This year is a leap year, when tradition has it that on 29 February we women are permitted to propose to the men of our choice. Well, I doubt that much of that goes on these days, not least because marriage itself seems to be on the decline. Oh, and if you were born on… Continue reading Leap years, leaplings and leaping saints….
Tag: Ancient Egypt
Tutankhamun found – what about Cleopatra?
It is just over a hundred years since Howard Carter discovered the young Pharoah Tutankhamun in an unexpected part of the Valley of the Kings – shades of Richard III, perhaps? Some thirteen centuries later, Cleopatra VII died by her own hand in Alexandria, after her lover Marcus Antonius’ defeat at Actium, but her tomb seems… Continue reading Tutankhamun found – what about Cleopatra?
Another genealogical investigation
Today a hundred years ago, George Herbert, fifth Earl of Carnarvon, died, about five months after the discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun, which he funded. Herbert was also, of course, the surname of the Earls of Huntingdon/ Pembroke, who included Richard III’s son-in-law William. The earlier of these families dates from the fifteenth century,… Continue reading Another genealogical investigation
Five interesting archaeological discoveries….
According to this article there have been five interesting archaeological discoveries in the past decade. First among them, of course, is the finding of Richard III’s remains:- “….When King Richard III was killed at the Battle of Bosworth in 1485, he was buried in the church of the Grey Friars. In 2012, The Richard III Society… Continue reading Five interesting archaeological discoveries….
Tutankhamun’s tomb was discovered one hundred years ago today….
The Pharaoh Tutankhamun seems to have been part of our lives forever, so it’s hard to believe that his tomb was found just hundred years ago on 4th November 1922. Even the discoverer, Howard Carter, had no idea what lay within the tomb, only that it didn’t seem to have been got at by… Continue reading Tutankhamun’s tomb was discovered one hundred years ago today….
Richard III and the Ancient Egyptian cheese….!
In this intriguing list of twenty , the discovery of Richard III’s remains comes in at number two! He was pipped at the post by an extremely old cheese from Egypt. Eh? Old cheese? Sorry, but can that possibly be more important than Richard? It doesn’t even have King Tut’s fingerprints or teethmarks! 😦 Oh… Continue reading Richard III and the Ancient Egyptian cheese….!
Until relatively recently in human history nobody saw the color ‘blue’….
“Until relatively recently in human history nobody saw the color ‘blue.’ “ and “the evidence for people not seeing blue dates all the way back to the 1800s.” Um, I don’t quite understand these statements. If they couldn’t see blue, what did they see when they looked up at the sky on a clear… Continue reading Until relatively recently in human history nobody saw the color ‘blue’….
Is the Great Pyramid an enormous water pump, or a wondrous light bulb….?
Lordy, the theories about the Great Pyramid continue to multiply. I suppose it just won’t do to think maybe its position “in the centre of the earth” is purely accidental? Oh, hush, Sandra! Wash your mouth out. I recently saw a long TV documentary that theorised the pyramid was actually an immense water pump. Anyway,… Continue reading Is the Great Pyramid an enormous water pump, or a wondrous light bulb….?
Well, I had no idea the Ancient Egyptians were so ahead of their time….!
Well, the above reconstruction of Tutankhamun is a revelation, not only that he was so unlike his wonderful funeral mask, but also because….oh dear, you couldn’t make it up. Here’s an extract from this article :- “….What King Tut Really Looked Like….They conducted DNA studies and found out how frail the pharaoh was. He was… Continue reading Well, I had no idea the Ancient Egyptians were so ahead of their time….!
Richard III and the Pharaoh….?
Last night I settled down to watch a two-hour documentary I’d recorded from the History Channel. No, it wasn’t about Richard III, or even the English medieval period, but about the Fourth Dynasty of Ancient Egypt. Specifically about the discovery of the long-fabled fourth pyramid, some five miles from Giza: here Unfortunately, I haven’t been… Continue reading Richard III and the Pharaoh….?
murreyandblue 