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They'll probably look more impressive when they're clean. Image credit: ARCHEOLOGICKÝ ÚSTAV AV ČR ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ If you’ve been trying to convince yourself to exercise more lately, consider the recent case of a woman in the Czech Republic who went out for a walk one day and accidentally found a treasure trove of more than 2,150 silver coins dating from more than 900 years ago. It’s a discovery that “can be compared to winning a million in the jackpot,” said Filip Velímský, an archaeologist from the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic in Prague, in a statement translated from the...

Leprosy, one of the oldest recorded diseases in human history, remains prevalent in Asia, Africa, and South America, with over 200,000 cases every year.1,2 Although ancient DNA (aDNA) approaches on the major causative agent, Mycobacterium leprae, have elucidated the disease’s evolutionary history,3,4,5 the role of animal hosts and interspecies transmission in the past remains unexplored. Research has uncovered relationships between medieval strains isolated from archaeological human remains and modern animal hosts such as the red squirrel in England.6,7 However, the time frame, distribution, and direction of transmissions remains unknown. Here, we studied 25 human and 12 squirrel samples from two...

Arguably no period in European history is as misunderstood as the Middle Ages, which stretched from the fall of the Western Roman Empire in the fifth century CE to the rise of the Renaissance roughly 1,000 years later. The myths surrounding this fascinating period of kingdoms and peasants are so prevalent that they led medieval historian Winston Black to write, “The first thing to understand about the Middle Ages… is that they do not actually exist.” The popular perception of life in feudal Europe (exacerbated by Hollywood depictions) is that it was prudish, brutish, and excessively foul, but society was...

Two Just Stop Oil protesters have been arrested after damaging the case around the Magna Carta at the British Library. Reverend Sue Parfitt, 82, and Judy Bruce, 85, a retired biology teacher, targeted the glass enclosure around the historic document on Friday. The pair then held up a sign reading "The Government is breaking the law" before gluing themselves to the display, footage posted online shows. The British Library said security had "intervened to prevent further damage". The Metropolitan Police said two people had been taken into custody having been arrested on suspicion of causing criminal damage. The British Library...

Two supporters of the climate activism group Just Stop Oil have smashed the glass protecting the Magna Carta, an iconic British manuscript from the 13th century, on Friday. According to Just Stop Oil, Reverend Dr. Sue Parfitt, 82, an active Anglican priest and author, and Judy Bruce, 85, a retired biology teacher, entered the British Library in London on Friday morning and “smashed the glass enclosure that surrounds the Magna Carta.” After this, the pair glued themselves to the document’s enclosure and held up a sign that said “The government is breaking the law,” Just Stop Oil said.

A curious-looking stone inscribed with a mysterious ancient language uncovered by a teacher near Coventry, England, has revealed a rare window to the region’s ancient history. While working in his garden, geography teacher Graham Senior discovered a peculiar rock amidst the overgrown weeds in his flowerbed. Removing it from the surrounding earth revealed a rectangular wedge of sandstone bearing a series of unusual markings along its face. Unable to decipher the strange set of inscriptions along the face of the artifact, Senior reached out to a local archaeologist for assistance with the unique find. Soon, experts were able to determine...

Sweden kicks off for spring with a traditional night of songs and bonfires on April 30. Walpurgis Night, “Valborg” in Swedish, is the last day of April, spent in celebration of spring and community spirit. Dating back to the Middle Ages, it was initially the Germans who brought the festive tradition to Sweden, in honour of the 8th century German saint, Walpurgis. In medieval times, April 30 marked the end of the administrative year; local merchants and craftsmen celebrated by dancing and singing in anticipation of spring. It was also a significant day for peasants and farmers, who attended the...

The Persian conquest of Palestine in 614 CE is described in historical sources as a most violent military raid that dramatically affected the political and administrative stability of Byzantine Palestine, involving large scale damage to churches and a mass killing of the local Christian population. Common view has it that the conquest marked a turning point in the history of the Near East and was one of the causes for the rapid Early Islamic conquests, twenty years later. Although the Persian domination - lasting only 14 years (614-628), was a very brief episode in the long historical sequence of Palestine,...

The British nobility is divided into tiers or ranks, known as the peerage. The roots of this hierarchical system date back around a thousand years; it began to gain a defined structure (as with many things in British history) after William I conquered England in 1066. The peerage has five ranks: baron, viscount, earl, marquess, and duke, in ascending order. And within each tier, superiority is given to the holder of the oldest peerage. So, for example, the Duke of Devonshire is more senior than the Duke of Marlborough because the former title was created in 1694, eight years before...

13. Sparple This word is not only fun to say, it can also come in handy. It means to deflect attention from one thing by making a big deal of something else entirely.

This late-medieval document is covered in illustrations of stars and planets, plants, zodiac symbols, naked women, and blue and green fluids. But the text itself – thought to be the work of five different scribes – is enciphered and yet to be understood.In an article published in Social History of Medicine, my coauthor Michelle L. Lewis and I propose that sex is one of the subjects detailed in the manuscript – and that the largest diagram represents both sex and conception.Late-medieval sexology and gynaecologyResearch on the Voynich manuscript has revealed some clues about its origins. Carbon dating provides a 95%...

The 600-year-old document is described as 'the world's most mysterious medieval text.' It is full of illustrations of exotic plants, stars, and mysterious human figures, as well as many pages written in an unknown text. Now, one British academic claims the document is in fact a health manual for a 'well-to-do' lady looking to treat gynaecological conditions.

[37:13] Legend of popular history Mike Loades provides Dan a detailed run down of Henry V's famous victory at the Battle of Agincourt on 25 October 1415 and how his men were more a band of brigands than a 'band of brothers'. They discuss the arms, the armour, the tactics and the popular myths today associated with the battle, thanks to the immortal works of Shakespeare and Laurence Olivier.Historian Mike Loades Debunks 'The Agincourt Myth' | October 24, 2021 | History Hit

Medieval fire arrows were real! So I followed the old books, made some and tested them in every way I could think of. We have loads of old manuscripts, pictures, drawings, fire arrow heads and recipes of fire arrows but because some people haven't looked at the old information and can't make them work, lots of people think they were a myth. You see them everywhere in films and computer games so it is easy to dismiss them as a modern popular culture affectation - they were as real as you are. So this film is an exhaustive description of...

Massive fire at Copenhagen's stock exchange building.

Description: Known across the world by many names such as: "Gypsies", "Roma", "Romani", "Sinti", etc... ; the Gypsies played a crucial role in the development of the Balkans & the history of many of the countries that inhabit the region today such as: Serbia, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Greece, Bosnia, Albania, Macedonia, and many others outside of the region. Yet, when talking about history, very rarely are the Roma mentioned or talked about. In this video we go over the origin of the Roma in India, their migration across the Silk Road and into the Balkans, their life in the Balkans...

A new study, published in the journal Numismatic Chronicle, suggests that the village of Vindelev in Jelling, Denmark, likely had connections to a network of European elite.In 2020, one of the largest gold hoards ever found in Denmark was discovered at Vindelev by a metal detectorist.The hoard consists of 23 gold objects dating to the Migration Period during the Germanic Iron Age (a period seen by some researchers as a prelude to the actual Viking Age), which includes: 13 gold bracteates from the 5th century AD, a granulated gold fitting from a sword or knife, and four mounted Roman medallions...

An amateur metal detectorist in Denmark has unearthed a rare gold ring that may have belonged to a previously unknown royal family with ties to the Kingdom of France.Lars Nielsen discovered the large, ornately decorated gold ring, set with a red semiprecious stone, while exploring Emmerlev, a parish in Southern Jutland, Denmark, according to a translated statement. The ring dates to the fifth or sixth century...Researchers at the National Museum of Denmark determined that the piece of jewelry has much "historical significance" and may have belonged to local royalty connected to the Merovingians, a dynasty of Frankish kings who ruled...

Researchers have discovered that an ancient gold disc found in southern Denmark includes the earliest written reference to the Norse god Odin, revealing that he was worshiped up to 150 years earlier than previously thought, according to a report. The piece of jewelry — which dates to the 400s AD — was uncovered in Vindelev in central Denmark in 2020 amidst a treasure trove that included Roman coins. For years it was publicly displayed at a museum near the site before academics had the opportunity to study it, according to NBC News. A runic inscription with a reference to Odin,...

A chance discovery is shedding new light on early Norse history, after two old school-friends, armed only with a metal detector stumbled across a gold treasure trove.More than 20 gold artefacts, weighing almost a kilo, were found buried in a field in the Danish village of Vindelev. Hidden for almost 1,500 years, the treasure includes Roman medallions and ornate pendants called 'bracteates' - some as large as a saucer.There are mysterious inscriptions and never-seen-before runes, which researchers think are some of the earliest references to Norse gods.So could Vindelev have been the seat of power for a previously unknown Iron...