Free Republic

Vindolanda Roman Fort Yields Hundreds of Shoes Tuesday, October 11, 2016 NORTHUMBERLAND, ENGLAND—Chronicle Live reports that more than 400 shoes sized for men, women, and children, were recovered at the Roman fort of Vindolanda over the summer, bringing the total of shoes from the site to more than 7,000. The 1,800-year-old shoes included ones made solely for indoor wear, boots, sandals, and bath clogs. The footwear was found in a defensive ditch, along with pottery and the remains of cats and dogs. Andrew Birley, director of Vindolanda’s excavations, thinks the contents of the ditches may have been discarded when the...

Roman boxing gloves have been discovered near Hadrian's Wall, thought to be the only known surviving examples, even though the sport was well- documented on Roman wall paintings, mosaics and sculptures. With a protective guard designed to fit snugly over the knuckles, the gloves were packed with natural material which acted as shock absorbers. They date from around AD120 and were certainly made to last: they still fit comfortably on a modern hand. One of them even retains the impression of the knuckles of its ancient wearer. They are among the latest discoveries at a pre-Hadrianic Roman cavalry barrack, which...

Remote Scottish islands declared rat-free after rodents lured to captivity using peanut butter and chocolateA remote Scottish island has officially been declared rat-free after rodents were caught using peanut butter and chocolate. In a four year programme to rid the Shiant Isles of its rodents, the RSPB placed mini rat motels across the area filled with cocoa and peanut butter flavoured wax blocks to catch them. It is hoped by ridding the island of its non-native rats the seabird populations will be boosted by protecting their breeding sites The Isles, a cluster of islands five miles east of the Isle...

The Roman writer Tacitus says that 30,000 Caledonians massed to stop the Roman invasion under Agricola in AD 84. The bloody battle of Mons Graupius may have been fought near Inverness. Now a major site of the period has been uncovered in the area -- complete with two huge residences, a cluster of smaller houses, and the biggest industrial complex ever found in Iron Age Scotland... In June 2005 we began excavating a palisaded enclosure at Culduthel Farm on the southern outskirts of Inverness in advance of a housing development... we uncovered part of an astonishingly wellpreserved Iron Age settlement...

Archaeologists have been carrying out research into a huge late fist century AD defence system, which stretches 120 miles across Scotland. A total of 14 forts and several fortlets, which formed part of a defensive network built in the AD 70s, have so far been investigated over the past decade by the team, led by Dr Birgitta Hoffmann and Dr David Wolliscroft, both of the University of Liverpool. The network, which is thought to have run from Montrose or Stonehaven, south of Aberdeen, on the North Sea coast to the Firth or Clyde, was built some 50 years before Hadrian's...

Exclusive reports of the discovery of King Charles I's coronation riches last night triggered a transatlantic treasure war involving two independent expeditions. The group which claims to have found the wreck described the odds that it was the king's ferry as better than even. However, San Diego-based diver Bill Warren, who heads a rival team, said: ''We have really done our homework on this and I am absolutely not convinced.'' Mr Warren, who formed a Scottish company, Golden Quest, for the project, said he had spent seven months dealing with various authorities, including the Crown Estates Commissioners, to secure permission...

My children do you realize all the battles we have walked through together have already made you Overcomers as David over Goliath ?! Now I desire you to take the hand of others I have placed in your path and reveal to them that I AM The KEY to all trials and I alone hold the Key to their Victories as I overcame for you in your Valleys ! Now be that buoyancy compensator for as I have been the Lifter of your Soul Now I desire you to lift up others and love them as I Love you for...

<p>A Scottish farmer frantically called cops to report a tiger in his cow shed, sparking an armed police standoff — only to learn it just was a large cuddly stuffed animal.</p> <p>Bruce Grubb, 24, was throwing a housewarming party when he spotted the bizarre sight and called police, fearing his pregnant cows were about to be devoured.</p>

My occupations for you are endless so don't box yourself in, just allow my spirit to lead you into each pasture of revelation knowledge with out fear of reprisal or resistance for as I AM in and through you nothing can ever harm your life in Me . Allow me to flow freely as you saturate yourself in My word daily so that you understand completely just what it is I plan to accomplish through you . There is no need to confide in the Ephod for I AM your complete armor and eyes for now as you trust me...

Happy birthday tae Robbie Burrrrrns yesterday! OK, who among ya is sober enough tae attend the Kirkin' a the Tartans today?

FOUR workers employed by a world famous haggis firm have been sacked just days before Burns Night following a blunder on the factory floor. Disciplinary action was taken against the employees after a production error at Macsween’s factory in Loanhead led operations to be temporarily suspended. Bosses at the firm said a potential production error - involved the wrong type of meat being taken out from a store room and on to the factory floor - was picked up during stringent checks before any products could be affected. But Mick Malone, who joined the company just days previously and was...

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has announced the government is working to change the narrative around migration to persuade Scots that the nation needs huge numbers of people from abroad. Speaking at the launch of a Scottish government paper which argues for continuing open borders with Europe after Britain’s exit from the European Union (EU), the SNP leader claimed a population that is ever-expanding as a result of mass migration is “essential to our economic prosperity”.

In an era during which rules seem meant to be broken — and more and more people are calling for gender equality — it should surprise no one that the fashion world is the head cheerleader for change. Case in point: the Fall 2018 Menswear designers presenting a variety of skirts on their runways. A wrap skirt paired with a matching jacket showed up at the Astrid Andersen show in London, as well as a flasher worthy trench dress at Alex Mullins and a a flirty full skirt bounced along at Bobby Abley.

https://youtu.be/TqQL--1Rx20

“The light passed about 100-200ft above their aircraft. They assumed it to be a drone and reported it to air traffic control. There was no time to take avoiding action,” said the report on the incident, which happened on May 26. ... In 2013 another A320 also had a narrow miss with an unidentified object over Glasgow. The A320 was flying with its landing lights on, in clear conditions and at an altitude of about 4,000ft above the Baillieston area of Glasgow, when the pilot and non-flying pilot saw an object “loom ahead” at a range of about 100m. The...

Advocates of universal basic income believe that the unconditional offer of a regular, though tiny, sum of money could help many get back on their feet, and even encourage them to invest in new business ideas. However, people from both sides of the political aisle have engaged with the proposal, which would cost money upfront but could deliver important savings by replacing unemployment benefits...

Geologists exploring volcanic rocks on Scotland's Isle of Skye have found ejecta from a previously unknown, 60 million-year-old meteorite impact. The discovery, the first meteorite impact described within the British Paleogene Igneous Province (BPIP), raises questions about the impact and its possible connection to Paleogene volcanic activity across the North Atlantic. Simon Drake, an associate lecturer in geology at Birkbeck University of London, zeroed in on a meter-thick layer at the base of a 60.0 million-year-old lava flow. "We thought it was an ignimbrite (a volcanic flow deposit)," said Drake. However, when researchers analysed the rock using an electron microprobe,...

Today, a British friend of mine posted a photo of his three-year-old son looking into his newborn brother's crib. Which is made of cardboard. Inquiring, it turned out to be "Scotland's Baby Box", a government-funded initiative that gives a large box full of clothing and baby supplies to every child born in Scotland. This thing makes the usual "baby bag" of freebies handed out at hospitals (and paid for by companies that hope the recipients will buy more of their product, when the starter packs run out. . .) look trivial in comparison. Since when was it the job of...

During the late Bronze Age, the cave appears to have been a repository for precious objects, with finds ranging from bronze bracelets via pottery to a swan's neck pin. Large quantities of human remains have also been discovered - especially those of children - suggesting that the cave may have been a centre for funerary rites. Intriguingly, on the frontal bone of one child, there is evidence suggestive of deliberate defleshing. Some of the cave's most important features, however, are the Pictish symbols that can be found on the walls of its entrance passages. Problematically, the cave is only accessible...

Britain’s Supreme Court has allowed Scotland to become the first country in the world to set a minimum price for alcohol, after a five-year legal battle. The measure is intended to bring down levels of drinking and related harms in the country, but is likely to only affect those on low incomes, critics argue.