Author | Lightnews

Robert Fleming @flemingrob.bsky.social · 2d

Just because of feed proximity, I am now imagining a younger version of him with velvet hood.

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Robert Fleming @flemingrob.bsky.social · 2d

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Robert Fleming @flemingrob.bsky.social · 2d

A disappointingly old-fashioned, and long past it's prime, conservative history of Australia that is surprisingly still trope-ish (more good than bad) in its dismissiveness of indigenous history & unsurprisingly forgiving of empire from a pro-monarchy former PM.

theconversation.com/tony-abbotts...

Tony Abbott’s history of Australia wants us to be proud of men like him

Tony Abbott begins his book Australia: A History, by telling off professional historians – and laments the “cultural confusion” of our present moment.

theconversation.com

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Reposted by Robert Fleming

Dr Selena Wisnom @lswisnom.bsky.social · 2d

Academics in Assyria in the 7th c BC complain that admin is preventing them from doing research and teaching

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Robert Fleming @flemingrob.bsky.social · 6d

Very excited to hear today's speakers @rgsibg.bsky.social's Challenging Maps and Exploration symposium.

Reposted by Robert Fleming

Daniel F Gosling @thegozfather.bsky.social · 13d

What was a bear worth in Elizabethan England? Well, thanks to a deed held at The National Archives [TNA C 146/8581], we at least know a few specifics, like Nan, the old she bear, valued at 30s in 1590. www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/explore-the-...

List of animals held in the ‘Bear Garden’ in Elizabethan Southwark

This deed reveals some of the animals kept to perform on the Tudor stage or in arenas, and how they were valued. It includes an ‘old she bear called Nan’, several bulls, a horse and an ape.

www.nationalarchives.gov.uk

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Robert Fleming @flemingrob.bsky.social · 12d

greekreporter.com/2025/10/25/s...

2,900-Year-Old Scythian Burial Mound Sheds Light on Early Nomadic Animal-Style Art - GreekReporter.com

Archaeologists uncovered 2,900-year-old Scythian animal-style art in Siberia, revealing the origins of early steppe nomadic culture.

greekreporter.com

Reposted by Robert Fleming

Mike Hall @thisismikehall.com · 12d

Lovely review of The Boroughs of London by the London Society: "At less than a £1.00 a Borough this is surely the best value book on London around at the moment." Can't argue with that! 😉
➡️ londonsociety.org.uk/the-boroughs...

The Boroughs of London - The London Society

londonsociety.org.uk

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Robert Fleming @flemingrob.bsky.social · 12d

@britishlibrary.bsky.social has launched their exciting "Secret Maps" exhibition - I hope you can find your way there.

events.bl.uk/exhibitions/...

Secret Maps | British Library

Step into the shadows at Secret Maps, a major new exhibition revealing the stories hidden in some of history’s most mysterious maps.

events.bl.uk

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Robert Fleming @flemingrob.bsky.social · 12d

Memories are often short - since Labour introduced free entry in 2001, attendance, and the cultural enrichment that goes with it, has risen massively.

Please read below: "Art as a catlyst for a just society".

alexwesterman.com/visual-arts/...

Why All Museums Should Be Free: A Case for Cultural Democracy Visual Arts

Why All Museums Should Be Free: A Case for Cultural Democracy Visual Arts Visual Arts

alexwesterman.com

Reposted by Robert Fleming

dag @davidallengreen.bsky.social · 14d

One observation on the Louvre robbery, having been there a couple of time recently.

There is immense 'security theatre' for visitors waiting to get in.

And what has happened affirms the general rule: the greater the 'security theatre' the weaker the actual security.

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Reposted by Robert Fleming

Dig It! @digitscotland.bsky.social · 14d

In 1882, Andrew Watson captained the Scottish team to victory over England at a stadium in Glasgow which was thought to be lost ⚽

But with the help of volunteers, @archscot.bsky.social unearthed evidence of the pavilion and playing surface in 2021: www.digitscotland.com/uncovering-b...

#BHM25

Mural pained on a building beside a field which depicts footballers in old uniforms

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Robert Fleming @flemingrob.bsky.social · 15d

xkcd.com/977/

Map Projections

xkcd.com

Robert Fleming @flemingrob.bsky.social · 16d

Great acknowledgement of the historical diversity of the British (and Empire) armed forces, and a fabulous portrait as well.

Alex von Tunzelmann @alexvont.bsky.social · 16d

This is certainly a historically interesting portrait, but also just a very charming one: I’m struck by James’s engaging pose, looking directly at the viewer, and slight smile. www.theguardian.com/culture/2025...

London museum identifies black Waterloo veteran in rare 1821 painting

‘Honourable’ bandsman Thomas James will feature in display at National Army Museum highlighting service of black soldiers in Napoleonic wars

www.theguardian.com

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Robert Fleming @flemingrob.bsky.social · 16d

I was disappointed to miss tickets, but I have been enjoying their tourist jolly photos at places like Stonehenge.

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Robert Fleming @flemingrob.bsky.social · 19d

www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/explore-the-...

Secret diplomatic message deciphered after 350 years

Ruth Selman shares an exciting update to her previous blog post about a 17th-century letter written in cipher.

www.nationalarchives.gov.uk

Robert Fleming @flemingrob.bsky.social · 19d

Others can be seen here:
sashamaps.net/docs/maps/ro...

Roman Roads Index | Sasha Trubetskoy

Project: Roman roads diagrams The Roman roads diagram project is a series of maps driven by an unconventional idea: what if we represented Ancient Rome’s famed road network in the style of a modern tr...

sashamaps.net

Robert Fleming @flemingrob.bsky.social · 19d

In 2019 Sasha Trubetskoy created a fabulous series of tube map style maps of Roman roads. They include major arteries of the whole empire, and ones which focus on the modern nations of Britain, Spain/Portugal, France and Italy.

Here is the British one:
sashamaps.net/images/roman...

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Reposted by Robert Fleming

Kathryn Tewson @kathryntewson.bsky.social · Oct 3

This is INCREDIBLE. The Bearded Vulture has multigenerational nests that last for hundreds of years, built in very secluded places — and they’re FULL OF ANTHROPOGENIC ARTIFACTS.

Jonathan C Slaght @jonathanslaght.com · Oct 3

super cool study found human artifacts in Bearded vulture nests, incl. "weaponry like a crossbow bolt and wooden lance, decorated sheep leather, and parts of a slingshot....a shoe made from twigs and grass is ~675-years-old." link to paper: doi.org/10.1002/ecy..... www.popsci.com/environment/... 🧪🌍🦉

Multi-generational vulture nests hold 700 years of human artifacts

Crossbow bolts, sandals, slingshots, and more.

www.popsci.com

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Robert Fleming @flemingrob.bsky.social · 21d

Quite impressive mapping tool that lets you easily trace heat or cold stress on any given date from 1945 to the present.

news.mongabay.com/2025/10/feel...

Feel the heat: New app maps heat stress anywhere on Earth, 1940 to now

Wondering how this summer’s blistering heat or last winter’s bone-chilling cold snap compared with previous years? Or want to know how much heat stress climate change is bringing to your area — or in ...

news.mongabay.com

Reposted by Robert Fleming

NPR @npr.org · Oct 1

JUST IN: Jane Goodall, primatologist who transformed our understanding of the lives of apes, has died, according to an announcement from the Jane Goodall Institute.

Jane Goodall, legendary primatologist, has died at age 91

Jane Goodall, primatologist who transformed our understanding of the lives of apes, has died, according to an announcement from the Jane Goodall Institute.

n.pr

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Robert Fleming @flemingrob.bsky.social · Oct 2

True from the 20th century onward, styles stayed practical; but earlier eras uniform fashions shifted with war or peace—for example, long peace = gaudy frills and lace; in the American Revolution, soldiers shortened or folded their coat tails to move more easily through thick shrubs.