Mike Pitts
@pittsmike
Followers
6,613
Following
435
Media
1,729
Statuses
9,218
Award-winning writer/broadcaster Editor British Archaeology magazine 2003–2023 Editor Society of Antiquaries of London e-newsletter 2015–20
UK
Joined July 2009
Don't wanna be here?
Send us removal request.
Explore trending content on Musk Viewer
Adrián Marcelo
• 279755 Tweets
RELEASE GAMECHANGER TEASER
• 176748 Tweets
Minecraft
• 155029 Tweets
GEMFOT READY FOR NYC
• 117667 Tweets
Vinicius
• 116147 Tweets
Sisi
• 94962 Tweets
Orta
• 83716 Tweets
CONGRATULATIONS JIMIN
• 82500 Tweets
Churchill
• 81219 Tweets
PP NYC CALLING
• 69086 Tweets
YAIBA
• 67572 Tweets
MUSE 1 BILLION STREAMS
• 46752 Tweets
Rabiot
• 40869 Tweets
Apalachee High School
• 38381 Tweets
Rabia
• 28638 Tweets
#SpaceMarine2
• 28343 Tweets
CHANYEOL BACK AGAIN TEASER
• 23021 Tweets
Winder
• 21156 Tweets
Los Piojos
• 17591 Tweets
Kopa
• 16934 Tweets
Jack Black
• 13873 Tweets
HURRY UP TOMORROW
• 13367 Tweets
Amartey
• 12058 Tweets
JIMIN OUR SERENDIPITY
• 11306 Tweets
Pinned Tweet
WINNER 2023 AIA FELICIA A HOLTON BOOK AWARD for a major work of public nonfiction
“This deep and varied history… [provides] clear and compelling narratives without losing sight of the complexity of the archaeological record and the intellectual nuance required to interpret it”
16
18
137
Must we rewrite
#Stonehenge
's history? No! But news that the Altar Stone came from NE Scotland is sensational. It widens horizons & suggests the monument was very much part of a Neolithic world spanning the UK.
My key takeaways in thread below... 1/6
390
1K
7K
I can’t be the only archaeologist thinking, why don’t they bury him IN THE LANDROVER?
123
243
3K
And congratulations to the geologists.
Here is the Nature article: A Scottish provenance for the altar stone of Stonehenge
And much more with lot of photos in my blog here: 6/6
10
135
968
Neil Kinnock nails it, Starmer is up against British media that would rather grind public hope and aspiration into the dust than countenance a Labour government
“He was one of the first people through the door, when Glenys died.”
Lord Kinnock says he’s keen to get involved with Keir Starmer, who he describes as “decent” for his response to Glenys’s death.
@EdVaizey
|
#TimesRadio
87
343
1K
51
217
893
1 source outcrops include Orkney, with stone circles and megaliths, and Rhynie, site of Dark Age inscribed standing stones 2/6
11
36
626
2 Scottish source fits pattern of north/south Neolithic connections:
• Lewisian Gneiss macehead from Hebrides buried at Stonehenge
• cattle & pigs brought from N England/Scotland to near Stonehenge
• Grooved Ware pottery, common in Wessex, originated in Orkney 3/6
8
40
614
And now for something different, an amazing
#Neolithic
discovery in Yorkshire. You can read the full inside story in your souvenir British Archaeology out next week! And look out for the thing itself in the World of
#Stonehenge
at the British Museum opening next Thursday
12
117
590
3 link to Aberdeenshire recumbent stone circles?
• Altar Stone at SW side of Stonehenge, below 2 tallest megaliths, on line of midwinter setting sun
• Recumbent stone at SW side of circle, between 2 tallest uprights (an inverted trilithon?) on line of midsummer full moon 4/6
7
28
545
If you have access to Nature's News you'll read that I appear to have dismissed a "rugged" land route: that is the opposite of what I actually said, I strongly favour a land route. I suspect subediting. In my blog I note that Nature could have usefully engaged with archaeologists
28
29
542
4 Overland journey, not sea (see map!)
5 future work will considerably narrow the search down to potential quarries
6 highlights how little we know about the Altar Stone: need for new work, including (re)excavation 5/6
21
26
517
Proofing quite a high profile Stonehenge feature, notice on one of the diagrams a large horizontal stone is labelled a lentil.
Shall I tell them?
50
28
502
@Botanygeek
When I was writing Digging up Britain I calculated that apart from all the usual comings & goings, there may have been as many as 20 times when the UK population was totally or largely replaced by new migrants. This is what defines us: a nation of islands easy to reach
15
75
427
In a continuing series of look what an
#archaeology
degree can do for you, I give you… The King
16
46
347
To help the debate I’m going to say a few words about
#Stonehenge
& a
#tunnel
. I know. But this is about more than a stone circle: it’s how as a society we think about & care for our pasts & our places, in the present.
So read on, Stonehenge-Roads-Archaeology
First up: Stonehenge
15
71
331
I'm an archaeologist, I have directed excavations at Stonehenge, & I care deeply about environment, heritage and present lives. I can say that this idea of archaeological catastrophe may sound right but it's really, really not. Stonehenge is safe & would gain from the tunnel
No! This decision is so obviously CATASTROPHIC for the undiscovered archaeology around
#Stonehenge
. You'd have thought
@NaturalEngland
would know this. The fact that they're supporting this tunnel begs the question of who benefits?
#FollowtheMoney
££££££££££££££££?
11
3
5
22
42
302
Fortunately the sun didn't rise through the rain so they never found out they were facing the wrong way
13
43
299
Reviews coming in for
#TheDig
. Rotten Tomatoes at 88%. Salon (not that one) thinks too much “personal life” & too little treasure, “not a film for armchair archaeologists”. But it is a film for real archaeologists, I loved it. Might say something about it in
#BritishArchaeology
12
25
301
Digging for Britain has really found its feet, the Time Team-Detectorists vibe, film, editing, foregrounding straight up archaeology & all the people doing the work, stories of the past & a terrific communicator in
@theAliceRoberts
9
34
298
And what's with all those saying it must've been moved by a glacier (or in some cases, even, perhaps it could've been moved by a glacier)? Geologically that's impossible. But even if it was possible, why this unwillingness to credit Neolithic people with skills or imagination?
Must we rewrite
#Stonehenge
's history? No! But news that the Altar Stone came from NE Scotland is sensational. It widens horizons & suggests the monument was very much part of a Neolithic world spanning the UK.
My key takeaways in thread below... 1/6
390
1K
7K
44
28
277
I’m not going to get all high and mighty about conversions of older buildings. But imagine how our towns might look if there were NO PLANNING CONTROLS AT ALL
29
16
261
@Botanygeek
The idea is a contradiction. People have been arriving and leaving all the time from before H sapiens evolved. Where do you draw the line? Neanderthals? No, there were earlier humans. First H saps? Which ones? They came & went. Beaker people? But others preceded & followed them
14
13
251
Sadly Aubrey Burl has left us to dance in the circle in the sky. He was 93. Here are some of his books (I count 24 in all, probably more), 2 were actually on my desk. He was an indefatigable writer and the enthusiast’s megalithic expert, a field explorer bar none and a gentleman
16
46
258
You may already have heard enough from me about Stonehenge, but I was lucky enough to be given space for some more extended thoughts about the Altar Stone news across two pieces out today 1/2
First in The Observer
16
59
255
Desecrating an ancient site is not "action" for the climate cause, it's a silly stunt playing into the hands of denialists, delayers and doubters
8
39
242
Here is British Archaeology's feature on the late
#VictorAmbrus
(see for more). He sent me a lovely postcard after it came out, which I now realise is a signed work 🙂 RIP
7
61
232
Well this has never happened to me before. I love it that almost all comments are amazed, inquisitive, interesting, polite, a conversation about people in the distant past. Old Twitter hasn't gone away yet
Must we rewrite
#Stonehenge
's history? No! But news that the Altar Stone came from NE Scotland is sensational. It widens horizons & suggests the monument was very much part of a Neolithic world spanning the UK.
My key takeaways in thread below... 1/6
390
1K
7K
10
19
238
Minister Sam Gyimah says graduate pay to rate degree quality and value. But degrees make minds not money. Top 3
#Archaeology
world rankings are all in UK. But archaeology is not highly paid: CIfA senior pay guide is £36,000-40,000. Bye bye archaeology
26
196
197
Morning. First proper hard frost on the north Wiltshire downs today, & the most spectacular moonset I've ever seen – perfectly aligned with the rising sun below the opposite horizon, the moon looked absolutely enormous
7
17
199
After you’ve watched
#TheDig
and heard the reviews you’ll want to read about the archaeology behind the scenes. British Archaeology has exclusive commentary. Out next week
@NT_SuttonHoo
@SueBrunningBM
@RoyStephenson
@MarthaKearney
@BBCRadio4
@archaeologymag
8
66
193
How exciting is this! The Archaeological Institute of America has chosen DIGGING UP BRITAIN for its 2023 FELICIA A HOLTON BOOK AWARD (my first ever book prize). Stories of British antiquity & the outstanding work of archaeologists shown to a new audience
16
19
189
@campbellclaret
@BBCNews
This feels different though. Mail and Times did run the story then removed it without comment (and other copies have gone too) and no one else is reporting that or the original story which has got bigger as a result of the deletions
0
36
181
A short letter in today’s Times, but a big conversation that has barely escaped the world of archaeology.
#ClimateEmergency
11
50
184
Attenborough & The Mammoth Graveyard
@BBCOne
@windfall_films
was best archaeological doc I’ve seen for a long time: maintained interest throughout with no unfulfilled claims or hype, breezed well through complex science, looked good & above all caught a powerful sense of wonder
10
18
179
Anyone else uncomfortable with that drawing?
36
11
177
A lot of people are saying why go by land not sea, so here's my answer (1/3)
1 sea journey carried a risk of entirely losing an immensely valuable cargo
2 it's possible to map a land route easily within reach of Neolithic technology, for a relatively small megalith
Must we rewrite
#Stonehenge
's history? No! But news that the Altar Stone came from NE Scotland is sensational. It widens horizons & suggests the monument was very much part of a Neolithic world spanning the UK.
My key takeaways in thread below... 1/6
390
1K
7K
24
39
175
One’s immediate reaction to this is disbelief, yet however hard you try to take it apart it stands up. Exactly when the pits were dug is not clear and their function is a mystery. More Excavation needed, but congrats all round
New
#openaccess
in Internet Archaeology 55
👉
A Massive, Late Neolithic Pit Structure associated with Durrington Walls Henge by
@gaffney_v
, Eamonn Baldwin,
@resandmag
@DrDerekHamilton
@immo_trinks
et al.
#DurringtonPits
@CAHA_UoB
@LBIArchPro
6
95
234
6
45
162
A thread on the new Welsh stone circle and
#Stonehenge
.
What is at Stonehenge today can inform the theory that the original monument in Wiltshire was a “second-hand” Welsh ring.
How does it stand up?
5
55
153
Proposed cuts to university archaeology funding would be severely counter-productive. The public knows this
2
67
153
Guess what's on the front cover of the new British Archaeology?
8
14
148
& so the search begins. After years of forensic research overthrowing detailed assumptions about Welsh bluestone sources, something comes along that could really change the way we see Stonehenge: an iconic megalith, the Altar Stone, might be from the North
11
37
144
It's been a long time since the stones looked like that
Her Imperial Highness Princess Sayoko Nori, sister of current Japanese Emperor Naruhito visiting Avebury when she was 15. The man in the boots and neckerchief is an archaeologist called Michael Pitts
#avebury
#history
#wiltshire
#pub
#publife
#hiddengemsuk
#stonecircle
4
23
125
11
9
141
This proposed tunnel exit at the west edge of the
#Stonehenge
world heritage site (looking east) looks horrific. But it has to be seen in context.
Read on for a horror thread of some of my A303 Stonehenge road photos 1/6
18
33
142
I've always said that we find our own meanings in
#Stonehenge
, there were probably few limits when it was built and there are certainly none now.
I do struggle a bit with this though
Our spellbinding homage to Her Majesty The
#Queen
! 👑
We've projected eight portraits of Queen Elizabeth II onto Stonehenge in celebration of the
#PlatinumJubilee
.
5K
3K
18K
22
10
132
So here it is, my
#Stonehenge
story. I've never been so excited about a new book! This is just lovely to hold. Out in February, but as you know you can order it now...
The first megalith has arrived! I'm not sure I dare to open it though
0
0
14
15
14
135
I can't go on forever, but just this once
#TheLostKing
Coogan: "[Langley] didn't walk behind the coffin, all the academics did"
My photos: 1 coffin leaving university followed by bishop, chancellor, Michael Ibsen (RIII descendant) etc + (on R) Langley 1/2
4
31
132
I’ve just seen the new BBC
#Stonehenge
film. To those archaeologists upset by The Dig (a movie drama) I say: watch this (a documentary). Some lovely film, & great to see dig sequences (congrats Ian Potts, Fiona Scott & colleagues). And the new stone circle is a great discovery...
6
23
127
Archaeologists who witter on about Neolithic mines and quarries without confronting the technologies of stone or mining would do well to start with this brilliant video
2
23
133
Now it can be revealed! This is really happening, a partnership between the UK’s best archaeology magazine and academic journal. We both exist purely to support archaeology and to help anyone interested keep up with what’s going on in the most exciting time to be an archaeologist
We are delighted to announce a new partnership with
@AntiquityJ
Selected content from Antiquity will now be featured in
#BritishArchaeology
magazine. Support from the Antiquity Trust means the mag goes back to full size & brings readers even more! Details:
1
17
64
2
27
132
Archaeologists often excavate & write about "tree throws" – ground disturbance that looks like a pit, made when a tree fell over. It's easy to forget that at the time, fallen trees could've been significant landscape features (& access to underground)... today's walk in the woods
3
14
121
Sometimes it gets so hot there’s nothing left to do but water the stones
6
13
117
A lot of us out there sharing shock & horror about this poor tree. Someone with a grudge? Feels like a symbol of the state of too much public discourse: make a noise & break things, with no thought or responsibility for outcomes. In the long term, of course, a new tree will grow
Absolutely gutting morning on Hadrian's Wall. No more Sycamore Gap.
1K
2K
15K
11
13
118
This is classic media reporting about Stonehenge research. There has indeed been a new study of Stonehenge’s acoustics. It concluded that Stonehenge was probably not built to amplify sound.
New Study Suggests Stonehenge Was Built To Amplify Sound. Was the ancient stone monument the world’s first soundsystem? via
@DJmag
15
83
243
5
35
116
So here’s how the newest
#Pocklington
chariot burial looks, thanks to press release from Persimmon Homes. Paula Ware says STANDING HORSES were “leaping upwards out of the grave”. Plus man crouched in the cart with well-preserved decorated La Tène shield. later on
@digging4britain
1
58
116
I'm delighted that
@CatJarman
is British Archaeology's new editor. She brings a terrific range of experiences & skills, and I look forward to the magazine going from strength to strength, ever breaking new ground
The CBA are thrilled to welcome
@CatJarman
, archaeologist, broadcaster and best-selling-author, as the new editor of British Archaeology Magazine!
Cat will help us take the magazine forward as the voice of the CBA and will shape its content in its next exciting phase 👇
7
31
141
6
14
116
Well here it is, finally arrived in the post. I can’t deny it’s an emotional moment. I edited my first issue in 2003. Once we nearly missed a print deadline cos the photo for the front cover was in a train stuck in snow. The next one will have a new editor!
7
8
113
Baby Reindeer is A True Story. The Search for the Lost King is Based on a True Story. Both will now go to court. The second case will likely be more interesting & draw more public interest. For the law to analyse an archaeological dig is unusual – to do it again may be unique🧵
5
33
116
I am delighted to be able to announce that last night I wrote the first sentence of my next book. It took six months
9
3
110
Now the stones at Waun Mawn, the proposed Welsh circle &
#Stonehenge
source, have been examined (before it'd been guesswork) it turns out that none are the right stone. On this basis it has nothing directly to do with Stonehenge, contra wild TV claims
13
33
108
This really is wonderful, an iron age shield made of tree bark, another coup for
@ULASarchaeology
3
48
106
Just listened to this, the power of getting together a few informed archaeologists with different perspectives on a topic, with a good presenter & producer. Imagine a weekly programme where we tackled all the things behind archaeological news headlines!
4
20
103
Congratulations to
@CatJarman
on her first British Archaeology, a challenge to produce in the best of times!
2
8
107
The Neolithic mound (and medieval castle) in Marlborough has got its own lovely website
4
27
103
This photo of Avebury shows (top right) water in the Neolithic ditch, not something I’ve ever seen on that scale. One day we’ll see excavation or coring into its deep fill to see if it was ever water filled in antiquity
The floods this week have had serious impacts at many
@nationaltrust
properties including
@AveburyNT
. Conscious they’ve taken a much more direct toll on many people’s homes and lives. So much we all need to do to prepare and adapt.
5
20
66
8
16
104
@mikeheyworth
@archaeologyuk
@anthroqveer
British Archaeology will be proud to publish
@anthroqveer
in the near future, this is a discussion that has barely begun
4
6
104
Nice bit of Roman mosaic in London, found by
@MOLArchaeology
ahead of construction of The Liberty of Southwark. Larger panel (left) made by local mosaicists, smaller is near identical to panel in Trier, Germany. And there's another floor hidden underneath
0
8
100
I always get funny looks when I photograph this car park, but I can never resist it
12
2
98
RIP John Rotheroe, Shire Books' founder/publisher. He did so much to help public archaeology, not least by commissioning work from archaeologists, young & unpublished to old hands. He helped me twice: first by asking for a book, then by rejecting one 1/3
5
18
96
@neks_neill
@theAliceRoberts
My route was a quick stab at avoiding any very challenging slopes, so mostly on lower ground (hence along Scottish coast) and river valleys
6
0
96
@oldenoughtosay
Thanks for this, it's exactly what I would have said but haven't got around to. Like so many such anti-heritage stories, it piles up fantasies and upsets a lot of people who would otherwise be quite happy, the writers should take responsibility for the distress they cause
1
0
94
On my way to the
@britishmuseum
. The
#Stonehenge
exhibition has 5 stars in the Guardian, Telegraph and Times today. I advise booking soon if you want to see it, it really is special
3
6
86
I was privileged to take part in a seminar at Stonehenge celebrating Keith Ray's bluestone walk from Preselis to Stonehenge. He ± followed HH Thomas/Parker Pearson route, I prefer river valleys
"Inland route to Stonehenge from Welsh quarries is 'logical'"
7
17
90
I really can’t sit on this any longer! I’ve written a
#book
called
#DiggingUpBritain
and I’m very excited about it. It’s out on August 29 and we’ve already had a feature, in the new
@WiltshireLife
(I’ll be talking at the
@MarlbLitFest
in September). It tells a story through 10 …
5
23
84
My considered thoughts on
@TheLostKingUK
. I enjoyed the film but I'm concerned that as well as profoundly misrepresenting the excavation & science (arguably defaming individuals) it paints a damagingly false view of science & universities
@BBCNews
@AdamRutherford
@theAliceRoberts
The CBA are pleased to present for open access “Richard III: A tale of delusions & dreams” by our very own
@pittsmike
, ahead of its publication our next issue of British Archaeology magazine, and the release of
@TheLostKingUK
, which the article explores:
3
6
28
4
25
87
I'm leading a discussion about archaeology in Britain (and wherever it goes from there) on December 6, in a free online meeting hosted by the Archaeological Institute of America (UK time 6pm). Please join us! Registration is here
3
27
89
Reading through comments below this, it's hard to believe there's so much ignorance, lack of curiosity and humour, and comfort in being offensive. Seems we need the BBC even more in the face of divisive media
BBC’s children show “Horrible Histories” has released a song called “Been Here From The Start” which is about black people always being in Britain.
BBC is rewriting history by teaching children that the original Britons were black.
4K
3K
12K
5
9
84
A thread about important hidden stories at the
#Stonehenge
@britishmuseum
exhibition. I enjoyed meeting Antonia Thomas there, she’s written this good piece about how the Orkney display touched her personally. She's not alone. 1/9
3
27
88
On the way back from dropping my car off for its MOT this morning I walked past an old bridge and realised, what felt for the first time after so many years, that it was built with sarsen. So here’s a
#Stonehenge
story. Thread…
5
8
83
The Altar Stone is probably the most unphotogenic stone at Stonehenge, mostly buried & hidden beneath fallen stones of the Great Trilithon 1/2
& so the search begins. After years of forensic research overthrowing detailed assumptions about Welsh bluestone sources, something comes along that could really change the way we see Stonehenge: an iconic megalith, the Altar Stone, might be from the North
11
37
144
2
17
85
Watched 1st one last night (was busy). When I was a kid Look & Learn did diagrams showing how stuff works. I knew how rockets & radios work but not iPhones & wireless & long thought why doesn’t TV do Look & Learn? This is it! Utterly utterly brilliant!
This is the reason I've been off gallivanting this last year🌎✨🤩
My new series starts tonight!
The Mail said: "If that sounds dull as dishwater, prepare to be amazed!"
Translation: "Oh wow, Hannah, I thought your work would be total shite, but I actually really loved it" 🤣
367
271
3K
1
7
84
If you don't know her, Jennifer Wexler is a hard-working archaeologist researching & employed in UK since 2001, 2 degrees
@UCLarchaeology
Fellowship candidate
@SocAntiquaries
.
@ukhomeoffice
in what universe is blocking international engagement of leading scholars good for the UK?
Really sad to miss
@EAA2018
due to my ongoing immigration problems in the UK. My deepest apologies to my colleagues who's sessions (664 & 630) I've had to pull out last minute. I really thought things would be resolved by now - it's been nearly two years without a passport! 😣
7
14
53
4
54
83
Press view Ashurbanipal: "King of the World, King of Assyria" at British Museum. As critics say it’s a great show, but worth noting use of light. Carvings look much better than in permanent galleries. Ingenious effects pick out narrative details and show missing colours, v clever
3
29
82
It was a dramatic
#sunrise
all over Wiltshire this morning, one of the most spectacular I've ever seen
3
8
83
Builders have suddenly appeared in our kitchen.
Partner: After 15 years we’re getting a new worktop!
Archaeologist: I never knew there’d been a door there, those are interior bricks gap-filling an early 18th-century wall and one side’s aligned on the old street frontage so if t
3
7
81
"The many hundreds of people inspired by Don to think like an archaeologist and thereby better understand and enjoy the world around them, will be his greatest legacy"
0
11
80
It's a lot smaller, but as a stone it's more impressive than Stonehenge's Altar Stone. IF... the latter also came from Orkney, might it have been decorated like this? Would any such work still remain? Only chance of finding out lies buried
3
9
84
I've just seen a letter in the Telegraph that says we should stop building windfarms or all the wind will get used up
14
11
81
I never do this sort of thing but weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!
6
1
83
Bronze age objects from ‘Pompeii of the Fens’ to go on display
0
15
81