Maria Relaki
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mariarelaki.bsky.social
Maria Relaki
@mariarelaki.bsky.social
760 followers 740 following 140 posts
Archaeologist, islander missing sea views. Mostly Greek, lately British. Technology, materials,Crete, Bronze Age, gender, kinship. Associate Lecturer, Classical Studies, The Open University. Assist. Reviews Ed. European Journal of Archaeology
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Reposted by Maria Relaki
ppfideas.bsky.social
Spotted on Southwold pier: “He who controls the Past controls the Future. He who controls the Present controls the Past.” George Orwell
December 11, 2025 at 1:36 PM
Reposted by Maria Relaki
lemoustier.bsky.social
📻 Listen out for Inside Science on BBC Radio 4 at 16.30 today where I'll be talking to Tom Whipple about this new find!
lemoustier.bsky.social Dr Rebecca Wragg Sykes @lemoustier.bsky.social · 1d
🧪🏺🦣 Strong case for *oldest fire-starting* 🔥 capacity, before 400 Ka, suggested by multi-stranded analysis: geochem, magnetic, sedimentary evidence of anthropogenic burning, + heated lithics + remains of iron pyrite.
Behaviourally heading towards #Neanderthals.

www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Photosgraphs showing refitting lithic pieces of flint objects. CAPTION: Extended Data Fig. 2: Heat shattered handaxes from Barnham.a. Central part of heat-shattered handaxe with 25 refitting pieces excavated from within a small zone (35 cm across) in Area I East. b. Top part of heat-shattered handaxe from Area I East. c. Heat-altered handaxe from Area I East. Images showing two pyrite pseudomorphs analysed with various methods. CAPTION: Figure 2.2. Pyrite pseudomorph specimen 3818. (a–e) Photographs and (f–g) focus variation microscope images of fracture surfaces; (h–k) textural features of the oxidised pyrite fragment observed under the scanning electron microscope. Photos of heat-altered handaxe and two pieces of altered pyrite. CAPTION: a, Heat-altered handaxe from palaeosol in Area I East with close-up of fractured surface caused by fire. b, Fragment of pyrite found on the surface of palaeosol in Area IV(6). c, Fragment of pyrite from palaeosol in Area VI, found in association with concentrations of heated flint. Photos showing excavation in Area 1 East, from different angles including a close-up of section. Reddened sediment layer is visible. CAPTION: a, Before excavation in 2022 from north–west, showing truncation by commercial excavation of RCS within palaeosol complex. Sections A–A′, B–B′ and position of sampling column are indicated. b, Adjacent area from north under excavation in 2024. c, Partly excavated RCS within palaeosol complex in 2023 from north-west showing sampling locations and column.
December 11, 2025 at 12:26 PM
mariarelaki.bsky.social
I bet some women were also involved 🙄
Do better @theguardian.com !
www.theguardian.com/science/2025...
Man made fire 350,000 years earlier than previously thought, discovery in Suffolk suggests
Groundbreaking find makes compelling case that humans were lighting fires much earlier than originally believed
www.theguardian.com
December 10, 2025 at 4:52 PM
Reposted by Maria Relaki
ottoenglish.bsky.social
I grew up in the 70s and 80s.

If you weren't there, just a little clarification on that Spectator piece.

Literally, NOBODY admired Hitler. Apart from nazis.

Hope that helps.
December 10, 2025 at 1:14 PM
mariarelaki.bsky.social
Labour continuing to miss the point...
December 9, 2025 at 1:51 PM
Reposted by Maria Relaki
themerl.bsky.social
Are you a PhD student & interested in using museum collections in your teaching or research?

We're running a *free* doctoral training programme for students at any institution to learn about working with collections.

Find out more:

collections.reading.ac.uk/whats-on/
Two students look at objects in the reading room at The Museum of English Rural Life.
November 25, 2025 at 12:55 PM
Reposted by Maria Relaki
dorianlynskey.bsky.social
I challenge you to listen to Tim
Montgomerie’s defence of Nigel Farage on Radio 4 with a straight face
November 25, 2025 at 1:21 PM
mariarelaki.bsky.social
That these are Labour policies blows my mind. Can they sink any lower?
nisreenalwan.bsky.social Prof Nisreen Alwan @nisreenalwan.bsky.social · 22d
I don’t know what to say anymore other than to remind those in power that refugees are human beings with equal rights who, along with their children, deserve a safe, stable & integrated life in their communities and that what they’re breaking now with this performative cruelty can’t be fixed later.
sundersays.bsky.social Sunder Katwala (sundersays) @sundersays.bsky.social · 22d
The Labour government does not want to rule out deporting somebody once here as a refugee 16-19 years with a British-born 15 year old child
November 19, 2025 at 8:57 AM
Reposted by Maria Relaki
tanjabueltmann.net
Tried to get this published but no luck, so might as well ‘publish’ it here so it’s not a complete waste!

➡️ Stripping rights from refugees today endangers us all tomorrow

#asylum #Mahmood #history #humanrights
Stripping rights from refugees today endangers us all tomorrow   When I was 13, I visited a Nazi concentration camp for the first time, confronting my country’s dark history always—and rightly—a bedrock in my growing up.    One image from that visit has stayed with me ever since: a display of prisoners’ personal possessions.    It revealed a world in which those imprisoned were stripped not only of their freedom but of the last tangible traces of their humanity. That systematic erasure was the most important precondition for murdering millions.   Now, as a historian, I know that history does not flow into the present in a straight line, and direct comparisons are rarely appropriate. They certainly are not here.   But history is the one compass humanity has. Too often we choose to ignore it.    The Home Secretary’s proposals for changes to the UK’s asylum system represent such a moment of failure.    Yet the most troubling aspect of Labour’s frantic efforts to appear tough on immigration is not even the historical echoes that taking refugees’ possessions invokes. It is that cost recovery is not the real purpose of the rationale behind it.    The true aim is to appeal to a particular audience—those who take satisfaction in seeing people seeking refuge deprived of what little they have. It is hard to imagine a more troubling approach to policymaking, and that becomes even clearer when we consider the Home Secretary’s proposals in context.   As of June 2025, there were 42.5 million refugees globally. Over 70% are hosted by low- and middle-income countries. The UK hosts 548,000 refugees; that is 0.78% of the UK population. Around 110,000 people are in receipt of asylum support; that is 0.15% of the UK population.   It is unconscionable that such a small and vulnerable population can be targeted with deliberate cruelty and weaponised for assumed political gain.   And that is all this will ever be. The core miscalculation is believing that adopting these positions will neutralise Reform.    Both historical knowledge and current research show the opposite. Mainstreaming extremist policies legitimises them further and aids only the original. Each step towards Reform’s territory simply gives Reform more power.   But our political discourse has been so degraded over the last decade that many no longer even recognise policies—or the language that frames them—as extreme.    That is how the Home Secretary can speak so casually of desperate people seeking sanctuary as recipients of a ‘golden ticket’ as though the context is Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory rather than countries torn apart by war and starved by famine. Speak of her ‘moral mission’ to withdraw support, alleging that ‘illegal migration is tearing our country apart.’ And warn of ‘dark forces stirring up anger,’ oblivious to her own role: from the use of blurry, dehumanising images of refugees to spread falsehoods about their impact on communities, to the equally false description of refugee movements as illegal migration.    I suggest the Home Secretary find a mirror if she is keen to understand who is helping turn anger into hate.   Because it is the mainstreaming of far-right talking points that the Home Secretary’s proposals represent that is really tearing our country apart.   For when a policy looks like the far right, speaks to the far right and is hailed by the far right as being far right, it is far right. There is a reason Stephen Yaxley-Lennon is jubilant and speaks of ‘the Overton window having been obliterated.’   This makes a mockery of the Prime Minister’s recent comments on the urgent need to tackle racism. But it also raises alarming questions about the impact this will have on communities around the country, many of which are already deeply divided.    The proposed policies will do nothing for these struggling communities, because their problems simply do not stem from people seeking sanctuary with us. In fact: for as long as politicians focus on immigrants and refugees as the cause of our problems, they will fail to deliver for the British people.   But it is important to grasp the impact of the Home Secretary’s proposals as they carry broader consequences for all of us. Suggestions for changes to how the European Convention on Human Rights is applied are particularly concerning. Requiring judges to prioritise ‘public safety’—falsely implying refugees pose a threat—would qualify human rights for a specific group.   And once one accepts that human rights can be qualified for one group, one creates tools that can be used against anyone.   So what these proposals really mean goes far beyond asylum policy. This is about the kind of country we will have in the future. If human rights are no longer universal, they become a means for exclusion and control.    That is why stripping rights from refugees today can only enable a system that endangers all our rights tomorrow.    And that is why our historical compass matters and why we have to use it now. Because that compass tells us without doubt that when first they come for one group that is never where it ends. 
November 18, 2025 at 8:03 PM
Reposted by Maria Relaki
velocity69.bsky.social
#antireport
Εδώ #Πολυτεχνείο
/ Το έγχρωμο φιλμ που κατέγραψε κρυφά την εξέγερση μέσα από δωμάτιο του ξενοδοχείου Ακροπόλ.

The Athens Polytechnic uprising occurred in November 1973 as a massive student demonstration against the Greek military junta of 1967-74.

youtu.be/F2qh1-mojgU?...
Η εξέγερση του Πολυτεχνείου - Έγχρωμο φιλμ 16 -17 Νοεμβρίου 1973
YouTube video by Aylon Film Archives
youtu.be
November 17, 2025 at 12:27 PM
Reposted by Maria Relaki
ips-dc.org
NEW: The first two years of Massachusetts' millionaire tax has raised $3 billion more than expected.

And rather than driving the rich away, IPS researchers found that the number of millionaires has *increased.*

Tax the rich. Greg Ryan in @bloomberg.com:
Millionaire Tax That Inspired Mamdani Fuels $5.7 Billion Haul in Massachusetts
A millionaire levy in Massachusetts that New York City mayoral frontrunner Zohran Mamdani holds up as a model for taxing the rich has generated $3 billion more in revenue than expected without forcing...
www.bloomberg.com
November 12, 2025 at 4:01 PM
Reposted by Maria Relaki
jamesrball.com
Left: Donald Trump’s Jan 6th quote, as presented in the dossier that brought down two BBC bosses

Right: What Donald Trump actually said.

Full story in @thenewworldmag.bsky.social: www.thenewworld.co.uk/james-ball-e...
“Fifteen minutes into the speech, what Trump actually said: ‘We are gonna walk down to the Capitol and I’ll be with you. I know that everyone here will soon be marching over to the Capitol building to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard.’ It was completely misleading to edit the clip in the way Panorama aired it.” “We’re gonna walk down to the Capitol, and we’re going to cheer on our brave senators and congressmen and women, and we’re probably not going to be cheering so much for some of them. Because you’ll never take back our country with weakness. You have to show strength and you have to be strong. We have come to demand that Congress do the right thing and only count the electors who have been lawfully slated, lawfully slated. I know that everyone here will soon be marching over to the Capitol building to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard.”
November 12, 2025 at 3:20 PM
Reposted by Maria Relaki
bylinetimes.bsky.social
🧵On our revelations today about the BBC Coup and the Prescott Dossier.

The leaked ‘BBC Bias’ memo Trump used to attack the BBC was authored by Michael Prescott — a Hanover lobbyist paid by US tech/media giants tied to Trump. Full story: bylinetimes.com/2025/11/11/b... 1/12
'BBC Bias' Memo Was Authored by Lobbyist Tied to Pro-Trump Tech Giants
The leaked memo that fuelled Trump’s attack on the BBC was written by a lobbyist at a firm paid by US tech giants tied to the President
bylinetimes.com
November 11, 2025 at 9:19 PM
Reposted by Maria Relaki
cathfletcher.bsky.social
ICYMI yesterday afternoon a fantastic new digital resource pulling together data on the Roman road network has just launched. Explore at:
itiner-e
itiner-e.org
November 7, 2025 at 7:28 AM
mariarelaki.bsky.social
This makes me feel old but also so lucky to have experienced and adored every minute of this album while living in Sheffield in 1995. It will forever be the most beloved soundtrack of my life. "A different class it truly is."

theconversation.com/a-different-...
A Different Class of social commentary: Pulp’s era-defining album turns 30
All the tracks have stood the test of time, but Common People stands out above them all.
theconversation.com
October 30, 2025 at 11:15 AM
mariarelaki.bsky.social
www.independent.co.uk/news/world/a... Welcome to the Planet of the Apes everyone
Truck with monkeys thought to carry Covid and other diseases crashed in Mississippi
The truck carrying Rehsus monkeys from Tulane University in New Orleans crashed on Interstate 59
www.independent.co.uk
October 29, 2025 at 12:07 PM
mariarelaki.bsky.social
I have not done too well with reading for pleasure in recent years. This year I am on 7 books and want to reach the 10 mark before the end of year. I know this is meagre for some, but it will be a welcome small achievement for me. #reading #books #wellbeing
October 28, 2025 at 1:38 PM
Reposted by Maria Relaki
alcs.co.uk
For those whose works were included in the Anthropic class action, the Authors Guild and settlement administrators are hosting a webinar on what you need to know: authorsguild.org/event/anthro...

You can check if your works have been included here: secure.anthropiccopyrightsettlement.com/lookup/
Anthropic Settlement: What Authors Should Know - The Authors Guild
Copyright holders recently secured preliminary approval of a $1.5 billion class settlement in the Bartz v. Anthropic case, in which authors Andrea Bartz, Kirk Johnson, and Charles Graeber led a class-...
authorsguild.org
October 13, 2025 at 10:50 AM
Reposted by Maria Relaki
ottoenglish.bsky.social
In the late 19th century, millions of migrants left Germany as a result of religious persecution, economic hardship, and political uncertainty.

Among them was Nikolaus Schrod, a cabinet maker from Frankfurt who - along with his wife Bina - moved to London to start a new life in the 1850s. 1/3
a black and white photo of a crowd of people with a sign that says walter
ALT: a black and white photo of a crowd of people with a sign that says walter
media.tenor.com
September 22, 2025 at 10:11 AM
mariarelaki.bsky.social
#EAA_vote This is very useful and important information. Please read and vote. NB: the deadline has been brought forward to today 20 Sep 2025!
#archaeology #EuropeanAssociationArchaeologists
jaimealmansa.bsky.social Jaime Almansa @jaimealmansa.bsky.social · Sep 19
No and No - Reasons: drive.google.com/file/d/1jlPw...

We are preparing a bottom up proposal and already have the signatures. Original letter here: ee-eu.kobotoolbox.org/x/QInTdoHZ

Specially serious after knowing the direct involvement of the president in all this: thepipeline.info/blog/2025/09...
A Reader’s Digest guide to the AMBM 2025 Report.pdf
drive.google.com
September 19, 2025 at 4:23 PM
mariarelaki.bsky.social
#EuropeanAssociationArchaeologists members: what is your view for the per rollam vote that has been sent out?
I want to vote yes, so that it is clear that members want change. But, at the same time, I find these proposals (below) very problematic.
1/
September 19, 2025 at 2:05 PM
mariarelaki.bsky.social
Listening to that live press update from the US made me feel like I am living at the start of the Handmaid's Tale
September 12, 2025 at 2:39 PM
Reposted by Maria Relaki
animalarchaeology.com
🏺 For #EAA members (past and present!) still looking to sign the call for an emergency meeting following the events of #EAA2025 - here’s the new link. ⬇️
zenakamash.bsky.social Zena Kamash @zenakamash.bsky.social · Sep 10
📣 EAA Members 📣
If you haven't signed yet or have been trying to sign today, the original Google form was removed (all data saved, thankfully!)
🍉✊🏼🍉
Here is the NEW LINK: saco.csic.es/apps/forms/s...
SACO
saco.csic.es
September 10, 2025 at 1:59 PM
Reposted by Maria Relaki
kayth.bsky.social
So EAA update: the google form calling for the EAA to hold a special meeting was taken down after 'complaints' - however all signatures were saved as the form has been moved over to a different host. If you want to sign there is still time - link is here:

ee-eu.kobotoolbox.org/x/QInTdoHZ
Enketo Express for KoboToolbox
ee-eu.kobotoolbox.org
September 10, 2025 at 2:21 PM