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: Telegraph (UK)
Jan 25, 2010
A pair of British amateur archaeologists believe they have found the hidden source of a Roman aqueduct 1,900 years after it was inaugurated by the Emperor Trajan.
The underground spring lies behind a concealed door beneath an abandoned 13th century church on the shores of Lake Bracciano, 35 miles north of Rome.
Exploration of the site has shown that water
percolating through volcanic bedrock was collected in underground grottoes and chambers and fed into a subterranea
Source: Reuters
Jan 25, 2010
Archeologists have discovered a huge Mayan sculptured head in Guatemala that suggests a little-known site in the jungle-covered Peten region may once have been a significant city.
The stucco sculpture, which is 10 feet wide and 11.5 feet tall, was buried for centuries at the Chilonche ruins, close to the border with Belize.
The recent discovery of the head, which dates from the early Classic period between 300 to 600 AD, means the site is much older than previously thou
Source: BBC
Jan 25, 2010
A historian says he has uncovered evidence of Africans being present at Stirling Castle as early as the 1540s.
John Harrison found references to morys - or moors - in the "Bread Book", a record of who received loaves from the royal kitchens in 1549.
The book may be the first clear record of Africans at Stirling Castle's Royal Palace, Mr Harrison said.
The research is part of Historic Scotland's £12m restoration of the palace to its mid-16th Cent
Source: BBC
Jan 25, 2010
An intricate horse head is the latest item from the Anglo-Saxon Staffordshire Hoard to be put on public display.
The solid gold ornament - about two inches tall - is laced with a filigree gold design and very nearly intact.
It is the latest treasure to emerge from the 1,500-piece Staffordshire Hoard, the largest haul of Anglo-Saxon gold ever found.
It goes on display at the Potteries Museum and Art Gallery in Stoke-on-Trent between 13 February and 7 March
Source: Washington Post
Jan 25, 2010
Army veteran Tom Hewitt hovered over the stained and brittle page, itching to get closer but afraid to touch. Crowded into the upstairs office at American Legion Post 24 in Old Town Alexandria, he couldn't believe what his wife was saying.
Not an hour before, Hewitt, 39, and his friends were drinking beer and talking about updating the walls with historic photos. His wife, Candice Bennett, dropped by, and the couple went upstairs to poke through the drawers and file cabinets in the
Source: Telegraph (UK)
Jan 25, 2010
Stone Age medicine was far more advanced than previously thought, scientists discovered, after unearthing the 7,000-year-old skeleton of a man with an amputated arm.
Early Neolithic surgeons used a sharpened flint stone and rudimentary anaesthetics to amputate the elderly man’s left forearm, and treated the wound in sterile conditions, experts believe.
Evidence of the early surgery was unearthed by Cécile Buquet-Marcon and Anaick Samzun, both archaeologists, and Philip
Source: Fox News
Jan 25, 2010
One year into his administration, President Obama might want to consider dropping the "blame Bush" page from his playbook.
Whether it's the economy, national security or America's reputation abroad, the president and his top advisers have been pinning the blame on the prior administration, directly or obliquely, ever since Obama's inauguration a full year ago. They've done so, in fact, at least seven times since last Tuesday's stunning upset in the Massachusetts Senate el
Source: Telegraph (UK)
Jan 25, 2010
Scientists hope to exhume the remains of Leonardo da Vinci so they can reconstruct his face to discover whether the Mona Lisa is a disguised self-portrait.
Experts believe the Mona Lisa is a da Vinci self-portrait
Scientists and historians from Italy’s National Committee for Cultural Heritage have sought permission to open the artist’s tomb at Amboise Castle in the Loire valley.
While the identity of the Mona Lisa has been debated for centuries, some scholars hav
Source: BBC
Jan 25, 2010
Police in Cyprus have broken up a smuggling ring that was trying to sell stolen antiquities worth more than 11m euros (£9.6m), officials say.
Artefacts for sale include urns, silver coins and figurines, some of which are thought to be 4,000 years old.
Police are investigating whether an international network was involved.
Ten people have been detained and five others are being sought in what analysts say could be the largest such ring ever discovered in t
Source: BBC
Jan 25, 2010
Majid, an enforcer in Saddam Hussein's regime and his cousin, had earlier been sentenced to death four times for a range of crimes against humanity.
In January, he was sentenced to death for ordering the gas attack on the Kurdish town of Halabja in 1988.
It is believed that about 5,000 people died in the attack.
Majid was sentenced to hang in June 2007 for his role in a military campaign against ethnic Kurds, codenamed Anfal, that lasted from February to
Source: BBC
Jan 25, 2010
Dated 1804, Jean Armour writes about the death of two of her children and how she remains in the home she shared with the poet before his death in 1796.
The page was discovered in a New York junk shop last year.
It is thought the letter was intended for Maria Riddell, a woman from a local landed family, who lived in Dumfries.
It was found by American scholar Dr Nancy Groce who by coincidence had recently produced a symposium on Robert Burns at the Librar
Source: Times (UK)
Jan 25, 2010
The new American-led surge in Afghanistan will take longer to fight the insurgency than a similar injection of force in Iraq three years ago when violence fell sharply within months, the top US general in the region told The Times.
General David Petraeus, the head of Central Command, also warned that the fight in Helmand province, Afghanistan, where British and US forces are based, as well other areas, would become even tougher before the situation improved.
Frontline
Source: Times (UK)
Jan 25, 2010
Sir Michael Wood, the former top legal adviser at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, has been given permission from the Attorney-General to break with protocol and disclose advice given to ministers in the build-up to the Iraq war.
The move by Baroness Scotland effectively allows Sir Michael to give unrestricted evidence to the Chilcot inquiry when he appears tomorrow morning. His comments will form part of what is expected to be an explosive week of testimonies from officials, t
Source: Daily Mail (UK)
Jan 25, 2010
The dark details of their family histories are to be revealed to thousands of Australians this week following the release of details of the convicts Britain sent to the new colony more than 200 years ago.
The British government has released the details to coincide with Australia Day on Tuesday, allowing individuals to search through an online data base to check if they are descended from criminals.
If they do find they have convict ancestors, most Australians are unlike
Source: Daily Mail (UK)
Jan 25, 2010
Vital evidence which could solve the mystery of the death of Government weapons inspector Dr David Kelly will be kept under wraps for up to 70 years.
In a draconian – and highly unusual – order, Lord Hutton, the peer who chaired the controversial inquiry into the Dr Kelly scandal, has secretly barred the release of all medical records, including the results of the post mortem, and unpublished evidence.
The move, which will stoke fresh speculation about the true circums
Source: News Antique
Jan 24, 2010
The collection of important and many one-of-a-kind American documents tracing the country's westward movement, assembled by a colorful historian, will be offered in a public auction in New York City.
Described as a collection people have waited for decades to come on the market, a colorful author and historian's extensive multi-million dollar archive of important American manuscripts, maps, letters, early photographs, books and documents tracing America's journey to the Wild West wi
Source: LA Times
Jan 24, 2010
Reporting from Athens - For advocates of the repatriation of marble sculptures removed from the Parthenon in the early 19th century and long housed at the British Museum in London, the new Acropolis Museum is proof -- at last -- that Greece has a safe place to display the hotly contested artworks.
For Athenians who live and work near the Acropolis, the looming modern structure at the southeastern base of the hill is a mixed blessing. The $200-million, 226,000-square-foot museum has
Source: CNN
Jan 24, 2010
The Pablo Picasso painting "The Actor" will undergo repair work, after a woman visiting the Metropolitan Museum of Art fell onto the painting and tore the canvas, according to the museum.
The museum said the Picasso work was damaged Friday when a visitor lost her balance and fell onto the unusually large 6-foot, 4-inch work.
The six-inch tear is on the lower right-hand corner of the painting, the museum said in a news release Sunday.
Source: Ynet News (Israel)
Jan 24, 2010
Recently, it seems that for many this is indeed true. Nine months ago, right-wing groups around the world celebrated Hitler's 120th anniversary. These celebrations were accompanied by all sorts of sickening sales. It's hard to make a buck from suffering and atrocities, so organizers turned to the Fuhrer's other handiwork: Hitler's paintings were sold for prices of about $350,000.
However, turning murder into consumer items is not a new industry: Stalin and Mao Zedong have already ha
Source: Washington Post
Jan 24, 2010
The neat lines and red rectangular sketches look like any typical architectural design. But the handwritten initials H.H. - belonging to the infamous Nazi SS chief Heinrich Himmler - indicate what the drawings represent: wooden barracks, gas chambers and crematoria.
Just ahead of the 65th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, Israel's Holocaust memorial Yad Vashem is displaying the blueprints of the notorious camp in Nazi-occupied Poland that has become a symbol of the Nazi ge
