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Rebekah Higgitt

@rhiggitt.bsky.social

16K followers 990 following 3.2K posts

Historian of science; Principal Curator of Science at National Museums Scotland & Hon Fellow, STIS, Uni of Edinburgh. VP British Society for the History of Science #histSTM. Views own. Formerly known as @beckyfh https://teleskopos.wordpress.com/profile

teleskopos.wordpress.com

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Rebekah Higgitt @rhiggitt.bsky.social · 12h

Oslo Observatory visit!

Photo of a building with a round room on top, against a blue sky, surrounded by autumn foliage.

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Reposted by Rebekah Higgitt

Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 19h

For reasons, it would be v. helpful to have information from a broad range of academic and non-academic (incl. GLAM) users of the BBC Written Archives OTHER THAN historians, briefly on: 1) What you've used it for and 2) How the proposed changes would impact on your research.

Reposts welcomed.

Historians dismayed by ‘scandal’ of BBC cutting access to...

Critics say new limit to trove of information sounds knell for independent research

observer.co.uk

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Rebekah Higgitt @rhiggitt.bsky.social · 19h

A whopper of a museum job! 📜

Geoff Belknap @curatorgeoff.bsky.social · 20h

🔔🔔JOB KLAXON🔔🔔🔔
Come and join the team at NMS - we're looking for a new Head of Collections Services. It's a brilliant role and a great team.

Details
Salary - £70.692-80,152
Hours - FT 35 Hours per week
Deadline - Nov 9th, 2025

careers.nms.ac.uk/job/780754

Head of Collections Services

careers.nms.ac.uk

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Reposted by Rebekah Higgitt

Bob Marshall @bobmarshall.co.uk · 21h

Hi #PortfolioDay!

I'm an Architectural Illustrator from Edinburgh. I visually reconstruct heritage buildings and monuments in #Blender3D guided by archaeology, measured survey data, and by working in collaboration with historians and archaeologists.

Website: bobmarshall.co.uk

ALT: A speculative digital reconstruction of the Bass of Inverurie - a late twelfth-century timber and earthwork castle held by the Earls of Garioch (pronounced "Geary" in the local tongue)- members of the extended royal family of Scotland and the ancestors of King Robert the Bruce. Personal project © Bob Marshall 2017. CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Speculative digital reconstruction of Tor Alvie hillfort near Aviemore, Scottish Highlands. The site was identified as a hillfort in 2010-11 (Historic Environment Record: MHG55341). The reconstruction model was created in Blender 3D using a combination of high-resolution digital terrain data obtained from Ordnance Survey, which I used to create my backdrop of the Cairngorm Mountains. Although the fort has never been excavated, the line of its rampart walls can broadly be determined by a stony bank that encloses an area of roughly 85m x 30m, bearing immediate similarities in size and shape to Craig Phadrig hillfort near Inverness. However, unlike Craig Phadrig, there is no evidence that Torr Alvie was vitrified. It is difficult to know how thick the ramparts were, whether there were timber palisades, and how many entrances the fort had, so imagination plays a large part in this visualisation. With grateful thanks to Eve Boyle and Adam Welfare of Historic Environment Scotland and Professor Gordon Noble of the University of Aberdeen for their input and assistance. © Bob Marshall / badenochstorylands.com 2020.

A speculative digital reconstruction of the early sixteenth-century chancel screen of St Mary's parish church in Youghal, Ireland. Using survey measurements, I developed a computer model to help me work out a possible design for the screen and its loft. Its form is guided by the information written in historical documents and from a single piece of decorated timber, which may have been part of this original screen, found underneath the church floor during recent archaeological investigations. I have combined influences from some surviving medieval screens found in churches in several English counties. The depiction of the Last Judgement painted above the chancel arch is imaginary, and also influenced by similar mural paintings found in several medieval English churches. The Last Judgement, sometimes also referred to as a ‘Doom’, was a common feature of medieval churches. It was an instrument for highlighting the contrasts between the rewards of heaven and the agony of hell, intended to guide Christians away from sin and misbehaviour.

A digital reconstruction of Brougham Castle shows how it may have looked in 1388 following the additions and alterations made by Roger Clifford, 5th Baron of Westmoreland. This view of the castle in wintertime is from the northwest. Artist: Bob Marshall. © Historic England / English Heritage Trust. Contact Historic England Archives for Licensing enquiries.

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Rebekah Higgitt @rhiggitt.bsky.social · 1d

Smithsonian folk are government employees and, very sadly for us, are not allowed to travel during the shutdown. I hope at least that some of the pre-written papers will get to publication

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Rebekah Higgitt @rhiggitt.bsky.social · 1d

Very apropos the current Artefacts conference theme - Care and Repair #histSTM See programme and abstracts here: www.tekniskmuseum.no/en/research/...

Mark Miodownik @markmiodownik.bsky.social · 1d

Also... we will soon be advertising PhD studentship and a post-doc job advert as part of our launch of £11M Research Hub - our focus is reuse and repair of materials/products. If interested do get in touch.

Mark Miodownik @markmiodownik.bsky.social · 2d

We are running another repair cafe on 7th Nov. FREE to all. Learn how to mend your favourite objects for free, get involved in the repair and reuse process, and gain advice on the steps needed to bring your beloved belongings back to full working order. share.google/76mO7KzxbyiE...

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Rebekah Higgitt @rhiggitt.bsky.social · 2d

The actual Fram

Bow of a sailing ship, photographed from below, that is within a covered museumspace, with blue lighting.

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Rebekah Higgitt @rhiggitt.bsky.social · 2d

It was a great visit! The ship itself is wonderful

Rebekah Higgitt @rhiggitt.bsky.social · 2d

Top marks for this diorama from The Fram Museum. it has a theodolite and huskies (two dogs are toppled, which merely hints at their fates).

diorama with a model of a ship stuck in ice with models of people and dogs, supplies, instruments etc around it.

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Rebekah Higgitt @rhiggitt.bsky.social · 2d

So sorry about the autocorrect! That should be Frode Weium

Rebekah Higgitt @rhiggitt.bsky.social · 2d

Extraordinary picture! A Japanese silk painting

Rebekah Higgitt @rhiggitt.bsky.social · 2d

Artefacts XXX is kicking off at the Teknisk Museum, Oslo, with a welcome from Fridge Weium. Last time the group was here was 2007. Spot the curator! #histSTM 📜

Man next to a lectern and in front of a large screen showing a group picture taken in front of the Museum.

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Rebekah Higgitt @rhiggitt.bsky.social · 4d

True!

Rebekah Higgitt @rhiggitt.bsky.social · 4d

Ya don't say! www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

Boris Johnson breached rules designed to stop abuse of contacts made in public office, watchdog finds

Johnson found to have breached rules after refusing to answer specific questions about allegations published by the Guardian

www.theguardian.com

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Rebekah Higgitt @rhiggitt.bsky.social · 4d

If you do, please share a picture of the results!

Rebekah Higgitt @rhiggitt.bsky.social · 4d

I foresee multiple dissertations on the topic!

Rebekah Higgitt @rhiggitt.bsky.social · 4d

Well, for social and cultural historians, define 'uninteresting'!

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Rebekah Higgitt @rhiggitt.bsky.social · 4d

I fear so. On the up side, it will make for fascinating methodological issues for future historians to grapple with!

Rebekah Higgitt @rhiggitt.bsky.social · 4d

If you would like your own: digitalpreservation-blog.lib.cam.ac.uk/knitting-thr...

Knitting Through Digital Decay: A Collection of Digital Preservation Jumpers No One Asked For (But…

I’ve been truly overwhelmed by the interest in my Digital Preservation knitting patterns — thank you to everyone who has reached out…

digitalpreservation-blog.lib.cam.ac.uk

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Rebekah Higgitt @rhiggitt.bsky.social · 4d

Should you want to knit it yourself: digitalpreservation-blog.lib.cam.ac.uk/knitting-thr...

Knitting Through Digital Decay: A Collection of Digital Preservation Jumpers No One Asked For (But…

I’ve been truly overwhelmed by the interest in my Digital Preservation knitting patterns — thank you to everyone who has reached out…

digitalpreservation-blog.lib.cam.ac.uk

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Rebekah Higgitt @rhiggitt.bsky.social · 4d

I don't know the full story, but it looks like I can catch up with this podcast timharford.com/2023/11/caut...

Cautionary Tales – Laser Versus Parchment: Doomsday for the Disc

William the Conqueror undertook a remarkably modern project. In 1086, he began compiling and storing a detailed record of his realm: where everyone lived, what they did and where they came from. 90…

timharford.com

Rebekah Higgitt @rhiggitt.bsky.social · 4d

How interesting! I imagine that vast amounts of this kind of thing will be lost forever, perhaps a very little rediscovered by accident in the future

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Rebekah Higgitt @rhiggitt.bsky.social · 4d

In perfect timing for my last repost, on born-digital collections #digipres 📜🗃️ #histSTM

Ben Gross @bhgross144.bsky.social · 4d

And now it's time for an afternoon session on "The Analog in Migration: When the World Embraced Multimedia."

Our first speakers are Alina Volynskaya & Fed Pailler (@uni.lu) who describe the CD-HIST project, which looks at the analog-to-digital transition through the lens of the CD-ROM. #SHOT2025

Rebekah Higgitt @rhiggitt.bsky.social · 4d

Useful replies too!

Rebekah Higgitt @rhiggitt.bsky.social · 4d

Attempting to deal with the 'digital dark age' 📜 - interesting project linked to the Hawking collection at Cambridge #histSTM

joshuatj @joshuatj.digipres.club.ap.brid.gy · 4d

Woohoo! Great #digipres story @makethecatwise
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20251009-rescuing-knowledge-trapped-on-old-floppy-disks

A digital dark age? The people rescuing forgotten knowledge trapped on old floppy disks

From lectures by Stephen Hawking to the letters of British politician Neil Kinnock – it's a race against time to save the historical treasures locked away on old floppy disks.

www.bbc.com

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