Tomb of St. Paul found?

The Vatican is claiming that human remains found in a tomb discovered in 2006 belong to St. Paul the Apostle. Fragments of material and bone were found in the tomb which has remained closed but investigated using a small probe. The bone was carbon-dated to the 1st century AD. Vatican experts point to the tomb's position in the the basilica of St Paul Outside the Walls in Rome underneath an epigraph "Paulo Apostolo Mart (Paul the Apostle and Martyr)" as being proof the remains are of St. Paul.

Oldest musical instrument found

A 35,000 year old flute has been found, the oldest musical instrument discovered. The five hole flute was found in Germany's Ach Valley and was carved from the wing bone of a large vulture. The flute is nearly intact, three other flutes in fragments have been found plus a female figurine. The flutes show that music played a part in the Aurignacian culture which lasted from 40K to 10K years ago.

Past the 40%

I got back TMA04 today and my highest mark of the year so far (just above the mark for TMA03) which pleases me no end as i was a little unsure about my essay which discussed the revolutions of Germany, Austria-Hungary and Russia at the end of WW1 and whether they were a consequence of the war. The tutor liked my essay though it was not flawless but i did explain why i felt the way i did about the subject which is important.

This morning i created a spreadsheet for my assignment scores which also works out the weighting for each one to give the overall assignment mark. I have just passed over the 40% with my scores to date which is the pass for the assignment part of the course. The next 2 TMAs (which include the last one which is worth 25% of the overall score) are thus purely a bonus though of course i will aim to get good scores again. Just the exam then to pass as well of course!

Too much World War 2!

This week's programme of study is on the nature of World War 2, i am actually finding this one of the more difficult weeks so far this year. Why? Because i have read so much about WW2 already! I have an interest in the military and warfare anyway and have over 100 books on WW2 covering many subjects from German jet fighter projects to the Romanian Army. So when i read the course material i have an awful sense of deja vu.

That is dangerous of course as i am maybe skimming the material more than usual and thus missing out on the specific information the course wishes to cover. So far i think i am OK though. Luckily i am not reading a military history at the moment alongside my studies, i am reading a novel instead. OK it is a novel about a Royal Navy destroyer in WW2 but still...