Dr Jo Ball

@drjeball.bsky.social

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#Roman & conflict archaeologist; Freelance archaeological writer; Honorary Research Fellow & University Teacher at the University of Liverpool.

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This is one of the only surviving examples of #Roman-period scale-armour for a horse, used to arm heavy cavalry. It was found in Dura-Europos (Syria), & had probably been lost during the Sasanian destruction of the Roman city in AD 256/7 (& it could have belonged to either side) AncientBlueSky

A #Roman tile from Vienna with a fantastic graffito inscribed into the surface, roughly translating to 'if you can see me, I've fallen to the ground'! #Archaeology AncientBlueSky

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Dr Jo Ball

We were asked for expert comment about Gladiator II, but our contributors @drjeball.bsky.social and @belovedofoizys.bsky.social gave too good a set of answers - they ran the article as an interview instead! AncientBluesky ClassicsBluesky ⚱️ www.iflscience.com/the-gladiato...

The Gladiator II Trailer Looks Epic, But Is Any Of It Accurate? We Asked The Expertswww.iflscience.com It's definitely a spectacle, but how much is fact and how much is fantasy?

A terracotta #Roman oil-lamp showing the end-stages of a gladiatorial battle, with a victorious gladiator standing over a defeated opponent. It was made about 2000 years ago in Italy, as part of a mass production - probably a piece of ancient fan merchandise for a lover of the games! AncientBlueSky

A beautiful #Roman glass perfume bottle, made in the shape of a seashell - looking pretty good for a 2000 year old artefact as well! AncientBlueSky #Archaeology

A beautiful pair of #Roman earrings, made of gold, amethyst, & pearl - they have an amazing timeless & classic look, I would more than happily wear them today (& I suspect I am not alone in that!) #Archaeology AncientBlueSky

A beautiful #Roman glass bowl, in bands of vivid blue, yellow & colourless. It was found in the area around #Vesuvius, & was buried in the AD 79 erruption - fortunately, it was later found & put back together, giving us another lovely example of #AncientGlass! #Archaeology 🏺AncientBlueSky

A #Roman tombstone from Carnuntum (Austria), dedicated to Quintus Veratius, a soldier in the Legio XV Apollinaris, who died at the age of 40 after 19 years in the #RomanArmy. Above the inscription is a male face - perhaps a portrait or representation of the dead Veratius? #Archaeology AncientBlueSky

A peaceful moment on the #Roman streets of #Pompeii (if only it was always this quiet), beneath a beautiful blue spring sky #Archaeology AncientBlueSky

A terracotta #Roman oil lamp decorated with the image of a very waggy-tailed dog - a very popular animal in the Roman world! #Archaeology #RomanArchaeology

A very cute #Roman brooch in the shape of a tortoise / turtle, with colourful enamel decoration - a lovely piece of ancient jewellery! #Archaeology #RomanArchaeology

A beautiful #Roman enamelled flask - the ancient equivalent of the reusable (water) bottle. It was made about 1800-1900 years ago, & was found in a grave in Buzet (Croatia) #Archaeology #RomanArchaeology

A #Roman tile stamped - multiple times! - with the mark of the Legio XXX Ulpia Victrix (someone wanted to make sure they got the credit for making it!), alongside multiple animal paw prints as well! #Archaeology 🏺AncientBlueSky

Loaves of carbonised #Roman bread from #Pompeii. They are strangely moving objects to me - because the people who prepared them & baked them had no idea of the oncoming disaster, & those who intended to eat them were displaced or dead before they got the chance to 🏺AncientBlueSky

A beautiful & brightly-coloured #Roman glass bowl, found in the area around Vesuvius & buried in the AD 79 erruption - but this initial loss means it survives in amazing condition today #Archaeology #RomanArchaeology AncientBlueSky

A gold necklace from #Roman Egypt - a beautiful & elegant piece of jewellery, made about 1800-1900 years ago #Archaeology AncientBlueSky

A tantalising first glimpse of #Pompeii from beyond the site fence, ahead of my (first ever!) visit tomorrow - excitement levels could not be much higher right now!

A papyrus letter from #Roman Egypt, written by Paniskos to his wife Ploutogenia, asking her to travel to Koptos. He asks her to bring olives, wine, wool, their clothes, his military kit, & her gold jewellery - but he warns her not to wear it on the journey! (📷 Uni Michigan) 🏺AncientBlueSky

A beautiful #Roman glass bowl, made in a pale bluey-green grass with a ridged pattern all around it. Made about 2000 years ago, probably in Italy, it is a wonderful example of Roman glasswork in the early Imperial period.

A #Roman tombstone dedicated to a soldier named Gaius Saufeius, who died at the age of 40 after 22 years in the #RomanArmy with the 9th Legion. He was originally from Heraclea (Macedonia) but died in Lincoln (Britain), probably in the first decades after the conquest of Britain.

An amazing piece of #Roman graffiti - a sketch of a centurion, complete with helmet & spear, scratched into the rock of the theatre at Leptis Magna (Libya). A fantastic & very unusual piece of Roman military art! (📷 From E Lennox Manton 'Roman North Africa') #Archaeology 🏺AncientBlueSky

A #Roman temple to the god Mithras (a Mithraeum), hidden below the ground in the ancient port city of Ostia - almost impossible to spot if you don't already know it's there, but incredibly atmospheric if you do manage to find it!

A selection of beautiful #Roman gold rings, many decorated with previous gems (or gaps where they used to be). They were found as a hoard in Norfolk (England), perhaps the stock of a single jeweller or workshop who buried them for some reason & weren't able to recover them later.

This is thought to be the place in the ancient #Roman Forum in #Rome where Julius Caesar's body was cremated after his assassination; it later became part of the Temple of the Divine Caesar. People still leave coins, flowers, & other offerings there #IdesOfMarch 🏺AncientBlueSky

A selection of beautiful Roman glass bowls in a range of sizes & colours - amazing to think that they are up to 2000 years old! Absolutely beautiful workmanship on display in them.

The amazing Nijmegen Helmet, a Roman 'cavalry sports' silvered bronze & iron helmet with facemask, brow band, & side ear/neck guards (but missing the back of the helmet). It was made about 1900-2000 years ago, & found around 1915 in a bank of the river Waal 🏺AncientBlueSky

Two Roman glass dishes, decorated with vivid spiral patterns & stripes around the edges. The colours are so vivid & eye-catching, almost hard to believe that these dishes are 2000-2200 years old! 🏺AncientBlueSky

A Hellenistic/Roman glass bowl, with a vivid pattern of blue, yellow & clear spirals circling from the base upwards. An amazing, almost hypnotic piece which survives in amazing condition despite being 2100-2200 years old!

One of my favourite pieces of Roman pottery - a fragment with an incised sketch of a big round human face. I hope this was made as a portrait of a real person - although I'm not sure they would have been flattered by it..!

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Dr Jo Ball

Witnessing the vibrant colours of freshly uncovered frescoes in Pompeii is a privilege and joy that never fades. Seeing the latest discovery of a mythological scene—Phrixus seated on a ram while his sister Helle drowns—in the context of the room it decorated is no exception. 🏺