Dr Jo Ball

@drjeball.bsky.social

#Roman & conflict archaeologist; Lecturer at Manchester Met University; University Teacher at the University of Liverpool; Early Career Research Fellow at the Centre for Integrative Research in Conflict Archaeology.

@gladiushispania.bsky.social Oct 10, 2026, 8:26 AMReposted by @drjeball.bsky.social

#RomanSiteSaturday
Ciudad romana de Ercávica, Cuenca 🇪🇦 España.
Fué bajo el mandato de Augusto, entre los últimos años del siglo I a. C. y los primeros del I d. C., cuando se culminó la edificación de la ciudad.
#Hispania #Roma
#Archaeology
#RomanArchaeology
#AncientBluesky

Ciudad romana de Ercávica, Cuenca 🇪🇦 España.
Fué bajo el mandato de Augusto, entre los últimos años del siglo I a. C. y los primeros del I d. C., cuando se culminó la edificación de la ciudad.
📷 A. M.

@archaeohawke.bsky.social Oct 10, 2026, 12:22 PMReposted by @drjeball.bsky.social

#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

@drjeball.bsky.social Oct 10, 2026, 11:12 AM

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

@anthonymajanlahti.bsky.social Oct 6, 2026, 1:51 PMReposted by @drjeball.bsky.social

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 🏺

FUNERARY MONUMENT FOR AN EVOCATUS, 200-250 CE. CASINO DELL'AURORA LUDOVISI

A weathered marble funerary altar standing outdoors, surrounded by the fallen leaves of autumn. The front face features a carved relief of a standing Roman soldier wearing a heavy military cloak and proudly holding the baton of his rank. Below is a Latin inscription which translates to: "To the departed shades. For Quintus Vetius Ingenuus, veteran of the Third Praetorian Cohort, from the province of Lower Germany. Marcus, an evocatus (recalled veteran), his heir and fellow citizen, made this for a well-deserving man." Unlike many Roman epitaphs, Ingenuus's sole heir and dedicator is a fellow soldier and countryman. This suggests a life wholly dedicated to military service, devoid of a traditional family structure. According to epigraphic analysis, the monument dates to the first half of the third century CE.

@drjeball.bsky.social Oct 5, 2026, 6:26 PM

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

@matthiashoernes.bsky.social Oct 4, 2026, 2:00 PMReposted by @drjeball.bsky.social

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

@drjeball.bsky.social Oct 5, 2026, 4:37 PM

This is perhaps true, although if it was from an excavated grave then they're maybe more annoyed about what happened to their earthly remains & final resting place!

@sistoryhistory.bsky.social Oct 5, 2026, 9:13 AMReposted by @drjeball.bsky.social

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

@anthonymajanlahti.bsky.social Oct 5, 2026, 11:09 AMReposted by @drjeball.bsky.social

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 🏺

GEOMETRIC MOSAIC FLOOR, C. 60-50 BCE. BASIS VILLÆ, HADRIAN'S VILLA

A Late Republican mosaic floor in the basis villæ, the original nucleus of Hadrian's Villa, an area long closed to the public. The floor features a tricolour geometric pattern creating a woven trompe l'oeil effect. Rectangular blocks of reddish-brown stone tesseræ are arranged symmetrically around small squares of white stone, sharply delineated by rows of dark grey tesseræ. Dating to c. 60-50 BCE, this elegant mosaic floor in tesseræ of local materials contrasts with Hadrian's C2 expansion that embellished the estate with polychrome marble from across the empire. A widely-held theory suggests Hadrian chose this site because his wife, Vibia Sabina, inherited this older villa. Her mother Matidia, niece of Trajan, was the ancestress of the Antonine dynasty, and if the inheritance of this villa passed through her, then all the emperors from Hadrian to Commodus could claim this as a family property stretching back over two centuries.

@gladiushispania.bsky.social Oct 5, 2026, 3:11 PMReposted by @drjeball.bsky.social

#MosaicMonday
Fragmento de mosaico romano, encontrado en Medina Sidonia (Asido Caesarina Augusta), Cádiz 🇪🇦 España. Siglo I
#Hispania #Roma
#RomanArchaeology
#Archaeology #Art
#AncientBluesky

Fragmento de mosaico romano, encontrado en Medina Sidonia (Asido Caesarina Augusta), Cádiz 🇪🇦 España. Siglo I
📷 A. M.

@drjeball.bsky.social Oct 4, 2026, 10:47 PM

I agree - interesting given the geographic & temporal similarities, maybe it was a trend in the mid-later C1st AD...

@drjeball.bsky.social Oct 4, 2026, 10:44 PM

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

@drjeball.bsky.social Oct 2, 2026, 11:18 PM

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

@drjeball.bsky.social Sep 30, 2026, 7:23 PM

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

@drjeball.bsky.social Sep 28, 2026, 4:49 PM

This is in the House of the Wild Boar (Casa del Cinghiale I) - I hope you enjoy exploring the site!

@drjeball.bsky.social Sep 28, 2026, 1:59 PM

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

@gladiushispania.bsky.social Sep 28, 2026, 12:50 PMReposted by @drjeball.bsky.social

#MosaicMonday
Mosaico romano de suelo descubierto en Clunia Sulpicia.
Clunia era una ciudad romana situada en el sur de la provincia de Burgos 🇪🇦 España.
Siglos: I - III a.C.
#Hispania #Roma
#RomamArchaeology
#Archaeology #Art
#AncientBluesky

Mosaico romano de suelo descubierto en Clunia Sulpicia.
Clunia era una ciudad romana situada en el sur de la provincia de Burgos 🇪🇦 España.
Siglos: I - III a.C.
📷 A. M.

@drjeball.bsky.social Sep 27, 2026, 10:27 AM

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

@sophiakg.bsky.social Sep 26, 2026, 4:38 PMReposted by @drjeball.bsky.social

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

@drjeball.bsky.social Sep 25, 2026, 5:55 PM

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

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