Researchers working on a project to create 3D digital models illustrating the urban development of ancient Rome have begun by reconstructing the city in 320 AD, just before Emperor Constantine chose Byzantium as the site of a new Roman capital, Constantinople.

At this time Rome had reached the peak of its population, and major Christian churches were just beginning to be built.

"Much of what survives of the ancient city dates to this period, making reconstruction less speculative than it must, perforce, be for earlier phase," say the researchers, an international team from universities in Italy and the US.

"But having started with AD 320, the Rome Reborn team intends to move both backwards and forwards in time until the entire span of time foreseen by our mission has been covered."

Alexander the Great was the ruler of one of the biggest empires in the ancient world. However, he died before his 33rd birthday, leaving behind a legend. He was careful and apparently avoided many assassination attempts during his life. Who could possibly be the person who murdered him? Was it Ptolemy, a man who had gained Alexander's trust?

Family Ties

Ptolemy I Soter was born in 367 BC. He was perhaps the half-brother of Alexander and son of Philip II of Macedon with the beautiful Arsinoe. To avoid problems, Philip may have arranged the marriage of Arsinoe with a Macedonian nobleman named Lagus.

Regardless of a certain familial link, Philip treated Ptolemy as his own son. He took him to the capital at a young age and gave him as good of an education as he offered Alexander. Ptolemy was also sent to the school of Aristotle, where he was considered a talented student. It is unlikely that Philip would have invested so much attention and invited him to live in his palace, if Ptolemy had not been his child.

Everything in Ptolemy's life suggested that he would be a very successful person, but, at least for a time, he had to stay in the shadow of Alexander.

Ptolemy was considered a great warrior and very well-educated in the art of fighting. He soon became not only the closest friend of Alexander, but also his personal guard called ''somatophylakes''. He was a few years older than Alexander, tall and fit.

The remains of an Anglo-Saxon island have been uncovered in one of the most important archaeological finds in decades.

The island which was home to a Middle Saxon settlement was found at Little Carlton near Louth, Lincolnshire by archaeologists from the University of Sheffield.

It is thought the site is a previously unknown monastic or trading centre but researchers believe their work has only revealed an enticing glimpse of the settlement so far.

The exciting discovery was made after a local metal detectorist Graham Vickers reported an intriguing item to the Lincolnshire Finds Liaison Officer (FLO), Dr Adam Daubney, from the Portable Antiquities Scheme which encourages the voluntary recording of archaeological objects found by members of the public in England and Wales.

Mr Vickers unearthed a silver stylus, which is an ornate writing tool dating back to the 8th century, from a disturbed plough field.

This was the first of many unusual items found at the site which held important clues to the significant settlement lying below.

The large number of artefacts now include a total of 21 styli, around 300 dress pins, and a huge number of 'Sceattas', coins from the 7th-8th centuries, as well as a small lead tablet bearing the faint but legible letters spelling 'Cudberg' which is a female Anglo-Saxon name.

In his Underworld: The Mysterious Origins of Civilization, Graham Hancock examines the numerous structures that have been discovered underwater around the world. Most of the sites that Hancock discusses lie less than 120 meters (395 feet) below sea level, which comes as no surprise since the sea level never fell below this mark during the time Homo sapiens walked the earth. Submerged over 700 meters (2300 feet) underwater, the Cuban city discovered by Paulina Zelitsky and Paul Weinzweig during a joint Cuban-Canadian expedition is the singular exception.

Overturning Old Theories

How can the existence of this underwater city at this great depth be reconciled with the well-established consensus that the sea level never dropped so low? In Hancock's own words: "What one would not expect to find in water anywhere near as deep as 700 meters would be a sunken city - unless it had been submerged by some colossal tectonic event rather than by rising sea levels."

However, the hypothesis that the city was originally built at a higher altitude and subsequently sunk to its present depth through tectonic activity has not stood up to the scrutiny of the experts. Grenville Draper of Florida International University considers it highly unlikely that such an event could have occurred: "Nothing of this magnitude has been reported, even from the Mediterranean..."

Supposing Draper's remarks rejecting the likelihood of the city having submerged are reliable, we are compelled to accept that the city was built at more or less the same depth that the city is located now. In other words, we are faced with the patently absurd conclusion that the structures were built underwater! Though proponents of the aquatic ape theory may beg to differ, it is clear that we have reached an impasse. Could there be an alternative theory that satisfactorily accounts for these structures at such depths?

A group of monumental megalithic tombs has been discovered in Western Pomerania in Poland. Because of the enormous character of the structures, they are often called the 'Polish pyramids.'

According to Radio Szczecin, the discovery of more than a dozen massive megalithic tombs was made during a research and conservation program carried out by Dr. Agnieszka Matuszewska of the University of Szczecin's Department of Archaeology in collaboration with Marek Schiller from Dębno. The site is located near Dolice, Western Pomerania. The researchers' goal began with entering, storing, processing and visualizing geographic data. The discovery made in Dolice appears to be greater than what the researchers hoped for.

The ground structures were made in a shape of an elongated triangle, surrounded by big stone blocks. The structures stood 3 meters (9.8 feet) tall, and were 150 meters (492.1 feet) long, and 6-15 meters (19.7-49.2 feet) wide. The place where they are located is difficult to examine. The surface is covered by an old forest. On small sites archaeologists have discovered fragments of pottery and other artifacts. The tombs were created by the Funnel Beaker Culture community which lived on the land from the 5th to the 3rd millennium BC.


The mounds contain single burials. According to the researchers, the people who were buried in the tombs were important elders of the tribe. Other information may be available after the researchers summarize more data and explore the sites further. Until now, the research has been based on non-invasive methods.

This is one of the sickest, most messed up videos I've ever seen. I watched it once all the way through and I've seen bits of it since, but I don't think I can watch it clear through again. I really advise my regular readers to think twice before watching this video - it is so f***ed up you won't even believe it.

Originally titled Six Russian Conscripts Beheading, I renamed this post No Mercy For Russians! after the name of the Italian translation.

WARNING! This video has very gruesome content! Extreme viewer discretion is advised! If you think you are going to get upset or worse by this video, DO NOT, DO NOT, DO NOT, DO NOT watch it!

If you are underage, do NOT watch this video! If you are a parent and are concerned about your kids viewing this post, please either supervise and/or restrict your children's Internet use or invest in a blocking program.

The recently discovered Chinon Parchment of the Vatican Library in 2001 has brought a level of redemption to the Knights Templar. It does not discount their "heretical" activities, which were entirely gnostic in nature and reveal Johannite and Sufi influences on the Knights. But it does absolve them of these "crimes."

The History of the Parchment

When Pope Clement V summoned many of the accused Knights Templar to his residence in Poitiers, France to determine the truth of the heretical allegations against them, some of the highest ranking knights, including Grandmaster Jacques de Molay, were diverted to Chinon, where they were met by three cardinals.

Their subsequent meeting in Chinon—including confessions by the Knights and an ensuing absolution of their crimes by the Church—comprise the text of the Chinon Parchment.

The Chinon Parchment is explicit in revealing that De Molay and the high ranking Templar official questioned by the cardinals confessed to the heretical charges against them, including sodomy, denouncing Jesus, illicit kissing, trampling and spitting on the cross, and worshipping an idolized head.

Read the rest of the article here

Official history says that the Spanish colonizers in America were focused on the territory from Mexico to the end of South America. For centuries, there was the question of why the Spaniards didn't decide to try to conquer further north. Artifacts from the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries bring a new light to this topic.

It is known that the Spanish claimed territories in what is today part of the United States of America. In the 16th century, they had explored the southern area of the country. For example, in Florida, the St Augustine fort was established by the Spanish in 1565. The impact of the Spanish way of understanding Roman Catholicism is evident in this region. The Spanish also influenced the economy in this area and attacked local Native Americans.

There are three known conquerors who explored the southern parts of the USA: Juan Ponce de Leon, Hernando De Soto and Francisco Vazquez de Coronado. It seems unbelievable that the Spanish, known as great conquerors and wanderlusts, stopped exploring the continent due to the British domination. Or perhaps they did?

Two (or more) Spanish Galleons

The greatest mystery comes in the form of two wrecks of Spanish galleons discovered on the Oregon Coast, near the mouth of the Columbia River. There are no official Spanish reports about lost expeditions or ships in this area. It is believed that there is also another galleon lost in this region, but it has not been located. There is speculation about several other lost ships in the area and even closer to Alaska, although none of them have been discovered.

The first ship was lost in 1694, and the second one in 1735. The Spanish galleons sailed on North for the first time in 1542. Some documents show that with time they traveled to Cortes Island, which has a name that reflects the Spanish presence. They also went to British Columbia and at the beginning of the new century - to Alaska.

The Himalayan Towers are a series of stone towers located mostly in Tibet. Carbon dating shows they were built approximately 500 to 1,100 years ago. Since they are generally located in prosperous villages, it is believed that their primary function was as a demonstration of a family's prestige within the community. For strength, many of the towers use a star pattern of walls as opposed to a strictly rectangular method. Heights can exceed 60m.

The Wadi Sura cave in the Libyan Desert features a number of stencil paintings dating back to between 6,000 and 8,000 years ago, including over a dozen tiny human-like hand prints. Since its discovery, the hands were thought to belong to human babies, but an anthropologist now says they're not human at all.

Sorry folks, it's not aliens. It turns out, the iconic stencils were made using the forefeet of reptiles. Such is the conclusion of a new study published in the Journal of Archaeological Science, led by Emmanuelle Honore from the McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research in the UK.