The fourth ecumenical council of the Christian Church made decisions that would affect Christians throughout the Middle ages.
Zeno was emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire when the Western Roman Empire officially ended in 476. He was also briefly overthrown, and the Acacian Schism began during his reign
This week there are a few news stories that caught my eye:
After decades of searching, archaeologists have at long last discovered a gateway through the "Danevirke" ("work of the Danes") -- a formidable wall running through the entire state of Schleswig-Holstein in Germany. Possibly begun by the Frisians as far back as the 7th century, the Danevirke appears to have been finished in the 8th century by the Danes, who had established an empire in Denmark and present-day northern Germany. The wall near Hedeby (Haithabu in German) measures about 10 feet thick, stretches about 19 miles, and was constructed from more than a million stones collected from the surrounding terrain.
The purpose of the stonework was rather unclear, since the Vikings who built it were the preeminent force that threatened Europe at the time, and it was other cultures who built walls to keep raiders out. However, the successful trading network the Danes had created was vulnerable at Hedeby, where goods from the east had to be offloaded from ships, carried overland about 18 miles and reloaded onto boats bound for the North Sea. Archaeologists now believe the Danevirke was constructed to protect this overland route.
Find out more about the discovery in the informative article by Matthias Schulz at Spiegel Online International.
With the help of Google Earth, tracks that may date as far back as the 13th century have been found on a heath in Purbeck, Dorset, England. Covering an area of almost a mile, the tracks were formed over the years by carts and sledges, most especially in wet weather where the mud would get churned up and washed away, leaving a sunken trail. Archaeologists are excited by the discovery of such an unusually large system. Find out more in the article by Diana Henderson at the Bournemouth Daily Echo.
One minor error in the article -- probably a typo -- made me chuckle: "It is amazing to be standing in ancient lanes where the horses of medieval kings and pheasants once trod their way to Corfe Castle." Now I've got an image in my head of a king riding his horse next to a game bird, also on a horse. What a difference an H makes.
Measuring two feet tall and discovered without its head, a stone idol dating back to the 11th century was found in a riverbed near Vedaranyam in the district of Nagapattina, India. The figure of a Tirthankara (in Jainism, a human who achieves enlightenment and becomes a spiritual guide for others seeking the same) was sitting in a meditative posture on a pedestal carved like a lion throne. Find out more in the item at The Times of India.
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