“The druid beckons us to travel back in time with him, to find out all about the mysteries of Stonehenge. He swivels to face away from us; we follow him. Suddenly the land around us changes – we’re right in the heart of a dense forest, with all the plants, animals and atmosphere of Stonehenge brought to life right before our eyes. “The druid carries on regardless. He turns, and he’s changed: his clothes have dated thousands of years. A quick smile and a wink reassures us as we’re whisked away through millennia of human history. “And here we are…
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Attribution: Informatique Dublin Ireland Key Dates The Museum of Science and Art, Dublin was founded on 14 August 1877. It became The National Museum of Ireland in 1921. The Kildare Street building, which houses the museum’s archaeology collection, was opened in 1890. Key People The current Director of the National Museum is Dr Pat Wallace. The Kildare Street building was designed by Thomas Newenham Deane and his son Thomas Manly Deane. The National Museum of Ireland is Ireland’s state museum. It holds a large collection of artefacts, divided under the areas of archaeology, decorative arts and history, country life and…
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Attribution: World Monuments Fund Batticaloa Sri Lanka Key Dates A Buddhist stupa and shatra from the Ruhuna Kingdom date back to the 1st Century BC. The Dutch developed a fort there in 1628. It was damaged in the 2004 tsunami. The Fort of Batticaloa is on a small island on the east coast of Sri Lanka, 69 miles south by south east of Trincomalee. Its local name is Mada Kalapuwa, which means “muddy lagoon” in Sinhala, after the inland lagoon over which it looks. Although the site gets its name from a Dutch settlement built there in 1628, it has…
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Attribution: tpholland Arles France Key People The theatre was constructed during the rule of Augustus, at the end of the first century BC. Emperor Augustus The Roman Theatre of Arles was constructed in the age of the emperor Augustus, at the end of the first century BC. It measures 102m in diameter, with 33 semi-circular rings of stone seats, most of which are lost today. Its exterior had three layers of arcades. The only remaining part of the stage wall are two tall marble columns. The stage background was originally highly decorated, with one of the statues found there currently…
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Attribution: Inglewood Mum Bardon Mill United Kingdom Key Dates Vindolanda was founded by the Romans in around 85 AD and it was inhabited until the end of Roman rule (early fifth century AD) and for some time after that until the sixth century. Key People Founded following Agricola’s defeat of the Picts in 85 AD. Hadrian The Roman army had a fort and garrison at Vindolanda from 85 AD – its foundation came after Agricola defeated Britannia’s northern tribes at the battle of Mons Graupius. The fort defended the central section of a supply route that ran from east to…
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Attribution: _oriana.italy_ Moscow Russia Key Dates The museum opened on May 31, 1912. On May 31, 1923, the museum ceased to be a subordinate of the University of Moscow. In 1937 it got its current name. Key People Alexander Pushkin, the poet after whom the museum was named. professor Ivan Tsvetaev founded the museum. The Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts, which incidentally has no ties whatsoever to the famous poet after whom it is named, is the largest museum of European art in Moscow, Russia. Since its inception in 1912 it has been one of the country’s foremost exhibitors of…
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Summer Solstice Each year on the 21th of June visitors from around the world gather at Stonehenge overnight to mark the summer solstice and to see the sunrise above the stones. Live from Stonehenge Summer Solstice 2010 – Pictures, Tweets & Trading Cards The Summer Solstice 2010 at Stonehenge Practical Information Stonehenge and the Solstices – What’s a solstice? Why is this important ? The Solstice at Stonehenge Virtual – Can’t make it to the famous stone circle? Experience the solstice online in our 3D reconstruction! Live music starts at 9pm UK time. Photographs from the 2009 Summer Solstice History The iconic…
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Attribution: Tom Blackwell Yorkshire Britain As well as an outstanding view, walkers on Ilkley Moor, West Yorkshire, are treated with an ancient enigma. The Swastika Stone, situated at the Northern edge of the moor has many people pondering its existence. This unusual carving is made up of four spiral arms, one of which has a further appendage. There is a cup in the loop of each arm, and one in the outer ring of each arm. With the cup in the centre of the design, the cups themselves form a 5×5 cross figure. The cups in the swastika align north-south…
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Attribution: clare_and_ben Swinside England Key Dates The date of the Swinside stone circle is unknown. The Swinside stone circle is a nearly perfect, 29m diameter circle located in the small hamlet of Swinside, in Cumbria, England. The circle is also referred to as Sunkenkirk, a reference to the devil who — as legend has it — cast the stone into the ground to derail plans to build a church. The circle is largely isolated and is embedded in the land miles from the nearest farm track. Though many of the stones remain standing today, several have been bent inwards —…
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Attribution: JJKDC Rome Italy Key Dates Ostia is believed to have been founded by Rome’s fourth king, Ancus Marcius, in the 7th century BC, although only archaeological evidence from the 4th century BC has been found. It was expanded in the first century AD under the rule of Tiberius. By the 2nd century AD, more than 50,000 people lived there, with that number growing further to 75,000 a century later. By the time Constantine I took reign, the town had started evolving from a port into a popular holiday destination for Roman aristocrats. When the Roman Empire fell, the town fell…