- Part 117

The Enigmatic Three Hares

Does anyone know anything of the enigmatic running in an eternal circle, appearing to have two ears each, but on closer inspection, actually only having three ears? From what Ive found out, the earliest known appearance of this motif is in the Mogao caves near Dunhuang, China dating from the…

Marble Fight Gets Messy

The British Museum houses a suspiciously large stash of ancient relics, pillaged from around the world by British explorers back when there were no laws against that kind of thing. But the countries of origin of many of these treasures now want them back, and the repatriation of artefacts has…

Mummy CSI – Egypt gets second lab for processing ‘Mummy DNA’

Egypt’s first ever DNA lab exclusively dedicated to the study of ancient mummies which is located in the Egyptian Museum and helped with the quest of identifying Hatshepsut’s mummy will get a ‘sister’ lab at the Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University. One of the main purposes of the new lab…

Digitally Unrolling Ancient Papyrus Scrolls

When in 79 ADthe Vesuvius errupted full force, it destroyed Herculaneum and Pompeii, covering them with tons of ash, rock and debris.At the same time, it left scientists with an ‘instant capture of time’, capturing daily life in those Roman towns.Now professor Brent Seales and his EDUCE – ‘Enhanced Digital…

Birthday Celebrations Roman Style

Birthday Candles and Controversy Every year on the 21st of April, Rome celebrates its own beginnings with historical re-enactments and musical events. Since the city was founded 2762 years ago it has almost constantly been the scene of political power struggles and conflict. So it seemed appropriate that, this year,…

Getting to the Sites Other Tourists Cannot Reach

Have you ever wondered how a gladiator might have felt waiting in the wings of the Colosseum, ready for his turn to fight? Or what it might have been like to live in a Roman apartment block, with its claustrophobic corridors, precarious steps and cool marble floors? Visitors come to…

Prehistoric Pensioners From Outerspace

In 1930, Archaeologist Flinders Petrie excavated the tomb of a boy in ancient Egypt and was surprised to discover what appeared to be the full kit for a game of ten-pin bowling – the earliest evidence of the game. However, the more recent discovery of a number of perfect, grooved…

Bringing history to the masses

Ordinarily, Britain’s Got Talentdoesn’t have a lot in common with history, though I suppose there will be a footnote onSusan Boylein the ‘History of Reality TV’ when it’s finally published. Or in Simon Cowell‘s autobiography. But none of this matters toMary Beard, whose excellentTimes Online blog, It’s A Don’s Life,…

Aboriginal remains make the long journey home

The University of Oxford is the latest British research institution to agree to return the remains of indigenous Australians to their homeland. Aboriginal remains are scattered across the globe after they were shipped abroad for ‘research purposes’ following the colonisation of Australia by the British in 1788. It is the…

Utah saint? The Redneck Stonehenge

Stonehenge‘s cult status as a centre for pagan worship could be in doubt, thanks to a bloody minded Utah farmer and three old bangers. Rhett Davis, of Hooper, engineered the mechanical megalith to keep prying eyes away from his property – and to show his nosey neighbours he wasn’t afraid…