Mass graves to shed light on Britain's bloodiest battle

From the Indy

"It was one of the biggest and probably the bloodiest battle ever fought on British soil. Such was its ferocity almost 1 per cent of the English population was wiped out in a single day. Yet mention the Battle of Towton to most people and you would probably get a blank stare."

First Valentine: Lasting legacy of 500-year-old love

From the BBC

"Love it or hate it, even the most hardened anti-Romeo will be hard pressed to avoid Valentine's Day this year. But as an exhibit at the British Library currently on show is testament to, there is a first for everything - even on Valentine's Day."

Unlocking secrets of Mediaeval manuscripts using DNA

North Carolina State University researcher Assistant Professor of English Timothy Stinson is working on techniques to use DNA analysis to date and locate the origins of the animal skin parchments used in many Mediaeval manuscripts. Up until now handwriting and linguistic analysis has been used but these methods have their limitations. Stinson is aiming to create a baseline of DNA markers from manuscripts with known dates and origins and then compare the DNA from manuscripts of unknown origin with the baseline. Genetic similarities could then assist in narrowing down the time scale and locale of the manuscript in question. It will also allow the tracing of the trade route of manuscripts through the mediaeval world.

After Rome: Holy War and Conquest

It was on at the weekend though i did not watch it until last night, part 1 of a 2 part series written and presented Boris Johnson (the Mayor of London of course and former Tory MP) on the rise of Islam after the fall of Rome and the conflicts between Christianity and Islam.

There is a lot of history on TV these days but much of it relies of gimmickry and reconstructions, often the same blurry battle scene over and over again (just in case the viewer doesn't know what men fighting with swords looks like). This programme refreshingly did not, it was presented in a simple style: Boris in various locations and talking to a number of experts, with a bit of architecture and art thrown in. Unlike many history programmes on TV i felt this one actually treated me as intelligent, which is nice. Part 2 is on next Saturday.