Posts Tagged ‘treasures’
Boy digs up British Civil War cannonball in his yard (The History Blog)
An interesting history-related post from The History Blog:
Ten-year-old Jack Sinclair discovered a Civil War cannonball when digging in his back yard in Southwell, Nottinghamshire, England. His father had dug up a tree root and Jack, an avowed digger of things, kept excavating the hole until it was two feet deep. When his spade hit something hard, he thought it was a rock at first but then realized that it was bigger and denser. He got down on the ground to pull it out and retrieved a very heavy, rusty, muddy lump. His mother was concerned that it might be an unexploded bomb from World War II, but ...
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Napoleonic POW ship models for sale (The History Blog)
An interesting history-related post from The History Blog:
One of my favorite posts last year was about a model of a guillotine made out of animals bones by a Napoleonic prisoner of war in England. Britain had a surfeit of prisoners from France and other countries who fought on Napoleon’s side during the late 18th, early 19th century. An estimated 100,000 Napoleonic prisoners were in British hands between 1793 and 1815 because of French Revolutionary and Napoleonic policies against the ransom or exchange of prisoners. Prison hulks had nothing like that capacity, so a number of prisoner of war camps were built in England, the first permanent POW ...
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A metal bird Sam Spade would kill for (The History Blog)
An interesting history-related post from The History Blog:
Forget the Maltese Falcon, it’s this Japanese hawk that’s the stuff that dreams are made of. It’s coming up for auction at Bonham’s on May 16th and it could be yours for an estimated £120,000 ($185,628). This masterpiece of wrought iron craftsmanship made in the late 19th century probably by artist and metalworker Itao Shinjiro, is fully articulated. Its limbs and claws move; the head turns 180 degrees; the beak opens and closes; the neck, tail and wing feathers can be stretched out or shortened to mimic the animal at rest or in flight.
There are only two other comparable ...
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Rare gold find in 4,400-year-old Beaker burial (The History Blog)
An interesting history-related post from The History Blog:
Archaeological from Wessex Archaeology excavating a gravel quarry in Berkshire discovered a rare 4,400-year-old Beaker burial 18 months ago. The news was kept under embargo until Friday to give the team time to analyze the bones and grave goods, both of which make the grave even more rare: beads made of folded sheet gold and the likelihood that the person buried was female.
Beaker burials — Copper Age graves from around 2,500 B.C. characterized by the ritual inclusion of a fine pottery drinking vessel known as a beaker — are extremely rare in south-east England. Gold has only been found ...
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Metropolitan Museum of Art buys Le Brun Polyxena (The History Blog)
An interesting history-related post from The History Blog:
The Sacrifice of Polyxena, the 1647 painting by Charles Le Brun that was discovered in the Coco Chanel Suite in Paris’ Ritz Hotel during renovations last year, was bought at auction by the Metropolitan Museum of Art for $1,885,194, three times the high estimate. It’s new world record for a Le Brun painting. There are very few museums that have the kind of acquisition budget that will keep them in the bidding when prices get to this level, so it’s extremely fortunate for the public that the Met was in it to win it.
The Sacrifice of Polyxena ...
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King Khufu’s port, papyri found on Red Sea (The History Blog)
An interesting history-related post from The History Blog:
The remains of a large commercial harbour complex dating back to the Fourth Dynasty 4,500 years ago have been discovered at Wadi el-Jarf, a town on the Red Sea shore 110 miles south of Suez city, Egypt. Inscriptions and radiocarbon dating of pottery date the site to the reign of the pharaoh Khufu (aka Cheops). The port was one of a network on both sides of the Gulf of Suez used to transport limestone blocks from the quarries and copper and turquoise from the mines in south Sinai back to the Nile Valley. It’s the earliest found to date, the ...
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First book printed in US could make $30 million (The History Blog)
An interesting history-related post from The History Blog:
The Bay Psalm Book, the first book printed in British North America 136 years before it became the United States, is one of the rarest books in the world. There are only 11 copies known to have survived, and they are all held in libraries: the John Carter Brown Library, the Yale University Library, the Bodleian Library, the Library of Congress, the New York Public Library, the Henry E. Huntington Library, Harvard University Library, the American Antiquarian Society, the Rosenbach Library & Museum and two copies in the Boston Public Library ...
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Vast site preserves 400 years of Roman London (The History Blog)
An interesting history-related post from The History Blog:
A six-month excavation by Museum of London Archaeology at the construction site of Bloomberg’s future European headquarters in the center of London has revealed layer upon beautifully-preserved layer of Roman habitation from the earliest days in 40 A.D. to the collapse of Roman rule in the 5th century. Just a few yards from the Thames and waterlogged by the Walbrook River, one of London’s famous “lost rivers” that disappeared under the city when they were diverted into culverts to make way for development, the three acre site is replete with organic remains in incredible condition. Entire streets have survived, as ...
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Yorkshire Viking hoard has unique pommel, necklace (The History Blog)
An interesting history-related post from The History Blog:
Experts have declared that a hoard of gold and silver treasure from the Viking era discovered by two metal detectorists in a field near Bedale, North Yorkshire, last May is a “significant and nationally important discovery.” Stuart Campbell and Steve Caswell found a part of the hoard, but instead of digging up the rest on the spot, they reported it to the finds liaison officer at the Yorkshire Museum in York. The museum sent two archaeologists to the a pasture (the exact location of the find is being kept secret to deter looters) so the treasure could be ...
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Violin played as Titanic sank found in attic (The History Blog)
An interesting history-related post from The History Blog:
The violin played by bandmaster Wallace Hartley as Titanic sank the night of April 14th, 1912, has incredibly survived and was discovered in a North Yorkshire attic in 2006. Auction house Henry Aldridge & Son announced Friday that after years of careful research and scientific analysis, they can confirm that the violin exists and is the real deal.
The owner, who prefers to remain anonymous, found the violin in a leather luggage case monogrammed “W. H. H.” when he was rummaging through his mother’s belongings. She was an amateur musician and a letter was found inside the case written by ...
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Cirencester Roman cockerel cleans up real purty (The History Blog)
An interesting history-related post from The History Blog:
The enamelled bronze figurine of a cockerel unearthed in a child’s grave during a 2011 excavation of a Roman-era cemetery in Cirencester has been cleaned and conserved. Even caked with dirt you could see that it was a beautiful piece, inlaid with blue and light green enamel diamonds on a proudly puffed chest. Now that it has been liberated from its loamy cage, the decorative detail and quality of construction mark it as one of the finest pieces of its kind ever discovered.
Dating to the middle of the 2nd century A.D., the figurine is five inches tall with ...
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Police find Oakland Museum Gold Rush box! (The History Blog)
An interesting history-related post from The History Blog:
The beautiful and historic Gold Rush-era jewelry box stolen from the Oakland Museum of California in January has been recovered and appears to be undamaged. At a news conference on Tuesday, police announced that the suspect in the thefts, Andre Taray Franklin, a career criminal with 10 previous felony convictions including three for burglary and petty theft, was arrested and booked into Santa Rita Jail Sunday.
Based on security footage taken during the burglaries, the police had been looking for him in connection with both thefts at the museum. When they arrested him, police found pictures of the box and ...
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Unique silver 3D valkyrie found in Denmark (The History Blog)
An interesting history-related post from The History Blog:
Morten Skovsby had found a few coins, tools and a cannon ball in his backyard with his new metal detector when he decided to go further afield. On December 28th, 2012, Skovsby, Michael Nielsen, Jan Hein and Jacob Sietam, all members of a local metal detector group, explored a field in Hårby, central Denmark. Morton got a strong signal so he loosened a clump of frozen soil only to find a little silver face looking back at him. He scooped up the whole clod of earth, brought it home and put it on the radiator to thaw. Once unfrozen ...
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Lead shot that missed Tsar Nicholas II for sale (The History Blog)
An interesting history-related post from The History Blog:
St. Petersburg, Epiphany Day, January 6th (January 19th on the Gregorian calendar), 1905: Tsar Nicholas II, members of the royal family and diplomatic corps attend the ceremonial blessing of the waters of the Neva River in front of the Winter Palace. This is a longstanding tradition celebrating the baptism of Christ in River Jordan transposed to a frigid Russian winter setting. A hole called the Jordan is cut in the ice of the river and the Russian Orthodox Metropolitan of Saint Petersburg immerses his cross in it, blessing and purifying the water. People flock to collect the holy water which ...
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Medieval coins found buried in a shoe in Rotterdam (The History Blog)
An interesting history-related post from The History Blog:
Archaeologists surveying the construction site of the former City Hall in Rotterdam have unearthed a collection of 477 coins stuffed inside a 16th century shoe. The oldest coin in the hoard dates to 1472 and the most recent to 1592. The shoe, its leather still in quite good condition, is a 16th century style. Experts believe it was buried in 1592 or shortly thereafter, under the floorboards of a house by the owner, either as a standard savings practice (like the proverbial keeping your money in your mattress) or out of fear that they might be lost or stolen ...
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2,200-year-old warrior’s grave found in Russia (The History Blog)
An interesting history-related post from The History Blog:
In the summer of 2004, the Krasnodar regional museum near the village of Mezmay in the Central Caucasus was notified of a site that had been looted on a large scale. Staffers reconnoitered the area and found an ancient necropolis disfigured by 100 pits dug by looters. Upon inspection of the spoil heaps (material discarded by looters), experts found artifacts of archaeological significance like iron spear-heads, two complete bronze helmets in pieces, an iron mace in the shape of a Tree of Life and a fragment from a gold torque.
The discoveries spurred systematic excavation of the one-acre necropolis. Archaeologists ...
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1540s Maiolica plate found hanging on cottage wall (The History Blog)
An interesting history-related post from The History Blog:
A woman in Somerset, England, discovered she had a rare Italian Renaissance Maiolica plate hanging on the wall of her cottage when she invited appraiser Richard Bromell of Charterhouse Auctioneers in Sherborne, Dorset, to assess some of the objects in her home for their market value. It was hanging in a makeshift wire frame behind a door that was always open. Only about two inches of it were visible when Bromwell caught a glimpse of it.
At first he thought it had to be a 19th century reproduction worth perhaps £2,000 ($3,100), but when he took it to experts ...
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17th c. gold coin hoard found in Co. Tipperary pub (The History Blog)
An interesting history-related post from The History Blog:
At noon on Monday, January 14th, construction workers renovating Cooney’s Bar in the South Tipperary town of Carrick-on-Suir unearthed 81 gold coins from the 17th century. The building crew was digging a hole in front of the pub’s bar area to prep the area before pouring a new concrete pad when Shane Murray found the coins lying on their sides, back to front like they were in one of those paper tubes you get at the bank to organize your penny jar. Whatever was once holding them together has decayed but the shape remains. The space where they were ...
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17th c. gold coin hoard found in Co. Tipperary pub (The History Blog)
An interesting history-related post from The History Blog:
At noon on Monday, January 14th, construction workers renovating Cooney’s Bar in the South Tipperary town of Carrick-on-Suir unearthed 81 gold coins from the 17th century. The building crew was digging a hole in front of the pub’s bar area to prep the area before pouring a new concrete pad when Shane Murray found the coins lying on their sides, back to front like they were in one of those paper tubes you get at the bank to organize your penny jar. Whatever was once holding them together has decayed but the shape remains. The space where they were ...
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16th c. locket found by 3-year-old on display at BM (The History Blog)
An interesting history-related post from The History Blog:
On Sunday May 17th, 2009, three-year-old James Hyatt, his father and grandfather were exploring a field in Hockley, Essex. James went first, using his grandfather’s metal detector. After five minutes of scanning, the machine alerted.
“It went beep, beep, beep. Then we dug into the mud. There was gold there,” James, now four, said.
“We didn’t have a map. Only pirates use treasure maps,” he stated.
James is indeed wise in the way of treasure. After digging down eight inches into the soil, they pulled out an engraved locket which turned out to be reliquary from the early 1500s. ...
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Uknown 17th c. Le Brun painting found at Paris Ritz (The History Blog)
An interesting history-related post from The History Blog:
On August 1st, 2012, the iconic Ritz Hotel in Paris’ Place Vendôme closed its doors for the first time since Swiss hotelier César Ritz and chef Auguste Escoffier opened them in 1898. They will remain closed for two years while the venerable establishment is renovated from stem to stern. The famously opulent contents were removed in September to be stored in a secret location.
While taking inventory of the Coco Chanel Suite, the designer’s home from 1934 until her death in 1971, the Ritz’s artistic advisor Joseph Friedman was struck by a large painting on the wall depicting the ritual ...
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Gold Rush jewelry box stolen from Oakland Museum (The History Blog)
An interesting history-related post from The History Blog:
The depressing trend of thefts from California Gold Rush museums continues, doubtless driven by the high price of gold ($1,693 an ounce as of yesterday). The latest victim is the Oakland Museum of California. Early Monday morning, January 7th, a thief broke into the closed museum through a locked door on an outdoor garden. He then made his way to the second floor exhibit through an emergency exit door and stole one artifact: a Gold Rush-era jewel box made out of California gold and gold-veined quartz. (A second artifact, a scale used to weigh gold, valued at around $2,000, ...
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Shackleton’s whisky returned to Antarctica (The History Blog)
An interesting history-related post from The History Blog:
Three bottles of Mackinlay’s Rare Old Highland Malt Whisky found frozen under the floorboards of explorer Ernest Shackleton’s hut at Cape Royds on Ross Island, Antarctica have been returned to Antarctica after a productive sojourn in Scotland. Accompanied by the Prime Minister of New Zealand John Key, the bottles were locked in containers and flown from Christchurch Saturday on a U.S. Air Force transport plane. They are scheduled to be reunited with two other crates of whisky and two of brandy that remain undisturbed under Shackleton’s hut by March at the latest.
The whisky was bottled in 1898 after ...
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1000-year-old Sri Lankan temple step found in Devon garden (The History Blog)
An interesting history-related post from The History Blog:
A Sandakada pahana, a beautifully carved semi-circular granite slab which a thousand years ago graced the entrance to a temple in Anuradhapura, a sacred Buddhist city and a capital of Sri Lanka from the 4th century B.C. to the 11th century A.D., has been found in the garden of a modest bungalow in Devon. Sam Tuke, an appraiser at Bonhams, happened to hear about it from a woman who was in the office picking up something else. When she mentioned the elaborate carvings of animals which she had loved tracing with her fingers since she was a small child, ...
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Child Workers In The Industrial Revolution