Carl Ellis
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carlc75.bsky.social
Carl Ellis
@carlc75.bsky.social
350 followers 250 following 210 posts
Super amateur writer person. Talk to me about swords, sorcery, and the grinding boundary of the Meso/Neolithic. Also diving deep into my Welsh heritage!
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carlc75.bsky.social
As I come to the end of these pictures, we find the bureaucratic tablets and the survivors.

Those calling for more blank tablets, or procedures for substitute kings.

And finally, a tablet that endured the fires of Nineveh to be displayed several thousand years later.

Baked in destruction.
We shall write on boards of sissoo-wood, we shall respond immediately Copy of a reply to Ashurbanpal: request for tablets , about 100 EC Babylonia ME 45649 To the house that none leaves who enters, to the road whose journey has no return. A famous myth: the Descent of Ishtar to the Netherworld ME K.162 A perfect example of an Ashurbanipal Library tablet. Bilingual hymn to Ishtar ME Sm.954 The man who was given as the king's substitute shall die, and the bad omens will not affect that king. Ritual for the substitute king ME K 2600 ... treated with wine, washed with water and anointed with oil.. Letter about the substitute king and queen The diviner should take the ruler's hand and recite as lollows... Ritual for rebuilding a temple ME K.48 The ferocity of the fires at the fall of Nineveh was so intense that clay tablets bubbled and melted like hot glass. ME. K.5967
November 24, 2025 at 10:33 PM
carlc75.bsky.social
What is striking to me is how these tablets are surviving records of normal people and not just politically important ones.

There's grand standing, poems, chiding of relatives, complaints about staff, and the burning zeal of the collector!
You shall rule over the kings of the lands; you shall show them their frontiers and set the courses they take! Oracle, 674-672 BC ME K.883 I learnt... the hidden secret of all the scribal art. I can recognise celestial and terrestrial omens and discuss them in the assembly of scholars. Autobiography of Ashurbanipal, 668 BC ME K 2894 This treaty which Queen Zakutu has concluded with the whole nation concerning her favourite grandson, Ashurbanipal. Treaty, 669 BC 1883.0118.45 This clever hymn starts each line with a syllable of the king's own name. Hymn ME K7592 Tablets Rare tablets that do not exist in Assyna ... send them to me! Copies of a request from Ashurbanipal 5th century BC, Babylonia ME 25678, 25676
November 24, 2025 at 10:27 PM
carlc75.bsky.social
There was even a map of the world with regions home to legendary creatures: fertile ground for bronze age mysteries!
The Babylonian map of the world This unique clay tablet records traditions from much earlier times and even refers to the Flood Story. The Babylonian world is shown in bird's-eye view as a disc surrounded by a ring labelled "bitter-river. The city of Babylon straddles the River Euphrates, which flows south through marshes to the sea. Inscribed circles indicate cities and areas within Mesopotamia in loosely correct geographical positions. Beyond the outer edge of the known world are eight triangular regions, the homes of strange or legendary beings. One is identifiable as the mountain where the Babylonian Ark landed after the Flood. This lies across the water, far beyond the mountains of Urartu (Ararat in the Bible), on the very rim of the world. Late Babylonian, 700-500 BC Probably from S coar, southem iras, ME 9268 Diagram showing the features of the Babylonian map of the world World map tablet
November 24, 2025 at 10:16 PM
carlc75.bsky.social
Cuneiform tablets, while a great tool and possible narrative device for a certain warrior-scribe I am trying to document, are also a huge repository of stories themselves!

A flood myth, omens, spells, and that oh so famous complaint (sadly on loan and not there when I visited)
The Babylonian story of the flood Sumerian magical spell This a spell against demons, calling on Asalluhi, god of magic. ME 96704 Sumerian magical spell This employs garbled foreign names as a spell against ghosts. ME 109215 The fabled tablet of Ea-Nasir
November 24, 2025 at 10:11 PM
carlc75.bsky.social
Quick aside, this excavation in Ur called The Great Death Pit deserves to be explored through fiction.

Ur was a fascinating city, and I have a story out on submission based there.
The Great Death Pit This grave was named the Great Death Pit due to the large number of bodies found within it but there was little evidence remaining of the stone tomb chamber that it belonged to. In the pit were the bodies of 6 guards or soldiers with weapons and 68 women. Most of the women lay close together in rows but four of them were grouped around four musical instruments, including the silver lyre in Case 19 (right). All of the women wore elaborate headdresses, necklaces and earrings, and their clothing was decorated with beads. Two statues of rams were found in a corner of the pit. One of them is in Case 17. The Great Death Pit, grave PG 1237, about 2500 BC (Early Dynastic III) DEATH-PIT PG.1237 Plan of the Great Death Pit. From C. L Woolley, Ur Excavations Il (1934) The standard of Ur
November 24, 2025 at 10:03 PM
carlc75.bsky.social
Lets talk about cuneiform - it's old. It started around 3000 BCE and ended around 80 AD. That was in use longer than it has currently been extinct. And it was dense! It was used to commemorate temples or to complain about copper.

The pictures do not show how SMALL these tablets are!
Stone foundation tablets These tablets were deposited together with the peg figurines (right), to commemorate the restoration of temples. About 2150 BC (reign of Gudea) | From the Temple of Ningirsu, Girsu ME 91007-8, 91060 From the Temple of Nindara, Ur ME 119012| Foundation tablet Reign of Ur-Nammu, 2112-2095 BC From the temple of Nin-sun, Ur ME 114187 Foundation tablet Reign of Ur-Nammu, 2112-2095 BC From the temple of Inanna, Uruk ME 113866 Foundation tablet Reign of Shulgi, 2094-2047 BC From the temple of Dimtabba, Ur ME 118560 Inscribed and sealed clay label Offerings paid to gods of Umma. 2034 BC, Year 4, King Shu-Sin of Ur From Umma ME 115847| Messenger texts recording beer, oil and bread rations tor couriers About 2030 BC From Umma ME 113681, 113845 Barley receipts in envelopes For security the text was written on both tablet and envelope. About 2050 BC Receipt for garments sent by boat to Dilmun (central Persian Gulf) 2028 BC, Year 1, King Ibbi-Sin of Ur From Ur ME 130462
November 24, 2025 at 9:54 PM
carlc75.bsky.social
This world of raiders and city states seems like it would be full of adventurers in search of trade and profit.
From Akkad to Ur 2150-2000BC The collapse of the Akkadian government in southern Mesopotamia was associated with raids by mountain tribes known as the Guti. Like most outsiders, the Sumerians regarded them as dreadful barbarians, yet some cities seem to have recovered rapidly and several independent city rulers coexisted with Gutian rule. One of the most important cities was Girsu, within the state of Lagash. Its greatest king, Gudea, has left many monuments of himself (see the statues in the centre of the gallery). When Cudea rebuilt a temple, he roofed it with timber from the Mediterranean coast and furnished it with materials from far afield, so it is clear that long-distance trade was still possible during this time. Utu-hegal, a king of Uruk, is credited with finally defeating the Guti. The state he established was further consolidated by his successor, Ur-Nammu of the Third Dynasty of Ur.
November 24, 2025 at 9:41 PM
carlc75.bsky.social
One of the first religious sites?

What event catalysed this? What tale could you write that would echo this moment?
The Temple of Ninhursag The site of Tell al-'Ubaid lies close to Ur, and was occupied as early as 5500 BC. Its name was given to the distinctive type of Mesopotamian prehistoric pottery which was first discovered there (see Case 1). Later, the Sumerians built a temple to the great mother goddess Ninhursag on a high mudbrick platform, within an oval enclosure. Excavations revealed part of a temple of the Early Dynastic Ill period built during the reign of A'anepada, king of Ur around 2500 BC. The temple on top of the platform had not survived, but decorative elements from the temple were heaped on either side of the central stairway at the foot of the platform. These include some of the earliest objects of copper and bronze from Mesopotamia, together with inlaid friezes and mosaic columns.
November 24, 2025 at 9:38 PM
carlc75.bsky.social
To Mesopotamia! The early northern settlements used POTTERY tools, while the southern used flint.

A warrior potter is not something I had considered and has real potential.
Early villages 6500-4200BC The earliest villages in Mesopotamia were in northern Iraq and Syria, in areas where there was enough rainfall to grow crops and raise animals. Later irrigation using canals allowed settlements to develop further south. As farming developed people began to live in one place and developed rituals, religion and new skills. Houses were built using plaster and sun-dried mud bricks. As they became settled, communities began to create distinctive styles of pottery and show their status through traded goods and possessions. Rare items such as obsidian, a type of volcanic glass from Turkey, were traded over long distances. Examples of pottery and stone tools
November 24, 2025 at 9:34 PM
carlc75.bsky.social
Moving down river, we end up in lower Egypt, a hub of trade, where some plucky vagabonds from far away lands could make coin, copper, and a name for themselves.

Then lose it all again in their cups!
Lower Egypt and trade The simple pottery and modest burial practices of the communities living in Lower Egypt (the Nile Delta) show they had a distinct culture. Their northern location gave them control over trade with the Near East, which supplied copper, oil, wine and wood. This led to contact and eventually conflict with the Upper Egyptians. About 3300 BC the Upper Egyptians established colonies in the Delta to gain direct access to these commodities. Gradually imposing their culture on the inhabitants, they ultimately unified Upper and Lower Egypt into one country under the kings of the First Dynasty, and possibly even earlier. The concept of Upper and Lower Egypt as two distinct and complementary lands was maintained throughout Egyptian history. This duality was symbolised by different crowns and emblems. Binding the two parts of the country together was one of the king's main duties. Stone axes Stone lances and rippled knives
November 22, 2025 at 9:10 PM
carlc75.bsky.social
And their weapons were very distinctive! Almost looks like an axe mounted to the hilt.

It's amazing how much of our view of history is blinkered by curriculum.
Daggers! Daggers, 1750-1450 BC The people of Kerma had a strong warrior tradition and regularly buried weapons with their dead. These daggers have long thin copper alloy blades attached to bone handles. Although the basic form of the daggers is similar to contemporary Egyptian examples, the style distinctively belongs to the Kerma culture. Kerma, EA 55442-3 Tomb of an archer at Kerma dating to the Kerma Ancien period. O Swiss Archaeological Mission at Kerma
November 22, 2025 at 8:17 PM
carlc75.bsky.social
And from this arose the Kingdom of Kush!

Sandals and formidable stone weaponry. The Nile is an evocative setting with many cultures along its bank.

Inspiration to create your own megariver setting?
Map of the Kingdom of Kush Stone axes, some with wings Winged axes, 1750-1450 BC The distinctive winged shape of these axes is copied from contemporary Egyptian copper examples, like the one below. Made of soft sandstone, the axes could only have been suitable to work softer materials. Found exclusively in settlements, the axes were clearly a part of the Kushite people's daily life, but their exact function remains a mystery. Northern Dongola Reach, Site M14, EA 794624, Site 116, EA 79625, Site M7, EA 79626 Egyptian copper axe, 1750-1450 BC The Kushites copied the winged shape of this Egyptian copper axe type, making their own versions in stone (above) using their well-established technology of stone tool production. Mostagedda, EA 63231 Stone axe, 1750-1450 BC The Kushites made this axe from stone which is hard enough for it to have been used as a functional tool or weapon. It is unlike the winged sandstone axes (above), which are very much softer and weaker. Northem Dongola Keach, Sta X10, tA 7962 Teardrop-shaped axes, 1750-1450 BC Originally these axes would have been hafted to wooden handles which have not survived. Ine smater axes were probably made for symbolic purposes, rather than being used as tools or weapons. In shape and finish these examples are similar to earlier Neolithic axes from the same area. \ Site M34, EA 79629, Site G5 Sandals, 1750-1450 BC The dry conditions of the burial in which these sandals were found meant they desiccated rapidly, and so are remarkably well preserved. Made from a single piece of leather, the soles have a hole for attaching a leather strap. This passed over the instep to secure the sandal on the foot. Kerms, Grave K BI, EA 55441
November 22, 2025 at 8:15 PM
carlc75.bsky.social
Moving away from Britain, this next exhibit moved to stone age Africa.

Seasonal lakes are fertile ground for stories, survival, that perhaps need clearing of a guardian spirit each time?
When the desert was green 8600-4400 BC Today the Sahara is the driest place on earth, but it was not always that way. The end of the last ice age (about 10,000 BC) released moisture into the atmosphere and summer rain fell on the desert. Seasonal lakes (playas) formed, supporting enough grass and scrubland to make life possible during the summer months. Gradually the climate turned dry and by 4400 BC people began to abandon the desert to settle in oases and by the river. There, they took up farming, an innovation from the Levant, triggering social and technological developments that led directly to the beginning of Egyptian civilisation at about 3100 BC. Nata Playa, in southern Egypt, was one of the largest of these playa lakes. Excavations by Dr Fred Wendorf and the Combined Prehistoric Expedition revealed that nomadic people lived by its shores sporadically for over 4000 years. In 2002 Dr Wendorf donated excavated material to the British Museum. This enables us to glimpse the lives of these early desert dwellers and learn how they coped with the precarious environment. Map showing key early sites in Upper and Lower Egypt and Nubia Stone axes, arrowheads, and knifes
November 22, 2025 at 6:40 PM
carlc75.bsky.social
Some general stone tools! Antler hammers, flaked stone sickles, spear points, and hand axes.

Check out the polished ace head, the fancy weapon of the neolithic!

These are the tools of action in the Palaeolithic.
And array of antler hammers and stone blades Stone axe heads. One is polished Rear view of the stone axes
November 22, 2025 at 5:11 PM
carlc75.bsky.social
Stone maces!

What were these used for? A ritual commemorating the slaying of an ancient beast? Executions of heretical prisoners? Just some plain old head boshing?
Stone mace heads The natural qualities of the stone selected to make these mace heads were enhanced through grinding and polishing. Their value lay partly in the care invested in crafting them. Although their design may have been based on practical items, the best must have had some ceremonial function or symbolic value. Later Neolithic, about 3000-2000 BC Lough Gur, Co. Limerick, Ireland; River Thames, England PE 1864,01272 presented by J.F.W. de Sallis; POA 52: WG 94 presented by J.P. Morgan Stone Mace Heads
November 22, 2025 at 5:11 PM
carlc75.bsky.social
Carved balls from Scotland! What were they used for? Objects of authority, power, communion?

Blessed weapons for cosmic beasts?
Carved stone balls More than 400 stone balls like these are known, mostly from isolated finds in the north and east of Scotland. The design varies, but they share a beauty and precision which lifts them out of the ordinary. They were in circulation at the same time as other distinctive items and seem to have had special regional significance. Later Neolithic, about 3000-2000 BC Novar, Highland; Old Deer, Grampian, Scotland PE 1878,0902.2 presented by Sir Philip de Grey Egerton; 1930,0412.1-2 Carved Stone Balls
November 22, 2025 at 5:11 PM
carlc75.bsky.social
The forlorn hope has breached the wall! And there's another slightly shorter one!

ONWARD!
Email saying I am Shortlisted for ness
October 3, 2025 at 5:59 AM
carlc75.bsky.social
Trying to really let environment be its own character in my fiction, but it's hard when those environments no longer exist. Trying to imagine what a paleolithic coastline will look like, and I'm hoping these images can help get the vibe right!
A Rockpool Coastline Rockpools and tides Cliffside
June 20, 2025 at 11:33 AM
carlc75.bsky.social
I like making book covers for projects before doing them, but imagine a collection where the characters die, retire, and like the Ship of Theseus, the party continues. Heres what one could look like.

#writing #osr #swordandsorcery #litrpg
Concept book cover CARL ELLIS STONE COLD SOBER Fox Gastrell, errant farmer, hunter, drunk and in debt to the Winking Unicorn Tavern delves into the dark and dangerous underworld in search of coin, drink, and, hopefully, that big score to pull himself out of his cups and into respectability. A LitRPG adventure in the style of the Old School Renaissance, where progression is the coin you can haul from the dark. Includes: 6000 word story of Fox delving into the Dungeon Character Sheets Dungeon Map Random Encounter Tables OLD-SCHOOL ESSENTIALS A LITRPG IN THE STYLE OF THE OSR
April 24, 2025 at 3:21 PM
carlc75.bsky.social
Spring is really here now that Easter is over. Been living off homemade cake and ice cream all week 😋
Coffee and walnut cake Vanilla icecream Easter egg hunt! Apple blossom
April 23, 2025 at 3:47 PM
carlc75.bsky.social
Every break of promised bond
rotting chips of ursine oak.
Cracking cairnrocks chocking fronds
of teeth and tongues seeking folk
who dare forget our pact
that locks me twain the rods of brass.
Rules unkenned, bearing lacked,
found wanting. Gaol brittle. Glass.

#poetry #sublime #horror
3 bears. Wood. Rotten
April 9, 2025 at 9:54 PM
carlc75.bsky.social
Visited Whitby Abbey today, incredibly imposing. Enjoy that it was founded by a woman.

It would make a great backdrop for a viking siege story, weird horror, or monastic cozy romance.
Inside Whitby Abby Whitby Abbey exterior St Hild Born 614, died 680 Hild was related to Northumbrian royalty. She was born a pagan, and was baptized on Easter Day 627. After spending time in the East Anglian royal court Hild returned north to become abbess of Hartlepool. In 657 she founded the monastery here at Whitby with the support of King Oswiu. Many people admired Hild's wisdom, and it was her monastery that hosted the famous Synod of Whitby in 664. It was an important meeting of the Church which decided the method for calculating the date of Easter. Hild died in 680 and her saints feast day is 17th November, the anniversary of her death. # ENGLISH HERITAGE WHITBY ABBEY Welcome to Whitby Abbey People have lived on the headland at Whitby for at least 3,000 years. Over the centuries it has been a holy place, a seat of power, and a source of inspiration for artists and authors. St Hild founded a monastery here in the seventh century. lt became famous for its learning and culture, but in the mid-ninth century it was abandoned because of Viking raids. Monks returned here in the late 11th century. They soon adopted the Benedictine rule, and devoted each day to prayer, study and manual work Construction of a stone monastery started in the early 12ch century, but nothing of this remains above ground. The ruins you see today are from the magnificent church buile between the 13th and 15th centuries. In 1539, during Henry VIII'S Suppression of the Monasteries, the abbey was reduced to ruins and the monks dispersed. The wealthy Choimkey family became the site's new owners in 1555 turning some of the buildings into a grand house.
April 8, 2025 at 6:04 PM
carlc75.bsky.social
I've got a fun 6.5k word story about a Mesolithic hunter taking on a tribe of cheeky Neolithic colonists.

The hunter tribes revere the sea, how else are they going to eat in winter?! There's also slime, hallucinations, a religious duel with a bear, a fishing wight, and a demon-cow!

#SpearAndFang
For out to sea the eyes watched still, intense, blacker pools than the water itself, with wings of foam and arms of waves, its maw the sea itself.
February 16, 2025 at 7:16 PM
carlc75.bsky.social
My #adventoftinytales take on #Birth

It's finally done!
#AdventOfTinyTales 24 Birth Scorching heat drags me from the darkness, I flail fleshy tendrils as the hard rock breaks and cuts me leaking pain and fluid upon the hard prison now slick with me to slither away. Something opens and white needles burrow into my soul, fading into a landscape of black and crimson with a sky of green fire raining upon me. I move my many limbs of yellow tender flesh with their hooks and tasting mouths that feed upon the dark brackish rock. I emerge, stretch, writhe and tumble. Towards a new world with morsels and songs and people to conquer.
January 12, 2025 at 1:32 PM
carlc75.bsky.social
I'm finally emerging from post flu mental haze so here's my #adventoftinytales take on #Ink.

Determined to finish this series.
#AdventOfTinyTales 23 Ink Heat bled through their tightly wrapped fingers, slipped between the wraps of their face, and burned the metal goggles over their eyes. The shovel bit deep, ash cascading over shoulders as they dug further along an oak branch of white burning wood flaring crimson in the wind. They followed its branching paths until curling grey remnants of leaves caught the wind to join as ash. There, finally upon the end of a small burning twig was a pair of charred oak apples. For to trap magical fire within a paper scroll requires a cage of ink that burns white hot.
January 10, 2025 at 9:09 AM