Richard Nevell

@richardnevell

I'm a medieval archaeologist who works with open knowledge. Posts will inevitably descend into castles, cricket, and Star Trek. Banner photo is Pevensey Castle in Sussex. It's one of my favourite castles. The photo is mine and licensed CC-BY-SA 4.0.

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Richard Nevell@richardnevell· Apr 29

If a bus stop could somehow be a jump scare, this would be right up there

A big 60mph sign fixed to a post with a bus stop sign. The ensemble is far too close to the road for comfort, and the lack of cars on the road does not do it justice.

Richard Nevell@richardnevell· Nov 1

#GLAMWikiPT has been a thought provoking conference, with lots to ponder and plenty of inspirational stories. The presentation by Olena Vinsent and Viacheslav Mamon of Wikimedia Ukraine was especially important.

A presentation slide with the text: War destroys monuments. As of August 25, 2025, the Ministry of Culture and Strategic Communications reported that 1,553 cultural heritage sites in Ukraine had been damaged due to Russian military aggression. For the past two years ~800 photos of damaged or destroyed monuments were uploaded to War Destroys Monuments special category, to collect evidence of crimes against cultural heritage. Writing articles. The goal of the contest is not only to collect photos of cultural heritage, but also to ensure they are later used in Wikipedia articles about monuments. To support this, the contest team organizes the "Cultural Heritage of Ukraine" campaign around the International Day for Monuments and Sites, during which participants enrich articles about heritage sites with information and photos - especially if a monument has been damaged by war.

For us, projects such as the Heritage Guard Network and Wiki Loves Monuments are a way to resist threats and document heritage in danger as widely as possible.

Richard Nevell@richardnevell· Aug 11

An insightful quote from Oliver Creighton in his 2012 book 'Early Medieval Castles': "the slighting and desecration of a donjon could in certain instances mark the discontinuity of lordship" #slighting #archaeology #castles eg: the destruction of Kenilworth Castle in the 17th century

A ruined red stone keep on elevated ground. In front of the tower is flight of stairs leading to a path across a grassy area. The keep has corner towers connected by thick walls. The wall in front of the viewer, which would have connected two towers, has been collapsed and the interior is visible showing that the floors and roof have long since been removed.

Richard Nevell@richardnevell· Aug 11

And here's a cool manuscript picture to reward you for registering for the event (BL Stowe MS17 f244r) #MedievalSky

This is a drawing from the corner of a medieval manuscript. There is Latin text in the top-left, but that's a sideshow to the real action. The illustration shows a castle on a mound, painted in blue, pink, and green. It is being defended by three monkeys - I think they're wearing helmets. There is a fox with a crossbow stood to one side and looking very pleased with itself. A rabbit has tunnelled underneath the castle. And there's a grey animal climbing a ladder to attack the castle. I can't tell what it is because there's a shield covering its face. There are a couple of trees which look more like asparagus.

It's a lot.

Richard Nevell@richardnevell· Jul 19

In 1213 King John wrote to Eustace de Vesci to recall him for exile after a failed conspiracy. The same day he sent orders to demolish two castles that had belonged to Eustace: Alnwick and Malton.

A drawing of a man on a horse with hunting dogs running alongside. The scene is framed by a square border with Latin text underneath as it comes from a manuscript. The background of the image is divided into a red portion on the left and a larger blue one on the right. The man is wearing a crown, a blue cloak and red tunic, and is intended to depict King John.

Richard Nevell@richardnevell· Jul 18

There are lots of medieval depictions of warfare and destruction, but not many that I can point to and confidently say that they show slighting. This is my favourite. It's from a late 15th-century Swiss chronicle and shows the destruction of Landshut Castle more than a century earlier. #medievalsky

A drawing showing a group of people with axes and hammers breaking a castle. The people are outsized, taller than the castle buildings, and are wearing armour. The castle consists of a large gable roofed building behind a courtyard enclosed by a wall with battlements. There are towers and a gatehouse. The illustration is surrounded by text from the manuscript it came from.

Richard Nevell@richardnevell· Jul 12

It's perhaps a bit mean to focus on a small detail in an interesting story, but a change of 3.5°C is about 6.3°F, not 38°F. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article... Anyway, I'm off to bulk buy Yeo Valley

Dr Ben Roberts, a senior lecturer in healthy buildings at Loughborough University, said applying yoghurt to the outside of windows can lower the temperature by up to 3.5C (38F).

Richard Nevell@richardnevell· May 3

Perfect day for giving a tour round Pevensey Castle #EnglishHeritage #archaeology

A stone ruin on the horizon, viewed between the remains of two stone towers

A cannon in front of a stone wall. There is a grassy area in front.

Richard Nevell@richardnevell· Apr 27

Here's hoping the good weather holds for Saturday when I'll be leading a couple of tours around Pevensey Castle englishheritage.seetickets.com/event/puzzli... #archaeology 📷 by Piotr Zarobkiewicz, CC-BY-SA 3.0

A patch leading towards a ruins stone building. There is a passage between the shattered remains of two towers, while lower walls stretch off to either side.

Richard Nevell@richardnevell· Dec 4

Outrageous, my nerdy sci-fiery is not a phase #spotifywrapped

A screenshot of Spotify with the text "May was your Nerdy Fantasy Sci-Fi phase"

Richard Nevell@richardnevell· Nov 13

The castle isn't finished yet

A big cube of scaffolding. Somewhere underneath is a medieval tower.

Richard Nevell@richardnevell· Nov 13

I was in Canterbury for work today so squeezing in a few minutes with the city walls

Richard Nevell@richardnevell· Nov 12

Hard water is a bore, but the best thing about a new water filter is that window where you can break out The Good Tea. Tea, Earl Grey, hot. #TinyJoys

Richard Nevell@richardnevell· Nov 8

This meeting could have been a herald

Three suits if armour stood in a tiny room

Richard Nevell@richardnevell· Oct 21

The time has come to make a decision. Is a silly name enough to justify buying a new game?

Richard Nevell@richardnevell· Oct 15

Time to bid farewell to these boots. I've had them since my first year at uni which was... a while ago. They've seen of more than a few pairs of socks, but they stopped being practical a long time ago and were overdue to be replaced.

Richard Nevell@richardnevell· Oct 4

I have wanted to visit Caerlaverock for a long time. I managed it today thanks to the Colloque Château Gaillard and it was a good as I could have hoped #medieval #castles

A very happy man holding an ice cream in from of a castle

A triangular courtyard with a three storey building at the far end.

Richard Nevell@richardnevell· Sep 22

This time next week I'll be in Penrith for the #ChateauGaillard conference. I'm incredibly excited, not least because it's the first conference since 2005 that I've seen explicitly mention #slighting. 🎂Tilman2007 ccbysa commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:11...

Richard Nevell@richardnevell· Dec 1

Love a good 'surprised' in a headline

A headline reading: "Archaeologists 'surprised' by 6,500-year-old Stone Age site near Arctic".

The image paired with the headline is of someone troweling away in a shallow trench.

Richard Nevell@richardnevell· Oct 22

London does have a pretty good castle