Helen Spencer
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helspencer.bsky.social
Helen Spencer
@helspencer.bsky.social
910 followers 890 following 120 posts
Head of Research at Society of Antiquaries of Scotland. PhD in archaeological glass science. Consultant in museum and heritage collections care. Trustee at Tarbat Discovery Centre.

Interested in all things #archaeology #museums #glass #Scotland #heritage
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helspencer.bsky.social
Returning from a flying visit to the Isle of Bute - to give a talk to the Bute Museum and Natural History Society.

Gorgeous crisp, sunny day and island views. #BlueSky
Calm sea, green hills and Blue Sky
November 19, 2025 at 11:41 AM
helspencer.bsky.social
The Stories on Skins exhibition can be seen at Tarbat Discovery Centre until the end of October when we close for the winter season, along with the original finds from the excavations of site - including manuscript making tools.

🏺#Archaeology
A museum gallery with a wooden desk, cattle skins, parchment, quills and other materials used to create medieval manuscripts A page of parchment with colourful early medieval style decoration - and a number of materials used to make the colorants in the background
October 15, 2025 at 6:31 PM
helspencer.bsky.social
Noticed the #31DaysOfGraves tag was #Glass today and couldn’t not share this gravestone in Tranent churchyard, East Lothian.

A gravestone for Thomas Waugh, glazier, dated to 1705 which shows the tools of his trade and a lozenge of glass. He was a glass worker, likely at nearby Morison’s Haven.
The top half of a worn stone gravestone in a grassy graveyard. There is a carved hand holding a lozenge of glass along with tools - including a blow pipe, a set square and a pinching tool.
October 8, 2025 at 5:30 PM
helspencer.bsky.social
Thanks to all our speakers and attendees at our first @churchheritage.bsky.social project symposium.

A busy afternoon of lightning talks, discussion and networking and hopefully the start of lots of collaboration over the next 2 years. @socantscot.bsky.social
@scotchurchestrust.bsky.social
4 people sat on a stage taking part in a discussion. The venue is an old church building. There are two banners on the stage. The audience is looking at the discussion
September 11, 2025 at 5:49 PM
helspencer.bsky.social
Finally made it to the Clava Cairns last weekend on the way back from the Highlands! Have meant to drop by many times on the way up or down the A9 and missed the @scarf-scot.bsky.social rock art workshop there in May so made a special stop this time.

#TombTuesday
A large mound of stones in a circle with a stone circle around the outside. Set in a grass field with trees behind A passage way into a stone cairn with larger stones either side of the entrance A stone on the edge of a cairn covered in moss with a series of cup marks carved into the surface A round stone cairn on the left with a large vertical rectangular standing stone to the right and more prehistoric stone remains in the distance
July 8, 2025 at 7:25 PM
helspencer.bsky.social
Many of the historic features of St Colman’s church are still retained and are a key part of the Tarbat Discovery Centre museum telling the story from the Pictish Monastery to the present day, including 19th C communion tokens and bibles, the 18th C bell, 17th C graffiti and the medieval crypt.
A stone wall with the letters CALLEE carved into it A display case containing two open books, a small pile of lead communion tokens and two silver plated chalices An arched stone crypt with green moss and lichen in the bottom stones A cast copper alloy bell in a bell tower
July 2, 2025 at 8:21 PM
helspencer.bsky.social
On the day that we launch our Finding Futures for Scotland’s Churches project @socantscot.bsky.social I just happen to be in Portmahomack visiting the Tarbat Discovery Centre. Originally a medieval church, it opened as a museum nearly 26 years ago.

www.tarbat-discovery.co.uk
A small whitewashed church with a small bell tower, in a graveyard.
July 2, 2025 at 2:16 PM
helspencer.bsky.social
Followed by an evening in the Pear Tree and a few beers to catch the first #Lions game of the summer. 🦁
A photo of a big outdoor screen showing the British Lions vs Argentina game
June 20, 2025 at 8:37 PM
helspencer.bsky.social
A full house in Edinburgh to hear Dr Simon Taylor give the first two of his six @socantscot.bsky.social Rhind Lectures 2025, that he will give over the course of this weekend. Looking forward to learning more about Scotland’s Place Names.

Sponsored by Ordnance Survey.

#PlaceNames #RhindLecture
A seated audience looking at a speaker in a stage introducing his talk. A PowerPoint presentation is on a screen and a Society of Antiquaries of Scotland banner is in the stage. The front of the Rhinds lecture program with a picture of a historic map, and details of the event.
June 20, 2025 at 4:26 PM
helspencer.bsky.social
Enjoyable day @uclarchaeology.bsky.social for the spring @ahglass.bsky.social conference.

Nice to be invited to speak about my #medieval window glass research in Scotland and exciting to see how it links up nicely with new scientific research across Europe!
A jumbled panel of coloured window glass set in lead canes. Greens, reds - some with grisaille decoration.
May 16, 2025 at 6:54 PM
helspencer.bsky.social
Did you know that the Tarbat Discovery Centre has its own tartan? It was registered as part of the 25th anniversary celebrations. Find out more about the story behind our tartan at our upcoming events on Saturday, 17 May 2025 with Dr Mairi Macpherson. Tickets: www.tickettailor.com/events/
A poster advertising an event. An image of h the museum (a white washed church with a small bell tower in a graveyard) with details of two events on the 17th May - a tartan workshop at 2pm and a lecture ‘threads of belonging’ at 7pm - links in main text
May 13, 2025 at 6:01 PM
helspencer.bsky.social
After working the last two Saturdays, it was nice to have a full weekend and get back to the beach for a long dog walk. Gorgeous morning at #Longniddry with clear views out to the Edinburgh skyline.

#Weekend #SaturdayVibes
A beach on the foreground with sand, rocks and seaweed. The Firth of Forth (sea) in in the middle and in the distance is Arthur’s seat, Edinburgh skyline and the Forth bridges . Bright blue sky with a couple of small white clouds
May 10, 2025 at 4:48 PM
helspencer.bsky.social
Enjoyable outdoors meeting this afternoon sitting in the gardens at Preston Tower #EastLothian

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Preston...

It has recently undergone conservation and stabilisation, has a new staircase and is now open the first Saturday of every month for guided tours!
A stone built, ruined, Scottish tower house - with window spaces and an unusual crenelated upper ‘pavillion’. The sky is bright blue!
May 8, 2025 at 4:17 PM
helspencer.bsky.social
The final session of the day #ARP2025 - a discussion on access to archaeology for all and how to engage wider communities with heritage. With a special appearance from an #ArchaeoDog !

#MakeYourMark

@socantscot.bsky.social @archscot.bsky.social
Five people sat on a stage with an audience listening to them speak. A service dog in a yellow fluorescent jacket is lying on the stage.
May 3, 2025 at 3:42 PM
helspencer.bsky.social
A packed house in Edinburgh for this years Archaeological Research in Progress conference #ARP2025

@socantscot.bsky.social @archscot.bsky.social
The interior of a church with a full audience listening to the speaker at the front, with two PowerPoint screens, talking about a Bronze Age hoard.
May 3, 2025 at 9:40 AM
helspencer.bsky.social
Today is our second @scarf-scot.bsky.social Rock Art workshop funded by @royalsoced.bsky.social - this weekend we are in Kirkudbright, Dumfries and Galloway. It’s also our first event for the South West Scotland Research framework.

#ScotArchStrat
An audience listening to a speaker at the front of the room and watching a PowerPoint presentation about Rock art. A Scarf banner is in the picture.
April 26, 2025 at 9:38 AM
helspencer.bsky.social
It’s been a long while but finally a productive day in the lab analysing lots of glass! Fingers crossed no more technical issues.

#pXRF #Archaeology #ArchaeologicalScience #Glass
A keyboard and screen with a metal stand next to it containing an XRF machine. On the bench are some clear plastic bags containing glass samples
March 27, 2025 at 1:47 PM
helspencer.bsky.social
Thanks to the INCAScot team of @urbanprehistorian.bsky.social @gavinmacgregor.bsky.social Antonia Thomas and Alex Hale for all their work to bring this together and with running the workshops over the past few years and the @royalsoced.bsky.social for funding.
#INCAScot
Piles of rolled up (fake) grass in the foreground with two cows peeking over there top. An electric pylon is in the background.
March 17, 2025 at 4:31 PM
helspencer.bsky.social
Working with @SChurchesTrust, we're hiring a Research Officer at the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland for our new Finding Futures for Scotland’s Churches project - come work with us: socantscot.org/news/were-hiri…
A white washed small Scottish church in a grassy field with a stone wall in front
March 13, 2025 at 2:56 PM
helspencer.bsky.social
A tiny bit of my dinner (steak!) left…. Wonder who will get it?
Two Jack Russell cross terriers looking at the photographers plate where there is a bit of steak
February 21, 2025 at 9:12 PM
helspencer.bsky.social
A packed house for tonight’s Society of Antiquaries of Scotland lecture by Prof Ian Ralston on Hillforts in both Britain and Europe.

Will be available soon on our You Tube channel for those who couldn’t make it tonight.
An audience in a converted church building listening to a speaker at the front. Two screens are showing a PowerPoint presentation.
February 13, 2025 at 6:58 PM
helspencer.bsky.social
I especially want to revisit this Douglas Strachan #glass panel that incorporates medieval window glass from Holyrood Abbey. An exciting discovery! I’d plans to do more research on it after finishing my PhD but Covid and life happened and never got the chance to get that funding application in….
A stained glass panel with a mix of clear and green diamond and rectangular panes surrounding a variety of shapes and colours of glass fragments joined by lead cames and in a wooden frame
February 11, 2025 at 10:01 PM
helspencer.bsky.social
A mythological #TombTuesday

In Meigle churchyard in Perth and Kinross is a mound which legend says is the burial mound of Guinevere or Vanora

Possibly a prehistoric barrow, maybe reused by the Picts - a mystery indeed!

cateranecomuseum.co.uk/site/vanoras...
A grassy mound in a churchyard with trees in the background. A small stone mounted plaque in the ground tells the visitor it is Vanora’s mound
February 4, 2025 at 7:52 PM
helspencer.bsky.social
I was lucky to have the opportunity to visit #Finlaggan on #Islay last year - the home of the Lord of the Isles.

But as well as the more well known medieval island settlement (in the distance) - there is also much earlier landscape use including this standing stone #StandingStoneSunday
A large standing stone in the foreground bottom left hand corner of the photo in a grassy field. A track leads to a small stone building - the Finalggan Museum. In the distance there is a small island in a loch with standing building remains. Scottish hills surround the loch.
February 2, 2025 at 4:35 PM
helspencer.bsky.social
It’s been a long and frustrating January with not much good news all round - very much looking forward to the end of this week and spring just around the corner!!
A photograph of a clump of snowdrops just coming into flower.
January 28, 2025 at 5:55 PM