Mel Roxby-Mackey

@archaeoborders.bsky.social

404

Followers

533

Following

220

Posts

Archaeologist of borders and landscapes of conflict, Anglo-Welsh border and its folklore, digital humanist, University of Birmingham. Archaeologist in Residence, Offa's Dyke Association. All ops my own. archaeoborders.wordpress.com

Posts Replies Media Lists

Reposted by

Mel Roxby-Mackey

WEDNESDAY WORDS well, what Wednesday Words will we witness? All these were gleaned by R.E.Davies in 1871 - oh! How I spoil you

Reposted by

Mel Roxby-Mackey

Making an entrance! Novosaurs 2, my new book, will be available to buy on Friday 🦖🐓

Reposted by

Mel Roxby-Mackey

In parts of Shropshire, it was believed that washing in the May Dew could strengthen joints, remove aches and pains as well as beautify the complexion. #Folklore #Shropshire

Reposted by

Mel Roxby-Mackey

WEDNESDAY WORDS well, what Wednesday Words will we witness? All these are again frum the Clun Dialect Words Book - oh! How I spoil you😉

Art and ancestry and just awesome

Archie Moore's presentation in the Australia Pavilion at the Venice Biennaleyoutu.be Archie Moore's presentation in the Australia Pavilion at the Venice Biennale

You have to ask yourself how Offa felt about having to source the metal for his coins from Charlemagne. . .

Silver coin boom in medieval England due to melted down Byzantine treasures, study revealswww.theguardian.com Chemical analysis reveals origin of coinage that stimulated trade and helped fuel development of new towns from seventh century

Reposted by

Mel Roxby-Mackey

Reverend Brewster found that on Good Friday, his Shropshire parishioners would not work, nor would they throw out the ashes or suds, from cleaning. This was because they believed it blasphemous and thought they would be throwing them in the saviours face. #Folklore #Shropshire #GoodFriday

Reposted by

Mel Roxby-Mackey

#OTD John 'Mad Jack' Mytton died aged 37, a 'old-young man bloated by drink, worn out by too much foolishness.' He was a thunderous roar, tearing across the pages of Shropshire's history, reduced to a mere whisper. nearlyknowledgeablehistory.blogspot.com/2020/09/mad-... #Shropshire #Folklore

It’s not that often I find myself wishing we were still in Cambridge, but for this talk I’m making a conspicuous exception!

1/2 At a loose end in/nr Cambridge at 5.45 p.m. on 16 April 2024? My talk: 'And did they bring their horses? Re-evaluating the emergence of the English c.400-c.700'. Roger Needham Rm, Chancellor's Centre, Wolfson College, Barton Road, Cambridge CB3 9BB. Free, all welcome. In-person only

Reposted by

Mel Roxby-Mackey

With its lengthy history, its of little surprise that The Guildhall in Much Wenlock is Haunted. The most frequently reported phenomena is the sound of children laughing and playing, perhaps a memory of a happier time...

I love this. Am I ever going to be able to think about swifts without calling them Jack Squealers ever again?

WEDNESDAY WORD(s) Here it is again, the feature that absolutely no one is talking about, well, what Wednesday Word(s)will we witness? All these are frum Some Shropshire Words,a full page today - oh! How I spoil you😉

Bread wars over millennia as a metaphor for our broken country. How to fix it? Stop shouting at each other and do something positive! Britain’s bitter bread battle: what a £5 sourdough loaf tells us about health, wealth and class

Britain’s bitter bread battle: what a £5 sourdough loaf tells us about health, wealth and classwww.theguardian.com Some complain that pricey sourdough is elitist and pretentious. Others lambast cheap sliced white as unhealthy and unsustainable. How did our most basic foodstuff become a source of conflict and divis...

Reposted by

Mel Roxby-Mackey

In Herefordshire cart-horses were told of their master’s death otherwise it was warned that the ghost of their master might take the horse’s soul for use in the next life. #folklore

And if you want to see an example of some of this conservation work, here are before and after shots of scrub clearance undertaken at Sedbury, Gloucestershire

It finally feels like spring might be arriving. If you’re thinking about getting out and about why not consider walking some of Offa’s Dyke National Trail? Or consider joining the Offa’s Dyke Association to support the Association’s important conservation work on the monument across the border?

Offa's Dyke Associationoffasdyke.org.uk Visit the post for more.

Indeed. Dropped, licking and immoveable standing stones and many more. Stories from the earth on how previous generations tried to make sense of the archaeology in the landscape around them.

There's something eerie about standing stones. Why are they there? Who put them there & how? Folklore often tries to provide answers. Let's look at the folklore of standing stones in this week's episode of Fabulous Folklore. www.icysedgwick.com/folklore-of-...

The Folklore of Standing Stones, Megaliths, and Menhirs - Icy Sedgwickwww.icysedgwick.com Standing stones are often highly mysterious. Folklore rushes in to fill the gaps since we don't know who built them or why. Learn more here.

Lovely to see you @alisonfoster.bsky.social!

I've just really enjoyed @icysedgwick.bsky.social on 'The Folklore of Wells: Healing, Wishing, Divining, and Cursing' and looking forward to hearing the rest of the series on folklore and archaeology pod.co/fabulous-fol...

Fabulous Folklore with Icypod.co Fabulous Folklore will give you your weekly fix of fabulous folklore in fifteen minutes (or less)! Hosted by fantasy and Gothic horror writer, Icy Sedgwick, the podcast explores folklore, legends, su...

Reposted by

Mel Roxby-Mackey

On World Book Day, all my books.

Reposted by

Mel Roxby-Mackey

The Prehistoric Society has responded to the threatened cuts to funding for #Welsh #heritage services. You can read the full response here: www.prehistoricsociety.org/advocacy/res... A petition against the cuts can be found here: petitions.senedd.wales/petitions/24... #Wales #Archaeology

Petition: Increase, don’t cut, funding for the National Library, Amgueddfa Cymru and the Royal Commissionpetitions.senedd.wales We call upon the Welsh Government to increase spending on institutions that safeguard the heritage and history of Wales – the National Library of Wales, Amgueddfa Cymru and the Royal Commission – inst...

Reposted by

Mel Roxby-Mackey

Welsh Folklore Dictionary 101: Coblyn. pl. Coblynnau / Coblynnod / Coblyniaid. 𝘎𝘰𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘯, 𝘪𝘮𝘱, 𝘴𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘦, 𝘣𝘰𝘨𝘺, ‘𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘳’ 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘦, 𝘢 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥. First appears in William Salesbury’s 1547 dictionary as ‘koblyn’.

Reminds me of the one incident I had where both my dogs reacted to something they tracked walking across the front of the house. I still can’t rationally explain it.

My latest post discusses a strange paranormal encounter in Weston Rhyn, Shropshire. You can read all about the 'Slouched Hatted Ghost' and the brave little terrier who faced him below- nearlyknowledgeablehistory.blogspot.com/2022/11/the-...

A Weston Rhyn Hauntingnearlyknowledgeablehistory.blogspot.com Whilst exploring the British Newspaper archives, I stumbled across the following account from August 1929. What fascinates me most about the...

Huge congratulations to @g0blinegg.bsky.social

I've officially hit 100,000 views on Nearly Knowledgeable!! 😭💚 Shropshire’s stories mean so much to me, so it's amazing to know I can share my passion!

Reposted by

Mel Roxby-Mackey

This ends tomorrow (Sunday) so if you like dinosaurs, like drawings of dinosaurs, and like the people who draw dinosaurs, please share this. Thank you. igg.me/at/exterra2

EX TERRA 2igg.me A New Collection of Palaeoart by Andy Frazer.

Reposted by

Mel Roxby-Mackey

2 new JOBS archiving digital archaeology at the ADS: archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/news-events/...

Job opportunities – Collections Developer Officer and Digital Archives Assistant – Archaeology Data Servicearchaeologydataservice.ac.uk

Reposted by

Mel Roxby-Mackey

Reply to

Old English Wordhord

And if you're interested in my book (in the image of the last post), check it out on my blog: oldenglishwordhord.com/deorhord-book/

The Deorhord: An Old English Bestiaryoldenglishwordhord.com Welcome to the strange and delightful world of Old English animals – the ordinary and the extraordinary, the good, the bad and the baffling... ‘A dream! I learnt something new and fascinating on every...

Reposted by

Mel Roxby-Mackey

Twelve permanent jobs in the Department of Digital Humanities at King's College, London. 👀

Simon Tanner on LinkedIn: Job Klaxon!!! 12 permanent jobs in the Department of Digital Humanities at…www.linkedin.com Job Klaxon!!! 12 permanent jobs in the Department of Digital Humanities at King's College London. A full dozen new jobs, so read down the whole list to find…

Excellent news. Thank you for sharing @andybrockman.bsky.social

Break: The owners of the Crooked House pub at Himley have been served with an enforcement notice ordering them to rebuild the historic and quirky pub to the state it was before a mysterious fire and unauthorised demolition in the Summer of 2023. They have thirty days to appeal the decision.

Crooked House: Owners of wonky pub ordered to rebuildwww.bbc.co.uk An enforcement order requires the building to be built back to what it was prior to the fire.

Mary-Ann Ochota on why archaeologists do what we do - and why taking part is for everyone

Road to ruins: how I discovered the magic of archaeologywww.theguardian.com With millennia of history hidden beneath our feet, connecting with the ancient past offers endless fascination, and many ways to get involved

Why archaeology matters. "From the ghosts of the past, we may learn how to build a more wild and ancient future." Wise words indeed from Sophie Yeo of the Inkcap Journal. Looking forward to getting our copy @iwm21.bsky.social

Inkcap Journalwww.inkcapjournal.co.uk A magazine about nature and conservation in Britain.