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Ray Laurence

@raylaurence1.bsky.social

380 followers 250 following 75 posts

Professor of Ancient History at Macquarie University.

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History 74%

Art 17%

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Reposted by Ray Laurence

RoaminTheEmpire @roamintheempire.bsky.social · Jan 9

New post this week on ancient Beneventum! The first in a three part series includes the famous Arch of Trajan, constructed at the start of the Via Appia Traiana between 114-117 CE.

www.roamintheempire.com/index.php/20...

#Archaeology #RomanArchaeology #Italy #AncientBlueSky

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Reposted by Ray Laurence

The Classics Library @theclassicslibrary.bsky.social · Jan 13

Roman roads.

Still from the show Cunk on Britain where the fictional presenter tells us that before the Romans built roads, people could only travel by going to the edge of their village and seeing how far they could jump.

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Reposted by Ray Laurence

The Classics Library @theclassicslibrary.bsky.social · Jan 16

Archaeologists uncover Roman ‘service station’ during roadworks in Gloucester

The mutatio, on Ermin Street linking Silchester and Gloucester, would have provided a place for travellers to rest or change horses

buff.ly

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Zena Kamash @zenakamash.bsky.social · Feb 15

Who doesn't love a hipposandal?! #TinyJoys

Fishbourne Roman Palace @romanpalace.bsky.social · Feb 15

#WorldHippoDay, you say? Bet you're expecting us to post a pic of a hippo.

WRONG!

It's a hippoSANDAL - a Roman horseshoe. Found at the Palace and proof, if any was needed, that the Romans were bonkers.

Ooo this is tricky to describe. If you know what a hipposandal looks like, then bingo. If not, it's an old object made of iron, with a vertical projection with a loop on top at one end, and a low hook on the other. two lateral arms form an enclosure into which a horses hoof would snuggle. We're doing our best here. Sorry!

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Reposted by Ray Laurence

Addymax @addymax.bsky.social · Feb 21

Trump’s re-election to boost UK universities as fewer students choose US www.theguardian.com/education/20...

Trump’s re-election to boost UK universities as fewer students choose US

During Trump’s first term, the number of international enrolments in the US declined every year

www.theguardian.com

Reposted by Ray Laurence

Alison Fisk @alisonfisk.bsky.social · Feb 21

Gorgeous #Roman glass cups decorated with colourful enamel-painted animals from the Roman arena, AD 200s.

Found in richly-furnished ‘princely’ graves in Denmark, where they are known as ‘circus beakers’. National Museum of Denmark. 📷 by me

#FindsFriday
#Archaeology

My photo collage shows 4 Roman clear-glass cups painted with colourful enamel-painted motifs of animals from the Roman Arena. These are known as ‘circus cups’, of which fourteen have been found in richly-furnished graves in Denmark, dated AD 200s.

The top two images show two sides of the same cup. At top left a brown lion with shaggy mane, its legs outstretched as if running at full speed. On the other side of the cup at top right, is a green spotted leopard. Out of shot is a blue goat being hunted down by the lion and the leopard.

Photo at bottom left shows a fragmentary glass cup decorated with a light brown lion with a shaggy mane. Cup at bottom right has an image of a gladiator and in front of him a large brown bear.

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Reposted by Ray Laurence

Neville Morley @nevillemorley.bsky.social · Feb 28

Privatisation of water and sewage in the UK as harbinger of the present omnishambles, if only we’d recognised it at the time.

Henry Farrell @himself.bsky.social · Feb 27

Nationalizing SpaceX and Starlink are going to be part of the conversation in any thinkable post Trump/Musk era. Democracies that become structurally dependent on infrastructures provided by unpredictable private actors are going to be weak democracies at best.

Rude Law Dog @esghound.com · Feb 27

The lawsuit about this is going to be real fun, especially considering the tweets Musk is posting where he straight up brags about his no-bid corruption being a direct result of his role in the government

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Reposted by Ray Laurence, Tessa S. Cook

Hunter Walker @hunterw.bsky.social · Apr 1

In his 1957 filibuster, Strom Thurmond said "Negroes ... are not so well qualified to vote as are the white people.”

A Black senator just broke the record Thurmond set with that speech.
talkingpointsmemo.com/news/cory-bo...

Cory Booker Just Gave The Longest Speech In The History of The US Senate

Only two men have spoken on the floor of the U.S. Senate...

talkingpointsmemo.com

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Ray Laurence @raylaurence1.bsky.social · Jun 7

Tampere - Finland!

Reposted by Ray Laurence

Ulla Rajala @ullamr.bsky.social · Jun 6

@raylaurence1.bsky.social today from Tampere on age #AncientBluesky ⚱️🦋

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Reposted by Ray Laurence

Ulla Rajala @ullamr.bsky.social · Jun 4

@raylaurence1.bsky.social giving a talk at Stockholm. How does a multi-species mobility look like? #AncientBluesky ⚱️🦋

The titlepage (Donkeys, mules and camels)

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Ray Laurence @raylaurence1.bsky.social · May 30

Bleak winter!

Ray Laurence @raylaurence1.bsky.social · May 28

Age in antiquity workshop next week!

research.tuni.fi/trivium/frid...

Friday 6th June: Age, Aging and Ancestors in Ancient and Medieval Societies | Trivium | Tampere Universities

Trivium – Tampere Centre for Classical, Medieval, and Early Modern Studies is organizing a one-day symposium on Age, Aging and Ancestors in Ancient and Medieval Societies.

research.tuni.fi

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Ray Laurence @raylaurence1.bsky.social · May 28

Roads!

Next week in Stockholm!!

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Reposted by Ray Laurence

Lea Beness @leabeness.bsky.social · May 18

Wonderful work being done on Thomas Ashby and the Roman roads of Italy by Macquarie graduates @janetwade.bsky.social and @nic33.bsky.social using the photo archive of @bsrome.bsky.social.
@raylaurence1.bsky.social @emlynkd.bsky.social @resaustrales.bsky.social @awaws.org
bsr.ac.uk/thomas-ashby...

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Reposted by Ray Laurence

David Rafferty @davidrafferty.bsky.social · May 17

We have a blog post up on our new Open Access book "How Republics Die: creeping authoritarianism in ancient Rome and beyond". Find the post here: doi.org/10.58079/13xuq and the book itself (with all the chapters in downloadable PDF) here: www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi...

Screenshot from the blog post: "Our work is a response to the wave of political science scholarship which appeared after Donald Trump's first election to the US Presidency in 2016, which dealt with the broad concept of "democratic decay" I As historians of Rome, we read that scholarship and saw a lot in it that looked like the Late Roman Republic and the early Augustan monarchy (conventionally dated to 133 BCE - 14 CE): terms like constitutional rot, autocratic legalism, and democratic breakdown are
all easily applicable to Rome. Of course, it's not new to compare modern democracies to Rome, especially the United States of America. One problem is that these comparisons are often pretty superficial, and we didn't want to do that: nothing in this book is as 'clickbaity' as "This Is Why Bernie Sanders Is Like The Gracchi", Or "How Donald Trump is Like Sulla, Julius Caesar, and Augustus". There is an understandable scholarly scepticism about comparing the Roman political system to modern systems: are they not just too different? But, as we editors argue in the first chapter ("New Perspectives on Old Problems/Old Perspectives on New Problems"), comparisons can be made responsibly-if due care is taken. If we are interested in the struggle for power among institutions (and this is what contemporary democratic decay scholarship is largely about), then Rome was a suitably complex
institutional environment. More complex than many modern..."

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Reposted by Ray Laurence

Nic33.bsky.social @nic33.bsky.social · Apr 20

bsr.ac.uk/thomas-ashby...

Thomas Ashby Abroad: A Photographic Record of the 1914 Journey - a new virtual exhibition on the BSR website - bsr.ac.uk

Discover the new virtual exhibition “Thomas Ashby and the other side of the world” on our digital platform: https://virtualexhibitions.bsr.ac.uk/omeka-s/s/thomas-ashby-and-the-other-side-of-the-world/...

bsr.ac.uk

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Ray Laurence @raylaurence1.bsky.social · Apr 6

Guvk that?

Reposted by Ray Laurence

Hoodlum 🇺🇸 @nothoodlum.bsky.social · Apr 6

True ✅

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Ray Laurence @raylaurence1.bsky.social · Apr 2

This inspires a new approach to the 20 minute academic conference paper!

@ascs in Auckland early 2026!

Hunter Walker @hunterw.bsky.social · Apr 1

Cory Booker Just Gave The Longest Speech In The History of The US Senate

Only two men have spoken on the floor of the U.S. Senate...

talkingpointsmemo.com

Reposted by Ray Laurence

Dr Cora Beth Fraser @corabeth.bsky.social · Apr 2

Today is World Autism Awareness Day, in Autism Awareness Week, which is in Autism Awareness Month. Spare a thought today for all the autistic people who really hate April!
But in the spirit of awareness... I've been quiet on social media lately because I've been working on a Big Autism Project...

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Reposted by Ray Laurence, Joanna Bourke, Steven Pressman , and 8 more Ray Laurence, Joanna Bourke, Steven Pressman, Sarah J. Schoppe‐Sullivan, Todd Campbell, Kathleen J. Mullen, Tia Palermo, Lisa Simpson, Cailin O’Connor, Philip Bell, Angela Potochnik

Cory Booker @corybooker.com · Apr 2

I may be tired and a little hoarse, but as I said again and again on the Senate floor, this is a moment where we cannot afford to be silent, when we must speak up.

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Ray Laurence @raylaurence1.bsky.social · Mar 29

Holding an imaginary smthg - he is a total turd!

I am certain US tourism industry is now totally in free fall!

Reposted by Ray Laurence

The Partial Historians 🏺 @partialhistorians.bsky.social · Mar 28

🌟Early Release - Gladiator II with Alexandra Sills 🌟

We consider the highs and lows of Gladiator II with @belovedofoizys.bsky.social, whose research focuses on the representation of gladiators. This fantastic interview is out now for our wonderful patreons 🥳

www.patreon.com/posts/122599...

Pedro Pascal plays General Acacius and Paul Mescal plays Lucius in Gladiator II. In this photo from Paramount Pictures Acacius has charged Lucius in the arena and appears to tackle him as part of their encounter.

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Reposted by Ray Laurence, Richard Rodríguez, Étienne St-Jean

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez @aoc.bsky.social · Mar 28

We will not be distracted.
We will not be discouraged.
We’ve got our eyes on the prize.

And we will build the prosperous, free nation for all that we deserve.

The time to organize is now.

OcasioCortez.com

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Adam Parkhomenko @adamparkhomenko.bsky.social · Mar 28

People are taking things into their own hands

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Ron Filipkowski @ronfilipkowski.bsky.social · Mar 26

After the Atlantic published the texts this morning, Tulsi Gabbard is confronted today on why she lied in her testimony to the Senate yesterday. She says she misremembered.

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Ryan Goodman @rgoodlaw.bsky.social · Mar 26

The Atlantic has now published the Signal texts with attack plans in response to administration denials.

I worked at the Pentagon.

If information like this is not classified, nothing is.

If Hegseth is claiming he declassified this information, he should be shown the door for having done so.

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Ray Laurence @raylaurence1.bsky.social · Mar 20

So, we reach end of week 4 of the academic year and are given an inkling of what Macquarie Uni is about to inflict on its employees.

futurecampus.com.au/2025/03/20/a...

Another savings plan at Macquarie U

Management at Macquarie University warns academics the times are changing and so must the way they work - and yes redundancies are mentioned.

futurecampus.com.au

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Reposted by Safiya U. Noble, Ray Laurence, Gillian Douglas , and 11 more Safiya U. Noble, Ray Laurence, Gillian Douglas, Miles Corak, Anna Hickey‐Moody, Scott James, David Geerts, Rob Boddice, Jason Dittmer, Shahar Hameiri, David Farrier, Eric Schniter, Fred, Nick Clarke

Michael Livingston @michaellivingston.com · Mar 20

Meta used at least 16 of my books, and numerous articles, to help train the AI it will use to make billions.

Authors, search your name here:

www.theatlantic.com/technology/a...

Search LibGen, the Pirated-Books Database That Meta Used to Train AI

Millions of books and scientific papers are captured in the collection’s current iteration.

www.theatlantic.com

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