TMA02 done!

Right sent off TMA02 today, 2008 words according to Word (and 2018 according to Textwrangler which is what i actually typed it in). I put 2008 as the word count at the end of the essay naturally. Well i am not sure about this one, i don't think the essay is that good although researching for it did clear up some blanks in the course for me so far which is more important (as long as i don't get a fail).

Commencing TMA02

Time for TMA02, it is due on April the 1st so i had better get started. A 2000 word essay which i find less daunting than 500 word source analysis questions to be honest. I have written quite a lot of notes but now is the time to actually begin writing the essay.

The essay is on comparing the political and social structures of authoritarian and constitutional states in Europe in 1914 (or something like that, i don't have the question paper to hand at the moment). As with most things the answer will not be straightforward as it depends on what we actually mean by authoritarian and constitutional.

Diet like a... Spartan

The Spartan diet is the healthiest in history according to this website. The diet is only influenced by the actual diet of ancient Sparta though so i suspect eating black broth in communal houses after murdering a helot is not on the menu. Unfortunately you have to pay to find out the full details and i'm not ready for Sparta yet!

Red Cross WW1 archive unveiled in Geneva

Historian Peter Barton has unearthed archive records from WW1 which may help relatives finally discover the whereabouts of fallen soldiers and fill in gaps in their family histories. The archives, which have laid virtually untouched since 1918, are at the Red Cross HQ in Geneva. It is estimated there could be 20 million records there in card indices and ledgers and the hope is now to digitise the records and put them on-line by 2014.

"[T]he capture, death, or burial of servicemen from over 30 nations drawn into the conflict; personal effects, home addresses and grave sites cover page after page" is recorded, the information being passed to the Red Cross by the various combatants. Incredibly no one has inquired about the records until now.

TMA01 back!

I have got my first TMA back, and was pleased with the score. I won't actually announce my marks though i think there is no harm in saying it was above the 70% barrier which i would like to stay above for all of the TMAs (as i consistently did last year). Actually i was not expecting as good a mark for the first TMA as it was a source analysis assignment and traditionally these have been my weakest. I know last year TMA01 was my worst one of the lot!

Now onto TMA02, which is a 2000 word essay on the origins of WW1. I have a choice of questions though have not yet decided which one i will do yet. I may wait until the tutorial on Saturday before making my final decision and beginning the TMA (due April 1st!)

Mystery of murdered Russian Tsar's missing children solved by DNA study

DNA analysis of human remains found in central Russia appear to have ended the mystery over the demise of the last Tsar of Russia Nicholas II and his wife and children at the hands of the Bolsheviks in 1918. Since then over 200 hundred people have claimed to have been one or other of the Romanovs (perhaps the most notorious being Anna Anderson who claimed to be Princess Anastasia), having escaped the slaughter of the rest of the family. Further speculation arose when the grave was finally examined in 1991 that only contained the remains of 3 and not all 5 of the children. However a second grave was found in 2007 and DNA analysis of these remains have found the 2 missing children, one of them Prince Alexei.

Earliest known domestic horses

A team of archaeologists has uncovered evidence of the earliest known domestication of the horse. The earliest domesticated horses were likely milked as well as ridden. The origins of horse domestication have been traced back over 5000 years to the Botai Culture of Kazakhstan by a team led by archaeologists from the Universities of Exeter and Bristol. This is 1000 years earlier than previously thought.

The team found a variety of evidence including traces of fats from horse milk in pottery, drinking horse milk popular in Kazakhstan to the present day. Analysis of horse bones also shows evidence of "bit damage" showing the horses were harnessed and maybe ridden. The bones are also different to wild horses in the region, being similar to later domesticated horses from the Bronze Age.

Dip CS (Open)

I received my certificate today for my Diploma in Classical Studies (Open) which i was awarded after passing AA309 last year (and A219 2 years ago). I can put Dip CS (Open) after my name if i want though i've been able to put BSc (Hons) after my name for the last 14 years but haven't done it yet. Well i tell a lie, it appeared on my business card once though i never actually got to give any of these out so that doesn't count!