The countless monuments, art, artifacts and history of civilizations lost to conflict are each a tragedy in their own right. It is a cruel irony that the Middle East, a region so blessed with the treasures of early human civilizations, is also among those most troubled by conflict. As the violence threatens to annihilate some…
In pictures: Relics discovered in Mexico’s Teotihuacan
Some 50,000 relics have been discovered in Mexico in the ancient city of Teotihuacan, Mexican archaeologists say. The city, located about 50 km (30 miles) northeast of Mexico City, dominated central Mexico in pre-Columbian times. Read more at BBC: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-29828309
Infection Control 600 Years Before the CDC
Modern health authorities combating the Ebola virus in West Africa might look into the past for inspiration. During the medieval period and into the early 20th century, plague—The Black Death—was a feared and incurable infection, spreading rapidly through Europe along trade routes. As a result, authorities in port cities through the ages were especially vigilant…
The Leonardo hidden from Hitler in case it gave him magic powers
One of the world’s most famous self-portraits is going on rare public display in the northern Italian city of Turin. Very little is known about the 500-year-old, fragile, fading red chalk drawing of Leonardo da Vinci but some believe it has mystical powers. There is a myth in Turin that the gaze of Leonardo da…
The Hungarian Revolution of 1956: The Event that Shook the World
The events surrounding the 1956 Hungarian Revolution are closely linked to my family. My grandparents and my father fled Hungary after the revolution to settle and build a new life in Canada. The events in Hungary demonstrated to the world the true face of communist oppression in Eastern Europe, and ripped a hole in the…
Discovery of two vessels from WWII convoy battle off North Carolina
A team of researchers led by NOAA’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries have discovered two significant vessels from World War II’s Battle of the Atlantic. The German U-boat 576 and the freighter Bluefields were found approximately 30 miles off the coast of North Carolina. Lost for more than 70 years, the discovery of the two…
Tales from the India Office
A transgender singer hits stardom in Baghdad. Officials scramble to impose order after a Kuwaiti restaurant is found to be selling cat meat. Gulf royals on an official visit to London are left marooned in a drab south London suburb because of a shortage of hotel rooms in the West End. These are some of…
Shtetl of honour
The new Museum of the History of Polish Jews will intensify the debate about how museums should think about depicting issues of national identity. From the 1600s until 1939 Poland was the global centre of the Jewish people, home to the world’s largest Jewish population and its greatest nexus of religious, cultural and political activity. Yet…
History gone viral: The 500-year-old poem that captivated Reddit
A complex political satire written almost 500 years ago doesn’t seem like an obvious candidate for viral success, but its unusual pronunciation has struck a chord online. The poem, called Speke, Parrot, was written in the sixteenth century by an Englishman named John Skelton. A group of students at a Dutch university set the poem…
‘Beardless Jesus’ found in Spain
Archaeologists in Spain say they have found one of the world’s earliest known images of Jesus. It is engraved on a glass plate dating back to the 4th Century AD, reports from Spain say. The plate is believed to have been used to hold Eucharistic bread as it was consecrated in early Christian rituals. It measures…
Mirror Year: How Old Are You Really?
Age is just a number we are often told! Here is an interesting article from Chris Lowry published in History Today. Life is short, but not that short. To put your lifespan into historical perspective – and for an intellectual ice-bucket challenge – try this quick calculation. You may find the results startling. Start with…
History: the key to decoding big data
The academic discipline is invaluable in detecting and debunking myths about the past and future, say Jo Guldi and David Armitage. Big data has frequently been used to suggest we are locked into our history, our path dependent on larger structures that arrived before we got here. Historians once told arching stories of scale. From…
e-Storia || Welcome 