You get in touch with me in a number of different ways. The most direct is by e-mail. Thanks to spammers, I have to use a modified e-mail address. Don’t worry, this e-mail address will function fine; no need to remove anything.
I usually respond to valid messages within 48 hours. Please do feel free to send a reminder if you feel it takes too long.
If you want to send me something through the physical post, like a book to review, please do contact me via e-mail first. My expertise is limited, so before you send me a book on e.g. Roman glass, I would like to be able to tell you that I won’t be able to say much about it that’s actually useful!
Reasons to reach out
You can contact me for a wide variety of reasons, including:
- To ask me a question about something within my area of expertise.
- To have me evaluate a manuscript (journal article or book).
- To invite me to give a lecture or some other talk.
- To invite me to come onto your podcast.
- To ask me for advice about e.g. a museum exhibition.
- To hire me as a freelance editor for your project.
Of course, if you just want to shoot the breeze, that’s fine, too. I have written a lot of stuff over the years and I am always eager to exchange ideas with people in a pleasant and constructive way.
Reasons to keep to yourself
Of course, there’s also a few things that you absolutely shouldn’t contact me about. If you’re trying to sell me your SEO, website development, or social media services: thanks, but I can do all of that stuff myself.
Likewise, do not contact me about any objects that you have lying around the house that you think are ancient and would like to get appraised. Supposing these items are indeed genuine, they were almost certainly stolen at some point.
I do not believe ancient objects ought to be owned by private individuals: they are our common cultural heritage. If you really feel the urge to do something with these objects, donate them to the nearest archaeological museum.
Finally, you may feel the urge to send me a message about how you’ve “found” Atlantis or figured out the “mysteries” of the pyramids at Giza. I have no desire to deal with crackpot notions, so please keep these ideas to yourself. If you’re not sure if an idea of yours is silly, run it past Bad Ancient first.