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| Gods, Graves, Glyphs Weekly Digest #267 Saturday, August 29, 2009 |
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| Africa | |
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| German Archaeologists Labor to Solve Mystery of the Nok[Nigeria] |
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· 08/22/2009 11:10:05 AM PDT · · Posted by BGHater · · 32 replies · · 669+ views · · Spiegel · · 21 Aug 2009 · · Matthias Schulz · |
Some 2,500 years ago, a mysterious culture emerged in Nigeria. The Nok people left behind bizarre terracotta statues -- and little else. German archaeologists are now looking for more clues to explain this obscure culture. Half a ton of pottery shards is piled on the tables in Peter Breunig's workroom on the sixth floor of the University of Frankfurt am Main. There are broken pots, other storage vessels, a clay lizard and fragments of clay faces with immense nostrils. The chipped head of a statue depicts an African man with a moustache, a fixed glare and hair piled high up... |
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| Oh So Mysteriouso | |
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| Masonic Lodges Open Those Mysterious Doors |
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· 08/26/2009 9:58:37 AM PDT · · Posted by BGHater · · 47 replies · · 886+ views · · The New York Times · · 20 Aug 2009 · · EVE M. KAHN · |
A replica of a mildewed 14th- century scroll has been unfurled and displayed at a library in New York. An eagle clutching arrows and ribbons, on a tattered flag made around 1803, has just been restored and framed for viewing at a Philadelphia museum. Near Boston a museum exhibition decodes cryptic symbols like compasses and columns embossed on metal badges and embroidered onto aprons. That the public is now being enthusiastically shown these previously hidden-away items indicates that Freemasons in America are trying to shed their reclusive, somewhat fusty image. Tour guides at the groups' lavishly ornamented lodges, mostly built... |
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| Archaeoastronomy and Megaliths | |
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| Timber Structure Older than Stonehenge Found in London |
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· 08/26/2009 3:43:21 PM PDT · · Posted by rdl6989 · · 18 replies · · 554+ views · · Livescience.com · · 13 August 2009 · |
Archaeologists have unexpectedly uncovered London's oldest timber structure, which predates Stonehenge by about 500 years. The structure, apparently a platform or trackway used to make a boggy area more navigable, was found during the excavation of a prehistoric peat bog adjacent to Belmarsh Prison in Plumstead, Greenwich, in advance of the construction of a new prison building. Radiocarbon dating has shown the structure to be nearly 6,000 years old, well before Stonehenge was erected. Previously, the oldest timber structure in Greater London was the timber trackway in Silvertown, which has been dated to 3340 to 2910 B.C., about 700 years... |
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| Age of Sail | |
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| Briton found America in 1499 |
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· 08/29/2009 12:03:39 AM PDT · · Posted by OldSpice · · 19 replies · · 528+ views · · The Daily Mirror · · 29 Aug., 2009 · · By Tom Pettifor · |
The first Briton sailed to the New World only seven years after Columbus, a long-lost royal letter reveals.Written by Henry VII 510 years ago, it suggests Bristol merchant William Weston headed for America in 1499.In his letter the king, right, instructs his Chancellor to suspend an injunction against Weston because "he will shortly with God's grace, pass and sail for to search and find if he can the new found land". Bristol University's Dr Evan Jones believes it was probably the earliest attempt to find the North-West Passage - the searoute around North America to the Pacific. He said: "Henry's... |
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| Barbary Pirates | |
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| Navy Historian Traces Rise of Piracy |
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· 08/28/2009 4:12:17 PM PDT · · Posted by SandRat · · 3 replies · · 155+ views · · American Forces Press Service · · Judith Snyderman · |
Pirates often are in the news for their criminal activities at sea, but their antics are far from new. Pirates have been around since man first took to the high seas, and a type of sea raider known as a privateer made a mark between the 15th and 19th centuries. Michael Crawford, a senior Navy historian, traced the rise of privateering and touched on strategies to combat modern pirates during an Aug. 24 "DoDLive" bloggers roundtable. "A privateer is a private man of war who has a license from his sovereign government to attack the... |
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| Navigation | |
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| Viking silver treasure hoard worth £1m unearthed after 1,000 years[UK] |
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· 08/28/2009 10:16:13 AM PDT · · Posted by BGHater · · 12 replies · · 653+ views · · The Daily Mail · · 28 Aug 2009 · · Daily Mail · |
An impressive Viking hoard of jewellery has made a father and son metal-detector team £1m, after being bought by two British museums. The find, which is the 'largest and most important' since 1840, was found in a field in Harrogate, North Yorkshire in January 2007. It had been buried there for more than 1,000 years. Valued at £1,082,000, the hoard was purchased by the British Museum and the York Museum Trust after two years of fundraising. The highlight of the collection is an intricately carved silver cup, estimated to be worth more than £200,000. It contains 617coins and various silver... |
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| British Isles | |
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| beacons |
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· 08/28/2009 7:06:53 PM PDT · · Posted by franksolich · · 8 replies · · 180+ views · · conservativecave · · August 28, 2009 · · franksolich · |
I just got done reading a book about England during the Dark Ages. By the way, there exists startling similarities between Ethelred the Unready ("unready" in this sense meaning "uncounseled") and Pa Kettle in the White House; in fact, one can predict Pa Kettle's foreign policy strategy by reading of Ethelred's. Anyway. There is much mention of military communications during this period (say, circa 500-1066 A.D.), which was facilitated by lighting beacons. Apparently it took a rider on a fast horse four days to get from the North of England to London, but with the use of beacons, messages could... |
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| Middle Ages and Renaissance | |
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| 1000 year old marks in tree found near Prague |
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· 08/28/2009 11:50:37 AM PDT · · Posted by BGHater · · 12 replies · · 442+ views · · DiscoveryON · · 21 Aug 2009 · · DO · |
Czech archaeologists have uncovered a unique 1000-year-old mark engraved into an oak tree the remains of which were found near Celakovice in Prague, which is probably the oldest preserved sign of this kind in the world. According to a report from the Czech News Agency, the real meaning of the 10-cm star-shaped mark on the oak trunk is not certain. Experts say it may have marked the territory or serve some iconic purposes. This find is rare as so old engraved signs were not previously mapped and they are not systematically searched for either, archaeologist Jana Marikova of the Academy... |
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| Scotland Yet | |
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| How a wood carver cracked the code to secret royal Renaissance song |
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· 08/27/2009 5:40:25 PM PDT · · Posted by Daffynition · · 30 replies · · 1,048+ views · · Timesonline.uk · · August 27, 2009 · · Mike Wade · |
In the depths of Stirling Castle a secret code has lain hidden in the king's bedchamber for almost half a millennium. Peering down from the ceiling of the apartments of James V of Scotland, mysterious markings carved in a wooden panel have revealed a musical score written in code around the edge. The Renaissance carving of an unknown woman is only one of 56 oak roundels that adorned the king's chambers, but it is believed to contain the first written example of harmonic musical notation found in Scotland. A wood carver, commissioned to make exact replicas of the panels, noticed... |
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| Freestyle Swim Team | |
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| 300-year-old shackles may hold ghoulish tale |
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· 08/26/2009 3:25:54 PM PDT · · Posted by decimon · · 8 replies · · 532+ views · · Reuters · · Aug 26, 2009 · · Stefano Ambrogi · |
This 18-pound (8-kilogram) iron ball-and-chain set was found in the mud on the banks of the Thames River and is thought to date to the 17th or 18th century. LONDON - An iron ball and chain found on the banks of London's River Thames is causing a stir among archaeologists who say the 300-year-old artifact used to restrain convicts on ships may have a gruesome story to tell. The leg irons, believed to date from the 17th or 18th century, were pulled from the mud with the lock fastened, suggesting a convict could have drowned while trying to escape. |
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| Anatolia | |
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| Pergamon: City of Science ... and Satan? |
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· 08/28/2009 6:52:34 PM PDT · · Posted by SunkenCiv · · 20 replies · · 406+ views · · Biblical Archaeology Review · · August 2009 (-ish) · · Sarah Yeomans · |
Although the majority of its superb intact monuments now sit in Berlin's Pergamon Museum, enough remains of the acropolis for the visitor to sense the former greatness of the city that once rivaled Alexandria, Ephesus and Antioch in culture and commerce, and whose scientific advancements in the field of medicine resonate through the corridors of today's medical treatment facilities. Juxtaposed sharply against this image of enlightened learning is that of "Satan's Throne," as described by the prophet John of Patmos (Revelation 2:12-13), which some scholars interpret as referring to the Great Altar of Pergamon, one of the most magnificent surviving... |
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| Alexander the Great | |
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| Ancient burial site discovered in Greece |
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· 08/28/2009 12:40:36 PM PDT · · Posted by decimon · · 11 replies · · 337+ views · · Associated Press · · Aug 28, 2009 · · Unknown · |
Archaeologists say they have found a lavish burial site while excavating the ancient Macedonian capital in northern Greece. The find in the ruins of Aigai was made a few meters from last year's remarkable discovery of what experts say could be the bones of Alexander the Great's murdered teenage son. |
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| Rome and Greece | |
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| Byzantium - the English Connection |
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· 08/27/2009 12:24:58 PM PDT · · Posted by Nikas777 · · 14 replies · · 364+ views · · stevenlo@bigpond.net.au · · 30th May 2001 · · Steven Lowe · |
Byzantium - the English Connection By Steven Lowe In 330 AD, when Britain was still a Roman possession and the ancestors of the English race had not yet appeared on the scene, Emperor Constantine the Great built a new capital for the Roman Empire. The great new city was built on the site of the old Greek port of Byzantion. With typical lack of modesty, the Emperor re-named it Constantinople, after himself. For over 11 centuries it was the capital of the Empire we now call Byzantium -- the richest, most powerful in Christendom. It was the largest and most... |
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| Syria: 5th century skeleton found in Byzantine cathedral |
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· 08/25/2009 9:34:25 AM PDT · · Posted by Nikas777 · · 34 replies · · 447+ views · · english.globalarabnetwork.com · · Saturday, 15 August 2009 13:23 · · Maha Karim · |
Syria: 5th century skeleton found in Byzantine cathedral Edited by Maha Karim Saturday, 15 August 2009 13:23 A cathedral with a skeleton remains in it, dating back to the Byzantine era, was unearthed by the Syrian excavation team in Tal Al-Hasaka site, north eastern Syria. The cathedral ,which dates back to the Early Christianity Era, is 18 meters long, and includes a four meter wide northern hall, a 6.5 meter wide middle hall and a three meter wide southern hall, Al-Hasaka Archeology Director Abdul-Maseeh Baghdo said in a press release on Saturday. It also includes two column bases, and the... |
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| Bulgarian Archaeologists Discover Unique Medieval Byzantine Seal |
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· 08/25/2009 9:28:10 AM PDT · · Posted by Nikas777 · · 10 replies · · 287+ views · · novinite.com · · August 21, 2009, Friday · |
Bulgarian archaeologist, Prof. Kazimir Popkonstantinov, has discovered a unique medieval seal at the site of the Knyazhevski (i.e. "Princely") Monastery near the Eastern city of Varna. The seal is dated back to the 10th century and belonged to the Byzantine dignitary Antonius, who was an imperial protospatario in Constantinople. Antonius had correspondence with a representative of the Knyazhevski Monastery, who is believed to have been the Bulgarian Knyaz (i.e. king) Boris I (r. 852-889 AD) himself. The team of archaeologist Popkonstantinov from the University of Veliko Tarnovo... |
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| Rome and Germany | |
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| Gold-plated Roman horse head found (near Frankfurt) |
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· 08/27/2009 5:11:35 PM PDT · · Posted by decimon · · 12 replies · · 438+ views · · Associated Press · · Aug 27, 2009 · · Unknown · |
Scientists say a Roman horse head made from bronze and plated in gold has been discovered at an archaeological site in Germany. Hesse state archaeologist Egon Schallmeyer says the head is part of a horse and rider statue and "qualitatively one of the best (pieces) created at that time." |
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| 2,000-year-old statue of Emperor Augustus on horseback found in stream |
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· 08/27/2009 5:34:15 PM PDT · · Posted by SunkenCiv · · 24 replies · · 838+ views · · The Local: Germany's news in English · · Thursday, August 27, 2009 · · unattributed · |
Hessian Science Minister Eva Kühne-Hörmann on Thursday presented fragments of a 2,000-year-old bronze equestrian statue of Roman Emperor Augustus found recently in a stream near Giessen. "The find has meaning beyond Hesse and the north Alpine region due to its quality and provenance," Kühne-Hörmann said during the presentation with state archaeologist Dr. Egon Schallmayer and Director of the Roman-German Commission Dr. Friedrich Lüth. "We've rediscovered the remnants of early European history. The unique horse head is a witness to the broken dream of the Romans to create a united Europe under their rule," she added. On August 12, archaeologists pulled... |
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| Religion of Peace | |
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| Digging up the Saudi past: some would rather not |
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· 08/27/2009 5:20:37 PM PDT · · Posted by SunkenCiv · · 12 replies · · 363+ views · · Newsday · · August 26, 2009 · · Donna Abu-Nasr (contribution by Lee Keath) · |
[this is an AP-sourced story which begins by comparing the well-known UN Heritage site Petra, which is in Jordan and a huge tourist attraction, with Madain Saleh, another lost city of the Nabateans, but basically unknown because it's in Saudi Arabia. It continues by discussing the hostility and vandalism directed at pre-Islamic artifacts and sites in the Kingdom, and a virtual ban on publications regarding them.] |
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| Let's Have Jerusalem | |
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| History in Limbo |
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· 08/28/2009 12:19:12 AM PDT · · Posted by Fred Nerks · · 9 replies · · 235+ views · · Biblical Archaeology Review · · August 2009 · · Hershel Shanks · |
Scholar Blocks Reports of Old Excavations In the late 1960s the ancient synagogue at Ein Gedi, on the shore of the Dead Sea, was excavated by Israeli archaeologist Dan Barag, a student of the great Nahman Avigad. The finds were extraordinary -- two well-preserved mosaic floors on top of one another in the main room, a large mosaic inscription in the entrance corridor, a hoard of Byzantine coins, a disc from a roll of the Torah, a water basin for washing hands and a magnificent bronze menorah. The only problem is that a report on the excavation has never been written -- not even... |
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| Epigraphy and Language | |
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| Cracking the code (Copper Scroll) |
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· 08/25/2009 8:46:46 AM PDT · · Posted by Squidpup · · 25 replies · · 1,257+ views · · Jerusalem Post · · Updated August 24, 2009 · · By SHELLEY NEESE · |
"Shelley, I want you to meet the guy who has cracked the code on the Copper Scroll." With that intriguing introduction, I shook hands with Jim Barfield. We stood among the kiosks of Israeli goods during a lunch break at a Christian Zionist conference in Forth Worth, Texas. "Congratulations," I replied, "but what's the Copper Scroll?" "A treasure map," Barfield answered, "from the prophet Jeremiah." I gave Barfield and his companion a quick once over, trying to determine whether they were the well-intentioned kind of crazy or scary crazy. A small-town Oklahoma man with impressive posture, Barfield sported long (really... |
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| Biology and Cryptobiology | |
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| Proof That the Loch Ness Monster Exists? |
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· 08/26/2009 3:12:15 PM PDT · · Posted by Sopater · · 42 replies · · 1,584+ views · · Fox News · · August 26, 2009 · |
This amazing image on Google Earth could be the elusive proof that the Loch Ness Monster exists. Sun reader Jason Cooke spotted "Nessie" while browsing the Web site's satellite photos. The shape seen on the surface of the 22-mile Scottish loch is 65ft long and appears to have an oval body, a tail and four legs or flippers. |
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| Yo, Canada | |
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| Canadian scientist aims to turn chickens into dinosaurs |
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· 08/25/2009 11:04:37 AM PDT · · Posted by OldDeckHand · · 69 replies · · 729+ views · · Breitbart · · 08/25/08 · · Staff · |
After years spent hunting for the buried remains of prehistoric animals, a Canadian paleontologist now plans to manipulate chicken embryos to show he can create a dinosaur. Hans Larsson, the Canada Research Chair in Macro Evolution at Montreal's McGill University, said he aims to develop dinosaur traits that disappeared millions of years ago in birds. Larsson believes by flipping certain genetic levers during a chicken embryo's development, he can reproduce the dinosaur anatomy, he told AFP in an interview. Though still in its infancy, the research could eventually lead to hatching live prehistoric animals, but Larsson said there are no... |
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| Precolumbian, Clovis, and PreClovis | |
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| New Finds from Messel Pit: Gaping gila monsters, buzzing insects, clambering ungulates |
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· 08/24/2009 3:02:25 PM PDT · · Posted by null and void · · 16 replies · · 412+ views · · Scientific Computing · · 8/24/09 · |
In the annual digs the Senckenberg Research Institute carries out in the Messel Pit, an average of 3,000 fossil remains are recovered from the shale at this UNESCO World Natural Heritage Site. Some particularly well-preserved fossils discovered in 2007 and 2008 were recently exhibited. The world-famous primeval horse browsed at the shores of Lake Messel in the warm, wet climate prevailing at that time (average annual temperature, 25°C). Around the lake, which emerged in a volcanic crater and was surrounded back then by dense primeval forest, early ungulates and rodents lived as well: the ancestors of today's birds flew over... |
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| Paleontology | |
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| Prehistoric mammal swung tail like baseball bat |
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· 08/26/2009 3:56:50 AM PDT · · Posted by decimon · · 12 replies · · 471+ views · · Discovery News · · Aug 25, 2009 · · Jennifer Viegas · |
Enormous prehistoric armored mammals called glyptodonts swung their spiked tails just as athletes swing tennis rackets and baseball bats, according to a new study. These massive animals even had a "sweet spot" on their tails right where the biggest, sharpest spike was situated. The findings about glyptodonts -- which looked like a cross between an armadillo and a Volkswagen beetle car -- apply to dinosaurs that also had spiked tails, the team of researchers believes. |
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| Prehistory and Origins | |
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| Bipedal Humans Came Down From The Trees, Not Up From The Ground |
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· 08/28/2009 4:01:09 PM PDT · · Posted by JoeProBono · · 19 replies · · 412+ views · · sciencedaily · |
A detailed examination of the wrist bones of several primate species challenges the notion that humans evolved their two-legged upright walking style from a knuckle-walking ancestor. The same lines of evidence also suggest that knuckle-walking evolved at least two different times, making gorillas distinct from chimpanzees and bonobos. "We have the most robust data I've ever seen on this topic," said Daniel Schmitt, a Duke University associate professor of evolutionary anthropology. "This model should cause everyone to re-evaluate what they've said before." A report on the findings will appear online during the week of Aug. 10 in the research journal... |
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| Neandertal / Neanderthal | |
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| New Data on the Late Neanderthals: Direct Dating of the Belgian Spy Fossils [PDF] |
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· 08/23/2009 7:08:37 PM PDT · · Posted by SunkenCiv · · 13 replies · · 349+ views · · Universite catholique de Louvain (Belgium) · · September 2008 · · Patrick Semal, Helene Rougier, Isabelle Crevecoeur, Cecile Jungels, Damien Flas, Anne Hauzeur, Bruno Maureille, Mietje Germonpre, Herve Bocherens, Stephane Pirson, Laurence Cammaert, Nora De Clerck, Anne Hambucken, Thomas Higham, Michel Toussaint, and Johannes van der Plicht · |
Abstract: In Eurasia, the period between 40,000 and 30,000 BP saw the replacement of Neandertals by anatomically modern humans (AMH) during and after the Middle to Upper Paleolithic transition. The human fossil record for this period is very poorly defined with no overlap between Neandertals and AMH on the basis of direct dates. Four new 14C dates were obtained on the two adult Neandertals from Spy (Belgium). The results show that Neandertals survived to at least 36,000 BP in Belgium and that the Spy fossils may be associated to the Lincombian-Ranisian-Jerzmanowician, a transitional techno-complex defined in northwest Europe and recognized in the Spy collections. The new data suggest that hypotheses other than Neandertal acculturation by AMH may be considered in this part of Europe. [American Journal of Physical Anthropology, Volume 138 Issue 4, Pages 421-428, Online: November 10, 2008, Received: 23 July 2008; Accepted: 12 September 2008] |
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| Mating Rituals | |
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| Trust in a Teardrop |
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· 08/24/2009 10:06:22 AM PDT · · Posted by Pharmboy · · 5 replies · · 153+ views · · Tel Aviv U. · · Monday, August 24, 2009 · · Anon · |
TAU researcher says tears can help build and strengthen personal relationships Medically, crying is known to be a symptom of physical pain or stress. But now a Tel Aviv University evolutionary biologist looks to empirical evidence showing that tears have emotional benefits and can make interpersonal relationships stronger. New analysis by Dr. Oren Hasson of TAU's Department of Zoology shows that tears still signal physiological distress, but they also function as an evolution-based mechanism to bring people closer together. "Crying is a highly evolved behavior," explains Dr. Hasson. "Tears give clues and reliable information about submission, needs and social attachments... |
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| Not-So-Ancient Autopsies | |
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| The Appendix: Useful and in Fact Promising |
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· 08/25/2009 4:04:39 AM PDT · · Posted by raybbr · · 32 replies · · 619+ views · · news.yahoo.com · · August 24, 2009 · · Charles Q. Choi · |
The body's appendix has long been thought of as nothing more than a worthless evolutionary artifact, good for nothing save a potentially lethal case of inflammation. Now researchers suggest the appendix is a lot more than a useless remnant. Not only was it recently proposed to actually possess a critical function, but scientists now find it appears in nature a lot more often than before thought. And it's possible some of this organ's ancient uses could be recruited by physicians to help the human body fight disease more effectively. In a way, the idea that the appendix is an organ... |
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| Helix, Make Mine a Double | |
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| Earliest Animals Had Human-like Genes |
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· 11/27/2005 7:11:52 AM PST · · Posted by Pharmboy · · 92 replies · · 2,072+ views · · Science Daily · · 2005-11-25 · · Anon · |
Species evolve at very different rates, and the evolutionary line that produced humans seems to be among the slowest. The result, according to a new study by scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory [EMBL], is that our species has retained characteristics of a very ancient ancestor that have been lost in more quickly-evolving animals. This overturns a commonly-held view of the nature of genes in the first animals. The work appears in the current issue of the journal Science. Detlev Arendt (left), Florian Raible and Peer Bork. (Photo Credit: Marietta Schupp, Photolab, EMBL Heidelberg) Genes hold the recipes for... |
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| Longer Perspectives | |
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| A Grand Bargain Over Evolution |
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· 08/23/2009 11:49:00 AM PDT · · Posted by neverdem · · 121 replies · · 1,118+ views · · NY Times · · August 23, 2009 · · ROBERT WRIGHT · |
THE "war" between science and religion is notable for the amount of civil disobedience on both sides. Most scientists and most religious believers refuse to be drafted into the fight. Whether out of a live-and-let-live philosophy, or a belief that religion and science are actually compatible, or a heartfelt indifference to the question, they're choosing to sit this one out. Still, the war continues, and it's not just a sideshow. There are intensely motivated and vocal people on both sides making serious and conflicting claims. There are atheists who go beyond declaring personal disbelief in God and insist that any... |
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| Epidemics, Pandemics, Plagues, the Sniffles | |
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| Human Lifespans Nearly Constant for 2,000 Years |
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· 08/22/2009 1:40:22 PM PDT · · Posted by decimon · · 43 replies · · 782+ views · · Live Science · · Aug 21, 2009 · · Benjamin Radford · |
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, often the harbinger of bad news about e. coli outbreaks and swine flu, recently had some good news: The life expectancy of Americans is higher than ever, at almost 78. Discussions about life expectancy often involve how it has improved over time. According to the National Center for Health Statistics, life expectancy for men in 1907 was 45.6 years; by 1957 it rose to 66.4; in 2007 it reached 75.5. Unlike the most recent increase in life expectancy (which was attributable largely to a decline in half of the leading causes of death... |
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| (Ice) Cubism | |
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| Russia Taunts Sweden With Military Prowess Before Soccer Duel |
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· 06/18/2008 6:31:31 AM PDT · · Posted by NativeNewYorker · · 30 replies · · 180+ views · · upi via email no link · · 6/18/8 · |
June 18 (UPI) -- Russian state television taunted Sweden with past military victories before the two countries vie for a place in the quarterfinals of Euro 2008, the continent's most prestigious soccer tournament. Vesti-24, the government's cable channel, played a commercial every half-hour today using Soviet-era movie footage of Russian soldiers killing Swedes during Peter the Great's victory over Charles XII in 1709 and Alexander Nevsky's defeat of invaders in 1240. Each scene was followed by a scorecard reading -- -- Russia 1 Sweden 0'' and accompanied by the theme to the movie -- -- Gladiator.'' -- -- It's part of a revival of Russian nationalism,''... |
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| Let's celebrate Peter the Great! |
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· 06/07/2009 11:56:22 AM PDT · · Posted by WesternCulture · · 38 replies · · 1,208+ views · · 06/07/2009 · · WesternCulture · |
1709 was an interesting year. Back then, USA didn't even exist. Scandinavia of those days, naturally, was dark and gloomy. We drank too much Absolut and suicide was frequent. Furthermore, we all believed in Socialism. That pretty much explains the fact that today two of the world's 20 richest men are Swedes (no, Sweden doesn't have oil). But let's forget about Forbes and study Peter the Great instead. 300 years ago, Peter the Great burned Russian soil in panic. 300 years ago, in 1709, Sweden was "defeated" at Poltava. 300 years ago, Sweden survived a major North European conflict while... |
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| Ukraine commemorates defeat of Sweden at Poltava |
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· 06/29/2009 3:01:57 PM PDT · · Posted by Bushwacker777 · · 17 replies · · 541+ views · · The Local · · June 28, 2009 · · AFP/The Local · |
"Ukrainian and Russian officials commemorated the 300th anniversary of the defeat of Sweden at the battle of Poltava with the unveiling of a new memorial on Saturday. The commemoration ceremonies showed that the victory, which marked the beginning of Russian imperial dominance of eastern Europe, continues to cause controversy over how history should be remembered. High-profile delegations, including Kremlin administration chief Sergei Naryshkin and top Ukrainian presidency officials, inaugurated a memorial to soldiers killed in the battle and placed garlands in front of local monuments. "After the battle of Poltava... no-one on the European continent could ignore Russia's political will,"... |
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| 'Swedes are Stupid': Norwegian Professor |
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· 08/10/2009 2:32:57 PM PDT · · Posted by nickcarraway · · 32 replies · · 1,186+ views · · The Local · · 10 Aug 09 · |
A retired Norwegian linguistics professor has described Swedes as "stupid" for not being able to understand Norwegian. Norwegians have no problem with Swedish, the professor points out. Finn-Erik Vinje has caused an escalation in what is promising to become an all out language war, by publishing a post on his blog last week asking, "Why are Swedes so stupid?". The citation, Vinje writes, is taken from a publication written 60 years ago but, he claims, remains a relevant question today. The basis of Vinje's assertion is that Swedish viewers of Himmelbå, a Norwegian television series based on the British production... |
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| Death and Taxes, Nothin' Else | |
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| The definition of socialism |
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· 08/23/2009 7:28:42 AM PDT · · Posted by Military family member · · 15 replies · · 351+ views · · Merriam-Webster Dictionary online · · 8/23/2009 · · Merriam-Webster Dictionary · |
...any of various economic and political theories advocating collective or governmental ownership and administration of the means of production and distribution of goods 2 a : a system of society or group living in which there is no private property b : a system or condition of society in which the means of production are owned and controlled by the state 3 : a stage of society in Marxist theory transitional between capitalism and communism and distinguished by unequal distribution of goods and pay according to work... |
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| Early America | |
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| (On this day in history) The Tornado and the Burning of Washington DC |
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· 08/25/2009 11:30:49 AM PDT · · Posted by RDTF · · 10 replies · · 575+ views · · Weatherbook · |
During the summer of 1814, British warships sailed into the Chesapeake Bay and headed towards Washington. The warships sailed up the Patuxent River and anchored at Benedict, Maryland on August 19, 1814. Over 4,500 British soldiers landed and marched towards Washington. The British mission was to capture Washington and seek revenge for the burning of their British Capitol in Canada, for which they held the United States responsible. A force of 7,000 Americans was hastily assembled near the Potomac River to defend Washington. During the afternoon of August 24, in 100°F heat, the two armies clashed. The British Army quickly... |
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| The Civil War | |
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| Grave found of man who bankrolled Confederates in American civil war |
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· 08/26/2009 8:21:14 AM PDT · · Posted by Nikas777 · · 59 replies · · 925+ views · · guardian.co.uk · · Monday 10 August 2009 10.16 BST · · Maev Kennedy · |
Academic uncovers lost London resting place of Charles Kuhn Prioleau, and the forgotten story of Confederate support in Britain Maev Kennedy guardian.co.uk, Monday 10 August 2009 10.16 BST The grave of a man who bankrolled the Confederate side in the American civil war, and ended up costing the British government £3.3m in compensation to the victorious north, has been tracked down in a patch of brambles in a London cemetery. Charles Kuhn Prioleau, a cotton merchant born in Charleston, South Carolina, was based in Liverpool during the war, from 1861 to 1865. He disappeared from history in a bonfire of... |
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| World War Eleven | |
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| Florence's prisoner of war camp (Arizona in WII) |
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· 08/28/2009 5:58:18 PM PDT · · Posted by SandRat · · 9 replies · · 192+ views · · Arizona Daily Star · · Elaine Raines · |
The men arrived on troop trains that came in the night. They all wore heavy coats with a big P on the shoulder and they would be spending the duration of World War II at the prisoner of war camp in Florence. It was one of more than ten such camps in Arizona. Star filesThe view from the guard tower of the camp in 46. The first prisoners who arrived in Florence, about 70 miles northwest of Tucson, were Italian POWs. That was in May 1943. But, following Italy's surrender in early September of that year, the prisoners were shipped... |
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| Underwater Archaeology | |
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| South Bay Shipwrecks |
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· 08/27/2009 4:44:50 PM PDT · · Posted by TruthHound · · 6 replies · · 289+ views · · Daily Breeze · |
Interactive map at link. |
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| Thoroughly Modern Miscellany | |
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| Text of KGB Letter on Senator Ted Kennedy |
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· 12/31/2006 5:29:51 AM PST · · Posted by Cincinatus' Wife · · 157 replies · · 16,710+ views · · The Crusader - Ronald Reagan and the Fall of Communism · · 2006 · · Paul Kengor (excerpt - Appendix Page 317) · |
Text of KGB Letter on Senator Ted Kennedy Special Importance Committee on State Security of the USSR 14.05.1983 No. 1029 Ch/OV Moscow Regarding Senator Kennedy's request to the General Secretary of the Communist Party Comrade Y.V. Andropov Comrade Y.V. Andropov On 9-10 May of this year, Senator Edward Kennedy's close friend and trusted confidant J. Tunney was in Moscow. The senator charged Tunney to convey the following message, through confidential contacts, to the General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, Y. Andropov: Senator Kennedy, like other rational people, is very troubled by the... |
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| end of digest #267 20090829 | |
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· Saturday, August 29, 2009 · 41 topics · 2327271 to 2312836 · 721 members · |
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Saturday |
Welcome to the 267th issue. We've risen to 721 members after a few weeks of ennui. Welcome to all newbies, and in case I've neglected to do so, welcome to all, uh, recentees. And wth, as long as I'm coining, re-welcome to everyone on both the digest and regular GGG ping lists. |
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| Gods, Graves, Glyphs Weekly Digest #268 Saturday, September 5, 2009 |
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| The City of David (iow, 'Civ sez this ain't Canaanite) | |
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| Israeli archaeologists find ancient fortification (3700-year-old Canaanite 26-foot tall stone wall) |
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· 09/02/2009 9:11:03 AM PDT · · Posted by NormsRevenge · · 27 replies · · 761+ views · · AP on Yahoo · · 9/2/09 · · Jen Thomas - ap · |
JERUSALEM -- Archaeologists digging in Jerusalem have uncovered a 3,700-year-old wall that is the oldest example of massive fortifications ever found in the city, the Israel Antiquities Authority said Wednesday. The 26-foot-high wall is believed to have been part of a protected passage built by ancient Canaanites from a hilltop fortress to a nearby spring that was the city's only water source and vulnerable to marauders. The discovery marks the first time archaeologists have found such massive construction from before the time of Herod, the ruler behind numerous monumental projects in the city 2,000 years ago, and shows that Jerusalem... |
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| Neandertal / Neanderthal | |
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| White Europeans evolved only "5,500 years ago' |
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· 08/30/2009 10:40:35 AM PDT · · Posted by decimon · · 145 replies · · 2,204+ views · · The Sunday Times · · August 30, 2009 · · Jonathan Leake · |
White Europeans could have evolved as recently as 5,500 years ago, according to research which suggests that the early humans who populated Britain and Scandinavia had dark skins for millenniums. It was only when early humans gave up hunter-gathering and switched to farming about 5,500 years ago that white skin began to be favoured, say the researchers. This is because farmed food was deficient in vitamin D, a vital nutrient. Humans can make this in their skin when exposed to sunlight, but dark skin is much less efficient at it. In places such as northern Europe, where sunlight levels are... |
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| Why Did People Become White? |
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· 09/02/2009 12:47:20 PM PDT · · Posted by SeekAndFind · · 137 replies · · 2,124+ views · · Live Science · · 9/2/2009 · · Heather Whipps · |
Humans come in a rainbow of hues, from dark chocolate browns to nearly translucent whites. This full kaleidoscope of skin colors was a relatively recent evolutionary development, according to biologists, occuring alongside the migration of modern humans out of Africa between 100,000 and 50,000 years ago. The consensus among scientists has always been that lower levels of vitamin D at higher latitudes -- where the sun is less intense -- caused the lightening effect when modern humans, who began darker-skinned, first migrated north. But other factors might be at work, a new study suggests. From the varying effects of frostbite... |
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| Shhh! | |
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| Failing the IQ Test |
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· 09/02/2009 4:18:00 PM PDT · · Posted by Bob017 · · 8 replies · · 506+ views · · The American Conservative · · 1 October 2009 Issue · · Jason Richwine · |
Sociobiology has long been a sore spot for the Left, and with good reason. Our fundamental traits have a firm biological basis, shaped as they are by complex gene-environment interactions. And the more we discover how firmly ingrained our abilities, attitudes, and behaviors tend to be, the less plausible leftist social-intervention programs become. No biological trait threatens that agenda more than intelligence. With standard IQ tests, we can measure and rank people on a continuum, allowing us to make reasonable predictions about their success in life. Granted, a good IQ score is not the whole story of a person's life -- not... |
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| Ancient Autopsies | |
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| The Mystery Behind the 5,000 Year Old Tarim Mummies |
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· 08/31/2009 2:18:47 PM PDT · · Posted by BGHater · · 28 replies · · 1,019+ views · · Environmental Graffiti · · 31 Aug 2009 · · EG · |
A Tarim Basin mummy photographed circa 1910 Photo: Aurel Stein The door creaked open, and there in the gloom of the newly opened room, perfectly preserved despite the passing of thousands of years, a red-haired mummy with Caucasian features stared back. It was a life-changing moment for archaeologist Professor Victor Mair, and ten years on it still gave him chills. Mair had stumbled upon the recently discovered corpses of a man and his family in a museum in the Chinese city of ‹r¸mqi, but the shock waves of the find would be felt far and wide. The 3000-year-old Cherchen... |
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| Precolumbian, Clovis, and PreClovis | |
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| Anthropology assistant professor uncovers genetic patterns |
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· 09/04/2009 11:58:25 AM PDT · · Posted by BGHater · · 5 replies · · 251+ views · · OU Daily · · 03 Sep 2009 · · Jared Rader · |
New reseach challenges previous theories of continent population New questions of human origin could shed light on what makes groups of people more or less prone to certain diseases, an OU researcher has found. Cecil Lewis, assistant professor of anthropology and director of the OU Molecular Anthropology laboratory, studied genetic diversity among American populations. His research is not only groundbreaking for anthropology but it could also affect future health research. "I made a number of surprising discoveries, some of which actually applied to the Americas as a whole," Lewis said. Lewis' research, which was recently published in the American Journal... |
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| Helix, Make Mine a Double | |
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| Dogs descended from wolf pack on Yangtze river |
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· 09/04/2009 2:58:00 AM PDT · · Posted by decimon · · 39 replies · · 613+ views · · Telegraph · · Sep 2, 2009 · · Unknown · |
Today's dogs are all descended from a pack of wolves tamed 16,000 years ago on the shores of the Yangtze river, according to new research. It was previously known that the birthplace of the dog was eastern Asia but historians were not able to be more precise than that. However, now researchers have made a number of new discoveries about the history of man's best friend - including that the dog appeared about 16,000 years ago south of the Yangtze river in China. It has also been discovered that even though the dog has a single geographical origin it descends... |
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| Agriculture and Animal Husbandry | |
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| Europe's first farmers replaced their Stone Age hunter-gatherer forerunners |
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· 09/03/2009 11:47:19 AM PDT · · Posted by decimon · · 27 replies · · 357+ views · · University College London · · Sep 3, 2009 · · Unknown · |
Analysis of ancient DNA from skeletons suggests that Europe's first farmers were not the descendants of the people who settled the area after the retreat of the ice sheets. Instead, the early farmers probably migrated into major areas of central and eastern Europe about 7,500 years ago, bringing domesticated plants and animals with them, says Barbara Bramanti from Mainz University in Germany and colleagues. The researchers analyzed DNA from hunter-gatherer and early farmer burials, and compared those to each other and to the DNA of modern Europeans. They conclude that there is little evidence of a direct genetic link between... |
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| Central Asia | |
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| Struggle to save the apple's Asian birthplace |
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· 09/04/2009 8:24:28 PM PDT · · Posted by SunkenCiv · · 11 replies · · 187+ views · · Telegraph · · August 21, 2009 · · Richard Spencer in the Zailijskei Alatau Mountains · |
The common ancestor of all the Granny Smiths and Cox's Orange Pippins still grows on some of the world's most beautiful but little known mountainsides in the former Soviet Republic of Kazakhstan. The discovery of the "Garden of Eden" in Central Asia has triggered efforts to save what remains of the forests, always known for their abundance of wild fruit. Once under assault by Soviet agricultural planners, they are now menaced by the wealth of oil capitalism and as much as 80 per cent has disappeared. "In earlier historical times there were vast mixed fruit forests across the area," said... |
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| Epidemics, Pandemics, Plagues, the Sniffles | |
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| VIDEO: Paris Catacombs "Dense in Death" |
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· 09/03/2009 7:01:42 PM PDT · · Posted by SunkenCiv · · 27 replies · · 451+ views · · National Geographic News · · August 25, 2009 · · unattributed · |
In underground passageways that snake underneath the French capital, nearly six million people who died of disease in the Middle Ages share a final resting place. The vaults, packed with skulls and bones dating from as far back as the Middle Ages, are located on Paris' Left Bank near Place Denfert Rochereau... and are part of the nearly 185 miles of underground passageways that are believed to be part of the catacombs network. ...John Mamburg, tourist from Grand Rapids, Michigan: "I think this is astounding. I've never been around so many, like you've been to cemeteries and things like that,... |
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| Middle Ages and Renaissance | |
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| Medieval love letters ignite war of words in France |
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· 03/06/2005 2:41:41 PM PST · · Posted by nickcarraway · · 32 replies · · 1,521+ views · · Stuff (New Zealand) · · 05 March 2005 · |
PARIS: Two star-crossed medieval lovers, Abelard and Heloise, are again stirring passions in France as a literary controversy rages nearly 900 years after their affair. At the heart of the drama is an obscure Latin text that some scholars say contains the long lost love letters written by the ill-fated pair. Others say the correspondence is fake. The illicit liaison between Abelard, an up and coming 12th century philosopher, and the gifted young woman he tutored, shocked medieval Europe not least for its gruesome end. Abelard was castrated on the orders of Heloise's uncle after she became pregnant with his... |
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| Faith and Philosophy | |
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| History Of The Huguenots |
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· 06/19/2009 3:54:08 PM PDT · · Posted by alpha-8-25-02 · · 158 replies · · 1,839+ views · · 6/19/09 · · ALPHA-8-25-02 · |
Who were the Huguenots? John Calvin (1509 - 1564), religious reformer. The Huguenots were French Protestants who were members of the Reformed Church which was established in 1550 by John Calvin. The origin of the name Huguenot is uncertain, but dates from approximately 1550 when it was used in court cases against "heretics" (dissenters from the Roman Catholic Church). There is a theory that it is derived from the personal name of Besancon Hugues, the leader of the "Confederate Party" in Geneva, in combination with a Frankish corruption of the German word for conspirator or confederate: eidgenosse. Thus, Hugues plus... |
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| Cooked Only By Fire | |
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| Research Reveals Medieval Diet Was More Than Meat And Gruel |
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· 02/17/2003 5:37:57 PM PST · · Posted by blam · · 82 replies · · 1,015+ views · · Post-Gazette · · 2-17-2003 · · Lance Gay · |
How did our ancestors eat in the days before there were supermarkets, fast-food restaurants, refrigerators or temperature-controlled stoves and ovens? And what did the dinner table look like before the discovery of the New World brought back to Europe staple foods ranging from turkey to tomatoes and the humble potato? |
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| Holiday for Strings | |
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| Lost Sounds Orchestra: Ancient Musical Instruments Brought Back To Life |
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· 08/31/2009 3:55:44 AM PDT · · Posted by decimon · · 45 replies · · 661+ views · · Scientific Blogging · · August 30, 2009 · · News Staff · |
Do you long to hear the dulcet sounds of the salpinx, barbiton, aulos or the syrinx? Of course not, because no one has heard them in centuries. Most people have never even heard of them. But you will soon have the chance to experience musical instruments familiar to ancient civilizations but long since forgotten. |
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| Ancient Music Wins New Fans (Gregorian Chant) |
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· 11/13/2007 12:00:30 PM PST · · Posted by Pyro7480 · · 25 replies · · 140+ views · · BBC News · · 11/13/2007 · · Paddy O'Flaherty · |
One of the world's oldest styles of religious music is attracting a host of new enthusiasts.Gregorian chant is usually associated with monks in monasteries, but it's being heard more often now in regular services. Its growing popularity brought 70 representatives of choirs from Northern Ireland to a chanting workshop in the Dominican Convent in west Belfast. The college chapel became a study for a day as experts passed on advice on how best to perform the ancient melodies. Principal tutor Donal McCrisken said Gregorian chant was an excellent medium for vocal training. "You have to sing it very purely -... |
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| Religion of Peace | |
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| Fourteen Centuries of War Against European Civilization |
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· 09/04/2009 6:00:13 AM PDT · · Posted by Nikas777 · · 6 replies · · 201+ views · · globalpolitician.com · · 9/4/2009 · · Fjordman · |
Fourteen Centuries of War Against European Civilization Fjordman - 9/4/2009 The following essay is an amalgam of my previous online essays, among them Who Are We, Who Are Our Enemies -- The Cost of Historical Amnesia, Why We Should Oppose an Independent Kosovo, Refuting God's Crucible and The Truth About Islam in Europe. "The Jihad, the Islamic so-called Holy War, has been a fact of life in Europe, Asia, Africa and the Near and Middle East for more than 1300 years, but this is the first history of the Muslim wars in Europe ever to be published. Hundreds of books,... |
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| Lies: The Crusades |
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· 08/29/2006 7:16:55 AM PDT · · Posted by JamesP81 · · 3 replies · · 371+ views · · Southern Pundit · · 8-29-2006 · · James P · |
All of us know that historical revisionism is a favored tool of the liar and those who like to play the blame game. Right after 9/11, this was on display for the whole world to see when Bin Laden and the Left decided to blame the Middle East's hatred of the West on, of all things, the Crusades. The Crusades were a series of wars that were fought nearly a thousand years before anyone on this Earth was born, yet the extremists hang on to it today like it's some kind of personal injustice. I find it inconceivable that one... |
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| Don't Let Liberals Smear and Rewrite the Meaning of September 11 |
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· 09/02/2009 4:52:01 AM PDT · · Posted by OK Right · · 7 replies · · 203+ views · · OK, WE'RE RIGHT! · · September 2, 2009 · · Oscar De Los Santos and Kelly L. Goodridge · |
Liberals have a penchant for revising history, but some of their recent rewrites are especially alarming. Look at the sanctification of Sen. Edward Kennedy, which is moving beyond whitewash and into fantastic territories. Modern liberalism strikes again in blogger Melissa Lafsky's Huffington Post article, "The Footnote Speaks: What Would Mary Jo Kopechne Have Thought of Ted's Career?" (8/27/09). Incredibly, Lafsky wonders what Kopechne, the young woman Teddy left to drown in Chappaquiddick, would think about Kennedy's life and career. Lafsky's conclusion: "Who Knows -- Maybe She'd Feel It Was Worth It" (The Huffington Post, August 27, 2009). You read... |
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| Malta | |
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| 1565: Malta celebrates the historically important victory of the Great Siege |
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· 09/03/2009 6:17:37 AM PDT · · Posted by Nikas777 · · 6 replies · · 282+ views · · timesofmalta.com · · Thursday, 3rd September 2009 · · Desmond Zammit Marmarà · |
As Malta celebrates the historically important victory of the Great Siege of 1565, it is worthwhile to ponder on some important points usually overshadowed by the purely military aspect of the Great Siege. The events of 1565 took place against a background of the clash between the Christian and the Islamic religions as well as the contemporary dissonance between Western and Eastern cultures. Few people, however, are aware that commerce played a very important part in the Turkish decision to attack Malta. Attacks on Turkish shipping by ships flying the flag of... |
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| Greece | |
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| Discovering the Greek side of Istanbul |
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· 09/03/2009 8:21:26 AM PDT · · Posted by Nikas777 · · 12 replies · · 182+ views · · todayszaman.com · · 03 September 2009 · · KRISTINA KAMP · |
Discovering the Greek side of Istanbul The Maiden Tower That Istanbul is a real treasure chest for history, art and architecture freaks is no secret. Its colorful mosaic of historical city structures -- mosques, churches, synagogues, palaces, castles and towers -- reflects the many, many social and cultural influences of a number of foreign communities that have left their indelible footprints across the city throughout its long history. The oldest settlement on the land that is now Istanbul was, however, Greek. Already, in 685 B.C., settlers from the ancient Greek town of Megara chose to colonize the town of Chalcedon,... |
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| Pyramids | |
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| Hellenic Pyramids |
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· 09/03/2009 2:02:14 PM PDT · · Posted by Nikas777 · · 12 replies · · 477+ views · · hiddenmysteries.org · · Ioannis Lyritzis · |
It is not well known that there are Greek pyramids . There are more than 16 pyramids spread all over the Greece. The oldest one is the pyramid of Hellinikon. The existence of pyramids in Greece was unknown to most people until recently, and even today not much is known about them. For example, the pyramid of Hellenikon, near Argos, is older than the Pyramids of Egypt. In fact, Pausanias (in Graeciae Descriptio) says that this pyramid was a memorial in rememberance of the first battle fought by soldiers bearing shields! Pyramids in Greece are usually smaller... |
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| Latin and Other Dead Languages | |
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| Town halls ban staff from using Latin words, in case they confuse immigrants[UK] |
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· 11/02/2008 9:01:53 AM PST · · Posted by BGHater · · 44 replies · · 687+ views · · Daily Mail · · 02 Nov 2008 · · Emily Andrews · |
They are well-worn phrases, repeated ad nauseam throughout the English language. But local councils have now waged war on Latin words, banning staff from using them in writing or in speech. The authorities claim the terms are elitist and discriminatory and have ordered employees to use wordier alternatives in documents or when speaking to members of the public. However the ban has infuriated classical scholars who say it is diluting the world's richest language and is the 'linguistic equivalent of ethnic cleansing'. Bournemouth Council, which has the Latin motto Pulchritudo et Salubritas - beauty and health - has listed 19... |
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| Finland Takes Liking to Latin |
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· 10/30/2006 6:48:03 PM PST · · Posted by G8 Diplomat · · 16 replies · · 747+ views · · BBC · · Jonny Dymond · |
Finland is one of the quieter members of the EU. But now its turn at the EU presidency has thrust it into the spotlight - and exposed an unusual passion. Like the boy at the party with cheese straws stuck up his nose, it has been caught doing something vaguely disturbing - indulging a penchant for Latin. It is the only country in the world which broadcasts the news in Latin. On its EU presidency website one can find descriptions of meetings in Latin. But love of the language of Rome goes deep. 'Eternal language' I am in a hotel... |
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| And now for the news ... in Latin |
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· 03/21/2007 9:45:52 AM PDT · · Posted by NYer · · 5 replies · · 372+ views · · Guardian · · March 21, 2007 · · John Hooper · |
Wednesday March 21, 2007GuardianIt is, famously, a dead language. But it seems that Latin is on the brink of an unlikely comeback. The conservative Pope Benedict XVI is poised to authorise wider use of the Latin mass. And, perhaps to ingratiate themselves with the boss, the managers of the Vatican bank have quietly put instructions in Latin on the cash dispenser at the back of St Peter's. Customers are told to put in their cards with the words: "Inserito scidulam quaeso ut faciundam cognoscas rationem."On Sicily, meanwhile, Latin is being heard in homes in the city of Catania for the... |
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| Epigraphy and Language | |
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| What's up with Aramaic? |
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· 02/28/2004 8:15:53 PM PST · · Posted by jwalburg · · 40 replies · · 345+ views · · Aberdeen American News · · Feb. 04 · · Cary Darling · |
Thanks to 'The Passion of the Christ,' a near-dead, 2,500-year-old language will reach the ears of millions Leave it to pop culture -- and Mel Gibson -- to revive a couple of dead languages. Well, one that's dead and one that's in linguistic intensive care. Gibson's controversial film The Passion of the Christ, opening today, utilizes two tongues from way back in the day: Latin and Aramaic. (Don't worry, there are subtitles in the movie.) Now Latin (the dead one) is not a complete stranger to American ears. Carpe diem, e pluribus unum and all that. But Aramaic? This nearly... |
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| Let's Have Jerusalem | |
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| Codex Sinaiticus -- previously unknown fragment found |
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· 09/01/2009 5:55:16 PM PDT · · Posted by SunkenCiv · · 15 replies · · 495+ views · · The Independent · · Wednesday, September 2, 2009 · · Jerome Taylor, Religious Affairs Correspondent · |
The source URL used is the official website for the Codex Sinaiticus, a Greek-language version of the Bible from about 350 AD. The fragments (other than this one) were reunited and put online this year. The document is the oldest surviving version of the New Testament; about half of the Old Testament survives in the CS, and is that of the Translation of the Seventy. This newly-discovered fragment appears to be from Joshua (the book, not the guy). |
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| Fragment of world's oldest bible 'discovered in Egyptian monastery' |
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· 09/03/2009 1:14:39 AM PDT · · Posted by BlackVeil · · 12 replies · · 504+ views · · The Telegraph · · 2 Sept 2009 · · By Andrew Hough · |
A fragment of the world's oldest Bible, the Codex Sinaiticus, has been uncovered hidden underneath the binding of an 18th-century book in an Egyptian monastery. The discovery was made by a British-based Greek academic, Nikolas Sarris, ... Last year The British Library put The Book of Psalms and St Mark's Gospel online, and now the remaining pages have been made free for public use for the first time. Along with the Codex Vaticanus, the Codex Sinaiticus is considered the oldest known Bible in the world. Originally more than 1,460 pages long and measuring 16in by 14in, it was written by... |
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| India | |
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| Sanskrit works discussed at Jerusalem University |
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· 07/28/2005 4:27:07 AM PDT · · Posted by CarrotAndStick · · 4 replies · · 360+ views · · The Press Trust of India · · 28 July, 2005 · · The Press Trust of India · |
JERUSALEM: Some forty scholars from all over the world recently took part in a summer programme on second millennium Sanskrit literature at Hebrew University here. Eminent Indologist, Prof David Shulman, who was instrumental in organising the programme, pointed out that so far the Sanskrit works in the first millennium (those of Kalidasa et al) have been explored to a great extent by the modern-day Sanskrit scholars, but the later period literature hasn't got much attention. "The second millennium A.D. Also witnessed intense creativity in Sanskrit throughout South Asia. Every major region produced its own distinctive corpus of Sanskrit literary works... |
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| Navigation | |
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| Supposed Greek And Hebrew Resemblances Of Ancient Hawaiians |
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· 09/02/2009 7:38:32 AM PDT · · Posted by Nikas777 · · 44 replies · · 543+ views · · books.google.com · · April 1866 · · MANLEY HOPKINS · |
' And the august abode from whence they came.' Speculations as to an Eastern emigration are scarcely more than glanced at here; and it may appear almost superfluous to refer to two groundless hypotheses which have been formed -- the first, that Greek remains have been discovered in South America, and that faint vestiges of Greece are also traceable in the islands of Hawaii. The other supposition is that of the Hawaiian race being of Hebrew origin, and that these islanders represent the lost tribes of the house of Israel. |
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| Catastrophism and Astronomy | |
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| Water in Mantle May be Associated with Subduction (More water below oceans than in?) |
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· 08/30/2009 2:39:28 PM PDT · · Posted by decimon · · 68 replies · · 1,350+ views · · Oregon State University · · August 19, 2009 · · Unknown · |
CORVALLIS, Ore. -- A team of scientists from Oregon State University has created the first global three-dimensional map of electrical conductivity in the Earth's mantle and their model suggests that that enhanced conductivity in certain areas of the mantle may signal the presence of water. What is most notable, the scientists say, is those areas of high conductivity coincide with subduction zones -- where tectonic plates are being subducted beneath the Earth's crust. Subducting plates are comparatively colder than surrounding mantle materials and thus should be less conductive. The answer, the researchers suggest, may be that conductivity in those areas... |
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| Climate | |
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| Middle Ages were warmer than today, say scientists |
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· 04/05/2003 7:38:26 PM PST · · Posted by Prince Charles · · 74 replies · · 1,962+ views · · London Daily Telegraph · · 4-6-03 · · Robert Matthews · |
Claims that man-made pollution is causing "unprecedented" global warming have been seriously undermined by new research which shows that the Earth was warmer during the Middle Ages. From the outset of the global warming debate in the late 1980s, environmentalists have said that temperatures are rising higher and faster than ever before, leading some scientists to conclude that greenhouse gases from cars and power stations are causing these "record-breaking" global temperatures. Last year, scientists working for the UK Climate Impacts Programme said that global temperatures... |
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| Paleontology | |
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| First Trace of Color Found in Fossil Bird Feathers |
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· 09/01/2009 12:08:11 PM PDT · · Posted by BGHater · · 8 replies · · 404+ views · · The New York Times · · 31 Aug 2009 · · Carl Zimmer · |
Birds, more than any other group of animals, are a celebration of color. They have evolved to every extreme of the spectrum, from the hot pink of flamingos to the shimmering blue of a peacock's neck. Yet, for decades, paleontologists who study extinct birds have had to use their imaginations to see the colors in the fossils. Several feather fossils have been unearthed over the years, but they have always been assumed to be colorless vestiges. Now a team of scientists has discovered color-producing molecules that have survived for 47 million years in the fossil of a feather. By analyzing... |
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| Ninja Bacon | |
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| Restorer finds hidden pig in 1600's Dutch work |
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· 08/31/2009 3:21:49 PM PDT · · Posted by Daffynition · · 57 replies · · 871+ views · · Illini.com · · August 31st, 2009 · · staff reporter · |
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- A restorer's work has found a hidden image of a butchered pig in a painting from the collection of Michigan's Calvin College. The 17th century Dutch work Barn Interior is one of 16 paintings that Calvin alumnus Cornelius Van Nuis gave the Grand Rapids school two years ago. Egbert van der Poel's work shows a woman and two children inside the barn. Van der Poel lived from 1621 to 1664. Last summer, Calvin director of exhibitions Joel Zwart sent Barn Interior to Chicago art conservator Barry Bauman. "What with chemicals and soot and dirt in the... |
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| British Isles | |
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| Tomb search could end riddle of Shakespeare's true identity [Fulke Greville] |
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· 08/31/2009 7:33:07 PM PDT · · Posted by SunkenCiv · · 60 replies · · 843+ views · · Telegraph · · Sunday, August 9th, 2009 · · David Harrison · |
Parishioners at St Mary's church in Warwick have sought permission to examine the contents of the 17th century monument built by Fulke Greville, a writer and contemporary of Shakespeare who some believe is the true author of several of the Bard's works... the search has been prompted by the discovery by an historian of clues in Greville's writings which suggest he had several manuscripts buried there, including a copy of Antony and Cleopatra. A radar scan of the sarcophagus has already indicated the presence inside of three "box like" shapes. The searchers believe these could contain documents and a further... |
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| Longer Perspectives | |
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| Physical Scientists Need a Liberal Arts Education |
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· 10/30/2002 8:03:45 PM PST · · Posted by cornelis · · 128 replies · · 536+ views · · Modern Age · · Winter 1992 · · E. Christian Kopff · |
It is not so obvious that physical scientists need a liberal arts education, rooted in the study of language. They themselves assert that they have no time for it. They have insisted on the abolition of language requirements in almost every university graduate program in America. This development is directly related to the massive amount of fraud which now typifies scientific publication in this country. This scientific community has lost track of the historical and ethical roots of our civilization, the only civilization which has fostered the scientific ethic and considerable scientific research and discovery. Increasingly young men enter the... |
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| Russian Civil War | |
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| Russian Empire's gold found in Lake Baikal? |
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· 09/02/2009 12:48:27 PM PDT · · Posted by Nikas777 · · 12 replies · · 705+ views · · russiatoday.ru · · 01 September, 2009, 19:04 · |
Russian Empire's gold found in Lake Baikal? 01 September, 2009, 19:04 MIR submersibles have discovered fragments of an early 20th century train at the bottom of Lake Baikal, which may possibly carry so-called "Kolchak gold", part of the gold reserves of the Russian Empire. The remains of the train cars, presumably of the Civil War times, were discovered within the MIR submersibles' expedition to the depth of almost 700 meters in the southern part of Lake Baikal. Some parts of the discovered train were lifted from the bottom. Legends have grown around the story of Admiral Kolchak, a Russian naval... |
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| The Great War | |
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| Inside the amazing cave city that housed 25,000 Allied troops under German noses in WWI |
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· 03/15/2008 9:11:29 AM PDT · · Posted by Stoat · · 39 replies · · 2,189+ views · · The Daily Mail (U.K.) · · March 15, 2008 · · ROBERT HARDMAN · |
The wax is still melted on to the chalk pillar which served as an Easter Sunday altar for the men of the Suffolk Regiment more than 90 years ago. Old helmets are scattered around the floor. A heap of cans, including a tin of Turnwrights Toffee Delight, lies alongside a collection of old stone jars - flagons of rum, perhaps, to numb the fear of the battle ahead.... |
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| Exclusive: The Unseen Photographs That Throw New Light on the First World War |
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· 05/25/2009 2:35:18 PM PDT · · Posted by nickcarraway · · 5 replies · · 1,271+ views · · 5/22/08 · |
Exclusive: The unseen photographs that throw new light on the First World WarIt an't be posted by by FR rules, but it's a fascinating article. |
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| World War Eleven | |
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| Barbara Lauwers Podoski Dies at 95; Launched Psychological Campaign Against Germans in WWII |
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· 08/31/2009 4:57:23 PM PDT · · Posted by nickcarraway · · 9 replies · · 362+ views · · Los Angeles Times · · 8/31/09 · · Patricia Sullivan · |
Barbara Lauwers Podoski, who launched one of the most successful psychological campaigns of World War II, which resulted in the surrender of more than 600 Czechoslovakian soldiers fighting for the Germans, died of cardiovascular disease Aug. 16 at the Veterans Affairs hospital in Washington, D.C. She was 95. One of the few female operatives in the Office of Strategic Services, the wartime predecessor to the CIA, she found creative ways to undermine German morale. Much of her work remained secret until last year, when her OSS personnel records were declassified. The multilingual Barbara Lauwers, as she was then known, primarily... |
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| Charles Bond Jr. Passes Away - Pilot Was One of the Last Surviving Flying Tigers |
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· 08/31/2009 1:14:33 PM PDT · · Posted by PGR88 · · 10 replies · · 393+ views · · Washington Post · · August 31, 2009 · · Joe Holley · |
Charles R. Bond Jr., a retired Air Force major general and one of the last surviving Flying Tigers, died Aug. 18 of dementia at Presbyterian Village North, an assisted living community in Dallas. He was 94. In September 1941, he left the Army Air Forces to volunteer for service in China as part of a secret program, the American Volunteer Group, nicknamed the Flying Tigers, under Gen. Claire Chenault. Made up of about 400 pilots and ground personnel and based in Burma, the Flying Tigers protected military supply routes between China and Burma and helped to get supplies to Chinese... |
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| Japanese-American graduate recalls wartime ordeal |
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· 08/31/2009 1:40:25 PM PDT · · Posted by decimon · · 17 replies · · 327+ views · · Associated Press · · Aug 31, 2009 · · Jim Salter · |
Yoshio Matsumoto was among the 110,000 Japanese-Americans seemingly bound for an internment camp soon after America entered World War II when a university he knew nothing about from a far off part of the country agreed to take him in. |
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| Thoroughly Modern Miscellany | |
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| Pa. history buff fires cannon, hits neighbor's house |
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· 09/04/2009 11:51:46 AM PDT · · Posted by Free ThinkerNY · · 26 replies · · 492+ views · · Associated Press · · Sept. 4, 2009 · |
A Pennsylvania history buff who recreates firearms from old wars accidentally fired a 2-pound cannonball through the wall of his neighbor's home. Fifty-four-year-old William Maser fired a cannonball Wednesday evening outside his home in Georges Township that ricocheted and hit a house 400 yards away. The cannonball, about two inches in diameter, smashed through a window and a wall before landing in a closet. Authorities say nobody was hurt. |
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| Early America | |
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| Revolutionary-era soldier's skull found |
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· 08/30/2009 8:57:48 AM PDT · · Posted by Pharmboy · · 21 replies · · 758+ views · · Connecticut Post · · 08/30/2009 · · Frank Juliano · |
MILFORD -- A 1907 catalog of the New Haven County Historical Society listed several rare and odd items, including a necklace from an Egyptian mummy, slave chains, a small block of wood from the Old South Bridge in Concord, Mass., which the British guarded at the start of the Revolutionary War. But lot 23 in the inventory -- "a skull of an American soldier, one of 42 who died of the 200 in a destitute and sickly condition that were brought from a British prison ship ... and suddenly cast upon the shore of the town of Milford on the... |
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| Pages | |
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| Book Review: Discovering a Lost Heritage: The Catholic Origins of America |
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· 09/02/2009 1:49:58 PM PDT · · Posted by GonzoII · · 40 replies · · 464+ views · · catholicism.org · · August 28th, 2009 · · Eleonore Villarrubia · |
So, you think you know your American history? Well, this little gem of a book, a Catholic history of our country, will probably leave you quivering, both with shock at your lack of knowledge of some of the "true facts" of our past and with indignation that this information is not taught in American schools and is absent from standard textbooks. Why, you ask,... |
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| Mating Rituals | |
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| The "Hung Drawn and Quartered: Pub, London, U.K. |
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· 08/29/2009 11:14:03 AM PDT · · Posted by BobNative · · 17 replies · · 405+ views · · My travel to London, U.K. · · August 29, 2009 · · Myself · |
Interesting name for an Establishment during these times in the United States. |
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| Biology and Cryptobiology | |
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| Tracking monsters in the world of man |
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· 09/02/2009 1:31:49 PM PDT · · Posted by Nikas777 · · 11 replies · · 345+ views · · metronews.ca · · August 31, 2009 5:43 a.m. · · Diane Peters · |
Throughout his career, John Kirk has made a living as a journalist and working for the government. His other occupation doesn't make him much money -- in fact it costs him -- but he still can't give up the hunt for undiscovered wildlife. It all began when Kirk first emigrated from Hong Kong in 1987. As a new resident to Canada, he went in a tour of B.C. He was passing by Sproat Lake on the way to Nanaimo when he... |
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| The London Monster: The Saturday Strangeness |
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· 09/03/2009 7:37:15 AM PDT · · Posted by Nikas777 · · 18 replies · · 362+ views · · londonist.com · · August 22, 2009 3:00 PM · · Neil Arnold · |
The London Monster The Saturday Strangeness Neil Arnold on August 22, 2009 3:00 PM 29. Phantom Assailants: Part One One hundred years previous to Jack The Ripper's reign of ghastly terror, London was overshadowed by another spectral attacker -- a phantom aggressor that, although seemingly dreadful and unique, would simply become one of many urban legends pertaining to mysterious and elusive assailants across the world, with many actually analysing the peculiar cases of ripping, and asking "did such psychopaths exist or were they the product of local hysteria'? Between 1788 and 1790, an evil jester of an attacker prowled the... |
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| Texas Man Says He Has Mythical Chupacabra |
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· 09/01/2009 4:09:05 PM PDT · · Posted by Daffynition · · 35 replies · · 1,183+ views · · WBALTV.com · · Sept 1 2009 · · staff reporter · |
A man living north of San Antonio says he has quite the animal sitting in his freezer -- and it may be a mythical chupacabra. Jerry Ayer, a teacher at the Blanco Taxidermy School in Blanco, Texas, told TV station KSAT that he's never seen anything like it. "Different, that's for sure, very interesting," said Ayer. The find comes amid a number of strange sightings in the area. The animal is gray in color with leathery, hairless skin and large fangs. "The front legs seem to be a little bit longer than a typical coyote, very irregular and never seen... |
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| Oh So Mysteriouso | |
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| Pictured: Hitler playing chess with Lenin |
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· 09/03/2009 2:32:09 PM PDT · · Posted by Free ThinkerNY · · 36 replies · · 1,358+ views · · telegraph.co.uk · · Sept. 3, 2009 · |
A picture of a young Adolf Hitler apparently playing chess against Vladimir Lenin 100 years ago has come to light. The image is said to have been created in Vienna by Hitler's art teacher, Emma Lowenstramm, and is signed on the reverse by the two dictators. Hitler was a jobbing artist in the city in 1909 and Lenin was in exile and the house where they allegedly played the game belonged to a prominent Jewish family. In the run-up to the Second World War the Jewish family fled and gave many of their possessions, including the etching and chess set,... |
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| end of digest #268 20090905 | |
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