Radar uncovers Ancient Egyptian city

You may have noticed that ancient history has been a popular subject in the news this week, with Ancient Egypt being a particularly hot topic.

A team of Austrian archaeologists have located an ancient city in the Nile Delta region of Egypt with the help of radar. The settlement is believed to be Avaris, the Hyksos capital, dating back 3,500 years. Radar images show the outlines of streets and houses hidden underneath modern farmland and settlements.

Meanwhile, scientists have completed what they believe to be the most accurate chronology of Egyptian kings to date with the help of ancient plants and seeds. The dating of events has been disputed among Egyptologists and it is hoped that this study, based on radiocarbon dating, will lead to agreement between experts. 

Slightly closer to home, the British Museum in London is planning an international exhibition exploring Ancient Egyptian perceptions of the afterlife. Using an ‘unparalleled’ collection of Egyptian books of the dead, visitors will follow the journey of an Egyptian through the trials and tribulations they believed would face them after death. The exhibition, open from November to March, will display ancient scrolls hidden in the British Museum for two centuries.

Over in Somerset, scientists have claimed that bones uncovered from Cheddar Gorge prove that cannibalism was rife amongst Britain’s earliest settlers – and not just for ritualistic reasons.

And it’s all downhill from here in terms of daylight hours. Last Monday saw Summer Solstice as the year’s longest day dawned at 04.52am. Twenty thousand revellers celebrated the occasion at the ancient site of Stonehenge in Wiltshire, where the Heel Stone of the mysterious structure aligns with the rising sun.

While this year’s event was described as one of the safest in years, calls have been made by the druid community to protect the site from private investment following cuts in government funding.

Over in Cornwall, the discovery of a fort has challenged previous beliefs about the Roman occupation of the South-West. The uncovering of pottery and glass near St Austell has suggested that the occupation of the surrounding area was more wide-spread and longer lasting than originally thought.

Steaming towards more modern times now, the locomotive famous for breaking the world speed record for steam traction almost 72 years ago is visiting Country Durham next week. The Mallard reached 126mph in July 1938 and was in service until its well-earned retirement in 1963, having covered over one and a half million miles.

Finally, it is a photograph almost everyone is familiar with. In the middle of New York's Times Square, a soldier and nurse share a kiss amid the end of war celebrations. Sadly this week Edith Shain, who claimed to be the nurse in the iconic image, died aged 91.