For those with a mind to search for them, there are many rumoured lost treasures out there. Some are certainly waiting to be find, sunken ships loaded with valuables or hidden caches. Others are more fanciful. The sad truth is that most “lost” treasures were simply disappeared into the pockets of whoever happened to be
Ever wondered why proponents of medieval alchemy thought they could turn lead into gold? Such a transmogrification seems the stuff of fantasy to us with our modern understanding of matter, chemistry and physics, but alchemists had none of this. And, as it turns out, their thinking was quite sophisticated for the Middle Ages. Strip away
World War Two was the driving force for military innovation in the 20th century. The Cold War and its hot counterparts in Korea, Vietnam and Afghanistan may have had their own moments but nothing compares to the wild experimentation of WW2, particularly from the Axis powers. World War Two was also special for another reason,
Throughout history the sword has held a special place of pre-eminence. It has evolved beyond a mere practical and versatile weapon to become something symbolic. This is however not entirely fair. The sword was given this prominence because it was the weapon of the officer and the gentleman, a dashing suggestion of violence brought into
Burnswark Hill in Scotland dominates the local landscape. A prominent mound in the south of the country, atop its commanding slopes sits an iron age hill fort and a surrounding community, spread across some seven hectares. Such arrangements are not uncommon across the British Isles and indeed continental Europe. These hill forts can tell us
In 1912 a Polish book dealer came across a manuscript which, at first glance, did not seem to be that out of the ordinary. Composed of roughly 240 pages of vellum, it was apparently a remnant of a larger whole with more than 30 pages missing. What remained appears to be a medical text of