In 1901 a doctor from Massachusetts found himself facing a puzzling question. The doctor, Duncan MacDougall, wished to reconcile the two major influential factors in his life: medicine along with the science that underpinned it, and religion. Put another way, MacDougall both understood and did not understand the human body. He knew much about its
A new and unknown Egyptian tomb has been found in Luxor in Egypt. What makes this discovery so exciting is that, while most tombs are empty or partially destroyed, this one contains intact burials. The Egyptians viewed the afterlife as the start of a journey for which life was only the prelude. As a result
Few individuals have changed the world, and fewer still manage to do so, as Alexander the Great did, before the age of 30. Ascending to the throne of Macedonia at the tender age of 20, over the next decade he carved out one of the largest empires the world has ever seen, leading his undefeated
The story of Robin Hood is a familiar one to almost everyone. His campaign of defiance from his hideout in Sherwood Forest against the evil Sheriff of Nottingham and his master “Prince” John is certainly inspiring, and its narrative echoes can be seen everywhere from Walter Scott to Star Wars. Such characters are always interesting,
Mexico’s Yucatan peninsula is famed for its Mayan ruins, great cities and carved pyramids which, along with the famous sites in Guatemala, formed the heartlands of this lost civilization. You may be forgiven for thinking that everything of import has been found, but it seems you would be very wrong indeed. A new study of
Much of the history of the Norse is captured in their sagas, epic poems and stories which detail these hardy people, their gods and kings, their history and their beliefs. Much would be lost were it not for these tales of battle and conquest. But these are not all historical documents, far from it. These