Colonial Williamsburg archaeologists have uncovered the remains of a Revolutionary War barracks destroyed by British General Cornwallis in 1781. “Here at Colonial Williamsburg, we interpret the American Revolution and the politics that led up to it, and a lot of the events that led up to it,” Gary said. “But then, we don’t have a […]
A rare book with handwritten annotations by Paradise Lost author John Milton has been discovered in a public library in Phoenix, Arizona. This is only the third book with Milton’s notes known to survive, and one of only nine surviving books from his library. The notes in two volumes of Holinshed’s Chronicles, a history of
The remains of the reliquary of St. Svithun, long believed to have been sent to Denmark and melted down 500 years ago, have been found in the crypt of the church dedicated to him in Stavanger, Norway. The find consists of a gilded copper plate measuring five by ten centimeters with small holes along the
A wooden door covered in more than 50 carvings from soldiers garrisoned there from the wars of the French Revolution through the mid-19th century has been discovered at Dover Castle. Graffiti include initials, surnames, dates, a large single-masted sailing ship and nine men hanging from gallows. First built shortly after 1066 to defend the Strait
The natural hot springs in Bath that give the city its name and 2,000-year-old reputation for healing contain a small army of pathogen-combating bacteria. Biomedical researchers at the University of Plymouth sampled the water, sediment and bacterial biofilm from the King’s Spring and the Great Bath, and found 300 different types of bacteria, 15 of
A rare intact lead doll from the 16th or 17th century has been discovered by a mudlarking metal detectorist in Long Whatton, in Leicestershire. Sarah Brackstone found the small piece in a brook near her home this February. She reported her discovery to finds liaison officer for Leicestershire and Rutland where the modest little toy
The excavation of the cellar of George Washington’s Virginia mansion Mount Vernon has uncovered 35 glass bottles from the 18th century stored in five different pits. An astonishing 29 of them are still intact and, like the two bottles found earlier this year, they contain preserved fruit. There are cherries and some smaller berries, likely
Archaeologists excavating Minute Man National Historical Park in Concord, Massachusetts, have discovered five musket balls fired by the colonial militia against the British in the first battle of the Revolutionary War on April 19th, 1775. The musket balls were unearthed by National Parks Services archaeologists at the North Bridge battle site, famed as the place
The wreck of a 19th sailing ship still loaded with its cargo of champagne, wine, mineral water and porcelain has been discovered in the Baltic off the Swedish island of Öland. The Baltictech diving group, a Polish association of divers dedicating to exploring shipwrecks in Baltic waters, The sonar images were unremarkable (the wreck looked
Texas A&M University researchers have been combatting a conservation threat on an 18th century bronze cannon that was used at the Battle of the Alamo on March 6th, 1836. An unknown white chalky substance has been growing on the surface of the bronze four-pound cannon. It has not been found on any other bronze or
