Digs & Discoveries March/April 2012
The Vikings' Crystal Compass?
A transparent calcite crystal found 30 years ago on a ship that sank in the English Channel in 1592 could help explain how Vikings were able to sail from Norway to North America 1,000 years ago without magnetic compasses.
Around the World March/April 2012
ENGLAND
Digs & Discoveries January/February 2012
The Precious
Around the World September 1, 2011
ENGLAND
Around the World July 1, 2011
ENGLAND
The man was hanged and decapitated between 673 and 482 b.c. All his soft tissues then decomposed except—seemingly in defiance of biology and chemistry—his brain.
Features May 1, 2011
London's Air-Raid Shelters and Lost Homes
During the Spanish Civil War, German and Italian forces had used aerial bombing raids to aid Francisco Franco's Nationalist side. In the run-up to WWII, British officials were frightened by the prospect of those very same tactics, so the U.K. passed legislation to begin digging air-raid shelters.
Features May 1, 2011
World War II Aircraft Crash Sites
In World War I, planes were primarily used for reconnaissance missions—though early dogfights took place between aircraft outfitted with machine guns. In World War II, in addition to recon and air fights, aerial bombing was a major activity.
Around the World March 1, 2011
ENGLAND
Silk inside and black velvet outside, this rare 16th-century vizard, or mask, would have been worn to hide or protect a gentlewoman's face while traveling.
Artifacts January/February 2012
Merman Ship's Carving
Around the World January 1, 2011
ENGLAND
At Vindolanda, a Roman frontier town, archaeologists found a mystery from the third century a.d. In a shallow grave in the town's barracks were the remains of a girl just eight to 10 years old.
