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: Yahoo News
September 10, 2009
MILAN – The entirety of Leonardo da Vinci's 1,119-page Atlantic Codex is going on public display for the first time, in a series of 24 exhibits spanning six years.
The first exhibit of 45 drawings, "Fortresses, Bastions and Cannons," opened Thursday at the Santa Maria delle Grazie church, which also holds Leonardo's "The Last Supper," and at the Biblioteca Ambrosiana, which has preserved the Codex since 1637.
The Atlantic Codex is "an extraordin
Source: BBC History Magazine
September 9, 2009
In 218 BC Hannibal left the Spanish city of Cartagena with one hundred thousand soldiers and nearly forty elephants. We've just left the same city on three bicycles followed by our BBC television crew. Our aim is to follow Hannibal's path along the coast of Spain, through France, over the Alps, down the length of Italy and back to his home city of Carthage, now a suburb of the city of Tunes, capital of Tunisia.
In the Second Punic War against Rome, after Carthage's defeat in the Fi
Source: National Geographic News
September 9, 2009
It didn't look like much at first, just a broken, mud-caked stone mug.
But when archaeologists in Jerusalem cleaned the 2,000-year-old vessel, they discovered ten lines of mysterious script.
"These were common stone mugs that appear in all Jewish households" of the time, said lead excavator Shimon Gibson of the University of North Carolina.
"But this is the first time an inscription has been found on a stone vessel" of this type.
Source: BBC
September 10, 2009
The chief prosecutor at the International Criminal Court (ICC) says he is gathering information about possible war crimes in Afghanistan.
Luis Moreno-Ocampo says that he will be examining claims relating to both Nato soldiers and Taliban insurgents.
He said the court had received allegations from many sources, relating to attacks and collateral damage.
But the court will only become involved if Kabul or the UN Security Council ask it to look into allegation
Source: CNN
September 9, 2009
Harvard University, one of America's premiere academic institutions, is coming under fire for running an advertisement in its campus newspaper questioning the reality of the Holocaust.
Recently named for the second straight year as the No. 1 school in U.S. News & World Report rankings of American colleges, Harvard is known for its rigorous scholarly standards and prestigious reputation.
On Tuesday, however, The Harvard Crimson, in what it said was an error, ran the
Source: ABC News
September 8, 2009
HOUSTON (KTRK) -- A very special discovery here in the Houston area has piqued the interest of archaeologists. A flood control project has uncovered evidence of an ancient culture.
Harris County Flood Control is not revealing where the find was made because they want to preserve the discovery as much as possible. In the opinion of archaeologists, it may prove to be valuable for the history of a people and an area.
Cypress Creek is one of many bayous that cut through Har
Source: Politico
September 10, 2009
The similarities are striking: Sixteen years ago, another Democratic president stood in the same spot in the same month and addressed the nation on the same topic. Behind Bill Clinton sat a Democratic Speaker of the House and his vice president. It was the same Wednesday night with Barack Obama.
And a POLITICO analysis of the transcript of both speeches shows a striking similarity in the words used by both presidents.
Both presidents argued that the cost of doing nothin
Source: Deutsche Welle
September 8, 2009
The monument, which bears the inscription "Our Bundeswehr's Dead - For Peace, Justice and Freedom," is located near the headquarters of the defense ministry in Berlin. Some critics have said it should be located closer to Germany's parliament building - in a different part of the city - as the German army is officially the parliament's army.
"The soldiers would have picked out another place for their monument. They would have wanted it to be in a more prominent place,
Source: Inside Higher Ed
September 9, 2009
The University of Wyoming is facing protests over its decision to name a center for international students after Dick Cheney, the former vice president, who donated $3.2 million that was used for the program, the Associated Press reported. Those circulated petitions and planning a protest for Thursday, when Cheney will be on campus, say that the university's reputation will be hurt by the association with Cheney, given his role in promoting the invasion of Iraq and support for interrogation tech
Source: The Morning Journal
August 17, 2009
SOUTH AMHERST — "Let this man enter with this note. April 14, 1865. A. Lincoln."
The short sentence is written on a small envelope, tattered and discolored with age. But it has been a ticket to a big adventure for Bruce Steiner, who stumbled upon the lost fragment of history at the bottom of a box of assorted papers he purchased at Jamie's Flea Market in October 2006.
"I said it can't be real," Steiner recalled when he first laid eyes on the signatur
Source: Discovery Channel
September 8, 2009
A colossal statue of Apollo, the Greek god of the sun, light, music and poetry, has emerged from white calcified cliffs in southwestern Turkey, Italian archaeologists announced.
Colossal statues were very popular in antiquity, as evidenced by the lost giant statues of the Colossus of Rhodes and the Colossus of Nero. Most of them vanished long ago — their material re-used in other building projects.
"This colossal statue of Apollo is really a unique finding. Such st
Source: National Post (Canada)
September 6, 2009
Newfoundland and Labrador's top archeologist has revealed plans to search for the remains of a 510-year-old church on the western shore of Conception Bay -- a project aimed at adding to a string of recent discoveries about explorer John Cabot's history-making voyages to Canada in the late 15th century.
If the purported church is found near the town of Carbonear -- the site targeted by Memorial University's Peter Pope in what he calls a "longshot" dig proposed for next summ
Source: The Daily Mail UK
September 9, 2009
A massive haul of more than 10,000 Roman coins has been unearthed by an amateur metal detecting enthusiast - on his first ever treasure hunt.
The silver and bronze 'nummi' coins, dating from between 240AD and 320AD, were discovered in a farmer's field near Shrewsbury, in Shropshire, last month.
Finder Nick Davies, 30, was on his first treasure hunt when he discovered the coins, mostly crammed inside a buried 70lb clay pot.
Experts say the coins have spent a
Source: Nhan Dan
September 8, 2009
Vestiges of an ancient village dating back around 2,700 years, have been discovered in Van Ninh district, central coast Khanh Hoa province.
After one-month excavation in an area of 500 sq.m, archaeologists have found hundreds of objects which are believed to belong to the Sa Huynh Culture...
Source: lep.co.uk
September 9, 2009
A collection of ancient documents dating back centuries is being made available by a Lancashire law firm for the first time.
Staff at Napthens, in Winckley Square, Preston, have found documents relating to poor houses established in 1665 while a property deed dating from the 1550s has also been uncovered...
... The poor houses had been established in 1665 by John Osbaldeston, of London, who left £500 in his Will to be invested to help the poor in Leyland. The homes were
Source: Yahoo News
September 9, 2009
PANO LEFKARA, Cyprus (Reuters Life!) – An ancient Cypriot craft reputed to feature in Leonardo da Vinci's painting of "The Last Supper" is getting a new lease of life.
Lefkaritiko lacemaking, an intricate form of needlework passed down from generation to generation is expected to be declared a heritage item by UNESCO, the United Nations agency responsible for the protection and promotion of culture.
"This particular lacemaking is passed on from mother to
Source: The Local
September 9, 2009
Germany has inaugurated a new memorial to some 3,100 German soldiers killed in service since 1955, breaking with usual reticence over military pride amid a heated debate about the country's role in Afghanistan."We are aware that in the past the death of soldiers has often been used for propaganda, especially in Germany," said President Horst Köhler, alluding to the Nazi past, during a ceremony in Berlin on Tuesday evening.
The monument located in the center of th
Source: NewKerala.com
September 9, 2009
London: A new study has indicated that ancient Egyptian temples were aligned so precisely with astronomical events that people could set their political, economic and religious calendars by them.
According to a report in New Scientist, the study was of 650 temples, some dating back to 3000 BC.
For example, New Year coincided with the moment that the winter-solstice sun hit the central sanctuary of the Karnak temple in present-day Luxor, according to archaeological astro
Source: Yahoo News
September 6, 2009
ATHENS, Greece – Greece's Culture Ministry says a column capital has been stolen from the archaeological site of Ancient Olympia, one of the country's most important.
The ministry says the capital, part of a 6th century Byzantine church on the grounds of the guarded site, was found to be missing...
Source: BBC
September 6, 2009
About 10,000 people lined the streets of Edinburgh on Sunday to see an ancient riding tradition revived after a 63-year absence.
The Riding of the Marches, which dates back to the 16th Century in the city, was last held in 1946, when there was a one-off event to mark the end of WWII.
The event saw 250 horses and riders make a seven-hour journey from the Braid Hills to the Royal Mile.
Lothian and Borders Police pipe band played at the finale.
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