Located in the northwest corner of New Mexico, Chaco Canyon is 70 miles from the nearest town and reached only by rutted dirt roads. And yet, throughout the valley floor are vast stone edifices some towering as high as 4 or 5 floors and containing hundreds of rooms. These ‘Great Houses’ were remarkable engineering achievements...Read More
These bodies of water surrounding fortresses reduced the risk of tunneling. One of the most serious forms of attack was to undermine part of a castle. The ‘miners’ were called Sappers. They would dig a tunnel underneath one of the corners using timber props (‘ sapping’), and then fill the tunnel with wood and set...Read More
Did you know that the Moors, who ruled Spain for 700 years, introduced new scientific techniques to Europe, such as an astrolabe, a device for measuring the position of the stars and planets? Did you know that the Great Mosque of Córdoba (La Mezquita) is still one of the architectural wonders of the world? Its...Read More
Sited along Hadrian’s Wall, the massive defensive fortifications that delineated the northern border of the Roman Britain, Vindolanda was one of the garrisons built to house soldiers. Excavations here have uncovered many exciting finds – officer’s residences and barrack buildings, letters handwriten in ink, the finest collection of Roman footwear from the Roman Empire, textiles,...Read More
Using computerized tomography (CT) scans of his mummified body, scientists have conducted a “virtual autopsy” of Tutankhamen, the boy king who ruled Egypt some 3,300 years ago. The scan suggests that he suffered from numerous deformities and ailments, caused in part by inbreeding within his family. And a DNA analysis found traces of malaria and...Read More
A re-nomination and extension of the existing almost 7500 acres cultural World Heritage Calakmul Biosphere Reserve, UNESCO has recently enlarged it to 1.78 million acres designated as mixed natural and cultural property, the first one in the country. Located in the southern portion of the Yucatan Peninsula, the extension includes the remains of Calakmul, the...Read More
There are no paintings or statues that can be definitively credited to this queen, and yet she was described by historians as being physically alluring. Coins with her image that were struck in her time show a masculine face with a protruding nose – not (by our standards anyway) a woman who would stand out...Read More
