Michelle Moran's Blog, page 112

Study: Mistress of French King Died From Drinking Too Much Gold

LONDON — A British medical journal has published findings saying a mistress of 16th-century French King Henry II may have died from consuming too much drinkable gold.

Read the rest here.

Monument lifted from Cleopatra's underwater city

By KATARINA KRATOVAC (AP)

ALEXANDRIA, Egypt — Egyptian archaeologists have lifted out of the Mediterranean Sea an ancient granite temple pylon from the palace complex of Cleopatra, submerged in the waters of Alexandria's harbor.

Read the rest here.

Okay... one post before I go! Monument lifted from Cleopatra's underwater city

By KATARINA KRATOVAC (AP)

ALEXANDRIA, Egypt — Egyptian archaeologists have lifted out of the Mediterranean Sea an ancient granite temple pylon from the palace complex of Cleopatra, submerged in the waters of Alexandria's harbor.

Read the rest here.

HISTORY BUFF IS GOING TO SCANDINAVIA!

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That's right! Because where else would you rather be in the winter than Copenhagen where it's -2 degrees?

Since the hubby and I have always wanted to see Viking treasures, Hamlet's castle, and the Christmas markets in Sweden, we're leaving for a little trip abroad. We'll be touring Scandinavia, and then going to Switzerland for some Alpine skiing (okay, I'll be doing Alpine hot-chocolate drinking, but everyone else will be skiing...). This means I won't be updating the site from now until Janu...

A rocky vacation she really dug

By Sue Kovach Shuman Washington Post Staff Writer

I was attacked by red ants. Sat on a cactus. Almost stepped on a rattlesnake.

Read the rest on the Washington Post.

Heroes or rabble-rousers? The real story of the Maccabees

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A Bernard Picart copper plate engraving circa 1730 depicting the Maccabees. (Public Domain)

by Gil Shefler

NEW YORK (JTA) -- In 165 BCE, a group of warriors led by Judah Maccabee and his band of brothers ushered in a new era in Jewish history when they routed the soldiers of the Greek-Syrian empire and rededicated the Holy Temple in Jerusalem.

Read the rest here.

Ancient Amazon civilisation laid bare by felled forest

by Linda Geddes

Signs of what could be a previously unknown ancient civilisation are emerging from beneath the felled trees of the Amazon. Some 260 giant avenues, ditches and enclosures have been spotted from the air in a region straddling Brazil's border with Bolivia.

Read the rest on New Scientist.

HAPPY HANUKKAH!

To all of my readers who celebrate Hanukkah, have a wonderful holiday!

Ancient Tablets Decoded; Shed Light on Assyrian Empire

Brian Handwerk
for National Geographic News

Meticulous ancient notetakers have given archaeologists a glimpse of what life was like 3,000 years ago in the Assyrian Empire, which controlled much of the region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Persian Gulf.

Read the rest on National Geographic.

Ancient Mediterranean flood mystery solved

By Victoria Gill
Science reporter, BBC New

Research has revealed details of the catastrophic Zanclean flood that refilled the Mediterranean Sea more than five million years ago. The flood occurred when Atlantic waters found their way into the cut-off and desiccated Mediterranean basin.

Read the rest on the BBC.