Routledge Publishing is doing a "Themes in Archaeology" thing, and they have finished setting up their themes now. To celebrate, the articles under these groups are free to read until April 30, 2017 -you can find the theme collection here.

In unrelated news, I'm working on the outline of an experiment we will do at the Forum, about how well dye penetrates a finished fabric. This is all very, very exciting, as whether something was dyed in the piece, in the yarn or in the fleece is quite a big difference regarding workflow and craft procedures - and after our experiment, we might have a tiny bit more knowledge about whether white spots could be expected in a piece-dyed fabric or not.

My typing is a little slower today, though - because the little cat is again hanging out on my desk, and I don't have the heart to set her down... she's having a few tough days, as she hurt one of her legs. As a result, she is to take pills (which she hates), painkiller (which she loves, it seems to taste like heaven) and, worst of it all, she is not allowed to go outside, to keep her from overworking her leg. So here I am, with one sad, bored, unhappy cat who needs a lot of cuddling and attention. Sooooo bored. Poor kitty.

In Peru, cotton textiles have been found that are the earliest evidence for indigo dyeing to date - about six thousand years old. Both the LA Times and the Smithsonian Magazine have an article about these finds.

It really is an amazing find - firstly because these textiles have survived at all for six thousand years, in a condition good enough to still see the blue colour, even though it's faded, with the naked eye. Secondly, it's not just a few fragments, it's thousands of them. Thousands!

The fragments have been cleaned and partly analysed; you can read an article about the dye analysis here.

Here you go, actual archaeology-related content:

The next Experimental Archaeology Conference (the tenth!) will take place in Leiden, Netherlands, Thursday, 20 April, 2017 to Saturday, 22 April, 2017. The Call for Papers is currently up, so if you'd like to submit something or just want more information, you can go here.

This is not your cup of tea? Or your loaf of cheese? Well, maybe this is: A bronze age ceramic pot found in Denmark contains residue of animal fat that might be from an attempt to make cheese.

Still not interesting? Maybe I can get you with this, then - Means of Exchange: Dealing with Silver in the Viking Age is the current free e-book of the month from Aarhus University.

Archaeologists are the only group of scientists who actually destroy their sources when they do research. Really, we do - because you can only dig a site once, and then... it's gone. That is the main reason why we try to leave things in the ground unless a dig becomes really necessary - if it has kept well in its place for a couple of hundred years, it will keep for another fifty or so, and with all the progress in imaging technology, conservation technology and other technology, we'll be able to get much more information out of the site in a few more years than right now.

The fact remains, though, that archaeologists are a destructive bunch of folks. Sometimes even if we cannot dig. Case in point? See the blog "A Life in Fragments", where Matt writes about his studies on the destruction of Bronze Age metalwork.

Less destructive: The Winter Issue of Fornvännen is out (thank you Aardvarchaeology for listing the contents up so nicely!) and it's online, for free. Articles are partly in Swedish and partly in English.

After yesterday's damson cake, here's more baked goods links for your delectation. Firstly, spectacular archaeology cakes as "Edible Archaeology" at Current Archaeology. Whenever I see cakes like these - basically edible works of art - I get a little sad because mine never look really nice. Which is probably due to the fact that I concentrate on getting them done in a yummy way and don't spend more time decorating and neatening than mixing and baking, and would choose taste over looks any time when picking coverings. But still. Beautiful cakes. I'm slightly jealous.

If you need something chocolaty now, here's a recipe for a giant chocolate cake (and the same recipe on Ruth Reichl's site, explained slightly differently) - Gillian has recently tested the recipe and says it's rich and a really nice cake. She also says they cut way down on the sugar, though. The recipe reminds me of the cake recipes from the 1970s in Germany - if I make one of them today, I cut the sugar by at least half. Sweet years, these were!

If you have a completed PhD in Archaeology, Experimental Archaeology, or a related discipline, and are looking for something to do now, you can apply for a Postdoctoral Fellowship, starting October 2017, at the Centre for Experimental Archaeology and Material Culture, at UCD School of Archaeology, University College Dublin, Ireland.

You can apply for this, which is part of the Government of Ireland Postdoctoral Fellowship Scheme, from October 12 to November 30, and the results will be announced in April 2017.

To find out more, check out this page of the UCD Archaeology website, and if you think it could be for you, get into contact directly with Aidan O'Sullivan.

I think we're almost in the summer slump - at least there's not much in my blog list these days that shouts for re-blogging. Well, apart from more Brexit stuff that comes up here and there and everywhere, but I had planned not to write more about that today...

A few staunch bloggers still keep up things, and put up posts, though. Such as Doug, who has a list of videos from a conference, all on the topic of young people in archaeology.

A little more summery? The Medieval Manuscripts blog has tips on how to organise your summer library road trip. The article is mostly about the British Library, but a lot of the hints (on how to prepare, and that you should make sure you'll actually be able to see the things you were coming for, for instance) are not only relevant when you are planning a library trip, but also any other research trip to a museum or archive - a lot of the hints can be adapted to work for other things.

On a completely unrelated note - there is a lemon hanging out in my kitchen, and I'm wondering what to do with it... maybe it could find a few more friends and turn into a lemon cake? Hmm...