September 26

Blurb – Stonhenge: What Lies Beneath?

For the last four years archaeologists from Birmingham and Bradford universities, and from the Ludwig Boltzman Institute in Vienna, have  been using powerful ground-penetrating radar around Stonehenge. What they have detected is a trove of previously unknown burial mounds, chapels, shrines, pits — and most remarkable of all — a massive megalithic monument made up of more than 50 giant stones buried along a 1,082-foot-long c-shaped enclosure.

Stonehenge: What's Underneath?
Stonehenge: What Lies Beneath?

If you are interested in knowing more about this magnificent discovery head over to i09.com to read more. You can find the two part series on YouTube Episode 1 and Episode 2.

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September 4

Blurb – Orkney Island dig reveals early Man not so primitive!

Ness of Brodgar
Ness of Brodgar

Archaeologist have uncovered a 5,000-year-old temple complex in Orkney that suggests that prehistoric people were a great deal more sophisticated than previously thought.

The dig at Ness of Brodgar, which is at it’s infancy, has revealed facts that will have us re-evaluate our understanding of how early humans lived. The complex featured paved walkways, carved stonework, colored facades, even slate roofs at a time when buildings were usually covered with turf, hides, or thatch.

If you find this interesting head on over to the full story on the www.scotsman.com.

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August 17

History – Viking Ship Remains Found on the Mississippi!

The heavily damaged ship was found near the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers. It has a length of about 52 feet meters, a beam of 14.5 feet, and a hull that is estimated capable of carrying up to 24 to 28 tons, a typical size for this type of ship.

Viking Knarr
Viking Knarr

Knarrs were naval vessels that were built by the Norsemen from Scandinavia and Iceland for Atlantic voyages, but also used  for trade, commerce, exploration, and warfare during an era known as the Viking Age, that goes approximately from 793 to 1066 AD. They were clinker built, which means the overlapping of planks riveted together. It was capable of sailing 75 miles in one day and held a crew of about 20 to 30 men.

One of the only artefacts on the site, this sword was probably abandoned after it broke, suggesting a violent battle.

 

The above picture of a broken sword suggested it was discarded after a fight.

This new discovery could be one of the oldest evidence of pre-Columbian trans-oceanic contact, and it certainly brings to mind the famous colony of ”Vinland” mentioned in the Icelandic Sagas. This mythical colony would have been established by Leif Ericson around the same period as the settlement at l’Anse aux Meadows, in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador, the most famous site of a Norse or Viking settlement in North America outside Greenland.

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