Advanced archaeological technology has brought to light the intricate design and craftsmanship of Roman surgical instruments used 2,000 years ago. Researchers utilized a CT scanner to examine six medical implements, including a bronze scalpel handle that was once employed in surgical procedures. The study was conducted at the SHArD 3D Lab at the University of […]
United Kingdom
Vikings in the Orkney Islands Discovered “The Plow Was Mightier Than the Sword”
In a study conducted by archaeologists from the University of Aberdeen, new evidence reveals that the Viking settlers in the Orkney Islands found “the plow was mightier than the sword”. Despite their notorious reputation as fierce raiders, these Norse colonists ultimately thrived through agriculture and settlement. Published in the Journal of the North Atlantic, the […]
Hamnet, Shakespeare’s Son Whose Childhood Death May Have Influenced His Father in the Creation of Hamlet and Other Works
Are there any descendants of William Shakespeare today? The answer is no. It is known that the family endures through another line, that of his younger sister Joan, but the famous playwright’s line has died out. This is because, despite having three children with his wife Anne Hathaway, two were girls and thus took their […]
Sweating Sickness, the Enigmatic and Lethal Disease that Ravaged England between the 15th and 16th Centuries and Disappeared as Mysteriously as it Arrived
It seemed like flu, but it was much faster and deadlier because it killed the patient within a few hours; it has been compared to relapsing fever, but that, caused by tick or louse bites, causes a local black crust that was not present in this case; there is speculation about an infection by hantavirus, […]
Edgar Atheling, the Lost King of England Who Was Born in Hungary and Joined the First Crusade
In his work Gesta Regum Anglorum (“Deeds of the Kings of the English”), the medieval historian William of Malmesbury gives the last and endearing known detail of one of the most curious characters in British history: Now he grows old in the country, in privacy and quietness. He refers to the last male representative of […]
Medieval Grave Slabs Recovered from England’s Oldest Historic Shipwreck
Underwater archaeologists from Bournemouth University have recovered two medieval grave slabs that lay on the seabed of Studland Bay for nearly 800 years. These slabs, carved from Purbeck marble, were part of the cargo of England’s oldest recorded shipwreck, which sank off the coast of Dorset during the reign of Henry III in the 13th […]
Seahenge was Created in the Bronze Age for Rituals to Extend Summer and Return of a Warmer Climate
Recent research on an ancient wooden circle uncovered on a Norfolk beach, known as Seahenge, suggests it was created during the Bronze Age in response to severe climatic deterioration at the end of the third millennium BCE. Dr. David Nance from the University of Aberdeen has published new findings in GeoJournal on Holme I, a […]
The Enigmatic Ring Forts of Ireland and Great Britain, Home to the Fairies and Giants from Legends
Scattered across the landscapes of Ireland, Great Britain, parts of Scandinavia, and northern Europe are enigmatic fortified structures known as ringforts. These circular or oval enclosures, bounded by earth walls and ditches, mostly date from between 500 and 900 AD, a period that spans the late Bronze Age to the early Middle Ages in these […]
SS Richard Montgomery, a Ship Filled with Explosives, Wrecked Since 1944 in the Thames Estuary
If any reader is a boating enthusiast and owns a boat, they will know that there are some places where it’s dangerous to sail. One of them is the Thames Estuary, near the town of Sheerness. There’s a sandbank called the Nore that has quite a bad reputation, as we’ll see. But what’s really concerning […]
First Ever Solid Fragment of Tyrian Purple, the Expensive Pigment Associated with Roman Emperors, Found
A significant archaeological discovery was made during the 2023 excavation at the site of an ancient Roman bathhouse in Carlisle, England. The dig, conducted by the Wardell Armstrong company, unearthed a small, mysterious piece of purple-colored substance, which later was identified as a fragment of Tyrian purple—the highly prized pigment once associated with Roman emperors. […]