Anglo-Saxon knob is treasure
The Norwich Inquest has declared that a silver-gilded knob discovered by a metal detector enthusiast two years ago is treasure. The knob has a cast animal head and dates to the 6th or 7th century. Find out more in the piece at the Norfolk News.
- Learn more about Early Medieval Britain
Tombs from the Byzantine era discovered in Syria
In a cave in Wadi al-Zahab, Syria, a team of archaeologists have discovered three tombs dating to the Byzantine era. The tombs were found by the Homs Museums and Antiquities Department in central Syria during excavations made by the General Establishment for Water Studies to keep off floods. Find out more in the item at DNA India.
- Learn more about Byzantine Studies
Medieval Irish cemetery yields intriguing data
An Irish cemetery in County Donegal, discovered in 2003, has yielded some fascinating medical data about the inhabitants of Ireland from more than 1,000 years ago. Findings have revealed evidence of cystic fibrosis, TB, cancer, multiple exostoses (bumpy bone disease) and even brain surgery, which the patient survived.
In case this seems familiar, another cemetery was uncovered just last week in Ireland; but that one was in County Kildare.
Find out more about the County Donegal cemetery in the article by Donal Thornton at Irish Central.
- Learn more about Medieval Ireland
Looted Rabbinic Bible returned
A Hebrew Bible, published between 1516 and 1517, has been returned to its rightful owners after 71 years. The two-volume, black-leather-clad book, which includes commentaries by key medieval rabbinic figures, vanished from a library in Vienna on the night of November 10-11, 1938: Kristallnacht, the "night of broken glass." It surfaced at the New York City auction house Kestenbaum & Company in June; upon learning of its provenance, the auction house terminated the sale and its owner, who had not known its history, agreed to return it to Vienna. The Bible was repatriated to the Jewish community in Vienna at a ceremony at the Museum of Jewish Heritage, attended by representatives of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement ( ICE ), the U.S. Attorney's office, and the Israelitische Kultusgemeinde Wien ( IKG ).
Find out more in the article at Media Newswire.
- Learn more about Kristallnacht at About's 20th-Century History Site, Guided by Jen Rosenberg.
- Learn more about Medieval Judaism and Jewish History here at the Medieval History Site.
Marble hoard discovered in Acre
Archaeologists have discovered a hoard of more than 300 marble items dating to the 13th century in an excavation north of the Old City wall of Acre. The marbles were found in a cellar that had been sealed by a collapse, and include a large stone cross and a large fragment of the rare purple stone, porphyry. Dr. Edna Stern, excavation director of the Israel Antiquities Authority, said that "The quality of the marble is excellent and it was undoubtedly imported from abroad." Find out more in the article by Jamie Romm at the Jerusalem Post.
- Learn more about The City of Acre
Extensive medieval Irish cemetery discovered
In County Kildare, Ireland, archaeologists have uncovered the skeletal remains of nearly 1,300 people from what is proving to be one of Ireland's largest medieval cemeteries. Located in Ardreigh, Athy, the cemetery was the last resting place for adults and children -- even a 20-week-old fetus -- from at least as far back as the 8th century up to the 14th.
Find out more in the article at Sindh Today.
- Learn more about Medieval Ireland
Templar stone?
A mysterious stone uncovered in Midlothian, Scotland, may have a connection to the Knights Templar. Discovered by Crispin Phillips in the process of repairing a wall, the stone is covered with unusual symbols and appears to date to about the 13th or 14th century. Because the ruined chapel where the stone is located was part of an abbey founded by the Templars, scholars think the carvings may relate to the Templar organization, though no one has yet been able to figure out what they mean. Find out more in the article by Claire Smith at the Scotsman, which includes some nice photos.
- Learn more about the Knights Templar
The Battle of Agincourt
On October 25, 1415, a famous battle of the Hundred Years' War took place between English forces led by Henry V and a much larger French army at Agincourt, France. For centuries, this battle has been examined, reexamined, dissected and reconstructed by French and English historians alike.
This week The New York Times has an article about how historians have "reassessed" the Battle of Agincourt. Though I find the comparisons drawn between medieval foreign wars and current conflicts interesting (but not surprising), I was a little bemused to learn that a group of historians "now take a skeptical view of the figures handed down by medieval chroniclers."
What, only now?
Medieval chroniclers were notorious for inflating the numbers of participants in the battles they reported. Those numbers have always been taken by modern historians with a grain of salt, and have usually been tempered by archaeological discoveries and the data gleaned from period documentary evidence. In the case of Agincourt, it has long been known that the English representation of Henry's forces was minimized and that of the French forces was inflated to make their victory over a larger force appear particularly remarkable. So, while the recent "reassessment" may bring us closer than ever to more accurate numbers on both sides, the fact that the disparity wasn't nearly as great as the medieval chroniclers said doesn't really surprise me. Does it surprise you?
Conquest
On October 14, 1066, William of Normandy fought King Harold Godwinson at the Battle of Hastings, beginning a new era in English history. What events led to such a historic turning point? Who were the people involved? And what happened after the battle? Find out in this feature by your Guide, and test your knowledge in The Quest for Conquest Quiz.
Is it a Leonardo? A fingerprint says "maybe."
When Peter Silverman purchased the painting titled "Young Girl in Profile in Renaissance Dress" for £12,000 at a Christie's sale, he suspected its description as "German, early 19th century" wasn't precisely accurate. Now his suspicions appear to be confirmed. Carbon dating and infra-red analysis of the artist's technique are consistent with the work of Leonardo da Vinci, and if this is so, the painting could be worth £1 million. But the most convincing evidence could be a fingerprint found on the work, which techs at a Paris laboratory found "highly comparable" to a print on Leonardo's painting of St. Jerome.
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Find out more:
- Leonardo da Vinci picture 'worth millions' revealed by a fingerprint
Article by Stephen Adams at the Telegraph
- Unrecognised Leonardo da Vinci portrait revealed by his fingerprint
Feature by Ben Hoyle at the Times Online
- Portrait Is Da Vinci Work, Print Shows
Item at AOL News includes "Da Vinci Discoveries" slide show
- Fingerprint points to $19,000 portrait being revalued as £100m work by Leonardo da Vinci
Extensive examination at the Antiques Trade Gazette