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Many believe that St. Brendan, an Irish monk, discovered parts of the Americas long before Christopher Columbus arrived in 1492. Others suggest he may have landed on islands like the Canaries, Azores, or Madeira. However, ancient Irish records don’t make it clear where he truly traveled there. Some researchers claim that groups such as the Phoenicians, Japanese, Chinese, and Basques arrived long before Columbus, following the Native Americans, according to The Irish Times. However, this part of history provides little solid proof. Because of this, myths have sprouted alongside reliable theories and facts. Some of these myths are spread by...

Live Science reports that archaeologists have uncovered a villa at the edge of the ancient city of Fregellae, which the Roman army razed in 125 B.C. A layer of fire damage shows that the villa's buildings and the surrounding crops were destroyed at the same time as the city. A Roman military camp protected by a fortified wall and a moat has also been found nearby. Founded as a Roman colony, Fregellae was home to many Samnites, a non-Roman people who had once been enemies of the Roman Republic. The city's residents are known to have rebelled against Rome, according...

TOKYO -- An unexploded U.S. bomb from World War II that had been buried at a Japanese airport exploded Wednesday, causing a large crater in a taxiway and the cancellation of more than 80 flights but no injuries, Japanese officials said. Land and Transport Ministry officials said there were no aircraft nearby when the bomb exploded at Miyazaki Airport in southwestern Japan.

Microscopic granules of sweet potato starch (kūmara) have been discovered with Asia-Pacific taro and Pacific yam (uwhi) at Triangle Flat, a site located on the northern tip of New Zealand's South Island, according to an RNZ report. Researchers from the University of Otago – Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka determined that the Māori cultivated these crops as early as A.D. 1290 to 1385. "The first people who came here, came here to garden as well as to hunt things and they demonstrated from the outset that they were really sophisticated gardeners and they continued to be sophisticated gardeners over time," said archaeologist...

The necropolis of Panoría is located at the easternmost end of Sierra Harana, in the town of Darro (Granada). It consists of at least 19 graves, 9 of which have been excavated between 2015 and 2019. They are collective burials from which more than 55,000 human skeletal remains were recovered. The dating of these remains shows that the first burials took place 5600 years ago with a discontinuous funerary use until 4100 years ago.Bioarchaeological AdvancesIn a recent study published in the prestigious journal Scientific Reports, the use of new bioarchaeological methods has allowed the identification of chromosomal sex from the...

No trees have grown on the windswept Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic Ocean for tens of thousands of years — just shrubs and other low-lying vegetation. That's why a recent arboreal discovery nearly 20 feet... beneath the ground caught researchers' attention...Thomas and colleagues went to the site and began "picking up these big chunks of wood." The tree remains were so pristinely preserved they looked like driftwood, Thomas said. But knowing the history of the Falklands, the researchers knew the remnants couldn't be modern...The presence of the tree fossils suggests the island was once home to a temperate rainforest...

According to a Phys.org report, Guido Schreurs of the University of Bern and his colleagues suggest that rock-cut terraces and chambers at the remote archaeological site of Teniky in southern Madagascar were carved some 1,000 years ago by a Zoroastrian community. High-resolution satellite images revealed that Teniky was much larger than previously thought. Schreurs and his colleagues then identified dozens of circular and rectangular stone niches carved into the cliffs. Circular recesses in these niches may have been used to close the spaces with wooden or stone slabs, he explained. Charcoal and pottery recovered during the investigation have been dated...

The mystery of the Hindenburg disaster, the destruction of the largest aircraft ever constructed by mankind, on May 6, 1937, in Manchester Township, New Jersey has baffled scientists for decades. The airship Hindenburg was nearing the end of a three-day voyage across the Atlantic Ocean from Frankfurt, Germany before it went up in flames. Merely watching the gigantic airship making its way across the skies was a newsworthy spectacle, and onlookers and news crews gathered to watch the 800-foot-long behemoth touch down. Suddenly and horrifyingly, in less than half minute, it was all over. Flames erupted from the airship’s skin,...

FINALLY my latest findings at the Richat Structure which include what I believe may be evidence of a prehistoric city, along with salt, marine organisms, and beautiful drone footage.Evidence of Prehistoric City found at Richat Structure? You decide. | 8:07Archaic Lens | 17.9K subscribers | 4,600 views | September 26, 2024

While searching Google Earth, I came upon a strange symbol hidden in the desert. I hiked in to see what it was. After finding it, I followed where it pointed me, and uncovered a series of clues that led me to a stunning discovery.I Found an Ancient Symbol on Google Earth, Then Followed It | 27:46Desert Drifter | 321K subscribers | 393,273 views | September 26, 2024

Two faculty members condemned “white ownership” of Shakespeare and the state’s manipulation of black history during an “Appropriation Series” at Arizona State University last week. The scholars are pushing for changes in curriculum and leadership that reflect more “diverse” voices. During the panel, they spoke to eleven ASU students in the audience and other faculty members via Zoom. English Professor Ruben Espinosa argued that Shakespeare’s legacy has been manipulated for purposes of exclusion and viewed through a lens of “white superiority.” He said that for the Jan. 6 “insurrectionists” at the U.S. capitol, Shakespeare represents a symbol of “white exceptionalism”...

Goodbye to ‘Marx at the Mall,’ ‘Global Transgender Histories,’ Dua Lipa Harvard has canceled over 30 fall semester courses encompassing 20 departments, but the History and Literature department took it on the chin the hardest. According to The Crimson, Hist-Lit Director of Studies Lauren Kaminsky said class offerings dropped from 19 to 13 classes after five lecturers either departed or chose to do something else. The canceled Hist-Lit courses include “British Soft Power from Shakespeare to Dua Lipa,” “Marx at the Mall: Consumer Culture & Its Critics,” “Global Transgender Histories,” “Indigenous Genders and Sexualities in North America,” “The Making of...

MOUNT VERNON — It is indeed a special event the county celebrates this week: the 250th birthday anniversary of John Chapman, better known as Johnny Appleseed. His birth, on Sept. 26, 1774, in Leominster, Massachusetts, marks the beginning of a story that continues to be enjoyed by young and old alike. He spent most of his long adult life sharing his religious faith with others, planting apple orchards so that pioneer families would have apples awaiting their arrival in the newly formed State of Ohio and beyond, and caring for animals, wildlife and friends who needed his assistance. His life...

I was vilified for criticizing the Dewey Decimal system. We librarians need to stop perpetuating its systemic racism in our libraries. Almost a decade ago, my colleagues and I wrote an article for SLJ entitled “Are Dewey’s Days Numbered?” in which we made the argument that the Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC) system had lost its relevance. We took a bold stance, and the backlash was swift. Fellow librarians would wait outside the rooms I was speaking in at conferences, backing me into corners to demand that I stop talking about alternative systems.

The unmistakable work of prehistoric humans was found etched into the mammoth's hide. Yuka the mammoth may have been killed by cave lions. Image credit: Zhuravlev Andrey/Shutterstock.com Often hailed as the best-preserved woolly mammoth corpse ever discovered, the body of a young female specimen named Yuka has just yielded a staggering surprise. By analyzing cut marks on the animal's hide, researchers have now determined that the beast was butchered by humans 39,000 years ago, thus providing the earliest evidence for the presence of people in the Arctic. Discovered in 2010 in the extreme north of Siberia, Yuka is thought to...

It’s confirmed! Mel Gibson set to produce epic TV series on the Great Siege of 1565 filmed in Malta We knew he was in Malta for a good reason! Hollywood star Mel Gibson has announced plans to produce a limited television series about the Great Siege of 1565, which will be filmed in Malta. After a recent visit to the island to scout locations for his ‘Passion of the Christ’ sequel, the famous actor was captivated by Malta's rich history and impressive fortifications, confirming that the series will be shot on location, in the very fortresses where the siege took...

0:00 - 8000 MileStones1:23 - The Milestones3:16 - What am I looking for?5:55 - Red Herrings6:55 - THE Map8:12 - The Search10:38 - The Find13:25 - The Conclusion THE Roman Milestone PROBLEM | 14:43Paul Whitewick | 137K subscribers | 76,863 views | March 10, 2024

According to a Gizmodo report, paleontologist Marcus Key of Dickinson College has analyzed the black limestone tombstone found in the 1617 church at Jamestown. The stone features an outline of a person wearing armor, and probably a shield and sword, suggesting that the tombstone was carved for a knight. The stone is therefore thought to have belonged to Sir Thomas West, who died in 1618 while sailing to Jamestown, or Sir George Yeardley, the slave-owning colonial governor. Key determined that microfossils of single-celled organisms called foraminiferans were embedded in the limestone. "These species did not co-occur anywhere in North America,"...

The National Endowment for the Arts is helping fund the production of a play about going back in time to kill Christopher Columbus. The agency recently awarded $10,000 to the Borderlands Theater, which views people living near or on the U.S. border as “citizens of the world,” for the production entitled “Shooting Columbus.” “A collaborative effort between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Arizona artists will combine elements from interviews with tribal elders and community members with movement, media, and traditional theater for a site-based, immersive, interactive performance,” according to a grant for the project. “The guest artists are members of the Shooting...

Ash was discovered in a South African cave, and this indicates that humans were cooking with fire one million years ago. This is the earliest use of fire but experts say that more proof is needed to conclude that humans were cooking with fire regularly. Francesco Berna, an archaeologist, at Boston University in Massachusetts, and his team found ash that was composed of burnt grass, leaves, brush, and bone fragments in sediments 30 meters deep inside Wonderwerk Cave, in Northern Cape, South Africa. This cave is one of the oldest known sites of human habitation and shows traces of having...