Christians

So you've bagged a seat in your nearest Irish boozer, scrummed your way to the bar and ordered a pint of the black stuff, and your furry shamrock hat is firmly ensconced on the head: congratulations, you are officially ready to start celebrating St Patrick's Day. But who is St Patrick? We trace the history of the brewer's favourite saint back to ancient Roman Britain.

Irish or not, Catholic or not, and whether you actually like Guinness or not – these are small considerations now that the 17th of March is an international day of merry-making and general festivity.

It's an excuse to wear as much green as you like, even if you're blond. But before you go digging that pea-green jumper out of the back of the wardrobe, you might want to ask yourself what on earth you're going to all this trouble for.

In celebration of our chilly northern climate, the Ontario Archaeological Society will be holding their annual symposium in Killarney Ontario from Sept 24-26, a town on the northern tip of Lake Superior.

The symposium is called "Shibaonaning - the place of the clear passage." It will focus on the archaeology of the Canadian Shield. It’s a vast, rocky, forested area of Canada that covers Northern Ontario, Quebec, Manitoba and parts of the arctic.

At eight million square kilometres, it’s nearly double the size of the entire European Union. Although it's chalk full of mines, the rocky terrain makes it difficult to do any kind of farming. In ancient times the people on the northern end of Lake Superior depended on hunting and gathering in order to survive.

Colchester can lay claim to a bevy of titles: some impressive, some not so. For instance, you might not know that it's the first-ever town in Britain, founded as a Roman soldiers' outpost shortly after Claudius' 43AD landing. You may also be unaware that it's the home of Mary Whitehouse, Colchester United and Darren Day. A mixed bag, admittedly.

This Friday promises a feast for archaeology lovers in the Toronto area. The Archaeology Centre, at the University of Toronto, is holding Archaeology Research Day. It takes place from 10 am to 4 pm at Koffler House, 569 Spadina Ave., Room 108.

Fifteen presentations will be given on archaeology research happening all around the world. It’s a free event and there’s no registration. If you’re interested in research involving ancient times, you will not be disappointed.  Much of the research that is going to be presented dates to that era. Here are some of the highlights:

The ancient Egyptians were well aware of the properties of Frankincense, and used it to treat phlegm, asthma, throat and larynx infections that bleed, and for calming down vomiting. The inhalation of the melted stem relieves both bronchitis and laryngitis. But new research by immunologist Mahmoud Suhail suggests that it may contain properties that could cure cancer. Could the knowledge of the ancient Egyptians be scoured to revolutionise cancer treatment today?

Frankincense is grown in green valleys, on the other side of the Dhofar Mountains that catch India's summer monsoons, making the area a paradise in the Arabian Peninsula. Boswellia sacra was produced there as far back as 7000 BCE, locals say. Almost as long ago, the ancient Egyptians began importing the substance. The journey from what is now Oman to ancient Egypt must have been made millions of times by ancient caravanserai.