Over 21,000 medieval objects were discovered in England and Wales in 2013, according to the latest release of the The Portable Antiquities Scheme Annual Report. Since its inception in 1997, over one million historical objects have been recorded by the scheme. Some of the medieval objects highlighted in 2013 report include a lead Papal bulla of…
Greeks captivated by Alexander-era tomb at Amphipolis
The discovery of an enormous tomb in northern Greece, dating to the time of Alexander the Great of Macedonia, has enthused Greeks, distracting them from a dire economic crisis. Who, they are asking, is buried within. In early August, a team of Greek archaeologists led by Katerina Peristeri unearthed what officials say is the largest burial…
Consummatum est
101 years after it began with a letter to The Times calling for volunteer helpers, a truly definitive Latin dictionary project has ended – with a beer. A project to record the medieval British Latin lexicon closes in Oxford this month after 101 years. What began with a letter in The Times calling for volunteer…
In Good Company: Re-evaluating the legacy of the East India Company
Between 1709 and the mid-19th century the East India Company helped expand international trade, nurtured the City of London and propelled the Industrial Revolution and British prosperity. Yet the Company has come to represent the exploitation and plunder of both the human and economic resources of the Indian subcontinent. Riddled with crony capitalism, the Company…
12th-century Byzantine manuscript returned to Greece
After being stolen from a monastery over fifty years ago, a 12th-century Byzantine manuscript has been returned to Greece by the J. Paul Getty Museum. This richly illustrated codex of the four gospels was created in Constantinople by the scribe Theoktistos in 1133. In 1960 the manuscript was stolen from the Holy Monastery of Dionysiou…
Polish President marks anniversary of German invasion with address to Bundestag
Polish President Bronislaw Komorowski has delivered an address to the German Bundestag in commemoration of the Nazi invasion of Poland 75 years ago. Polish relations with Germany have developed at an extraordinary pace following the fall of the Iron Curtain, and certainly serves as a model for historical reconciliation among fellow European nations. Let us…
9 maps that reveal London’s secret history
As part of the Totally Thames Festival in London, an exhibition called Mapping London by London based rare books and maps specialists Daniel Crouch Rare Books is running until 14 September and reveals the secret history of London from the age of Shakespeare until present day. Check out the maps at: http://www.cnn.com/2014/09/09/world/gallery/london-maps/index.html?hpt=hp_c4
Sir John Franklin: Fabled Arctic ship found
One of two British explorer ships that vanished in the Arctic more than 160 years ago has been found, Canada’s prime minister says. Stephen Harper said it was unclear which ship had been found, but photo evidence confirmed it was one of them. Sir John Franklin led the two ships and 129 men in 1845…
Podcast: The Nazi-Soviet Pact
Although this past August 23, 2014 marks the date in which the Nazi-Soviet Pact (also know as the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact) was signed in 1939, History Today is featuring a podcast delivered by Roger Moorhouse to discuss the Nazi-Soviet Pact of 1939-41. You can read Roger’s article on the subject, Under Two Flags , in the…
The New History Wars – NYTimes
With the news dominated by stories of Americans dying at home and abroad, it might seem trivial to debate how history is taught in our schools. But if we want students to understand what is happening in Missouri or the Middle East, they need an unvarnished picture of our past and the skills to understand…
Tutankhamun: Anatomy of an Excavation
‘Tutankhamun: Anatomy of an Excavation‘ is the definitive archaeological record of Howard Carter and Lord Carnarvon’s discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun. On November 5th 1922, Howard Carter wrote in his pocket diary: ‘Discovered tomb under tomb of Ramsses VI investigated same & found seals intact.’ The subsequent excavation of the tomb of Tutankhamun captured…
Millions of historic images posted to Flickr
An American academic is creating a searchable database of 12 million historic copyright-free images. Kalev Leetaru has already uploaded 2.6 million pictures to Flickr, which are searchable thanks to tags that have been automatically added. The photos and drawings are sourced from more than 600 million library book pages scanned in by the Internet Archive…
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