This page features brief excerpts of stories published by the mainstream
media and, less frequently, blogs, alternative media, and even obviously
biased sources. The excerpts are taken directly from the websites cited in
each source note. Quotation marks are not used.
Source: History of the Ancient World
March 30, 2010
In the ruins of a city that was once Rome’s neighbor, archaeologists last summer found a 1,000-pound lead coffin.
Who or what is inside is still a mystery, said Nicola Terrenato, the University of Michigan professor of classical studies who leads the project—the largest American dig in Italy in the past 50 years.
The sarcophagus will soon be transported to the American Academy in Rome, where engineers will use heating techniques and tiny cameras in an effort to gain ins
Source: USA Today
March 27, 2010
The "congenitally gracious" residents of this historic port city also possess the "siege mentality of islanders" and a "scriptural belief that they are simply superior to other people of the earth." So writes best-selling author and frequent visitor Pat Conroy.
And as the grande dame of the South primps for the annual profusion of blossoms and winter-weary tourists (the Historic Charleston Foundation's spring home-and-garden tour runs through April 17)
Source: Trend News (Azerbaidjan)
March 30, 2010
Ancient graves were found in the Urbnisi village of the Kareli region during the construction of a highway. About 20 sarcophaguses were discovered dating back to the 4th and 5th centuries.
Road department representatives invited a group of archaeologists from the Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University to the area to examine the findings. The relevant activities are being implemented by the group chaired by Vakhtang Licheli.
According Licheli, 20 Christian sarcophaguses
Source: FOX News
March 30, 2010
South Korea on Tuesday lodged a strong protest with Japan after the Japanese education ministry approved history textbooks for elementary schools that describe a pair of South Korea-controlled islets claimed by Japan as Japanese territory.
Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Yu Myung Hwan summoned Japanese Ambassador to South Korea Toshinori Shigeie to his office to deliver the protest and demand that Japan retract the approval of the five textbooks, one of which claims that South Ko
Source: LAXMI GARU
March 30, 2010
The ancient Changunarayan Temple in Bhaktapur is at risk of collapse due to the landslide on the hill slope around the temple structure.
The Changunarayan Temple complex which is included in the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites is coming under the increasing risk of landslides due to the illegal quarrying of sand on the hill slopes around the temple and on the bank of the Manohara River.
Extraction of sand at the bank of the Manohara River which flows just below th
Source: AP
March 29, 2010
Two southern Utah residents pleaded guilty Monday to stealing government property and illegally trafficking in American Indian artifacts. Brent Bullock and Tammy Shumway were among 26 people indicted after a long-running federal sting targeting those who illegally dig up, sell and collect Indian artifacts in the Four Corners area. Both initially pleaded not guilty to several felony charges after the case broke last summer.
Each faces a maximum of 12 years in prison. Sentencing is se
Source: Telegraph (UK)
March 30, 2010
Jane Peyton, 48, and author and historian, said women created beer and for thousands of years it was only they who were allowed to operate breweries and drink beer.
The drink is now almost exclusively marketed to men - with television characters such as Homer Simpson the epitome of the beer-loving male.
Yet Miss Peyton said that up until 200 years ago, beer was considered a food and fell into the remit of women’s work. It was only then that men began drinking it and it
Source: Telegraph (UK)
March 30, 2010
Knife crime has grown because the decline of Empire has given boys no other adventure to take part in, according to Joanna Lumley.
The actress said the rise in youth crime was a consequence of boredom suffered by today’s ‘X Factor Generation’.
Miss Lumley, who has campaigned for Gurkha veterans, said: “Of course they all go about with knives because it’s exciting. Horrifying! I think they’re bored stiff. Nobody’s said, ‘Hey boys, I want you lot in my ship now, we’re of
Source: Medieval News
March 29, 2010
Over £11 million of illuminated manuscripts will be sold at auction in July, including many medieval and Renaissance masterpieces. Christie's has announced that they will be holding a sale of the Arcana Collection: Exceptional Illuminated Manuscripts and Incunabula, on 7 July 2010 in London.
This private collection which has been assembled over the past three decades and which includes personal prayer books made for royalty, bishops, aristocracts and other important patrons from the
Source: Lee White at the National Coalition for History
March 30, 2010
To coincide with Sunshine Week (March 15–19, 2010), the National Security Archive at George Washington University released an audit of federal government agencies’ administration of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). The audit was the first performed by the National Security Archive since President Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder issued directives in 2009 to federal agencies mandating reform of the FOIA compliance process.
The audit found that while some progress had been
Source: Lee White at the National Coalition for History
March 30, 2010
On March 29, the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) announced $16 million in grant awards and offers for 286 humanities projects. New funding supports a wide variety of projects nationwide, including traveling exhibitions, research fellowships, production and development of films, documentation of endangered languages, the development and staging of major exhibitions, digital tools, and the preservation of and access to historic collections.Th
Source: Lee White at the National Coalition for History
March 30, 2010
On March 25, the Eisenhower Memorial Commission announced it had unanimously selected a design concept created by famed architect Frank O. Gehry. The selected design will be located on a four-acre site at the base of Capitol Hill. The site lies between 4th and 6th Streets, SW, south of Independence Avenue between the Department of Education, and the National Air and Space Museum.
The Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial Commission was created by Congress in 1999. A location for the Nationa
Source: Lee White at the National Coalition for History
March 30, 2010
The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) recently announced that within the next two years the agency will move its New York City office to the Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House at One Bowling Green. After extensive renovation, the new space is expected to be ready in the fall of 2011. NARA has announced it will hold two public hearings on May 4th to discuss these and additional details about the move.
Source: Lee White at the National Coalition for History
March 30, 2010
The House of Representatives recently unanimously passed H.R. 1387, the “Electronic Message Preservation Act,” requiring the Archivist of the United States to promulgate regulations governing presidential and agency preservation of email (H. Rept 111-406) .
The bill faces an uncertain future in the Senate. A similar bill to one passed by the House during the 110th Congress (H.R. 5811) died in the Senate.
Upon passage by the House, Archivist of the United States David S.
Source: Lee White at the National Coalition for History
March 30, 2010
On March 15, the White House released “A Blueprint for Reform,” which details the Administration’s plans for reauthorizing the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). However, the plan provides little detail about the Administration’s plan to revamp federal funding for history education, specifically the future of Teaching American History grants.
President Obama’s fiscal year 2011 budget request to Congress for the Department of Education proposed consolidating 38 existing K
Source: Lee White at the National History Coalition
March 30, 2010
On March 17, the National Coalition for History joined OpenTheGovernment.org and 29 other organizations on a letter in support of S. 3111, the “Faster FOIA Act.” The bill, introduced by Senators Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and John Cornyn (R-TX) would establish an advisory commission charged with presenting recommendations to Congress and the President to reduce delays in the administration of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).
While backlogs have presented a longstanding problem in ag
Source: BBC
March 30, 2010
A series of finds in 1980s completely changed the perception of the effect the Romans had on Guernsey.
Tanya Walls, La Société Guernesiaise archaeology secretary, said before the finds it had been thought they had little influence.
However, when evidence of settlements, trade and industry came to light it told a different story. The island became a centre for trade, most obviously shown by the wreck of a Roman trading ship found off Guernsey.
Source: Reuters
March 30, 2010
Part of the ceiling of ancient Roman emperor Nero's Golden Palace collapsed on Tuesday, rekindling fears that site is unsafe for the hordes of tourists who come to see it every year.
Nero's Golden Palace or Domus Aurea, which lies on a hill overlooking the Colosseum, was built in the first century A.D. and has been plagued with structural problems since it was opened to the public in 1999.
Workers were undertaking repairs when part of the roof collapsed, causing a sec
Source: National Geographic News
March 29, 2010
A 1,700-year-old sarcophagus found in an abandoned city near Rome could contain the body of a gladiator or a Christian dignitary, say archaeologists who are preparing to examine the coffin in the lab.
Found in a cement-capped pit in the ancient metropolis of Gabii, the coffin is unusual because it's made of lead—only a few hundred such Roman burials are known.
Even odder, the 800 pounds (362 kilograms) of lead fold over the corpse like a burrito, said Roman archaeologis
Source: Telegraph (UK)
March 30, 2010
One of man’s great pleasures might be a pint of beer at the local – but an academic has claimed it would never have existed without the entrepreneurial skills of women.
Jane Peyton, 48, and author and historian, said women created beer and for thousands of years it was only they who were allowed to operate breweries and drink beer.
The drink is now almost exclusively marketed to men - with television characters such as Homer Simpson the epitome of the beer-loving male
