THINGS WE LEARNED THIS MONTH…
RECENT HISTORY HEADLINES THAT CAUGHT OUR EYE
WWII-era cake discovered in Germany
An almost completely intact, if squashed, cake, which survived a bombing raid during World War II, has been discovered in a cellar in the German city of Lübeck. The blackened hazelnut and almond dessert has kept its shape – with the curls of the icing on top still visible – and remains in the original wax wrapping. That is quite the culinary find, given that the cake was baked 79 years ago and burned in the attack. In March 1942, Lübeck suffered a devastating British bombing raid, which created a firestorm that destroyed much of the historic city, in retaliation for the 1940 Luftwaffe raid on Coventry. Work is now underway to preserve the cake – albeit for display, not eating.
Sophisticated mummifications carried out 1,000 years earlier than assumed
New revelations regarding the remains of an ancient Egyptian nobleman could rewrite our knowledge of mummification, say experts. Analysis of Khuwy, who died during the Fifth Dynasty (c25th to the mid-24th century BC), has indicated that he was preserved in fine linen and resin – materials not thought to have been introduced for another 1,000 years. Professor Salima Ikram, head of Egyptology at Cairo’s American University, told the Observer that “All books about mummification and the history of the Old Kingdom will need to be revised.”
Babylonian tablet shows the world’s oldest ghost sighting
The world’s oldest-known depiction of a ghost has been discovered lurking inside a vault at the British Museum. Scratched onto the surface of a Babylonian clay tablet, the image – thought to be 3,500 years old – shows a bearded figure being led into the afterlife as part of a guide to exorcising spirits. The accompanying text, which is only visible from a particular angle, ends with a stark warning: “Do not look behind you!”
WWII ‘ghost ships’ raised from the sea during volcanic eruption
Activity from an underwater volcano near Japan’s Ogasawara Islands has raised 24 World War II ships from the seabed. The transport vessels, captured by US forces during the battle of Iwo Jima in 1945, had been intentionally scuttled at the end of the clash to create a makeshift port for troops. However, due to the ongoing eruption of Fukutoku-Okanoba, the ships have now been brought to the surface on an island of pumice and ash. It’s likely, though, that the new island will eventually collapse and the ‘ghost ships’ will be submerged once again.
Solar storm helps calculate date Vikings settled in north America
first European voyage to reach North America
Analysis of tree rings has shed new light on the arrival of the Vikings in North America. Although historians have long known that Norse settlers reached the New World before Christopher Columbus, the date has remained a mystery. However, experts have now confirmed that logs discovered at L’Anse aux Meadows, Newfoundland, were felled in AD 1021 using tools associated with the Vikings, rather than native inhabitants. The researchers were aided by radiation damage within the tree rings, caused by a solar storm that took place in AD 993.
£200,000
The estimated sale price of a rare New England shilling found in Northumberland, which was struck in 1652 and used by settlers of the Massachusetts Bay Colony