Pompeii, famously destroyed by the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD, is treasure trove due to its extraordinary state of preservation. One would be forgiven for thinking that everything had been found in the century modern archaeologists have spent excavating the Roman city. But this would be a mistake, as on October 24th the Pompeii
Mars has fascinated mankind for much of its history. Unusually and distinctively red even when viewed with the naked eye, it was watched as it traced its unusual path across the sky by the great lost civilizations of old. Both the ancient Egyptians and ancient Chinese have records of Mars in their astronomical notes. The
Pellagra is a disease of which most people have never heard. It is understood today, and treatment is straightforward; in fact, nobody needs to suffer form it at all. But it deserves a mention as a historical footnote because of what it did to Europe, and as an interesting study in how legends are formed.
Unpicking our ancient past is a nigh-impossible challenge. Piecing together who we are and where we came from has been likened to sifting sand through a screen, trying to find the odd grain which might offer another clue. For the truth is history is mostly lost. Almost everything of what we were simply doesn’t survive,
The Tasmanian Tiger is one of the most famous extinct animals. Also known as the thylacine, it survived well into the modern era and we even have film footage of a living example. Sadly this footage was of the last tiger, which died in captivity on the 7th September 1936 in Hobart Zoo on the
HMS Trooper was born into the heart of conflict. Laid down in 1940 and launched in 1942, she was thrown into the heart of the Second World War and the Battle for the Mediterranean. Her career was a short lived but eventful. In little over a year she sank an enemy submarine, the Italian Pietro