Free Republic

It was, the prosecutor declared, a “moronic mission” of historic proportions — a pair of hapless vandals who chopped down perhaps the most beloved tree in England, located in a gap in Hadrian’s Wall, a UNESCO World Heritage site built by the Romans. The victim of the brutal 2023 chainsaw massacre, the Sycamore Gap tree, appeared in the 1991 movie “Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves” starring Kevin Costner. Prosecutors, citing experts, said it was worth 458,000 pounds or about $613,000, though to admirers who viewed it as a symbol of the untamed beauty of the north, it was priceless. At...

Jury shown video of ‘Sycamore Gap tree being felled’ Footage shown in Newcastle trial of two men accused of chopping down tree on Hadrian’s Wall in September 2023 Mark Brown North of England correspondent Wed 30 Apr 2025 09.13 EDT Share A jury has been shown footage of what prosecutors say is the moment the Sycamore Gap tree crashed to the ground after being felled by a shadowy figure wielding a loud, revving chainsaw. A court heard that the video was taken on the Apple iPhone 13 of Daniel Graham, one of two men accused of illegally cutting down the...

A CELESTIAL event in the 5th century BC could be the earliest documented sighting of Halley's comet - and it marked a turning point in the history of astronomy. According to ancient authors, from Aristotle onwards, a meteorite the size of a "wagonload" crashed into northern Greece sometime between 466 and 468 BC. The impact shocked the local population and the rock became a tourist attraction for 500 years. The accounts describe a comet in the sky when the meteorite fell. This has received little attention, but the timing corresponds to an expected pass of Halley's comet, which is visible...