The 1914 Christmas Truce: A Plum Pudding Policy Which Might Have Ended The War

From the Indy

"The following letter from Private Frederick W. Heath, first printed in The North Mail on 9 January 1915, has been resurrected by researchers at christmastruce.co.uk, which is edited by Alan Cleaver and Lesley Park. Alan says it stands out among the many letters on the site, although research into Private Heath is still ongoing."

Futurology: The tricky art of knowing what will happen next

From the BBC

"A 1972 book which predicts what life would be like in 2010 has been reprinted after attracting a cult following, but how hard is it to tell the future?

Geoffrey Hoyle is often asked why he predicted everybody would be wearing jumpsuits by 2010. He envisioned a world where everybody worked a three-day week and had their electric cars delivered in tubes of liquid."

Ancient humans, dubbed 'Denisovans', interbred with us

From the BBC (includes video)

"Scientists say an entirely separate type of human identified from bones in Siberia co-existed and interbred with our own species.

The ancient humans have been dubbed "Denisovans" after the caves in Siberia where their remains were found."

History degree completed

As long-time readers of this blog may know i have been studying for a degree in History with the Open University for a number of years now. I got my final result last week for AA307 and have now completed the degree so have a BA Honours to go with my BSc from an earlier age.

In the new year i shall be looking into postgraduate options. MA West Midlands History at Birmingham University looks interesting.

Finger may point to solution in Amelia Earhart disappearance riddle

From the Guardian

"The riddle of Amelia Earhart's disappearance has only grown more complex in the 73 years since the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic went missing attempting to fly around the equator.

One theory had it that she crashed into the sea after running out of fuel during her expedition over the Pacific Ocean. Others claimed that Earhart was executed by the Japanese for spying, was pressed into making propaganda broadcasts from Tokyo during the war, or that she secretly returned to the US under an assumed identity."

Sidney St: The siege that shook Britain

From the BBC

"A hundred years on, the Siege of Sidney Street still resonates. The third of January 1911 was the day two Latvian anarchists held out in an East End tenement for seven hours against more than 200 armed police and a detachment of soldiers.

The might of the Empire turned against two desperate young Jewish men in an ordinary street. Thousands of Londoners came to watch. Winston Churchill, Home Secretary was at the scene too, in his distinctive Astrakhan collared coat: a stray bullet passed through his top hat."

Lost Civilization may have existed beneath the Persian Gulf

From Live Science

"Veiled beneath the Persian Gulf, a once-fertile landmass may have supported some of the earliest humans outside Africa some 75,000 to 100,000 years ago, a new review of research suggests.

At its peak, the floodplain now below the Gulf would have been about the size of Great Britain, and then shrank as water began to flood the area. Then, about 8,000 years ago, the land would have been swallowed up by the Indian Ocean, the review scientist said."

Iron-eating bug is gobbling up the Titanic

From AOL News

"Nearly 100 years after it struck an iceberg and sank, the Titanic has a new enemy: iron-eating bacteria.

A newly discovered microbe dubbed Halomonas titanicae is chewing its way through the wreck of the famous ship and leaving little behind except a fine dust, researchers report in today's issue of the International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology."

British languages 'in danger of dying out within a generation'

From the Telegraph

"Researchers from Cambridge University compiled a database of all that is known about languages which have disappeared in the recent past or are at risk.

Among them are Old Kentish Sign Language, a forerunner to the standard British Sign Language which was documented by Samuel Pepys in his diaries when he noted a silent conversation between a friend and his deaf servant about a fire in Whitehall in November 1666. However, no one is now thought to use it."

BBC chief Reith's abdication verdict revealed

From the BBC

"The head of the BBC believed a "miserable, second-rate American woman" was behind the abdication of Edward VIII, archive documents reveal.

The corporation's then director general Sir John Reith made the comments after Edward's historic 1936 radio address."

14th-century King Arthur manuscript sold for £2.4m

From the Indy

"An illuminated 14th century manuscript containing what is believed to be the oldest surviving account of the legends of King Arthur sold today for more than £2 million.

The Rochefoucauld Grail, a colourful illustrated account of the knights of the round table, Merlin and the Holy Grail, was sold by auction house Sotheby's in London."

Neanderthals: how needles and skins gave us the edge on our kissing cousins

From the Guardian

"On the ground floor of the Natural History Museum in London, arrays of Formica-covered cabinets stretch from floor to ceiling and from one end of the great building to the other. Some of nature's finest glories are stored here: pygmy hippo bones from Sicily, mammoth tusks from Siberia and skulls of giant sloths from South America.

Many treasures compete for attention, but there is one sample, kept in a small plywood box, that deserves especial interest: the Swanscombe skull. Found near Gravesend last century, it is made up of three pieces of the brain case of a 400,000-year-old female and is one of only half-a-dozen bits of skeleton that can be traced to men and women who lived in Britain before the end of the last ice age. Human remains do not get more precious than this."

Down Pompeii? The ruin of Italy's cultural heritage

From the Indy

"Collapses at the ancient site of Pompeii underline what experts have been warning for years: Italy's priceless cultural heritage is slowly but surely disintegrating and the famous archeological site's decay is a metaphor for the nation."

Operation Mincemeat: How a dead tramp fooled Hitler

From the BBC

"During World War II, the Nazis fell for an audacious British plot to pass off a dead tramp as an officer carrying secret documents. How - and are such tactics still in use today?

Rat poison does not furnish the desperate with an easy death. But this was how Glyndwr Michael, jobless and homeless in the winter of 1943, ended his life."

Staffordshire Hoard wanted by museums around the world

From the Birmingham Post

"The Staffordshire Hoard could be taken on a world tour after dozens of museums said they would like to host the Anglo-Saxon treasure."

Computer identifies the most boring day in history

From the Telegraph

"Computer programmer William Tunstall-Pedoe has calculated that to be the most objectively dull day since 1900.

On that day a general election was held in Belgium, a Turkish academic was born and an Oldham Athletic footballer called Jack Shufflebotham died. Apart from that nothing much happened.  "

Earliest known paintings under study in France

From Euronews (includes video)

"The Chauvet cave in southern France is home to some of the earliest known man-made paintings, dating back some 32,000 years.

A team of scientists is studying the works in order to find out more about their history. Their work will help build a reconstruction site for visitors in years to come."

Antarctic ice reveals trapped secrets of climate change

From the Guardian

"They were found deep below Earth's surface, provide vital information about our climate's history and, for the first time, will be publicly displayed in their full freezing glory. Three pieces of ice core, drilled from the Antarctic icecap, one containing bubbles of air from the year 1410, will this week be installed in a glass-fronted freezer cabinet in the Science Museum in London's new Atmosphere gallery."

Birmingham Airport's old Maglev carriage sold on eBay

From the BBC

"A carriage from a magnetic shuttle used to transport airport passengers to a nearby railway station has been auctioned off for charity.

Birmingham Airport used Maglev carriages between 1984 and 1995. They were then replaced by cable cars."
 

Roman settlement unearthed in Syon Park, west London

From the BBC

"A Roman settlement filled with ancient artefacts and human remains has been found on a west London building site.

Archaeologists excavating the listed Syon Park site made the discovery of more than 11,000 Roman items just half a metre below the ground."

Vintage Paris: Sensuality, fantasy and haute couture

From the Indy

"Vintage photographs of a collaboration between Paco Rabanne and photographer Jean Clemmer go on show in the UK for the first time next week - exploring themes of sensuality, fantasy and haute couture.

The suggestive images of models wearing Rabanne's 'unwearable' fashions provide a glimpse of the radical ethos and sexual freedom of 1960s Paris."

New evidence may write Lindbergh out of history as first to fly Atlantic

From the Indy

"The greatest single mystery of the early days of aviation has been solved, according to French researchers.

The American pilot Charles Lindbergh was not the first person to fly the full width of the Atlantic in 1927, the researchers say. He was merely the first person to land his aircraft successfully, and the first to live to tell the tale."

Magna Carta anniversary celebrations to begin

From the BBC

"Celebrations leading up to the 800th anniversary of the Magna Carta in 2015 are to get under way later.

Master of the Rolls Lord Neuberger and Lord Chancellor Ken Clarke are due to address a public launch at a memorial site in Runnymede, Surrey, where King John sealed the document in 1215."

Ancient Rome's biggest temple reopens

From France 24

"The biggest temple of ancient Rome reopened to the public on Thursday after nearly 30 years amid heavy criticism of Italy's management of its artistic heritage after the collapse of a house in Pompeii.

"We're restoring to Rome one of the most important symbols of the power and greatness of the Roman Empire," Claudia Del Monte, the architect in charge of repairing the Temple of Venus and Roma, told AFP at the opening."

From trench to tomb: The unknown warrior's journey

From the BBC

"The unknown warrior was carried from a French battlefield 90 years ago, to be laid to rest among kings and statesmen in Westminster Abbey. But how did this symbol of the sacrifice of war come to be chosen?"

Stone age etchings found in Amazon basin as river levels fall

From the Guardian

"A series of ancient underwater etchings has been uncovered near the jungle city of Manaus, following a drought in the Brazilian Amazon.

The previously submerged images – engraved on rocks and possibly up to 7,000 years old – were reportedly discovered by a fisherman after the Rio Negro, a tributary of the Amazon river, fell to its lowest level in more than 100 years last month."

Inflation and earnings: what is the cost of a pint of beer?

From the Telegraph

"It were all so much cheaper when I were a lad... or was it? Professor Ian Stewart looks at how the money in your pocket has really changed over the years.

The price of a pub pint of beer could soon go up to £4 and ‘has doubled in the last 19 years’ said The Guardian a while back, in an article warning about the soaring price of barley. ‘Car road tax was a mere £10 in 1950 - think of what it is today,’ wrote a motoring journalist in a different paper. Every day we are bombarded with this kind of historical comparison of prices, intended to show how everything is soaring out of control and how badly off we all are.

It sounds plausible. My first house was worth £1100 in 1971, but it would sell for about £230,000 today. That’s a big increase. But how big?"

History of drugs: Narcotics antiquitus

From the Indy

"The illegal drug business is, we know, colossal, gigantic, oceanic.

After arms and oil, it's the biggest money-spinning market on the planet, pulling in £200bn every year. And soon we'll be celebrating, if that's the word, 50 years of its illegality. It was in 1961 that the United Nations Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs was launched, and we can see how successful that well-meaning organisation has been. But does anyone think that the phenomenon of people getting off their heads goes back only as far as the early 1960s?Try this for size. It's the report of a dope-fest that took place on the Bay of Biscay in the 1670s, recorded by one Thomas Bowrey, an English sea captain. He and his friends watched with interest the weird reaction of the locals to a liquid called bhang, made from crushed cannabis pods mixed with milk, and thought they'd try it themselves. They each bought a pint (for the equivalent of sixpence), locked themselves in a house and knocked it back."

Location, location and how the West was won

From the BBC

"On his current visit to Beijing, UK Prime Minister David Cameron has said China will soon reclaim its position as the world's biggest economy - a role it has held for 18 of the past 20 centuries. But how did the US, Britain and the rest of Europe interrupt this reign of supremacy? It comes down to location.

Why does the West dominate the world?

Europeans have been asking this question since the 18th Century, and Africans and Asians since the 19th. But there is still not much agreement on the answers."

Simon Schama: my vision for history in schools

From the Guardian

"In these economically and politically tricky times we need history's long look more than ever, says historian and government adviser Simon Schama, as he sets out six of the key events no child should miss out on."

BBC film unearths Beatles photos

From the BBC

"Unpublished photos of The Beatles taken in 1963 when they spent a week at the seaside in Somerset have surfaced during the making of a BBC film.

Just before Beatlemania broke out, the band played twice-nightly for six days at Weston-super-Mare's Odeon Cinema."

Digger finds Neolithic tomb complex

From the BBC

"Archaeologists on Orkney are investigating what is thought to be a 5,000-year-old tomb complex.

A local man stumbled on the site while using a mechanical digger for landscaping."

Bronze Age hoard found intact in Essex field

From the BBC

"Archaeologists have unearthed a collection of Bronze Age axe heads, spear tips and other 3,000-year-old metal objects buried in an Essex field.

The items include an intact pottery container with heavy contents which has been removed undisturbed."

Asian Neanderthals, Humans Mated

From Discovery

"Early modern humans mated with Neanderthals and possibly other archaic hominid species from Asia at least 100,000 years ago, according to a new study that describes human remains from that period in South China.

The remains are the oldest modern human fossils in East Asia and predate, by over 60,000 years, the oldest previously known modern human remains in the region."

And in related news from the Toronto Star

"There’s a touch of Neanderthal in Ozzy Osbourne. That’s now a scientific fact.
Osbourne, the hard-living rocker who used to down four bottles of Cognac a day, is among the first people in the world to get his entire genome sequenced."

Exhibit of Nazi memorabilia explores Hitler personality cult

From France 24 (includes video)

"A new exhibit that opened in Berlin on Friday features Nazi memorabilia -- from propaganda posters to Christmas tree ornaments -- to explore the personality cult surrounding Adolf Hitler that enabled him to keep a tight grip on the German nation."

Out of Asia? Ancient ancestor of modern man walked Sahara 39million years ago

From the Daily Mail

"The human family tree may have to be rewritten after scientists found evidence that the ancient ancestors of humans, apes and monkeys evolved in Asia - rather than Africa - tens of millions of years ago.

The astonishing claim follows the discovery of four species of early primate in the Sahara desert, dating back 39 million years."

Going underground: Exploring the Paris Catacombs

From the Indy

"Cataphiles are Parisian urban explorers who illegally wander the Catacombs, a term popularly used to describe a vast network of underground galleries, tunnels and crypts under Paris. Originally built after the French Revolution to house the remains of destroyed tombs during the expansion of the city, the Catacombs are testimony to over two centuries of the city's historical heritage. For example, they were used as shelters by the French resistance during the Nazi occupation of Paris in the Second World War."

Disorder in the House as Sir Ted's legacy leads to row

From the Indy

"The fate of Sir Edward Heath's legacy, his former home in the Close of Salisbury Cathedral and his personal artefacts, lies in the hands of the Charity Commission after a group of supporters challenged a decision to shut the house for good.

Arundells, the Queen Anne-style property that the former PM left to the nation, will close to the public on Wednesday unless the Charity Commission intervenes in an increasingly ugly row that has split the trustees and dismayed the Sir Edward Heath Charitable foundation, which has run the house since Sir Edward's death in July 2005."

AA307 done!

My exam last Wednesday will hopefully be my final exam of my Open University BA Hons course. Six years of study, toil and tears (well maybe not the latter) come to an end. The exam seemed to go pretty well, i remembered everything that i revised anyway. Whether i wrote what i revised down in a coherent manner or not is another question and we'll just have to wait until December to find out. As least i didn't have a car crash before the exam this time unlike this year. Doing an exam in shock is probably not to be recommended.

Now i am thinking about to do for my further study. I am considering History MAs with the Open University and Birmingham University who do an interesting local history MA with Saturday classes. I am also thinking about a career related MA though, not fully decided what to do yet.

Face to face with the past

From Euronews (includes video)

"Greek scientists and archaeologists have reconstructed the face and head of an 11-year-old girl who died from typhoid fever during a plague in Athens around 2,500 years ago."

Cancer caused by modern man as it was virtually non-existent in ancient world

From the Telegraph

"Cancer is a modern man-made disease caused by the excesses of modern life, a new study suggests.

Researchers looking at almost a thousand mummies from ancient Egypt and South America found only a handful suffered from when now it accounts for nearly one in three deaths.

The findings suggest that it is modern lifestyles and pollution levels caused by industry that are the main cause of the disease and that it is not a naturally occurring condition."

Badgers dig up human bones in graveyard

From the Telegraph

"Badgers are causing havoc in an ancient churchyard by digging up the remains of people buried there for several hundred years.

And locals have been warned they can do nothing about it because the animals are a protected species.

At least four graves have been disturbed so far; in one instance a child found a leg bone and took it home to his parents."

WWI ships to chart past climate

From the BBC

"A new project aims to use old Royal Navy logbooks to help build a more accurate picture of how our climate has changed over the last century.

The public are being called upon to re-trace the routes taken by some 280 Royal Navy ships including historic vessels."

• Old Weather

Ten 'most threatened' buildings in England and Wales

From the BBC

"The Victorian Society has released a list of what it says are the 10 most endangered buildings in England and Wales.

It follows a public appeal by the charity to find the most threatened Victorian and Edwardian buildings."

Document 'proves' Vichy France leader was an anti-Semite

From France24

"A recently discovered Vichy-era document has reignited one of the most divisive questions in post-war France: how far did the Vichy government go in aiding Nazi Germany in its endeavour to exterminate Europe’s Jews?

Serge Klarsfeld, a leading Holocaust historian and Nazi hunter, says a newly discovered document is definitive evidence that French wartime leader Philippe Petain was an anti-Semite who actively supported the holocaust."

Why does Germany still owe money for the first world war?

From the Guardian

"According to Bild magazine, the first world war will finally end this weekend when Germany pays off the last instalment of the interest it owes on loans it took out in the 1930s to pay £22bn in reparations to the allied powers. The sum would, of course, have been paid off much earlier were it not for Adolf Hitler, who exploited public resentment at the economic crisis caused by said reparations to a) refuse to pay them, and b) kick off a whole other war – leading to a whole other load of reparations. But news that Germany was still paying reparations from 1919 in 2010 does rather prompt the question: what for?"

More unseen photographs from the First World War

From The Indy

"A treasure trove of pictures showing the unknown soldiers of the Somme caused a sensation when it was published here last May. But that was only the beginning of the story..."

History of MI6 detailed in new book

From the BBC

"A book detailing the first 40 years of the UK's foreign intelligence service has been published.

Author Professor Keith Jeffery was given access to the archives at MI6, which has the official title of the Secret Intelligence Service."

Greek archaeologists uncover ancient tombs

From Yahoo News

"Greek archaeologists on Thursday announced the discovery of 37 ancient tombs dating back to the iron age in a cemetery near the ancient Macedonian capital of Pellas.

Discoveries at the site included a bronze helmet with a gold mouthplate, with weapons and jewellery, in the tomb of a warrior from the 6th century BC."

Last 'sin-eater' to be celebrated with church service

From the BBC

"The restored grave of the last known "sin-eater" in England will be at the centre of a special service in a Shropshire village churchyard later.

Campaigners raised £1,000 to restore the grave of Richard Munslow, who was buried in Ratlinghope in 1906."

Benares tragedy: 'All I can remember were the screams and cries for help'

From the Guardian

"There will be a poignant wartime anniversary tomorrow, but amid all the services commemorating the Battle of Britain and the Blitz this one has crept under the radar. On 17 September 1940, a passenger ship called the City of Benares was sunk by a German U-boat while crossing the Atlantic. It was carrying 406 passengers and crew, of whom 100 were children being evacuated to Canada and the US, most of them as part of a government scheme organised by the Children's Overseas Reception Board (Corb). Only 19 of the children survived. When the U-boat crew got back to their base in France and discovered that the Benares's cargo had been children, they wept."

Prison ship records from 19th Century published

From the BBC

"A picture of life on board Britain's 19th Century prison ships has emerged with the publication online of details of some of the 200,000 inmates.

The records outline the disease-ridden conditions on the "prison hulks", created to ease overcrowding elsewhere."

Rare Roman suit of armour found at Caerleon dig

From BBC (includes video)

"Archaeologists digging at a site in south Wales have uncovered an entire suit of Roman armour and some weapons.

The rare discovery was made during an excavation at the fortress of Caerleon in south Wales, one of Britain's best known Roman sites."

Oldest Roman Baths in Asia Minor Discovered in Sagalassos

From Science Daily

"Professor Marc Waelkens' archaeological team has discovered the oldest Roman baths in Asia Minor known to date in Sagalassos, Turkey. Sagalassos was inhabited as a city until the 7th century AD, when it was destroyed by earthquakes. Waelkens has directed excavations at the sight every summer for the past 21 years.

Until now, the Capito Baths in Miletus, built during the reign of Emperor Claudius (41-54 AD), were considered the oldest known Roman bathing complex in Asia Minor. This summer, however, in addition to the previously unearthed Imperial Baths (ca. 120-165 AD -- with a surface area of more than 5,000 square metres), a second bathing complex was discovered in Sagalassos, below the remains of the Imperial Baths. It is much older and smaller than the Imperial Baths and is dated to 10-30 AD, though it was probably built somewhat earlier, during the reign of Augustus or Tiberius. The complex measures 32.5 by 40 metres and is far better preserved than was originally thought. The walls must have been at least 12 metres high, of which 8.5 metres remain erect today."

Treasure hunter finds rare antique in Cumbria

From the BBC (includes video)

"A metal detector enthusiast in Cumbria has discovered a rare Roman bronze helmet complete with face-mask.

It is believed to be one of only three of its kind to be found in Britain.

The helmet would have been worn, possibly with colourful streamers attached, as a mark of excellence by Roman soldiers at sport parades."

Lost tapes of classic British television found in the US

From the Guardian

"A rediscovered haul of television dramas that has been lost for 40 years or more is set to change the way we think about many of Britain's biggest acting stars.

The extraordinary cache of televised plays – described by experts as "an embarrassment of riches" – features performances from a cavalcade of postwar British stars. The list includes John Gielgud, Sean Connery, Gemma Jones, Dorothy Tutin, Robert Stephens, Susannah York, John Le Mesurier, Peggy Ashcroft, Patrick Troughton, David Hemmings, Leonard Rossiter, Michael Gambon, Maggie Smith and Jane Asher. The tapes have been unearthed in the Library of Congress in Washington DC."

Cultural heritage – a new dimension

From Euronews (includes video)

"Anne Coulié is a preservation expert at the Louvre, specialising in ceramics from ancient Greece. David Kolin is an IT expert, working on 3D technologies at this Research and Restoration Centre in the basement of the Louvre in Paris. One of its purposes is to preserve the documentation relating to tens of thousands of artworks. David and Anne are also experimenting with a new technology – digitalising artifacts in 3D.

Says David Kolin: “This laser camera has two functions. First it photographs the object to capture the colours, and secondly a laser beam will slowly sweep the object to capture the topology. The detail captured is on the surface of the object. So if we take the colours out, and use a raking light, like we do for paintings, we can see all the little details of the surface. All this information will then be stored in the computer.”

Tolkien relation sculpts Cardinal Newman statue

From the BBC

"The great-nephew of author JRR Tolkien has made a statue of Cardinal John Henry Newman for the Pope's visit to Birmingham.

Artist Tim Tolkien said Pope Benedict XVI would bless the statue when he performs the cardinal's beatification in Cofton Park on 19 September."

125 years of Margaret Street

Something history related from the University i work at (and created the website for).

"This year the University celebrates a very special milestone - 125 years of art at Margaret Street

The School of Art building, more widely known as ‘Margaret Street’, opened in 1885 and has been providing opportunities for students to study art and design ever since."

I have also put a few videos onto Youtube by staff recounting their memories of being at Margaret Street, you can see one below or check out the others on the uni's Youtube channel.

Did the Blitz really unify Britain?

From the BBC

"The defiance of Britain as it endured eight months of German bombing 70 years ago is etched on the collective memory and immortalised in the phrase "Blitz spirit". But does this image of national unity tell the whole story?

Even for those lucky enough not to have been there, the sound of the sirens is enough to evoke those nights of 1940 when British cities were under constant attack."

The UK visits of Benedict XVI and John Paul II compared

From the BBC

"Pope Benedict XVI will next week become the first head of the Catholic Church to pay a state visit to the UK.

Much has changed since Pope John Paul II toured the UK - on a pastoral visit - in 1982, and the forthcoming trip has not been short of controversy. How do the two compare?"

The Presence of Absence: Detroit's haunting architectural relics

"There's faded grandeur. And then there's Detroit. Once the fourth-largest city in the US, its spectacular economic and social decline is writ large in the disintegration of its architectural fabric. With its former manufacturing industries decimated and parts of downtown Detroit becoming a depopulated wasteland, leading American photographer Sean Hemmerle has created 'Rust Belt' a series of compelling images – at times poetic, at others unnerving – of the city's former urban glory, both industrial and residential. His striking work serves as both architectural record and effective social commentary."

Remembering the blitz: was it an avoidable tragedy?

From the Guardian

"Just after 4.30pm on Saturday, 7 September 1940, 364 German bombers and 515 fighters flew across the Channel and followed the Thames estuary to London, using the fires caused by their bombs as markers. They came for a further 75 consecutive nights (except for one that was too cloudy for the bombers to operate). The blitz would last until 16 May 1941 – when most of the Luftwaffe was reassigned to the invasion of Russia. In 1940, 13,000 people were killed in London alone. Attacks on other major cities throughout the UK began on 15 October 1940, with the centre of Coventry being destroyed on the night of 14/15 November."

Moving on to an MA

I have not mentioned it much this year but i have been studying the final module of my History degree with the Open University. The final assignment has been sent and now i am counting down the days to my final exam (next month!) Hopefully everything should be fine and in December i will finally gain the history degree i have always wanted.

But now i am thinking of what next. Well i know what next, an MA but which one exactly. I have looked at some other university masters but will probably stay with the OU. They have a 2-part MA which takes about 3 years to complete. It concentrates more on British and Irish history which has been an interest fostered by my BA. Starting in October 2011 then if all goes to plan. It never ends eh?

Blitz 70th anniversary: Night of fire that heralded a new kind of war

From the Guardian

"It was late in the afternoon of an early September Saturday 70 years ago when the German bombers came, flying low, in formation, up the Thames, their engines roaring as they headed for London to start eight months of bombing the capital.

"It was the most amazing, impressive, riveting sight," wrote Colin Perry, a lad cycling that afternoon on Chipstead Hill, Surrey, in a memoir years later. "Directly above me were literally hundreds of planes … the sky was full of them. Bombers hemmed in with fighters, like bees around their queen, like destroyers round the battleship, so came Jerry."

Medieval diet aids healthy eating message

From BBC

"The Horrible Histories series has been a great success in teaching children about the lives of the Romans, Aztecs and Egyptians, among others.

But could history also hold the key to encouraging our children to eat better?"

Saxon boat uncovered in Norfolk's River Ant

From BBC

"A Saxon boat has been found during flood defence work on a Norfolk river.

The boat, which is about 9.8 ft (3m) long and had been hollowed out by hand from a piece of oak, was found at the bottom of the River Ant."

Ancient brewers tapped antibiotic secrets

From Emory University

"A chemical analysis of the bones of ancient Nubians shows that they were regularly consuming tetracycline, most likely in their beer. The finding is the strongest evidence yet that the art of making antibiotics, which officially dates to the discovery of penicillin in 1928, was common practice nearly 2,000 years ago."

Dry weather reveals archaeological 'cropmarks' in fields

From the BBC

"Hundreds of ancient sites have been discovered by aerial surveys, thanks to a dry start to the summer, English Heritage has said.

The surveys show marks made when crops growing over buried features develop at a different rate from those nearby."

The Yorkshireman hoping to be Bavaria's Samuel Johnson

From the BBC

"You can tell it's a Catholic nation as soon as they swear at you," says the Yorkshire academic playing a key role in the preservation of Bavaria's national language.

Anthony Rowley is a thoughtful academic and says himself that he has a "cool and intellectual" approach to his subject. But there is no disguising his enthusiasm for Bayerische, Bavaria's regional language."

What have the Romans ever done for us (socks and sandals excepted)?

From the Indy

"They gave the world decent roads, indoor plumbing and some of the goriest spectator sports known to man, but now it appears that the Romans made a hitherto secret contribution to global civilisation by pioneering the wearing of socks with sandals."

Never really understood why socks and sandals is apparently a faux-pas though.

German WWII plan to invade Britain revealed in MI5 file

From The BBC

"German shock troops would have landed at Dover, dressed in British uniforms, if the Luftwaffe had won the Battle of Britain, newly-released files suggest.

Details of the plan to invade Britain emerge from a post-war debrief of a German soldier and are in an MI5 file made public at the National Archives."

Er, and i guess the Royal Navy would have just sat back of course? 

Archaeologists uncover 3,500-year-old Egypt city

From Reuters

"Archaeologists have uncovered the remains of a 3,500-year-old settlement in one of Egypt's desert oases that predates earlier cities by a millennium, the Ministry of Culture said Wednesday.

The Yale University mission excavating in Umm El-Kharga Oasis, one of Egypt's five western deserts, located some 200 km south of Cairo, stumbled upon the find while working to map ancient routes in the Western Desert."

British warships sunk 90 years ago found off Estonian coast

From The Guardian

"The wrecks of three British warships sent to forestall a Soviet and German takeover of the Baltic states after 1917's October revolution have been found off the coast of Estonia.

Sonar searches by an Estonian minesweeper have located the remains of the cruiser HMS Cassandra and two Flower Class sloops, HMS Myrtle and HMS Gentian, in deep water near the island of Saaremaa."

Hong Kong and Macau in the Fifties

From Flickr Blog

"philroeder is currently publishing some wonderful photos from Hong Kong and Macau that his father took in the 1950s. He says:

"These photos were taken while my Dad served as a Lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force during the Korean War. They were taken with a Zeiss Ikon Contessa, a rangefinder with a folding Tessar f2.8/45mm lens, and were shot on 35mm Kodachrome transparency film."

The 35 UNESCO World Heritage sites in France

From France 24

"The medieval city of Albi in south-western France and the French Island of Reunion in the Indian Ocean were listed as World Heritage sites by UNESCO, the UN's cultural organisation, this year.

Of the total 35 World Heritage sites in France, 32 are cultural and three are natural. For more detail click on the name of the site on the map below."

(see link for map)

Archeological finds in Turkey

From Euronews

"Canadian archeologists from the University of Toronto are restoration [sic] and interpreting an Assyrian tablet from Southern Turkey. The tablet is 43cm long and 23cm wide with 650-700 lines of writing on it and according to archeologist Timothy Harrison, the tablet, dating from about 670 BC, is a treaty between a powerful Assyrian king and his weaker vassal states, written in formal language similar to that used in the Old Testament."

(Includes video)

RAF Museum Battle of Britain Podcasts

"The Royal Air Force Museum Podcast Series presents a monthly podcast on a variety of subjects, examining in detail elements of the history of the Royal Air Force and our sites at London, Cosford and Stafford. This year, our podcasts will focus on the history of the Battle of Britain, as we commemorate the 70th anniversary."

Lives of Victorian poor go online at National Archives

From the BBC

"Records detailing the lives of the Victorian poor, including those in workhouses, have been published online.

The National Archives project involves letters and reports passed between poor law authorities in England and Wales."

British Library shows up textspeak as soooo 19th century

From the Guardian

"If u really r annoyed by the vocabulary of the text generation, then a new exhibition at the British Library should calm you down. It turns out they were doing it in the 19th century – only then they called it emblematic poetry, and it was considered terribly clever."

Remembering the Battle of Britain

From the BBC

"While memories of the Battle of Britain remain fresh in the minds of The Few who flew, and the staff who supported them, veterans fear its significance could soon be forgotten by others."

The unseen photographs that throw new light on the First World War

From The Indy

"A treasure trove of First World War photographs was discovered recently in France. Published here for the first time, they show British soldiers on their way to the Somme. But who took them? And who were these Tommies marching off to die?"

Bone discovery pushes date for first use of stone tools back 1m years

From the Guardian

"The ancestors of early humans used stone tools to butcher animal carcasses nearly 1m years earlier than previously thought.


Archaeologists revised the date after spotting distinctive cut and crush marks made by stone tools on animal bones dating to 3.4m years ago..."

Robot to explore mysterious tunnels in Great Pyramid

From the Indy

"For 4,500 years, the Great Pyramid at Giza has enthralled, fascinated and ultimately frustrated everyone who has attempted to penetrate its secrets.

Now a robotics team from Leeds University, working with Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities, is preparing a machine which they hope will solve one of its enduring mysteries..."

Five millennia on, Iceman of Bolzano gives up DNA secrets

From the Indy

"Nearly 20 years after the dead man's head was found peeping from a melting Alpine glacier, investigators have finally seen fit to contact his relatives.

This doesn't indicate sloth on the part of the Italian authorities, but instead, advances in DNA technology that may lead scientists to living descendants of the South Tyrol's 5,300-year-old mummified man..."

Remains of Roman villa near Aberystwyth discovered

From the BBC

"Archaeologists have discovered a 4th Century Roman villa near Aberystwyth. 

It is the most north-westerly villa found in Wales and has forced experts to reconsider the whole nature of Roman settlement across mid and north Wales..."

Oldest Briton, born when Victoria was on the throne, dies at age 111

From The Guardian

"Britain's oldest person has died, just one month short of her 112nd birthday. Eunice Bowman was born in 1898 when Victoria was on the throne, and worked in a fish and chip shop until the age of 84.

She had also lived independently until two years ago, when she moved into a home in Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, where she died on Friday..."

Twenty babies in Britain named Adolf

From The Telegraph

"Before the war there were 320 Adolfs registered in England and Wales, but the name became less popular in the years following the conflict.[No kidding?]

[...] The website also uncovered other unusual naming trends, with 10 babies born in Lancashire in the late 19th century given the name Fish Fish, and at least one registered with the full name Fish Fish Fish..."

900 Second World War bombs found under restaurant

From the Daily Telegraph

"Construction workers on a road expansion project discovered the explosives with a metal detector and notified police, Kiyotaka Maedomari, a senior police official in Itoman city, said.

An army bomb disposal squad discovered the total of 902 unexploded munitions – including rocket bombs, grenades and motor projectiles – believed to have been made in the United States, he said..."

World War One official British photographs from the National Library of Scotland

"These photographs form part of the papers of Field Marshal (Earl) Haig (1861-1928), held by the National Library of Scotland. More information is available from the Library's Digital Archive.

Like many World War I generals, Haig remains a controversial figure. The collection contains diaries, papers and photographs from every part of Haig’s career, the Great War diaries being of special importance to historians..."

King Arthur's Round Table 'found' - except it's not a table, but a Roman amphitheatre in Chester

From the Daily Mail

"His is among the most enduring ­legends in our island’s history. 

King Arthur, the gallant warrior who gathered his knights around the  Round Table at Camelot and rallied Christian Britons against the invading pagan Saxons, has always been an enigma.

But now historians believe they have uncovered the precise location of Arthur’s stronghold, finally solving the riddle of whether the Round Table really existed..."

Huge Roman coin find for hobbyist

From the BBC

"One of the largest ever finds of Roman coins in Britain has been made by a man using a metal detector.

The hoard of more than 52,000 coins dating from the third century AD was found buried in a field near Frome in Somerset..."

Norfolk earliest known settlement in northern Europe

From the Daily Telegraph

"Dozens of flint tools unearthed on the Norfolk coast have revealed that early humans who first evolved in Africa braved bitter conditions to settle in Britain.

The find at Happisburgh, around 20 miles from Norwich, marks the earliest known human settlement in northern Europe..."

Oxford University opens Anglo-Saxon archive to online submissions

From The Guardian

"Widespread interest in last year's discovery of a hoard of Anglo-Saxon gold in Staffordshire has prompted Oxford University to embark on a mission to create the world's largest online archive about the period.

The university is asking members of the public to upload any stories, poems, writing, art or songs they have composed or heard that relate to Old English and the Anglo-Saxons to Project Woruldhord (Old English for "world-hoard"). Oxford is also keen for translations of Anglo-Saxon texts, pictures and videos of Anglo-Saxon buildings or monuments, recordings of Old English, and even videos of historical re-enactments, to be included in the archive..."

No 4 on Nazi most wanted list dies before trial

From the Daily Telegraph

"Adolf Storms died at his home in the western city of Duisburg on June 28, according to German authorities.

Storms, who worked unnoticed for decades as a train-station manager, was charged by Brendel's office last November with 58 counts of murder for alleged involvement in a wartime massacre of Jewish forced labourers in Austria..."

Manuscript found in Ethiopian monastery could be world's oldest illustrated Christian work

From the Daily Telegraph

"Originally thought to be from around the 11th century, new carbon dating techniques place the Garima Gospels between 330 and 650 AD.

The 1,600 year-old texts are named after a monk, Abba Garima, who arrived in Ethiopia in the fifth century..."

Lancastria: Britain's forgotten disaster

 From the BBC

"Britain's worst ever maritime disaster, the 1940 sinking of the troopship Lancastria, which claimed the lives of between four and six thousand men, has all but been erased from history. But survivors and campaigners are keeping the memory alive.

Most people have heard of the Titanic, the Transatlantic liner which sank on its maiden voyage in 1912 and was immortalised in James Cameron's blockbuster 1997 movie.

And the Lusitania, torpedoed by a German U-boat in 1915, is still remembered as the ship which brought the United States into the World War I.

But have you heard of the Lancastria? Perhaps not..."

Kaiser's African Gunship Enjoys New Lease on Life

"Almost 100 years ago, the German Kaiser ordered a warship to be secretly constructed and carried in pieces over mountains to help hold on to Germany's prize African colony. The battered ship is now receiving help from an unlikely source -- the German state where it was first made.

It's really all his grandfather's fault. When Hermann-Josef Averdung was a boy, his grandfather would often tell him about the most wonderful ship he had ever helped build -- and about the great adventure it embarked upon.

Averdung is now 66 years old. His hair is white, and he is a councilman in the northern German city of Papenburg. But the years have not dimmed his memory of this story. The story, in fact, has brought him to where he is now: standing at dawn on a rusty pontoon on Lake Tanganyika, in the heart of Africa. As a large ship slowly glides up alongside the pier, Averdung goes weak in the knees, and tears well up in his eyes. Its name, Liemba, is still visible on the front of the hull..."

Centuries-old slipper found on Canna is preserved

"A shoe dating from the 17th Century found in a box under a bed on the island of Canna has been carefully preserved.

The National Trust for Scotland, which owns the isle off Skye, said the artefact was so rare a storage box has been specially made to conserve it..."

In Joseph Stalin's birthplace, tyrant is finally toppled

"For over half a century a forbidding statue of Joseph Stalin loomed over Gori, the Georgian town where the Soviet Union's most notorious tyrant was born. Nearby is the modest one-storey hut where the young Stalin grew up. There is also a museum, complete with Stalin's personal railway carriage, portraits and letters.

But in a secret operation early today Georgia's pro-western government ripped the monument down. The six-metre high bronze statue of Stalin kitted out in a full-length general's overcoat is to be moved into the museum courtyard..."

Who is down there?

A few weeks ago we located the grave plots of my Uncle Roderick and Great Grandmother at Witton Cemetery in Birmingham. What we asked the Cemetery to do though was to check the records and confirm who was in the plots. We thought both had 2 occupants.

It was confirmed that this plot contained my Great Grandmother Rose Ellen Grant and also George Henry Walter John Grant . Both passed away during World War 2.

The second plot details showed however how old hand written records can be troublesome. Uncle Roderick was listed as Robert Roderick (middle name first) and my Great Grandfather Stephen Morris was listed as being Stephanie!

Photography exhibition reveals life on the canals in the 1940s and 50s

"Robert Longden's evocative pictures of working life on Britain's inland waterways of the 1940s and 50s are being shown for the first time.

It seems fitting that the Herbert Art Gallery in Coventry should be hosting an exhibition of Robert Longden's evocative pictures of working life on the inland waterways of the 1940s and 50s. Longden's employer was Sir Alfred Herbert, a local philanthropist who ran the biggest machine-tool company in the world from a factory that backed on to the Coventry canal. Both men died in 1957. Herbert bequeathed the gallery to the city and Longden's photographs are about to be shown there for the first time..."

Apostle images from 4th century found under street in Italy

"Archaeologists exploring a Christian catacomb under a residential Roman street have unearthed the earliest known images of the apostles Andrew and John.

Using a newly developed laser to burn away centuries of calcium deposits without damaging the paintings beneath, the team found the late 4th-century images in the richly decorated tomb of a Roman noblewoman..."

Saving "virtual worlds" from extinction

"Sometime this August, librarians at the University of Illinois will finish archiving over a dozen famous computer games, then step back to consider where to go next with their project. These programs go back over four decades, and include a 1993 version of Doom, various editions of Warcraft, and even MIT's Spacewar! circa 1962.

We wondered, given the gaming nature of most of the software being preserved, why the venture is calling itself the Preserving Virtual Worlds project. So we called up the project's coordinator, Jerome McDonough, Assistant Professor of Library and Information Science at the University of Illinois, to ask him about the name..."

Hopefully they can preserve those hills in Pole Position, i got a stash in them tha hills.

Captain Scott's hut saved after restoration fundraising project

"The hut, which still contains boxes of stores belonging to Scott's party from 1917, was falling into disrepair after almost a century of being battered by the elements in Antarctica.

Sir David Attenborough spoke out about the need to save the hut, saying: "It is a monument to the great age of heroic exploration.

"It would be a scandal if Britain failed to provide the money to make sure that this astonishing place is protected for future generations."

After 1917 it remained untouched until 1956 when US expeditioners dug it out of the snow and ice..."

Ancient climate change 'link' to CO2

"A 'global pattern' of change in the Earth's climate began 2.7 million years ago, say scientists. 

Researchers found that, at this point, temperature patterns in the tropics slipped into step with patterns of Ice Ages in the Northern Hemisphere.

They report in the journal Science that atmospheric CO2 could be the "missing link" to explain this global pattern..."

A new blog look

I thought it was high time this blog had a bit of a face-lift (and i wanted to play around with the upgraded Blogger template tools too). Let me know if you have any problems with the new look. I'm also going to try and post more frequently.

Taking back the family origins a lot further

Previous family history investigation has been along my grandmother's mother's line delving into the Morrises and Genners which of course took the family history trail to India. As recounted in the comments to this post the trail goes cold in the early 19th century. Next step is to investigate my grandmother's father's line, the Grants. Luckily some other family members have already been investigating this.

My uncle has given me a copy of a family tree taking the Grants back to the mid-17th century at least. The family seems to have come from around Eynsham in Oxfordshire (the earliest known ancestor appearing to be a Francis Evans born in 1654 who married a John Grant). The Genner/Morris line come from Gloucestershire so that firmly puts my roots in the south midlands anyway.

A wizard's words finally set free

"To hear an ailing 82-year-old Thomas Edison speak, with the great inventor's voice, wheezy and high-pitched, growing husky and choked as he praised his good friend Henry Ford who stood alongside President Herbert Hoover on a stage on Oct. 21, 1929 is catching lightning in a bottle.

Earlier that night, the crowd heard Albert Einstein offering words of praise for Edison in German from Berlin.

It is contained in one of the world's oldest surviving radio broadcasts, recorded on an obscure machine that General Electric developed in 1922 and called a pallophotophone -- which means 'shaking light sound' in Greek..."

Scientists use plants to date Egypt's pharaohs

"Scientists have established for the first time clear dates for the ruling dynasties of ancient Egypt after carbon dating plant remains, according to research published Thursday.

The results will force historians to revise their records for the two millennia when ancient Egypt dominated the Mediterranean world and hopefully end debate once and for all between rival Egyptologists..."

(End a debate between historians, yeah right!)

The mystery of Caravaggio's death solved at last – painting killed him

"He killed a man, brawled constantly, rowed with patrons and fled justice while revolutionising painting with his chiaroscuro style. Now, as if to underline how dramatic Caravaggio's short life was, researchers say he may have quite literally died for his art.

Scientists seeking to shed light on the mysterious death of the Italian artist in 1610 said they are "85% sure" they have found his bones thanks to carbon dating and DNA checks on remains excavated in Tuscany.

Caravaggio's suspected bones come complete with levels of lead high enough to have driven the painter mad and helped finish him off..."

German cathedral bones 'are Saxon queen Eadgyth'

"Scientists are to announce that bones found in a German cathedral are those of one of the earliest members of the English royal family.

The remains of Queen Eadgyth, who died in 946, were excavated in Magdeburg Cathedral in 2008..."

Lost John Ford movie unearthed in New Zealand

"An extraordinary collection of 75 early American films, including several that had been considered lost to history, have been discovered in New Zealand and are being returned to the US.

The cache includes the only copy believed to exist of a late silent movie by one of the giants of American film-making, John Ford, as well as several works produced between 1910 and 1920 starring important female actors such as Clara Bow and Mabel Normand..."

Talking of movies recent family history research by my Uncle indicates that i could be related to Cary Grant. Personally i am sceptical but it would be nice if it was true!

Bring on the history revolution in schools

Geoffery Alderman writes : "Overshadowed by other events both national and international, the announcement at the Guardian Hay festival by education secretary Michael Gove that there is to be a review of the school history curriculum deserves widespread applause.

It is a long time since my own children were at secondary school, and since I served as a GCE A-level history examiner – and indeed as a chief examiner, setting the questions as well as overseeing the grades. But I have deliberately maintained a watching brief on developments in the school history curriculum, not least because I teach university students who have followed this curriculum prior to starting a degree programme..."

Scars from lion bite suggest headless Romans found in York were gladiators

"The haunting mystery of Britain's headless Romans may have been solved at last, thanks to scars from a lion's bite and hammer marks on decapitated skulls.

The results of forensic work, announced today, on more than 80 skeletons of well-built young men, gradually exhumed from the gardens of a York terrace over a decade, suggests that the world's best-preserved gladiator graveyard has been found..."

Locating the graves of ancestors

Today i went to Witton Cemetery in Birmingham to help my Mum and Uncle find a couple of graves. One was of their oldest brother Roderick Grant who died in 1935 while still a child and the other that of one of their grandmothers.

They had not visited the site for decades and had no idea where the graves were but thankfully the staff at the cemetery were able to quickly tell us roughly where the graves were located. It was still not the easiest thing in the world though to find the graves. Although every grave plot is numbered the number is only displayed in a headstone and not all headstones have a visible number. A lot of graves are not marked by any headstone including that of Roderick's. Luckily the grave next to Roderick's was numbered so we could find were he was. In the photo below he is under on the right.

We think my great-grandfather Stephen Morris was buried here too though will need to get the cemetery staff to look up for us, they said there was someone else buried in the plot. The next grave to look for was that of my great-grand mother Rose Eleanor Grant and that was much easier to find (once we knew what to look for). Like Roderick's her grave is unmarked.

I also managed to get my hands on a family tree for the Grants which will very useful for continuing family research (well just on loan but i will get it copied).

Operation Dynamo 70 years on

It is 70 years since Operation Dynamo, the "miracle" when thousands of allied troops were evacuated from France at Dunkirk (and other ports) back to Britain as the Germans pressed irresistibly into France. The BBC website has created a nice selection of maps and infographics to try and explain exactly did go on at Dunkirk.

The Telegraph have a video report. The Daily Mail looks at some of the soldiers who didn't manage to be evacuated and their terrible fate.

The Guardian has meanwhile gone back into it's archives to 1936 to find a report complaining about the state of the British Army and how so many recruits were rejected as they were unfit. The more things change the more things stay the same.

The dig dividing Jerusalem

"The search for the City of David may offer tourists a reminder of Jerusalem's ancient past. But for the Palestinians whose homes are threatened by the excavations, archaeology is merely the latest weapon being used against them..."

Retro Tucanos

The RAF have repainted two of it's Tucano T1 trainers in a "retro" WW2 camouflage style (the red in the roundels looks too small to me though) as part of it's effort to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Battle of Britain. They flew in formation with one of the RAF's heritage flight's Spitfires a few days ago. I'd love to see a Typhoon repainted like this too.

Photo © Geoffrey Lee/Planefocus

Polari, a vibrant language born out of prejudice

"British gay men (though according to Wikipedia it was a slang used by performers and criminals that was later adopted by homosexuals) developed the eclectic, secretive slang at a time when society stigmatised them. Luckily it is no longer needed.

Polari (also spelt Palarie, Parlary, Palare and various other ways) is a form of language that is most commonly associated with gay men (and to a lesser extent lesbians), used in the first two-thirds of the 20th century in British cities that had large and mainly underground gay subcultures.

The language was particularly well known in London and was associated with chorus boys who danced and sang in West End productions, and male prostitutes who drank endless cups of tea in seedy cafes hanging out around Piccadilly ("the dilly") looking for "steamers" (clients)..."

A nice font?

I've taken advantage of Google's new web font directory to add a new font for the headings of this blog. The headings and dates are now in IM Fell English which gives the blog a suitably late mediaeval or early modern feel (and you can read about the historical roots of the font here). I did try using the font for all of the body text but it did look a bit over kill. Anyway if you can't see any differences with the font or have any other comments let me know!

Pompeii's X-rated art will titillate a new generation

"Pompeii's saucy heyday might be a little behind it but the ancient city's power to intrigue, delight and even titillate remains intact – as proved by the hundreds of visitors queuing this weekend for an adults-only viewing of its most-erotic artwork.

The famous wall paintings in its ancient suburban baths will be spotlighted in a special night-time "sound-and-light" show, which say the organisers, will give visitors "their best view yet" of the pictures, which leave very little to the imagination..."

Bomber Command: veterans celebrate after memorial approval

"Veterans of Bomber Command have celebrated after they were given the go ahead to build a memorial to 55,573 of their comrades killed in the Second World War.

Planners at Westminster City Council approved on Thursday the proposed £3.5 million memorial, which will now be built in Green Park, central London..."

How Britannia came to rule the waves

"Hero worship at the expense of historical accuracy? Surely not. It has been portrayed as the story of the lone genius who solved the greatest scientific problem of his day despite the hindering efforts of those ranged against him, saving thousands of lives.

On the one side was John Harrison, the self-taught clockmaker from a humble Yorkshire background. On the other, the 18th Century’s wealthy elite charged with the task of presiding over the problem of longitude – the knotty task of working out how far west or east a ship has sailed.

Harrison’s story has been the subject of a best-selling book and an award-winning film but science historians believe that the true account of how the problem of longitude was solved has yet to be told..."

Archaeologists unearth 6th century Ikea-style temple

"Archaeologists in Italy have unearthed the remains of a 6th century BC temple-style building complete with detailed assembly instructions which they have likened to an Ikea do-it-yourself furniture pack.

Nearly every remaining part of the elaborate structure, excavated near the southern city of Potenza, is inscribed with detailed instructions on how it should be built..."

30 odd years of changes... or not as the case may be

Whilst looking through some old photographs i found one of the first house i ever lived in in the early 1970s (though i was too young at the time to remember anything about it!) Thanks to Google Street View i was able to have a look and see what the house looks like today and to be honest there have not been a great deal of changes over the last 35 or so years.

Apart from the doors, windows and maybe the odd bit of paint the house itself is not that different though the garden has changed dramatically.

Anglo Saxon Hoard saved

Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery and the Potteries Museum and Art Gallery, Stoke on Trent are celebrating today following the announcement that the £3.3 million to acquire the Staffordshire Hoard has been secured a month ahead of schedule – but the fundraising continues.

The announcement comes after news that the National Heritage Memorial Fund (NHMF) has approved a donation of £1.285 million that will meet the initial target of £3.3 million needed to acquire the joint ownership of the Hoard by Birmingham and Stoke museums...

Search engine collects historical resources

A search engine is being created to help historians find useful sources.

The Connected History project will link up currently separate databases of source materials...

The photograph that defined the class divide

In 1937, five boys were famously snapped standing outside Lord's. But who were they, what were they doing there – and what happened to them? The answer is surprising...

Carbon dating reveals vintage fraud in wines

"Up to 5% of fine wines are not from the year the label indicates, according to Australian researchers who have carbon dated some top dollar wines.

The team of researchers think "vintage fraud" is widespread, and have come up with a test that uses radioactive carbon isotopes left in the atmosphere by atomic bomb tests last century and a method used to date prehistoric objects to determine what year a wine comes from - its vintage.

The test works by comparing the amount of carbon-12 and carbon-14 in grapes..."

Flaming torches light up Britain's Hadrian's Wall

"Hadrian's Wall, a Roman-era fortification spanning the width of northern England, was lit up from end-to-end by volunteers carrying flaming torches Saturday.

As night fell, 500 gas flames were lit at 250-metre intervals for 84 miles (135 kilometres) from Wallsend in northeast England to Bowness-on-Solway in the northwest..."

Relic reveals Noah's ark was circular

Well apart from the fact they are talking about Atram-Hasis of course not Noah...

"That they processed aboard the enormous floating wildlife collection two-by-two is well known. Less familiar, however, is the possibility that the animals Noah shepherded on to his ark then went round and round inside.

According to newly translated instructions inscribed in ancient Babylonian on a clay tablet telling the story of the ark, the vessel that saved one virtuous man, his family and the animals from god's watery wrath was not the pointy-prowed craft of popular imagination but rather a giant circular reed raft..."

On Crete, New Evidence of Very Ancient Mariners

"Early humans, possibly even prehuman ancestors, appear to have been going to sea much longer than anyone had ever suspected.

That is the startling implication of discoveries made the last two summers on the Greek island of Crete. Stone tools found there, archaeologists say, are at least 130,000 years old, which is considered strong evidence for the earliest known seafaring in the Mediterranean and cause for rethinking the maritime capabilities of prehuman cultures..."

Archaeologists pinpoint long-disputed site of Battle of Bosworth

"Archaeologists announced today that they have located not just the site of the Battle of Bosworth, but the spot where – on 22 August 1485 – Richard III became the last English king to die in battle when he was cut down by Tudor swords..."

U.S. Navy Documentary (1915?)

"Although incomplete, this documentary appears to be the longest surviving nonfiction film about the U.S. Navy dating from before World War I..." (well if its from 1915 as they think it is its not before WW1 but quibbles aside its a very interesting film you can watch online or download as a MPEG movie.)

John Constable's Stour Valley location mystery solved

"The exact spot in Suffolk where John Constable painted one of his most famous works has been identified for the first time in almost 200 years..."

Two thousand year old Roman aqueduct discovered

"A pair of British amateur archaeologists believe they have found the hidden source of a Roman aqueduct 1,900 years after it was inaugurated by the Emperor Trajan..."

AA307 so far

I started my new course a few weeks ago and have already completed Block 1! It's format is slightly different to the courses i have done over the last few years. The amount of course material seems less (than AA312 especially) though it might just be Block 1 (which was on Christianity & Roman Paganism and the Crusades) is designed to ease us into the course.

The content of the course is interesting as it seems to reflect the content of the courses i have been doing over the last few years so maybe this course will be the natural end to my history degree and tie everything together (well thats the hope anyway). So we have started with the Roman empire and middle ages, the reformation is coming and modern history is to come.

Oldest remains of English royalty unearthed

"Archeologists believe they have discovered the coffin and skeleton of Queen Eadgyth, the sister of King Athelstan and granddaughter of Alfred the Great, who died in 946.

It was thought that her actual remains were lost when they were last moved in 1510 and that a monument built in Magdeburg Cathedral in southern Germany, was a cenotaph in her honour..."

Most British men are descended from ancient farmers

"Most men in Britain are descended from the first farmers to migrate across Europe from the Near East 10,000 years ago, scientists say.

Ancient farmers left their genetic mark on modern males by breeding more successfully than indigenous hunter-gatherer men as they made their way west, a study has found.

As a result, more than 60% of British men, and nearly all of those in Ireland, can trace their Y chromosome back to the agricultural revolution, or more precisely the sexual success of the men behind it..."

Oscar-winning director announces controversial 10-hour crash course in 20th century for American television

"In a film-making career spanning almost 40 years, Oliver Stone has turned political controversy in America into an art form. He has upset financiers with his caustic portrayal of Wall Street; conservatives with his depiction of Fidel Castro, Hugo Chávez and George Bush; and Democrats with his conspiracy theories about the assassination of John F Kennedy.

All of which may come to look like a tea party – of the social as opposed to right-wing protest variety – when his next big venture hits the screens.

Stone announced yesterday that a 10-hour crash course in the history of the 20th century he is putting together for American TV is designed as an antidote to the inaccuracies and biases he believes exist in the conventional historical narrative dished out in American schools and mainstream media. The title alone gives an inkling of what lies ahead: Oliver Stone's Secret History of America..."

Historian claims to have finally identified wartime 'Man Who Never Was'

"A historian claims to have conclusively proved the identity of the "Man Who Never Was", whose body was used in a spectacular plot to deceive the Germans over the invasion of Sicily in the Second World War, Ian Johnston reports.

It was a turning point in the Second World War. As the Allies prepared to invade Sicily in 1943, they wanted to dupe the Germans into thinking that their attack would be aimed elsewhere.

To carry out the deception, a plan was concocted in which a body was dumped in the sea, to be discovered by Axis forces, carrying fake 'secret documents' suggesting the invasion would be staged in Greece, 500 miles away..."