Mass grave in London reveals how volcano caused global catastrophe

[The Guardian]  When archaeologists discovered thousands of medieval skeletons in a mass burial pit in east London in the 1990s, they assumed they were 14th-century victims of the Black Death or the Great Famine of 1315-17. Now they have been astonished by a more explosive explanation – a cataclysmic volcano that had erupted a century earlier, thousands of miles away in the tropics, and wrought havoc on medieval Britons.

U.K.'s House of Lords may face modern elections

[USA Today]  For centuries, the British House of Lords has played a role in laws that have defined Western civilization. England now appears poised to end that. The House of Commons on Tuesday voted 462-124 to advance a bill that would require most members of the House of Lords, where some of the more than 800 members inherited their seats from forebears, to gain their seats through elections.

Marilyn Monroe mystery: Where are her ‘censored’ FBI files?

[Washington Post]  In connection with the 50th anniversary of Monroe’s death on Aug. 5, The Associated Press has attempted under the Freedom of Information Act to obtain the most complete record of the bureau’s monitoring of Monroe. The FBI says it no longer has the files it compiled on Monroe; the National Archives — the usual destination for such material — says it doesn’t have them either. Finding out precisely when the records were moved — as the FBI says has happened — required the filing of yet another, still-pending Freedom of Information Act request.

Drones map ancient Peruvian ruins

[New Scientist]   For the past month, a lunch tray-sized aircraft has been skimming over Peruvian ruins snapping high-definition photos which are then stitched together to build a 3D map of the site.

The flyer is the brainchild ofSteven Wernke and Julie Adams, archaeologist and roboticist respectively at Vanderbilt University in Tennessee. Wernke says that the craft will speed up site mapping drastically compared to traditional methods - a fiddly medley of theodolites, measuring tapes and photography which often requires repeat visits over two or three years during the dry season.

Invisible volcanic ash gives clues to Neanderthal demise

[Natural History Museum]  About 40,000 years ago, a layer of cryptotephra particles carpeted a huge area of Central and Eastern Europe after a massive volcanic eruption in Italy called the Campanian Ignimbrite (CI). This eruption, and the resulting environmental and climatic disruption, has been suggested as a factor in the extinction of the Neanderthals. Interaction with us, modern humans, is one of the other possibilities.Neanderthals, who were our closest relatives, had been living in Europe for hundreds of thousands of years. But all physical evidence of them disappears after about 30,000 years ago.

Newly Discovered Leonardo da Vinci Sculpture to be Unveiled

[Hollywood Today]   “Perfect, perfect, perfect,” says Professor Carlo Pedretti upon examination of recently discovered Leonardo da Vinci Sculpture, Horse and Rider in May 2012. What he saw was a first generation bronze sculpture that was cast from a mold made from a beeswax hand-carved sculpture by the renaissance master over 500 years ago. A formal invitation-only unveiling for media and special guests will be held at the Historic Greystone Mansion in Beverly Hills on August 27th.

When the world burned less: Cool climate, not population loss, led to fewer fires

[Science Blog]  In the years after Columbus’ voyage, burning of New World forests and fields diminished significantly – a phenomenon some have attributed to decimation of native populations by European diseases. But a new University of Utah-led study suggests global cooling resulted in fewer fires because both preceded Columbus in many regions worldwide.

Letter discovered from Hitler's nephew begging to enlist in U.S. Army for fight AGAINST the Nazis in WWII

[Daily Mail]  An extraordinary letter from the nephew of Adolf Hitler has been discovered in which he begs to be allowed to enlist in the U.S. Army to fight against his uncle's facist regime. William Patrick Hitler fled Nazi Germany when war broke out in 1939 to come and live with relatives in New York. After being rejected from the U.S. Army because of his family connection, he wrote an emotional plea to President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1942 on why he so strongly wanted to fight for Allied Forces.

Truman's grandson meets Japan atomic bomb survivors

[Yahoo News]  A grandson of former US president Harry Truman, who authorised the atomic bombing of Japan during World War II, met survivors in Tokyo Friday, calling it "a good first step towards healing old wounds".Clifton Truman Daniel, 55, was in Japan to attend 67th anniversary ceremonies of the bombs falling -- on August 6 in Hiroshima and August 9 in Nagasaki -- the first Truman relative to attend the annual events in the southern Japanese cities.

Newly unearthed ancient sculptures linked to Bible

[Ottawa Citizen]  Canadian team finds bearded, wild-eyed figure buried in Turkey. The latest find - the exquisitely preserved head and torso of a figure that would have stood four metres tall in the historical Neo-Hittite city of Kunulua - exemplifies a monumental sculptural tradition referenced in the Bible, including passages that describe the "graven images" created in the "kingdoms of the idols" north of ancient Israel.

Mountains, Seaway Triggered North American Dinosaur Surge

[Science Daily]  The rise of the Rocky Mountains and the appearance of a major seaway that divided North America may have boosted the evolution of new dinosaur species, according to a new Ohio University-led study.

Archaeologists find traces of 2,500-year old chocolate

[The Telegraph]  Archaeologists say they have found traces of 2,500-year-old chocolate on a plate in the Yucatan peninsula, the first time they have found ancient chocolate residue on a plate rather than a cup, suggesting it may have been used as a condiment or sauce with solid food.

Amazing fossil discovery shows how insects got their wings

[IO9]  The fossil is described in this week's Nature, and has been dubbed Strudiella devonica. Dated to the Late Devonian, around 370 million years ago, this 8mm long fossil has a "six-legged thorax, long single-branched antennae, triangular jaws and a 10-segmented abdomen," all features that would push it into the context of an insect — and possibly the oldest complete insect fossil ever discovered.

Ancient Antarctic Rainforest Discovered

[International Science Times]  Researchers studying sediment cores found fossilized pollen that came from a near-tropical forest that covered the continent during the Eocene period, approximately 34 million to 56 million years ago. An analysis of the core revealed that Antarctica was much warmer back then, most likely around 70 degrees Fahrenheit.

Discovered: medieval carvings hidden for centuries

[BBC]  Medieval carvings hidden from sight for hundreds of years have been discovered in the roof of a church on the Norfolk/Cambridgeshire border.

Is This the Oldest Cave Art on the Planet?

[Smithsonian]  In the Australian science magazine Cosmos, Elizabeth Finkel reports on her journey to a rock formation in the northern part of the country that could very well be the site of the world’s oldest art. Underneath a massive rock slab which rests on dozens of narrow stilts, researchers have found the world’s oldest stone axe, and a vast collection of painted artwork. Finkel describes the site, which is known as Gabarnmung: "Like the Sistine Chapel, the ceiling of the expansive rock shelter was a mural of breathtakingly vivid and bold works of art – hundreds of them. And the paintings extended up and down 36 remarkable sandstone columns that, like the pillars of a temple, appeared to support the cave."

Archaeologists Discover Funerary Boat Of One Of Ancient Egypt's Earliest Pharaohs

[Gadling]  A funerary boat dating back 5,000 years has been discovered in Egypt, Ahram Online reports. The boat was meant to take the Pharaoh Den to the afterlife and was buried in the northeast of the Giza Plateau, site of the famous (and later) pyramids. Den was a ruler of Ancient Egypt's poorly understood First Dynasty, which saw the unification of Egypt and its development as a major civilization.

Captain Morgan's pirate treasure unearthed in Panama

[CNN]  The belongings of a real-life Pirate of the Caribbean have been discovered off the coast of Panama and are set to go on show for travelers keen to see how 17th-century buccaneers lived. The pirate was Captain Henry Morgan, of rum bottle fame, a Welshman who looted throughout the Spanish Main in the 17th century before losing five ships in the West Indies.

Israeli scholars claim to have uncovered first archaeological evidence of Samson

[Daily Mail]  A tiny seal has been uncovered that could be the first archaeological evidence of Samson, the Biblical slayer of Philistines. Archaeologists discovered the ancient artifact while excavating the tell of Beit Shemesh in the Judaean Hills near Jerusalem, Israel.

Tomb of Mayan prince unearthed in jungle ruins

[MSNBC]  Excavators have uncovered what they believe to be the 1,300-year-old remains of a Mayan prince entombed within a royal complex of the ancient city of Uxul, located in Mexico near the Guatemalan border.   The fossilized man, who researchers estimate was between 20 and 25 when he died, was found lying on his back, with his arms folded inside a tomb 4.9 feet  below the floor in a building within the city's royal complex.

Ancient Genetic 'Mistake' Drove Evolution

[Sci-Tech Today]   Five-hundred million years ago, a genetic mistake led to the evolution of humans. A spineless creature experienced two doublings in DNA, triggering the evolution of humans and other animals. The results have been both good and bad: Good because it led to better information integration in cells, but bad because breakdowns can cause disease.

Oldest poison pushes back ancient civilization 20,000 years

[CBS]  The late Stone Age may have had an earlier start in Africa than previously thought -- by some 20,000 years. A new analysis of artifacts from a cave in South Africa reveals that the residents were carving bone tools, using pigments, making beads and even using poison 44,000 years ago. These sorts of artifacts had previously been linked to the San culture, which was thought to have emerged around 20,000 years ago.

Warrior king statue discovered

[MSNBC]  A newly discovered statue of a curly haired man gripping a spear and a sheath of wheat once guarded the upper citadel of an ancient kingdom's capital. The enormous sculpture, which is intact from about the waist up, stands almost 5 feet  tall, suggesting that its full height with legs would have been between 11 and 13 feet

German World War II sub discovered off Nantucket

[Boston.com]  Earlier this week, after years of research and days of painstaking searches of the ocean floor, a crew discovered the elusive craft about 70 miles south of Nantucket. Crew members said the submarine was among the last undiscovered German warships along the eastern seaboard, where it once attacked merchant ships and forced blackouts in coastal cities.

Ancient diet offers clues to today's diabetes epidemic

[MSNBC]  The ancient Native Americans of the desert Southwest subsisted on a fiber-filled diet of prickly pear, yucca and flour ground from plant seeds, finds a new analysis of fossilized feces that may explain why modern Native Americans are so susceptible to Type II diabetes.

Discovery of early medieval royal stronghold in southwest Scotland

[Past Horizons]  A recent Heritage Lottery funded archaeological excavation has discovered a hitherto forgotten early medieval royal stronghold in Scotland