There may be well-known pyramids in Egypt, Mexico and even Bosnia – and ancient wonders across the globe – but not many know about the ancient architecture located right on their doorstep in London. Step forward Nicholas Hawksmoor: architect, freemason and all-round ancient religion nut. Born to a poor family…
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B&W It Like Burton: Shooting King Tut The Expert’s Way
Various exhibitions featuring the photography of Harry Burton the man responsible for shooting the iconic photographs of the investigation of the tomb of King Tut in the 1920s are currently making their way around the US and Europe (or some of them are about to at least). Theres a small…
Nice figure, a bit toothy though: the Venus of Hohle Fels
She may not be to everyone’s taste, but don’t knock her – this tiny mammoth tusk temptress is looking good for her 35,000 years. Discovered last year in the southwest German cave of Hohle Fels, the somewhat ironically-named Venus is believed to be the earliest form of figurative art –…
How To Construct Your Very Own Pyramidiot Theory and Put it to the Test
When reading books, and especially when browsing ‘the interwebz’, one comes across the most hilarious, flabbergasting and ‘OMG, the pills you are taking, are those legal?!‘ pyramid theories. Sadly enough, the thrill is soon gone, as all those ‘pyramidiot’1 stories fall back on the same basic protagonists aliens and the…
Rock ‘n’ Roll: Stonehenge’s Rave Credentials
Stonehenge‘s use may have been debated for millennia – but one expert now thinks the Neolithic site was the venue for some of prehistory’s wildest raves. Professor Rupert Till, an expert in acoustics and music technology at Huddersfield University, insists the megalithic structure would have worked perfectly to resonate sound…
What Now For the Stonehenge Protesters?
On a recent trip to watch the sun rise from behind the spectacular structure of Stonehenge, I was lucky enough to meet Druid couple Kim and Andrea (right). It was a couple of days before the Easter Solstice, and the pair were preparing to protest against the lack of free…
Google features Ida ‘Missing Link’ Fossile
For 150 years, scientists have debated the course of our evolutionary journey from tree-dwelling primate to modern Homo sapiens. Today, Google joins the debate.The search engine is focussing on evolution’s ‘missing link’, showcasing ‘Ida’ in today’s Google logo. ‘Ida’ is also known as Darwinius masillae, a 47-million-year-old fossil from the…
Escape From The Mummy’s Tomb
Any amateur archeologists with too much time on their hands who are finding Where On Google Earth tough, such as me, might find Escape from the Mummys Tomb on the World Museum in Liverpools website slightly closer to their level. You get to guide a small, bug-eyed adventurer around the…
Sunrise at Stonehenge
It was much colder than Ihad expected.It was icy, damp and windy and of course dark at 04:30 when we made our way over to Stonehenge to see the sun rise at 06:05am. There was a crunchy frost on the ground. It is kind of hard to imagine the ancient…
Roman Power-mortar contained volcanic Stratlingite
Most likely it was not (just) supreme architectural skills and good fortune that made the Trajan Forum last for almost 20 centuries, but volcanic ashes in the mortar used by the ancient Roman builders. X-ray analysis of a wall sample from the Trajan’s Market ruins in Rome showed that the…