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| Gods, Graves, Glyphs Weekly Digest #415 Saturday, June 30, 2012 |
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| The Revolution | |
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| MI: Washington honored soldier he sent to spy on British |
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· 06/24/2012 6:42:26 PM PDT · · Posted by SandRat · · 7 replies · · Sierra Vista Herald/Review · · Bill Hess · |
WASHINGTON HEADQUARTERS, NEWBURGH, N.Y. -- On Aug. 7, 1782, General George Washington issued an order for the establishment of The Badge of Military Merit. Part of his order for the badge's creation was it would be in the shape of a heart and made of purple cloth on which the word merit would be embroidered. It was to be worn on the left breast of the recipient. Only three are known to have been awarded by Washington, all in 1783 at his Newburgh headquarters with one on display at the New Windsor Cantonment. All involved bravery. Two were awarded for what... |
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| Book containing George Washington's copy of Constitution fetches nearly $10M |
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· 06/23/2012 7:34:03 AM PDT · · Posted by ETL · · 24 replies · · FoxNews.com · · June 22, 2012 · · Maegan Vazquez · |
A book owned by George Washington and containing his own annotated copy of the Constitution sold for almost $10 million at Christie's, more than three times what it was expected to draw. A fierce bidding war between two unidentified parties forced the price up, and applause erupted in the venerable auction house when the hammer came down and the 223-year-old book sold for $9,826,500 to the Mount Vernon Ladies Association.The Acts of Congress volume includes a copy of the Constitution, a draft of the Bill of Rights, and acts creating the executive, State and Treasury department. The book was printed... |
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| Early America | |
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| Archaeologists Unearth Rare 17th Century Find at Jamestown Excavations |
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· 06/26/2012 9:44:52 AM PDT · · Posted by Pharmboy · · 18 replies · · Popular Archaeology · · Thu, Jun 21, 2012 · · Anon. · |
The pocket-sized ivory sundial likely belonged to one of the early English gentlemen colonists. It was discovered while archaeologists were carefully digging fill soil above a cellar dated to the early James Fort period (1607-1610) at Jamestown, Virginia, the site of North America's first successful English colony. The artifact was the lower leaf of an ivory pocket sundial known in the 17th century as a diptych dial. It clearly bore the name of its maker, Hans Miller, who was a 17th century craftsman known to have made sundials in Nuremberg, Germany. Like many objects found at the Jamestown excavations, it... |
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| The Civil War | |
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| Sallie, Mascot of the 11th Pennsylvania Volunteers |
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· 06/23/2012 5:18:40 PM PDT · · Posted by PaulZe · · 21 replies · · nycivilwar.us · |
It was during the first month of training in 1861 for the new 11th PA Volunteer Infantry Regiment when a stranger from town brought to the captain a puppy, barely four to five weeks old, and presented it to the regiment. She was a pug-nosed brindle bull terrier that soon won the admiration of all the men in the unit. She was cute, and the men named her after one of the local beauties in West Chester, PA, the site of training. In the weeks and months that followed, Sallie could count on the hundreds of uniformed men to play... |
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| British Isles | |
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| King's Lynn: Bronze Age burial pot find excites experts |
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· 06/27/2012 3:00:46 PM PDT · · Posted by SunkenCiv · · 7 replies · · Lynn News (UK) · · Friday, June 22, 2012 · · unattributed · |
An exciting find of an intact Bronze Age burial urn has been made by a team of archaeological experts working on the site of a new link road under construction at Lynn. The team had already unearthed Iron Age timber posts beside the route of the road which will take traffic from the A149 Queen Elizabeth Way to Scania Way on the Hardwick Industrial Estate, where the new Sainsbury's superstore is being built. Ken Hamilton, Norfolk County Council's senior historic environment officer, said now a collared urn, believed to contain cremated human remains from about 2,500 years ago, had been... |
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| Middle Ages & Renaissance | |
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| Rome Icon Actually Younger Than the City |
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· 06/25/2012 7:49:47 PM PDT · · Posted by DogByte6RER · · 10 replies · · Discovery News · · Mon Jun 25, 2012 · · Rossella Lorenzi · |
The icon of Rome's foundation, a life-size bronze statue of a she-wolf with two human infants suckling her, is about 1,700 years younger than its city, Rome's officials admitted on Saturday. The official announcement, made at the Capitoline Museums, where the 30 inch-high bronze is the centerpiece of a dedicated room, quashes the belief that the sculpture was adopted by the earliest Romans as a symbol for their city. "The new dating ranges between 1021 e il 1153," said Lucio Calcagnile, who carried radiocarbon tests at the University of Salento's Center for Dating... |
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| The Roman Empire | |
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| The Ivy League of Ancient Roman Gladiator Schools |
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· 06/27/2012 11:17:49 AM PDT · · Posted by DogByte6RER · · 6 replies · · IO9 · · Jun 22, 2012 · · Keith Veronese · |
The Ivy League of Ancient Roman Gladiator Schools If you got sent back in time 2,000 years to ancient Rome, you probably wouldn't want to choose a career as a gladiator. After all, it was a messy existence, with a fairly low life expectancy. But if you were up to your eyeballs in debt, or wanted a chance at fortune or fame, you could break in at the top, by going to gladiator school. And four different Roman gladiator academies rose above the nearly 100 others, to become the best of the best. At these schools, you'd learn specific fighting... |
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| Faith & Philosophy | |
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| Yeshiva University Team Discovers the Arch of Titus Menorah's Original Golden Color |
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· 06/25/2012 4:50:54 PM PDT · · Posted by SJackson · · 9 replies · · Yeshiva University · · June 22, 2012. · |
From June 5 to 7, 2012 an international team of scholars led by the Yeshiva University Center for Israel Studies in partnership with the Soprintendenza Speciale per i Beni Archeologici di Roma undertook a pilot study of the Arch of Titus in the Roman Forum, the ancient civic center of Rome, Italy. The focus of attention was the Menorah panel and the relief showing the deification of Titus at the apex of the arch. The arch was originally dedicated after the Emperor Titus' death in 81 CE and celebrates his victory in the Jewish War of 66-74 CE, which climaxed... |
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| Helix, Make Mine a Double | |
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| DNA clues to Queen of Sheba tale |
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· 06/23/2012 9:34:37 PM PDT · · Posted by Theoria · · 17 replies · · BBC · · 21 June 2012 · · Helen Briggs · |
Clues to the origins of the Queen of Sheba legend are written in the DNA of some Africans, according to scientists.Genetic research suggests Ethiopians mixed with Egyptian, Israeli or Syrian populations about 3,000 years ago. This is the time the queen, mentioned in great religious works, is said to have ruled the kingdom of Sheba. The research, published in The American Journal of Human Genetics, also sheds light on human migration out of Africa 60,000 years ago.According to fossil evidence, human history goes back longer in Ethiopia than anywhere else in the world. But little has been known until now... |
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| Egypt | |
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| Egyptian Islamists Target Bikinis, Pyramids |
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· 09/02/2011 8:57:43 AM PDT · · Posted by bayouranger · · 35 replies · · investigativeproject.org · · Sept 01, 2011 · · IPT news · |
With the Egyptian economy already worsening since the revolution began in January, Muslim Brotherhood operatives are demanding stricter regulations on behavior and dress that could damage the country's tourism industry. The Freedom and Justice Party (FJP), which functions as the Brotherhood's political wing, wants to ban alcohol consumption on Egyptian streets and ban bikinis on the beach. "Beach tourism must take the values and norms of our societies into account," FJP Secretary-General Muhammad Saad al-Katatny told Egyptian tourism officials Monday. "We must place regulations on tourists wishing to visit Egypt, which we will announce in advance." For their part, Egyptian... |
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| Religion of Pieces | |
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| Iraq cuts US archaeology cooperation over Jewish archives |
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· 06/27/2012 3:46:20 PM PDT · · Posted by SunkenCiv · · 16 replies · · Middle East Online · · Tuesday, June 26, 2012 · · Mohamad Ali Harissi · |
Iraq has cut cooperation with the United States on archaeological exploration because Washington has not returned Iraq's Jewish archives, Tourism and Archaeology Minister Liwaa Smaisim has said. The fate of the archives, which were removed from Iraq following the 2003 US-led invasion, is a long-running point of contention between Washington and Baghdad, which has for years sought their return. Smaisim, a member of powerful anti-US Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr's movement, said in an interview with AFP that Iraq will use "all the means" to pursue the return of the archives. "One of the means of pressure that I used against... |
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| Let's Have Jerusalem | |
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| UNESCO designates Church of the Nativity as endangered site (bad news) |
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· 06/30/2012 12:43:13 AM PDT · · Posted by Olog-hai · · 7 replies · · AP via Christian Science Monitor · · June 29, 2012 · · Dalia Nammari & Karin Laub, AP · |
The Palestinians on Friday persuaded the U.N. cultural agency to list the Church of the Nativity -- the place where Christians believe Jesus was born -- as an endangered World Heritage site despite misgivings by churches in charge of the basilica.The Palestinians hailed the nod by UNESCO as a step forward in their quest for global recognition of an independent Palestine in the West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem, captured by Israel in 1967. The centuries-old basilica is located in a part of the Israeli-occupied West Bank where the Palestinians have self-rule. UNESCO's decision was seen by them as validation of their rights to... |
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| Megaliths & Archaeoastronomy | |
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| Syria's stonehenge': Mysterious ruins in desert could be 10,000 years old |
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· 06/25/2012 12:56:29 PM PDT · · Posted by Fractal Trader · · 30 replies · · Daily Mail Online · · 25 June 2012 · · Rob Waugh · |
A mysterious ancient building in Syria, described as a 'landscape for the dead' could be as old as 10,000 years ago - far older than the Great Pyramid. But scientists have been unable to explore the ruins, unearthed in 2009, because of the conflict in the region. The strange stone formations were uncovered in 2009, by archaeologist Robert Mason of the Royal Ontario Museum, who came across stone lines, circles, and tombs in a near-lifeless area of desert. The strange stone formations were uncovered in 2009, by archaeologist Robert Mason of the Royal Ontario Museum, who came across stone lines,... |
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| Catastrophism & Astronomy | |
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| ScienceCasts: The Surprising Power of a Solar Storm |
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· 06/29/2012 3:14:56 PM PDT · · Posted by tired&retired · · 8 replies · · NASA Science · · March 22, 2012 · · NASA Science · |
A flurry of solar activity in early March dumped enough heat in Earth's upper atmosphere to power every residence in New York City for two years. The heat has since dissipated, but there's more to come as the solar cycle intensifies. At 2:16 minutes into the video it very clearly says that the CO2 is one of the most efficient coolants in the atmosphere and that it reflected 95% of the radiation back into outer space. This entire series of videos is excellent. |
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| Climate | |
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| The Intriguing Problem Of The Younger Dryas -- What Does It Mean And What Caused It? |
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· 06/21/2012 10:11:38 AM PDT · · Posted by Ernest_at_the_Beach · · 40 replies · · watts Up With That? · · June 19, 2012 · · Guest post by Don J. Easterbrook · |
This is a follow up posting to Younger Dryas --The Rest of the Story!Guest post by Don J. Easterbrook Dept. of Geology, Western Washington University.The Younger Dryas was a period of rapid cooling in the late Pleistocene 12,800 to 11,500 calendar years ago. It followed closely on the heels of a dramatically abrupt warming that brought the last Ice Age to a close (17,500 calendar years ago), lasted for about 1,300 years, then ended as abruptly as it started. The cause of these remarkably sudden climate changes has puzzled geologists and climatologists for decades and despite much effort to find... |
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| Epigraphy & Language | |
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| Creative Individuals Travelled to the South Swedish Inland 9,000 Years Ago |
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· 06/26/2012 8:11:51 PM PDT · · Posted by SunkenCiv · · 2 replies · · Science News · · Monday, June 25, 2012 · · U of Gothenburg, via AlphaGalileo · |
Despite its good ecologic status, there were no permanent settlements in the south Swedish inland 9,000 years ago. Yet the area was visited by people who wanted to express their individuality and creativity and thereby gain status... Carl Persson's doctoral thesis in Archaeology is based on archaeological material discovered in connection with the construction of the E4 highway by Markaryd, Sweden. The finds consisted of a few very small pieces of flint that had been left behind in connection with visits to what used to be a small island in the outlet of a long-gone lake. The wear marks on... |
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| Prehistory & Origins | |
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| La Draga Neolithic site in Banyoles yields the oldest Neolithic bow discovered in Europe |
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· 06/29/2012 2:01:29 PM PDT · · Posted by Red Badger · · 17 replies · · Phys.org · · June 29, 2012 · · Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona · |
Archaeological research carried out at the Neolithic site of La Draga, near the lake of Banyoles, has yielded the discovery of an item which is unique in the western Mediterranean and Europe. The item is a bow which appeared in a context dating from the period between 5400-5200 BCE, corresponding to the earliest period of settlement. It is a unique item given that it is the first bow to be found in tact at the site. According to its date, it can be considered chronologically the most ancient bow of the Neolithic period found in Europe. The study will permit... |
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| Complex Thinking Behind the Bow and Arrow |
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· 06/26/2012 8:18:46 PM PDT · · Posted by SunkenCiv · · 32 replies · · Science News · · Monday, June 25, 2012 · · Universitaet Tubingen, via AlphaGalileo · |
Using archaeological finds and ethnological parallels, the two researchers reconstructed the steps needed to make a bow and arrows. These are complimentary tools -- separate, but developed interdependently. The bow is the controlling element, while the arrows can be used more flexibly and are interchangeable. About 2.5 million years ago, humans first used tools to make other tools then to make tools assembled from different parts to make a unit with particular qualities, such as wooden spears with stone spearheads (ca. 200,000-300,000 years ago.) The bow and arrow and other complementary tool sets made it possible for prehistoric humans to... |
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| Agriculture & Animal Husbandry | |
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| Oldest Pearl in Human History Found in UAE -- From a Grave |
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· 06/28/2012 4:30:02 PM PDT · · Posted by nickcarraway · · 10 replies · · Emirates 24/7 · · Thursday, June 28, 2012 · |
Researchers have discovered the world's oldest natural pearl in Umm Al Quwain, UAE, which is believed to be originated between 5547 and 5235 BC, Discovery News said in a report. The report said that the pearl was discovered not from the sea but grave. Researchers said that findings at local necropolis revealed that pearls were often placed on the deceased's face, often above the upper lip. The research was carried out by French researchers. The discovery suggests that pearl oyster fishing first started in Gulf Arab peninsula not in Japan - as previously believed by researchers. In 5,000 BC, half-drilled... |
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| PreColumbian, Clovis, & PreClovis | |
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| Ancient Text Confirms Mayan Calendar End Date |
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· 06/28/2012 4:34:15 PM PDT · · Posted by Perdogg · · 25 replies · · yahoo · |
A newly discovered Mayan text reveals the "end date" for the Mayan calendar, becoming only the second known document to do so. But unlike some modern people, ancient Maya did not expect the world to end on that date, researchers said. "This text talks about ancient political history rather than prophecy," Marcello Canuto, the director of Tulane University Middle America Research Institute, said in a statement. "This new evidence suggests that the 13 bak'tun date was an important calendrical event that would have been celebrated by the ancient Maya; however, they make no apocalyptic prophecies whatsoever regarding the date." |
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| Maya archaeologists unearth new 2012 monument |
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· 06/29/2012 7:28:41 AM PDT · · Posted by Red Badger · · 13 replies · · PHYS.ORG · · JUNE 28, 2012 · · Tulane University · |
Archaeologists working at the site of La Corona in Guatemala have discovered a 1,300 year-old year-old Maya text that provides only the second known reference to the so-called "end date" for the Maya calendar on December 21, 2012. The discovery, one of the most significant hieroglyphic find in decades, was announced today at the National Palace in Guatemala. "This text talks about ancient political history rather than prophecy," says Marcello A. Canuto, Director of Tulane's Middle American Research Institute and co-director of the excavations at the Maya ruins of La Corona. "This new evidence suggests that the 13 Bak'tun date... |
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| China | |
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| Pottery 20,000 years old found in a Chinese cave |
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· 06/28/2012 4:37:18 PM PDT · · Posted by Dysart · · 17 replies · · Newsvine.com · · 6-27-12 · |
Pottery fragments found in a south China cave have been confirmed to be 20,000 years old, making them the oldest known pottery in the world, archaeologists say. The findings, which will appear in the journal Science on Friday, add to recent efforts that have dated pottery piles in east Asia to more than 15,000 years ago, refuting conventional theories that the invention of pottery correlates to the period about 10,000 years ago when humans moved from being hunter-gathers to farmers. The research by a team of Chinese and American scientists also pushes the emergence of pottery back to the last... |
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| end of digest #415 20120630 | |
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| Gods, Graves, Glyphs Weekly Digest #415 · v 8 · n 49 Saturday, June 30, 2012 |
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I do apologize -- I've been falling asleep at the keyboard, and managed to get mixed up a little and sent the actual Digest, instead of just this pointer message, to the entire list. Ouch! Mea GULPa. |
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WOW..maybe I didn’t notice before..but I love this format!! THank you, thank you!
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| Gods, Graves, Glyphs Weekly Digest #416 Saturday, July 7, 2012 |
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| The Revolution | |
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| July 2, 1776 - Birth of the American Republic Begins: New York Abstains, John Dickenson is Absent |
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· 07/02/2012 6:26:18 PM PDT · · Posted by maggiesnotebook · · 15 replies · · Maggie's Notebook · · July 2, 1776 · · Maggie@MaggiesNotebook · |
On the night of July 1, 1776, after a steamy heat-and-storm-laden day, the Continental Congress took a break from debating declaring independence from Britain. Nine colonies, a majority, voted for independence, but there was a desperate need for a unanimous vote. That night, came the dreadful news of 100 British warships off the shores of New York City. The final vote came the next day, on July 2nd. New York abstained (and we thank them). John Dickinson of the divided Philadelphia delegation was absent. We thank him too. This has been my traditional Independence Day post for several years now. Taken... |
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| Fleming: What Life Was Like in 1776 |
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· 07/04/2012 5:11:52 AM PDT · · Posted by afraidfortherepublic · · 33 replies · · WSJ · · 7-4-12 · · Thomas Fleming · |
Almost every American knows the traditional story of July Fourth -- the soaring idealism of the Declaration of Independence, the Continental Congress's grim pledge to defy the world's most powerful nation with their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor. But what else about revolutionary America might help us feel closer to those founders in their tricornered hats, fancy waistcoats and tight knee-breeches? Those Americans, it turns out, had the highest per capita income in the civilized world of their time. They also paid the lowest taxes -- and they were determined to keep it that way. By 1776, the 13 American colonies had... |
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| The General | |
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| The Wisdom of Washington |
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· 07/01/2012 7:33:34 AM PDT · · Posted by Pharmboy · · 23 replies · · NY Post · · June 30, 2012 · · Maureen Callahan · |
His annotated Constitution was worth $9.8 million at auction -- but was priceless to a nation When George Washington's personal, annotated copy of the Constitution sold last week for $9.8 million at auction in New York, it didn't just set a record. It allowed us to see, for the first time, how cautiously our first president assumed the office, his eyes not toward history but the future. "This shows that he let the presidency define him, rather than for him to define the presidency," says Edward Lengel, military historian and author of two books on Washington. "He was a man... |
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| Facts in the Ground | |
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| Archaeology uncovers truths |
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· 07/09/2012 4:10:25 PM PDT · · Posted by SJackson · · 6 replies · · Cleveland Jewish News · · July 9, 2012 · · Cliff Savren · |
The Arab line following the creation of the state of Israel was that Israel was a colonialist foreign entity plopped down in the Arab Middle East. Nothing exposes the fallacy of such an argument as powerfully as archaeological finds that literally lay bare the Jewish presence here from ancient times. It must have been thrilling for the early Zionists who made their way to Israel in the late 19th century and early 20th to see newly uncovered archaeological finds attesting to Jewish life here 1,500 to 2,000 years earlier. One of my favorite spots is the ancient mosaic synagogue floor... |
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| Let's Have Jerusalem | |
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| Mosaic in Israel Shows Biblical Samson |
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· 07/05/2012 4:40:04 AM PDT · · Posted by marshmallow · · 7 replies · · CNN · · 7/4/12 · · Joe Sterling · |
(CNN) -- Archaeologists are reveling in the discovery of an ancient synagogue in northern Israel, a "monumental" structure with a mosaic floor depicting the biblical figure of Samson and a Hebrew inscription. The synagogue -- dating to the fourth and fifth centuries in both the Talmudic and late Roman periods -- is in Huqoq, an ancient Jewish village in the country's Galilee region, the Israeli Antiquities Authority said. Jodi Magness, a professor of early Judaism in the Department of Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, said the building was found in a recent excavation. She... |
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| Exegesis | |
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| Was Ezekiel an epileptic? |
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· 11/18/2001 6:31:29 PM PST · · Posted by Phil V. · · 18 replies · · 182+ views · · The Jerusalem Post · · November, 19 2001 · · By Judy Siegel · |
Ezekiel's visions may have resulted as much from disease as from divine inspiration, according to a California neuroscientist, who believes the prophet suffered from temporal lobe epilepsy. Dr. Eric Altschuler, of the University of California at San Diego, presented his theory about Ezekiel and epilepsy before last week's meeting of the Society for Neuroscience in San Diego and reported in the latest issue of New Scientist. Altschuler said a careful reading of the Book of Ezekiel shows he had "all the classic signs of the ... |
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| Faith & Philosophy | |
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| England's Saints Have Been Written Out of History |
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· 06/23/2011 11:51:56 AM PDT · · Posted by marshmallow · · 39 replies · · Catholic Herald (UK) · · 6/23/11 · · Fr Alexander Lucie-Smith · |
Our isle was once a land of saints, but now there is a trend to consign all religious people to the dustbin of historyToday, under the old dispensation, which may yet return, would have been Corpus Christi, and at least in the Cathedral town of Arundel, it still is, and thousands of people will be rushing down to West Sussex to see the magnificent carpet of flowers and to take part in the solemn Mass and procession at 5.30pm. I, sadly, cannot be with them, and for those in that position, I offer some consolation in a reflection of today's... |
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| Farty Shades of Green | |
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| Saint Patrick [Apostle Of Ireland] |
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· 03/17/2002 3:36:13 PM PST · · Posted by Lady In Blue · · 39 replies · · 2,398+ views · · Catholic Encyclopedia · · 00/00/1911 · · Patrick Francis CARDINAL Moran · |
A Litany of Saints By Ann Ball. Includes a history of the Litany of the Saints, with profiles of the individual saints mentioned in the litany. More... Visit Catholic Freebies to get free... |
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| No, No, Rudolph, the *Schmidt* House! | |
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| How St. Nicholas Became Santa Claus: One Theory |
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· 12/20/2005 7:20:30 PM PST · · Posted by NYer · · 36 replies · · 863+ views · · Zenit News Agency · · December 20, 2005 · |
Jeremy Seal on an Epic History BATH, England, DEC. 20, 2005 (Zenit.org).- The modern persona of Santa Claus is a far cry from its origins: St. Nicholas, bishop of Myra. So how did he go from a charitable saint to an icon of Christmas consumerism? Travel writer Jeremy Seal embarked on an international search to answer that question and recorded his findings in "Nicholas: The Epic Journey from Saint to Santa Claus" (Bloomsbury". Seal told ZENIT what he discovered tracking the cult of Santa Claus across the globe and why he thinks St. Nicholas and his charism of charity still... |
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| Religion of Pieces | |
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| Mali: Islamists destroy Timbuktu heritage sites |
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· 06/30/2012 10:02:45 AM PDT · · Posted by Free ThinkerNY · · 25 replies · · Associated Press · · June 30, 2012 · · BABA AHMED · |
BAMAKO, Mali (AP) -- Islamist fighters with ties to al-Qaida have destroyed tombs classified as a UNESCO World Heritage site in Mali's historic city of Timbuktu, a resident and U.N. officials said Saturday. Irina Bokova, who heads the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, cited in a statement Saturday reports the centuries-old Muslim mausoleums of Sidi Mahmoud, Sidi, Moctar and Alpha Moya have been destroyed. |
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| Islamist rebels destroy UNESCO World Heritage sites in historic Mali city of Timbuktu |
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· 06/30/2012 11:27:02 AM PDT · · Posted by ColdOne · · 17 replies · · WaPo · · 6/30/12 · · ap · |
BAMAKO, Mali -- Islamist fighters with ties to al-Qaida have destroyed tombs classified as a UNESCO World Heritage site in Mali's historic city of Timbuktu, a resident and U.N. officials said Saturday. Irina Bokova, who heads the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, cited in a statement Saturday reports the centuries-old Muslim mausoleums of Sidi Mahmoud, Sidi, Moctar and Alpha Moya have been destroyed. |
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| The Vikings | |
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| Legendary Viking town unearthed |
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· 07/03/2012 7:16:38 PM PDT · · Posted by Engraved-on-His-hands · · 38 replies · · ScienceNordic · · July 2, 2012 · · Niels Ebdrup · |
Danish archaeologists believe they have found the remains of the fabled Viking town Sliasthorp by the Schlei bay in northern Germany, near the Danish border. According to texts from the 8th century, the town served as the centre of power for the first Scandinavian kings. But historians have doubted whether Sliasthorp even existed. This doubt is now starting to falter, as archaeologists from Aarhus University are making one amazing discovery after the other in the German soil. "This is huge. Wherever we dig, we find houses -- we reckon there are around 200 of them," says Andres Dobat, a lecturer... |
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| Age of Sail | |
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| 500-year-old global map found in Munich (with continent named America) |
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· 07/04/2012 6:59:28 AM PDT · · Posted by NYer · · 16 replies · · dw · · July 3, 2012 · |
History 500-year-old global map found in Munich Munich librarians have found a rare 16th century world map that first gave America its name as a continent. The version by German cartographer Martin Waldseem¸ller survived World War II sandwiched between geometry books. The Munich version is smaller than the 500-year-old global map found in a German monastery in 1901 and handed over by German Chancellor Angela Merkel in 2007 to the US Library of Congress. Only four smaller versions were previously known to have survived. The word "America" on the larger Library of Congress map Waldseem¸ller (1470-1522) was... |
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| Catastrophism & Astronomy | |
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| Sky 'Crucifix' in Ancient Text May Be Mystery-Solving Supernova |
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· 07/01/2012 9:22:00 AM PDT · · Posted by SunkenCiv · · 28 replies · · Livescience · · Friday, June 29, 2012 · · Life's Little Mysteries Staff · |
According to an Old English manuscript chronicling the history of the Anglo-Saxons, a mysterious "red crucifix" appeared in the "heavens" over Britain one evening in A.D. 774. Now astronomers say it may have been the supernova explosion that sprinkled unexplained traces of carbon-14 in tree rings that year, halfway around the world in Japan. Jonathon Allen, an undergraduate student at the University of California, Santa Cruz, made the connection this week after listening to a Nature podcast. He heard a team of Japanese scientists discussing new research in which they measured an odd spike in carbon-14 levels in tree rings... |
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| The Phoenicians | |
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| Archaeological report: Razed ruins not Phoenician port |
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· 07/03/2012 6:26:00 AM PDT · · Posted by SunkenCiv · · 5 replies · · The Daily Star · · June 29, 2012 · · Justin Salhani · |
Beirut's Minet al-Hosn construction site does not contain the remains of a Phoenician port as maintained by the Directorate General of Antiquities and the former Culture Minister, according to an archaeological report obtained by The Daily Star. The Archaeological Assessment Report on the Venus Towers Site states: "While the site ... is intriguing, it does not fit the known parameters for a port, shipyard, or shipshed facility." The report, written by Dr. Ralph Pederson of Marburg University following an extensive investigation, maintains that there is nothing to connect the site to ships or shipbuilding. "The trenches could not have functioned... |
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| Terracotta in China | |
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| More terracotta warriors unearthed in China |
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· 06/30/2012 9:41:10 AM PDT · · Posted by JoeProBono · · 31 replies · · .upi. · |
Over 8,000 unearthed terracotta warriors stand in formation in a massive underground tomb (Pit 1) built for Emperor Qinshihuang's protection in his afterlife just 100 miles north-west of Xi'an, one of the oldest cities in China and the capital of Shaanxi Province on June 28, 2012. The Museum of the Terracotta Army has been listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. |
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| Australia & the Pacific | |
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| Polynesian paddle fetches nearly $340,000 |
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· 04/17/2010 5:10:34 PM PDT · · Posted by JoeProBono · · 18 replies · · 669+ views · · upi · · April 17, 2010 · |
ISLE OF WIGHT, England - A 100-year-old wooden paddle used in Polynesian dance ceremonies before becoming a household ornament fetched nearly $340,000 at a British auction. Bidders in London and Brussels quickly upped the price on the paddle after bidding started at just $4,629, The Times of London reported. The ceremonial paddle, known as a rapa, originated on Easter Island in the southeastern Pacific, where performers used the paddles to accentuate movements in dances and ceremonies. Tim Smith of Isle of Wight auctioneers Island Auction Rooms in Shanklin set a guide price of $15,341. "When the money started going up,... |
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| PreColumbian, Clovis, & PreClovis | |
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| Calls made to repatriate Beothuk remains |
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· 06/30/2012 6:02:20 PM PDT · · Posted by SunkenCiv · · 27 replies · · Yahoo Canada · · Saturday, June 23, 2012 · · CBC · |
Aboriginal groups want bones of the extinct Beothuk people to be removed from museum vaults and brought back to Newfoundland. A woman named Shanawdithit was the last known member of her people, with her 1829 death in St. John's marking the end of the Beothuk. Disease, persecution and the Beothuk's decision to withdraw from coastal communities have been cited as causes of wiping out the Beothuk. The location of Shanawdithit's grave is not known, but the skulls of her aunt and uncle -- a chief -- languish in a museum in Edinburgh, Scotland. The remains of at least 22 Beothuk... |
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| Ancient Autopsies | |
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| "Frankenstein" Bog Mummies Discovered in Scotland |
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· 07/08/2012 5:46:50 AM PDT · · Posted by Renfield · · 27 replies · · National Geographic · · 6-6-2012 · · Rachel Kaufman · |
In a "eureka" moment worthy of Dr. Frankenstein, scientists have discovered that two 3,000-year-old Scottish "bog bodies" are actually made from the remains of six people. According to new isotopic dating and DNA experiments, the mummies -- a male and a female -- were assembled from various body parts, although the purpose of the gruesome composites is likely lost to history. The mummies were discovered more than a decade ago below the remnants of 11th-century houses at Cladh Hallan, a prehistoric village on the island of South Uist (map), off the coast of Scotland. The bodies had been buried in the fetal position 300... |
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| British Isles | |
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| Farming in Dark Age Britain |
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· 07/06/2012 4:50:58 AM PDT · · Posted by Renfield · · 26 replies · · Suite 101 · · 3-18-2011 · · Brenda Lewis · |
In the Dark Ages, the early Anglo-Saxon settlers in Britain led a hard life farming the land, in total contrast to their Romano-British predecessors. When the Romans invaded Britain in 43AD, they found a land of thick forests, heath and swampland. There were no towns, no roads - or nothing that a Roman would have recognized as proper roads - and no bridges. After the Romans However, by the time the Romans abandoned Britain four centuries later, they had turned it into a quite different place. The Anglo-Saxon settlers who began to arrive in large numbers in around 450AD found... |
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| Diet & Cuisine | |
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| Mystical marks in virgin forest explained |
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· 07/04/2012 6:07:40 AM PDT · · Posted by SunkenCiv · · 48 replies · · Science Nordic (?!?) · · June 27, 2012 · · Nina Kristiansen · |
During a recent mapping of the rare virgin forest in and around the ÿvre Dividalen National Park in Troms, Norway, scientists noticed some scars reappearing on the trees. Many trees had some of their bark cut away on one side, leaving marks that were hard to explain. Arve Elvebakk of the University of Troms (UiT) headed the study. He worked together with Andreas Kirchhefer, an expert in dating old trees by tree-ring analysis. He had already used ancient pines to chart weather and climate conditions. Could the cuts in the bark have been left by settlers who started farms in... |
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| Zymurgy | |
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| Whisky windfall: Man finds rare 100-year-old bottles hidden in the attic |
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· 07/06/2012 5:38:52 PM PDT · · Posted by yorkie · · 76 replies · · NY Daily News · · July 6, 2012 · · Meghan Neal · |
When a Missouri man decided to install central air-conditioning and central heat in the attic of his historic house, he found much more than he bargained for. Bryan Fite, of St. Joseph, Mo., discovered 13 bottles of century-old whisky under the floorboards in the attic of his 1850s house. He didn't recognize his good fortune right away, thinking the bottles were tubes or oddly shaped installation pipes. But Fite soon discovered he was sitting on a goldmine of antique whisky - the bottles are likely worth several hundred dollars each, and possibly more. |
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| Agriculture & Animal Husbandry | |
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| World's Oldest Purse Found -- Studded With a Hundred Dog Teeth? |
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· 06/30/2012 6:07:51 PM PDT · · Posted by SunkenCiv · · 35 replies · · National Geographic News · · Wednesday, June 27, 2012 · · Andrew Curry · |
The world's oldest purse may have been found in Germany -- and its owner apparently had a sharp sense of Stone Age style. Excavators at a site near Leipzig (map) uncovered more than a hundred dog teeth arranged close together in a grave dated to between 2,500 and 2,200 B.C. According to archaeologist Susanne Friederich, the teeth were likely decorations for the outer flap of a handbag... The dog teeth were found during excavations of the 250-acre (100-hectare) Profen (map) site, which is slated to become an open-pit coal mine in 2015. So far the project has uncovered evidence of... |
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| Helix, Make Mine a Double | |
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| CSIC recovers part of the genome of 2 hunter-gatherer individuals from 7,000 years ago |
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· 06/30/2012 5:31:29 PM PDT · · Posted by SunkenCiv · · 17 replies · · Eurekalert · · Thursday, June 28, 2012 · · Spanish National Research Council · |
A team of scientists, led by researcher Carles Lalueza-Fox from CSIC (Spanish National Research Council), has recovered -- for the first time in history -- part of the genome of two individuals living in the Mesolithic Period, 7000 years ago. Remains have been found at La BraÃ’a-Arintero site, located at Valdelugueros (León), Spain. The study results, published in the Current Biology magazine, indicate that current Iberian populations don't come from these groups genetically. The Mesolithic Period, framed between the Paleolithic and Neolithic Periods, is characterized by the advent of agriculture, coming from the Middle East. Therefore, the genome found is... |
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| Climate | |
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| 'Britain's Atlantis' found at bottom of North sea -- a huge undersea world swallowed by the sea... |
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· 07/06/2012 10:07:44 PM PDT · · Posted by SunkenCiv · · 33 replies · · Daily Mail (UK) · · Monday, July 2, 2012 · · Rob Waugh · |
Doggerland, a huge area of dry land that stretched from Scotland to Denmark was slowly submerged by water between 18,000 BC and 5,500 BC. Divers from oil companies have found remains of a 'drowned world' with a population of tens of thousands -- which might once have been the 'real heartland' of Europe. A team of climatologists, archaeologists and geophysicists has now mapped the area using new data from oil companies -- and revealed the full extent of a 'lost land' once roamed by mammoths... The research suggests that the populations of these drowned lands could have been tens of... |
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| Middle Ages & Renaissance | |
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| Caravaggio Discovery: to Find 100 New Works Is Simply Astonishing |
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· 07/05/2012 6:41:55 PM PDT · · Posted by nickcarraway · · 13 replies · · The Telegraph · · 05 Jul 2012 · · Mark Hudson · |
Telegraph critic Mark Hudson wonders at the possible discovery of 100 Caravaggio works in Italy and says if confirmed it could throw fresh light on the artist's reputationThe prospect of a hundred newly discovered works by any great artist of the past is little short of astonishing. The entire oeuvres of several of great figures -- Vermeer and Giorgione for example -- barely gets into double figures. When you think that 200 works is a pretty respectable total for the average, world-changing old master, then the prospect of an extra hundred constitutes a massive increase, that is likely to significantly... |
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| Finiculi, Finicula | |
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| Tuscan village on sale on Ebay for 2.5 million euros |
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· 07/05/2012 3:34:27 AM PDT · · Posted by SunkenCiv · · 22 replies · · Medievalists.net · · June 28, 2012 · · unattributed · |
A medieval village, set in the Tuscan hills of Italy among castles and monasteries, can be yours for €2.5 million. Pratariccia, which is situated about 25 miles east of Florence, has now been put on sale through ebay, the popular online shopping website. The village consists of 25 homes and eight hectares of land. The village has been abandoned for over fifty years, so many of the buildings are in a ruined state and electricity lines would need to be established. Also, no roads exist that lead to the village. Local estate agent Carlo Magni said in an interview, "It's... |
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| Paleontology | |
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| "Beautiful" Squirrel-Tail Dinosaur Fossil Upends Feather Theory |
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· 07/03/2012 4:40:01 AM PDT · · Posted by Renfield · · 63 replies · · National Geographic · · 7-2-2012 · · Christine Dell'Amore · |
A newfound squirrel-tailed specimen is the oldest known meat-eating dinosaur with feathers, according to a new study. The late-Jurassic discovery, study authors say, strikes down the image of dinosaurs as "overgrown lizards." Unearthed recently from a Bavarian limestone quarry, the "exquisitely preserved" 150-million-year-old fossil has been dubbed Sciurumimus albersdoerferi -- "Scirius" being the scientific name for tree squirrels. Sciurumimus was likely a young megalosaur, a group of large, two-legged meat-eating dinosaurs. The hatchling had a large skull, short hind limbs, and long, hairlike plumage on its midsection, back, and tail... |
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| Dinosaurs | |
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| Dinosaurs were Warm-blooded Reptiles |
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· 07/02/2012 5:46:24 PM PDT · · Posted by null and void · · 22 replies · · Scientific Computing · · 6/29/12 · |
Reconstruction of a dinosaur from the Catalan pre-Pyrenees, about 70 milion years ago. Courtesy of "scar Sanisidro. A study of extant mammals refutes the hypothesis that dinosaurs were ectotherms. The work was carried out by researchers from ICP and UAB. It has been published in Nature. The study analyzed the lines of arrested growth (LAG) in the bones of around a hundred ruminants, representative of the specific and ecological diversity of that group of mammals. The results show that the presence of these lines is not an indicator of ectothermic physiology (does not generate internal heat), as had previously been... |
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| The Civil War | |
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| Incredible 3D Stereoscopic Civil War Photos |
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· 07/07/2012 1:11:19 PM PDT · · Posted by DogByte6RER · · 29 replies · · Wild Ammo · · Eric S · |
Incredible 3D Stereoscopic Civil War Photos Stereoscopic images basically involve taking 2 or more static images, from slightly different angles, to create a 3D effect that tricks the eye into noticing the depth of field, angles and perspective of the image. Thus, it's possible to take a flat image and create 3D depth to it. When applied to older photographs, it's an amazing technique, because it brings life to history. Take for example, these Civil War photographs that use a stereoscopic effect! |
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| World War Eleven | |
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| In South Pacific, search is on for Amelia Earhart's plane |
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· 07/04/2012 11:17:03 PM PDT · · Posted by Rabin · · 10 replies · · Stars & Stripes · · July 4, 2012 · · Laura J. Nelson · |
"I have a feeling that there is just about one more good flight left in my system, and I hope this trip is it," Earhart said before she left. Now, a group of historians, salvage workers and scientists think they know |
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| Thoroughly Modern Miscellany | |
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| Churchill, puffing on cigar and wearing dashing aviator glasses while being tailed by the Luftwaffe |
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· 07/08/2012 6:16:40 PM PDT · · Posted by Dysart · · 43 replies · · Daily Mail · · 7-8-12 · · Chris Parsons · |
Flight Officer Ron Buck kept back his own pictures from the trip that was later described as the 'Most Daring Flight of the Whole War.' Churchill had crossed the Atlantic by ship in order to lobby President Roosevelt, but rashly decided to fly home from Bermuda. With some of his most senior colleagues, the Prime Minister embarked on what was to become a perilous 18 hours flight. |
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| Longer Perspectives | |
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| What John Roberts really did for us |
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· 06/30/2012 11:52:15 AM PDT · · Posted by Starman417 · · 105 replies · · Flopping Aces · · 06-30-12 · · DrJohn · |
Pyrrhus was king of the Hellenistic kingdom of Epirus whose costly military successes against Macedonia and Rome gave rise to the phrase' Pyrrhic victory'. In 281 BC Tarentum, a Greek colony in southern Italy, asked his assisstance against Rome. Pyrrhus crossed to Italy with 25,000 men and 20 elephants. He won a complete, but costly, victory over a Roman army at Heraclea. In 279 Pyrrhus, again suffering heavy casualties, defeated the Romans at Asculum. His remark 'Another such victory and I shall be ruined' gave name to the term 'Pyrrhic victory' for a victory obtained at to great a... |
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| The Roman Empire | |
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| Superficial similarities between presidents and Roman leaders -- kinda cool, ultimately meaningless |
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· 03/13/2009 12:53:09 AM PDT · · Posted by Jubal Harshaw · · 5 replies · · 559+ views · · class="attrib">having too much time on my hands · · now · · me · |
I was just going over a list of Roman leaders, and was struck by similarities to our own leadership over the recent decades. I started with Nixon, and this is what I have: Caesar had a history that was superficially like Nixon's: Julius Caesar came to leadership during the Roman "social wars," a time of, well, social warring and unrest. Granted, the nominal issues during the Roman social wars were different than the issues raised during the American internal unrest of the late 1960s and early 1970s, but the widespread civil violence was a point of similarity. Both Caesar and... |
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| Epigraphy & Language | |
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| Metal Detector Hobbyists Find Rare Heap Of Celtic Coins |
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· 07/01/2012 4:57:12 PM PDT · · Posted by nickcarraway · · 25 replies · · NPR · · 6/30/2012 · |
June 30, 2012 For more than 30 years, Richard Miles and Reg Mead scoured the fields of their native Jersey with metal detectors, hoping to one day come across an ancient coin or two. Earlier this week, the detector beeped and they found the world's largest-ever stash of Celtic coins. Host Scott Simon speaks with Reg Mead about their find. SCOTT SIMON, HOST: Reg Mead and Richard Miles began to scour a field on their home island of Jersey... |
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| Oh So Mysteriouso | |
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| Buried "treasure" in Southeastern Pennsylvania Freeper help needed |
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· 07/01/2012 6:03:48 PM PDT · · Posted by OL Hickory · · 19 replies · · treasureNet · · June-2012 · · SEPaMAN · |
Family tradition has it that my grandfather buried numerous hoards throughout the township, however we have only one set of clues. Whenever I searched for the hoard I usually swept the area with a metal detector in case any other treasures happened to be near. My father, who I believe was in the know, said that the location of the hoard was a clue to finding other buried caches - one of them in a barrow containing my grandfather! |
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| Common Criminals | |
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| Former church caretaker arrested for the Codex Calixtinus theft -- manuscript recovered |
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· 07/05/2012 2:58:40 AM PDT · · Posted by SunkenCiv · · 2 replies · · Medievalists.net · · Wednesday, July 4, 2012 · · unattributed · |
A former caretaker of the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, along with his wife, son, and another women, have been arrested by Spanish police in connection with the theft of the Codex Calixtinus, an important 12th-century manuscript. The manuscript has not yet been recovered, but police believe that they will soon find it. The Director General of Police, Ignacio Cosido, said in an interview, "I think we're in the right direction to solve the case. The investigation is ongoing, but the main objective is to find the Codex." The police have also recovered ?1.2m in cash, eight other copies of... |
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| Biology & Cryptobiology | |
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| U.S. Government: No Evidence of Aquatic Humanoids (i.e., "Mermaids") Has Ever Been Found. |
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· 07/03/2012 8:51:47 AM PDT · · Posted by DogByte6RER · · 38 replies · · NOAA · · July 2012 · · NOAA · |
No evidence of aquatic humanoids has ever been found. Mermaids -- those half-human, half-fish sirens of the sea -- are legendary sea creatures chronicled in maritime cultures since time immemorial. The ancient Greek epic poet Homer wrote of them in The Odyssey. In the ancient Far East, mermaids were the wives of powerful sea-dragons, and served as trusted messengers between their spouses and the emperors on land. The aboriginal people of Australia call mermaids yawkyawks -- a name that may refer to their mesmerizing songs. The belief in mermaids may have arisen at the very dawn of our species. Magical... |
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| end of digest #416 20120707 | |
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