Archaeologists excavating in southern France have uncovered more than 160 cremation burials that illuminate Roman funerary practices between the first and third centuries A.D. The graves, discovered at the ancient city of Olbia on the French Riviera, reveal detailed cremation processes and unique methods for honoring the dead through liquid offerings. Olbia began as a
The Crusades are perhaps the defining idea of medieval Europe. Over more than four centuries they redefined its history, set it on a new course with a common, foreign enemy against whom the Christian countries could find common cause. They changed Europe forever. Countries rose and fell in the shadow of these religious wars, Christian
In 1799 France changed forever. After a decade of rumbling discontent regarding the concentration of wealth towards the powerful and the exploitation of the masses who were facing widespread starvation, the French rose up and killed everyone in charge, from the King on down. The failure of the ancien regime, the creaking feudal order of
There are few symbols of the US as well-known as the Statue of Liberty. The enormous neoclassical sculpture, 46 meters tall and clad in copper, may be the single most recognizable emblem of the United States worldwide. The statue itself is filled with meaningful touches. Her foot stands on a broken shackle, which remembers the
Nuclear power is among the most complex and advanced technologies we have developed as a species. Our fission reactors are some of the most complicated machines and systems ever built, which is hardly surprising given what occurs at their heart. Nuclear fission, whereby atoms of uranium are bombarded by neutrons which they absorb, causing them
On the 23rd March 1918 at 7.18 in the morning the city of Paris was rocked by a sudden, unexpected explosion on the Quai de la Seine. The blast came without warning, and many thought the initial explosion to be some kind of accident, a gas leak or something of that kind. However as the