Alan R Braby Archaeological Illustrator

22/04/2026

Inspired...

22/04/2026

This is such an evocatively haunting sound

01/04/2026

The best one ive seen today....🤣

13/03/2026

Now this could be very good... or absoloute tat....

Experience the legend of Queen Kraka & King Ragnar at Vikings: Immersive London. Step into the Viking world with stunning visuals and history. Get tickets!

13/03/2026

The Springmount Bog tablets are a set of six wooden tablets discovered in 1913 in a bog in County Antrim. Dating to approximately 600 AD, they are among the earliest examples of Latin handwriting in Ireland.

Made from yew-wood, the tablets measure roughly 7.5 cm by 21.0 cm and 0.7 cm in thickness. Each tablet has two small holes on one side, for binding with a leather thong. A leather carrying strap and leather bands to keep the set together were also recovered. The surfaces of the tablets are recessed to hold a layer of wax which have been inscribed with a metal stylus.

The tablets contain Latin text from Psalms 30, 31 and 32. Psalters (All 150 psalms in one volume) were probably the most widely read text in Early Christian Ireland and were the primary text for learning to read.

The Springmount Bog tablets were likely used by a student or monk for training in literacy, grammar, and memorising sacred texts. In medieval monastic culture, a psalteratus (or psalterata for a woman) was one who had memorised all 150 Psalms, which were a core component of daily prayer and education.

Image: National Museum of Ireland

06/03/2026

No nails. No screws. Just geometry.

This is a traditional Japanese timber joint often shown as the kanawa-tsugi (scarf joint)—a precision splice used to extend or repair beams/columns. The connection locks by interlocking cuts + a driven wedge/key, tightening under load so the joint can become as strong as a solid timber—all without metal fasteners.

26/02/2026

Environmental Archaeology and taking core samples hasn't changed that much....?