house in #Pompeii, with a striking black & white mosaic leading into the rest of the house - still in the place it was first laid nearly 2000 years ago #Archaeology #AncientBlueSky #MosaicMonday

The remains of the #Roman amphitheatre at Pozzuoli (Italy), built during the reigns of Vespasian & Titus (probably by the same people as the Colosseum). It had a capacity of some 40-50,000 spectators #Archaeology #AncientBlueSky #AncientSiteSunday

Mosaic floor located in a home that is the theater district, on the sacred island on Delos. Dolphins are frequent decorations here. Later 2nd century BC. #Archeology #Greece #Booksky #Bookshelves #writingcommunity #amwriting #AncientBluesky #Delos #GreekTales #reading

A #Roman glass bowl, in a beautiful cobalt blue with an irregular swirling white pattern. It looks amazing - especislly given that it is nearly 2000 years old! #Archaeology #AncientBlueSky

The newly discovered cuneiform tablet fragment contains text from a section of the Treaty of Kadesh related to the treatment of Hittite and Egyptian refugees in the Bronze Age (circa 1269 BC). 🧪🏺

A beautiful #Roman glass bottle, in vivid shades of blue, green, & gold. It was probably originally used to hold perfume or some other cosmetic product, some 2000 years ago #Archaeology #AncientBlueSky

This is such a fun design! 🏺✨ Disney’s Hercules (1997)

A #Roman gold aureus minted in the reign of Hadrian. One side shows the emperor, while the other depicts the divine personification of Egypt, surrounded by things associated with her province - a lotus flower, an ibis, a snake, & a sistrum (a rattling musical instrument) #AncientBlueSky (📷 BM)

A modern statue of Publius Quinctilius Varus, in the town of Haltern (Germany). Named 'Der gescheiterte Varus' ('the failed Varus'), it shows Varus in the aftermath of the #Roman defeat at the Teutoburg (AD 9) - (or is this his ghost, which appeared years later in a dream..?)

A mummy portrait from #Roman Egypt, depicting an older woman with loosely-curled grey hair, a gold wreath, & gold-pearl earrings. Unlike portraits of younger women, she doesn't seem to be following the fashions of the Imperial court - just her own sense of style? 🏺 #AncientBlueSky

A #Roman cheese press, found at Balmuildy fort on the #AntonineWall (Scotland). The cheese was put in the press & pressed down by a weight, forcing out any moisture through the holes. The resulting cheeses would have the concentric circle pattern from the press 🧀 #Archaeology #AncientBlueSky

A wooden #Roman sword, found in a fort at Oberaden (Germany). It is pretty much full-size, so was probably a training sword rather than a toy. It is not a tradition straight sword, but a curved sica - a blade originally from Dacia & Thrace, & also used by thraex-type gladiators #AncientBlueSky

Three #Roman leather shoes, for (l-r) a man, woman, & child. Found in an ancient well at Bar Hill fort on the Antonine Wall (Scotland), they're beautifully crafted pieces of footwear, & show that the military communities had access to a bit of luxury even on the frontiers... #AncientBlueSky

A #Roman shield found in Dura-Europos (Syria), where it was lost during a siege in the C3rd AD. The only rectangular shield to survive from the Roman world, it is a wonderful find, & gives a great insight into how elaborately decorated these items were #Archaeology #AncientBlueSky

The Hermannsdenkmal - a C19th monument dedicated to Arminius (aka Hermann) in tribute to his victory over Varus & his 3 #Roman legions in AD 9. It was built in Detmold (Germany), at the time thought to be the site of the battle (but it was probably about 70km away in reality)

An altar dedicated to the water goddess Coventina by Aurelius Crotus which was discovered at Coventina's Well near Carrawburgh Roman Fort on Hadrian’s Wall. The stone is now on display in the site museum at Chesters Roman Fort. 📸 My own. #EpigraphyTuesday #RomanBritain

A #Roman helmet with a face mask found in Pfrondorf. It's decorated with wings and snakes, a reference to Medusa, the snake-haired mythical creature whose sight turned everyone who saw it to stone. Medusa’s head was a popular motif used to ward off any evil. 🧵1/2 📷 Landesmuseum Württemberg

A charming little #AncientGreek pottery vessel in the shape of a seashell, made about 2400 years ago #Archaeology #AncientBlueSky

For #RomanSiteSaturday let's go to a huge pile of #trash - Monte Testaccio in #Rome. A huge artificial hill located next to the Tiber River. It was made up of millions of broken amphorae (mostly oil amphorae from southern Spain) during the first three centuries AD www.elnacional.cat/es/cultura/r...

I am usually Team Varus all the way, but had to give this a go!

The iron base of a #Roman helmet facemask, from the Romano-German battlefield at Kalkriese (Germany) - site of a Roman defeat, probably the AD Varus Disaster. It originally had a silver top layer which was stripped off during looting - giving it a particularly haunting look... #AncientBlueSky

This Roman perfume bottle shaped like a bird is 2,000 years old, yet it looks like a modern design! 📷 Corning Museum of Glass glasscollection.cmog.org/objects/7194... #Archaeology

A lovely #Roman pottery vessel, with the image of a peacock delicately scratched into the surface. I suspect this was once a much-beloved belonging for someone living 1700+ years ago #AncientBlueSky #Archaeology

Roman stone altar with a horned god believed to have been a fertility god native to the North East of ‘Britannia’ Durham University Museum of Archaeology 📷 by me #ReliefWednesday #Archaeology

A #Roman glass vessel in the shape of a bunch of grapes - hopefully once used to hold wine, as it would be such a fitting role for it! 🍇🍷 #AncientBlueSky

A #Roman terracotta oil lamp decorated with the image of two gladiators. One is lying defeated on the ground, with his victorious opponent standing above him, shield raised in triumph - waiting for the signal as to whether his fallen foe should live or die? 🏺 #AncientBlueSky #Archaeology