When , Denisovans and homo sapiens met one another 50,000 years ago, these archaic and modern humans not only interbred during the thousands of years in which they overlapped, but they exchanged ideas that led to a surge in creativity, according to a leading academic.Tom Higham, a professor of archaeological science at the , argues that their exchange explains “a proliferation of objects in the archaeological record”, such as perforated teeth and shell pendants, the use of pigments and colourants, decorated and incised bones, carved figurative art and cave painting: “Through the early...…When , Denisovans and homo sapiens met one another 50,000 years ago, these archaic and modern humans not only interbred during the thousands of years in which they overlapped, but they exchanged ideas that led to a surge in creativity, according to a leading academic.Tom Higham, a professor of archaeological science at the , argues that their exchange explains “a proliferation of objects in the archaeological record”, such as perforated teeth and shell pendants, the use of pigments and colourants, decorated and incised bones, carved figurative art and cave painting: “Through the early...WW…

An ancient myth about , first recorded 900 years ago, tells of the wizard Merlin leading men to Ireland to capture a magical stone circle called the Giants’ Dance and rebuilding it in England as a memorial to the dead.Geoffrey of Monmouth’s account had been dismissed, partly because he was wrong on other historical facts, although the bluestones of the monument came from a region of that was considered Irish territory in his day.Now a vast stone circle created by our Neolithic ancestors has been discovered in Wales with features suggesting that the 12th-century legend may not be complete...…An ancient myth about , first recorded 900 years ago, tells of the wizard Merlin leading men to Ireland to capture a magical stone circle called the Giants’ Dance and rebuilding it in England as a memorial to the dead.Geoffrey of Monmouth’s account had been dismissed, partly because he was wrong on other historical facts, although the bluestones of the monument came from a region of that was considered Irish territory in his day.Now a vast stone circle created by our Neolithic ancestors has been discovered in Wales with features suggesting that the 12th-century legend may not be complete...WW…

Churches and mosques in Ethiopia are being attacked and their sacred treasures looted in a catastrophic conflict in the northern Tigray region that is causing destruction, loss of life and a surge of refugees to Sudan, according to international experts.They are warning of historical vandalism and "cultural cleansing", fearing that religious sites have not been exempt from shelling and that a nation is being robbed of its ancient religious heritage, to the distress of Ethiopians of all faiths.There are reports of Christian manuscripts being stolen from churches and monasteries, and burned -...…Churches and mosques in Ethiopia are being attacked and their sacred treasures looted in a catastrophic conflict in the northern Tigray region that is causing destruction, loss of life and a surge of refugees to Sudan, according to international experts.They are warning of historical vandalism and "cultural cleansing", fearing that religious sites have not been exempt from shelling and that a nation is being robbed of its ancient religious heritage, to the distress of Ethiopians of all faiths.There are reports of Christian manuscripts being stolen from churches and monasteries, and burned -...WW…

One of the world’s largest collections of prehistoric rock art has been discovered in the Amazonian rainforest. Hailed as “the Sistine Chapel of the ancients”, archaeologists have found tens of thousands of paintings of animals and humans created up to 12,500 years ago across cliff faces that stretch across nearly eight miles in Colombia. Their date is based partly on their depictions of now-extinct ice age animals, such as the mastodon, a prehistoric relative of the elephant that hasn’t roamed South America for at least 12,000 years. There are also images of the palaeolama, an extinct...…One of the world’s largest collections of prehistoric rock art has been discovered in the Amazonian rainforest. Hailed as “the Sistine Chapel of the ancients”, archaeologists have found tens of thousands of paintings of animals and humans created up to 12,500 years ago across cliff faces that stretch across nearly eight miles in Colombia. Their date is based partly on their depictions of now-extinct ice age animals, such as the mastodon, a prehistoric relative of the elephant that hasn’t roamed South America for at least 12,000 years. There are also images of the palaeolama, an extinct...WW…

Tens of thousands of ice age paintings across a cliff face shed light on people and animals from 12,500 years agoSun 29 Nov 2020 05.00 ESTOne of the world’s largest collections of prehistoric rock art has been discovered in the Amazonian rainforest.Hailed as “the Sistine Chapel of the ancients”, archaeologists have found tens of thousands of paintings of animals and humans created up to 12,500 years ago across cliff faces that stretch across nearly eight miles in .Their date is based partly on their depictions of now-extinct ice age animals, such as the mastodon, a prehistoric relative of...…Tens of thousands of ice age paintings across a cliff face shed light on people and animals from 12,500 years agoSun 29 Nov 2020 05.00 ESTOne of the world’s largest collections of prehistoric rock art has been discovered in the Amazonian rainforest.Hailed as “the Sistine Chapel of the ancients”, archaeologists have found tens of thousands of paintings of animals and humans created up to 12,500 years ago across cliff faces that stretch across nearly eight miles in .Their date is based partly on their depictions of now-extinct ice age animals, such as the mastodon, a prehistoric relative of...WW…

Archives discovery shows the calculated nature of the execution and reinforces the image of the king as a ‘pathological monster’Sun 25 Oct 2020 04.00 EDTIt is a Tudor warrant book, one of many in the National Archives, filled with bureaucratic minutiae relating to 16th-century crimes. But this one has an extraordinary passage, overlooked until now, which bears instructions from Henry VIII explaining precisely how he wanted his second wife, Anne Boleyn, to be executed.In this document, the king stipulated that, although his queen had been “adjudged to death… by burning of fire… or...…Archives discovery shows the calculated nature of the execution and reinforces the image of the king as a ‘pathological monster’Sun 25 Oct 2020 04.00 EDTIt is a Tudor warrant book, one of many in the National Archives, filled with bureaucratic minutiae relating to 16th-century crimes. But this one has an extraordinary passage, overlooked until now, which bears instructions from Henry VIII explaining precisely how he wanted his second wife, Anne Boleyn, to be executed.In this document, the king stipulated that, although his queen had been “adjudged to death… by burning of fire… or...WW…

Archaelogists say Sumerian plaque dating from around 2400BC may have been looted Sun 27 Sep 2020 10.14 EDTLast modified on Sun 27 Sep 2020 16.04 EDTAn ancient sculpture is to be returned to after it was secretly smuggled out of the country and offered for sale in the UK – only to be seized by the Metropolitan police.The previously unknown Sumerian temple plaque, dating from about 2400BC, is being repatriated with the help of the , which first tipped off the police after spotting its planned sale in 2019.“We’re used to coming across tablets, pots, metalwork, seals and figurines on the art...…Archaelogists say Sumerian plaque dating from around 2400BC may have been looted Sun 27 Sep 2020 10.14 EDTLast modified on Sun 27 Sep 2020 16.04 EDTAn ancient sculpture is to be returned to after it was secretly smuggled out of the country and offered for sale in the UK – only to be seized by the Metropolitan police.The previously unknown Sumerian temple plaque, dating from about 2400BC, is being repatriated with the help of the , which first tipped off the police after spotting its planned sale in 2019.“We’re used to coming across tablets, pots, metalwork, seals and figurines on the art...WW…

British stars Miriam Margolyes and Jim Carter are joining for an extraordinary adventure in which the audience can conjure up the much-loved inventor and his faithful hound as avatars directly in front of them, wherever they happen to be.The new story from Productions, titled The Big Fix Up, is described as a story-driven augmented reality adventure, rather than a film or a game, although there are elements of both. It will be available to viewers via an app on their mobile phone or tablet this autumn, with the camera in that device enabling digital versions of Wallace and Gromit to appear...…British stars Miriam Margolyes and Jim Carter are joining for an extraordinary adventure in which the audience can conjure up the much-loved inventor and his faithful hound as avatars directly in front of them, wherever they happen to be.The new story from Productions, titled The Big Fix Up, is described as a story-driven augmented reality adventure, rather than a film or a game, although there are elements of both. It will be available to viewers via an app on their mobile phone or tablet this autumn, with the camera in that device enabling digital versions of Wallace and Gromit to appear...WW…

A circle of deep shafts has been discovered near the world heritage site of , to the astonishment of archaeologists, who have described it as the largest prehistoric structure ever found in Britain.Four thousand five hundred years ago, the Neolithic peoples who constructed Stonehenge, a masterpiece of engineering, also dug a series of shafts aligned to form a circle spanning 1.2 miles (2km) in diameter. The structure appears to have been a boundary guiding people to a sacred area because , one of Britain’s largest henge monuments, is located precisely at its centre. The site is 1.9 miles...…A circle of deep shafts has been discovered near the world heritage site of , to the astonishment of archaeologists, who have described it as the largest prehistoric structure ever found in Britain.Four thousand five hundred years ago, the Neolithic peoples who constructed Stonehenge, a masterpiece of engineering, also dug a series of shafts aligned to form a circle spanning 1.2 miles (2km) in diameter. The structure appears to have been a boundary guiding people to a sacred area because , one of Britain’s largest henge monuments, is located precisely at its centre. The site is 1.9 miles...WW…

hey were expert engineers, way ahead of the curve on underfloor heating, aqueducts and the use of concrete as a building material. Now it turns out that the Romans were also masters at recycling their rubbish.Researchers at Pompeii, the city buried under a thick carpet of volcanic ash when Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD, have found that huge mounds of refuse apparently dumped outside the city walls were in fact “staging grounds for cycles of use and reuse”.Professor Allison Emmerson, an American academic who is part of a large team working at Pompeii, said rubbish was piled up along almost the...…hey were expert engineers, way ahead of the curve on underfloor heating, aqueducts and the use of concrete as a building material. Now it turns out that the Romans were also masters at recycling their rubbish.Researchers at Pompeii, the city buried under a thick carpet of volcanic ash when Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD, have found that huge mounds of refuse apparently dumped outside the city walls were in fact “staging grounds for cycles of use and reuse”.Professor Allison Emmerson, an American academic who is part of a large team working at Pompeii, said rubbish was piled up along almost the...WW…