Secret HistoryS


Archaeology

Mammoth tusk which could date back 14,000 years found washed up on British beach

mammoth tusk
This 6 foot long mammoth tusk found off the coast of West Mersea, Essex could easily be mistaken for a piece of driftwood
Scientists have urged Brits to get digging around our coastline after discovering a massive mammoth tusk which could date back 14,000 years, was found on a beach.

Britain's last known woolly mammoths died after they fell into holes left by melting ice blocks. It's not clear how old the tusk is, but the last mammoths are believed to have walked Britain 14,000 years ago.

The incredible find was made by volunteers with Coastal and Intertidal Zone Archaeological Network (Citizan) on Thursday morning off Mersea Island.

Project officer Stephanie Ostrich said: "We came across it by chance. It is incredibly fragile and quite a rare find." Dog-walkers and beachgoers have been urged to keep an eye out for unusual pieces of wood that could turn out to be invaluable artefacts.

Document

'Wish you well against Jewish invaders': Himmler's letter to Palestinian Arab leader discovered

German Fuhrer Adolf Hitler and Grand Mufti of Jerusalem Mohammad Amin Al-Husseini meet in Berlin, 30 November 1941
© HO / AFP German Fuhrer Adolf Hitler and Grand Mufti of Jerusalem Mohammad Amin Al-Husseini meet in Berlin, 30 November 1941.
An old telegram uncovered by the National Library of Israel shows a letter from Nazi SS chief Heinrich Himmler to Palestinian Grand Mufti Amin al-Husseini, voicing his support for "freedom-seeking Arabs" against "world Jewry."

The telegram, dating back to autumn 1943, appears to show how in their hatred for Jews, Nazis in Europe have been seeking to support Palestinians against the "Jewish invaders."

"To Grand Mufti Amin al-Husseini," the letter read. "From the outset, the National Socialist [Nazi] movement of Greater Germany has been a standard-bearer in the battle against world Jewry. For this reason, it is closely following the battle of freedom-seeking Arabs, particularly in Palestine, against the Jewish invaders.

The shared recognition of the enemy and the joint fight against it are creating the strong base [uniting] Germany and freedom-seeking Arabs around the world. In this spirit, I am pleased to wish you, on the anniversary of the wretched Balfour Declaration, warm wishes on your continued fight until the great victory."

Sherlock

'Highly unusual' 2,500-year-old chariot and two horse skeletons unearthed at a Yorkshire building site

chariot
An Iron Age chariot and two horse skeletons have been unearthed.
An Iron Age chariot and two horse skeletons have been unearthed at a Yorkshire building site. The 2,500-year-old remains have been dubbed by experts as 'highly unusual'. The find is the first of its kind in the last 200 years and one of only 26 ever excavated in the UK.

It has been described as a find of 'international significance'. The peculiar remains were found at a new housing development in Pocklington, East Yorkshire, which has forced planners to hold off on their builds. Archaeologists working on the site say that the remains may link to a strange human burial ritual.

Footprints

Creating an alternate reality with a psyops 'bureaucracy': How the U.S. swamped the world

Disinformation
© Krypt3ia
Newly declassified documents from the Reagan presidential library help explain how the U.S. government developed its sophisticated psychological operations capabilities that - over the past three decades - have created an alternative reality both for people in targeted countries and for American citizens, a structure that expanded U.S. influence abroad and quieted dissent at home.

The documents reveal the formation of a psyops bureaucracy under the direction of Walter Raymond Jr., a senior CIA covert operations specialist who was assigned to President Reagan's National Security Council staff to enhance the importance of propaganda and psyops in undermining U.S. adversaries around the world and ensuring sufficient public support for foreign policies inside the United States.

Raymond, who has been compared to a character from a John LeCarré novel slipping easily into the woodwork, spent his years inside Reagan's White House as a shadowy puppet master who tried his best to avoid public attention or - it seems - even having his picture taken. From the tens of thousands of photographs from meetings at Reagan's White House, I found only a couple showing Raymond - and he is seated in groups, partially concealed by other officials.

But Raymond appears to have grasped his true importance. In his NSC files, I found a doodle of an organizational chart that had Raymond at the top holding what looks like the crossed handles used by puppeteers to control the puppets below them. Although it's impossible to know exactly what the doodler had in mind, the drawing fits the reality of Raymond as the behind-the-curtains operative who was controlling the various inter-agency task forces that were responsible for implementing various propaganda and psyops strategies.

Info

Ancient palace complex unearthed in Oaxaca Valley, Mexico

El Palenque royal palace
© Elsa M. Redmond and Charles SpencerEl Palenque royal palace
A pair of archaeologists with the American Museum of Natural History has unearthed a palatial compound in El Palenque's plaza in the Oaxaca Valley in Mexico. In their paper published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Elsa Redmond and Charles Spencer describe their work, what they have uncovered and how their findings fit with the emergence of organized states in Mesoamerica.

The Oaxaca Valley near the southern tip of Mexico has been offering up clues of past civilizations for several decades—a team has been working at the El Palenque site in particular since 1993. In this new effort, the researchers focused on a dig on the north end of the plaza—the site of what the researchers believe was the home and business center for the ruler of an ancient empire.

The palace has been dated to approximately 2,100 to 2,300 years ago, a time before the Aztecs. Most in the field believe that the civilization that existed in Oaxaca was among the earliest states to come into existence in Mesoamerica. Redmond and Spencer suggest that their findings at the palace site back up that theory.

The palace, the pair report, was well preserved and covered approximately 2,790 square meters and had not only living quarters for the ruler and his family, but business offices, a staircase, a dining area and a place to perform sacrifices.

Comment: See also: Oldest temple in Mexican valley hints at possible human sacrifice


Family

Something to remember: The differences between Rich and Poor in the Victorian era

Differences between Rich and Poor in Victorian times
© Via YouTube/Luth Luther
The quality of life during the Victorian times depended on whether you were rich or poor.

Wealthy Victorians enjoyed a good and easy life. Poor Victorians had a rough and hard life, often ending up in the workhouse or early death.


Archaeology

Jurassic highway: Thousands of dino footprints uncovered, including rare stegosaurus tracks

Australia dinosaur footprint
© University of Queensland
An area of Australian coastline has been dubbed 'Jurassic Park' after paleontologists scouring the landscape discovered an "unprecedented" number of dinosaur tracks dating back around 130 million years.

The Dampier Peninsula has been identified as a former home to scores of prehistoric beasts, thanks to researchers from the University of Queensland and James Cook University, who successfully documented thousands of footprints along the 25km (16 miles) stretch of coast.

New analysis of the area took five years (2011-2016) to complete, and has just been published in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology.

Dig

500 year old Ming Dynasty mummies unearthed at Chinese construction site

China Zun
© Jason Lee / ReutersThe construction site of China Zun is seen behind the Ming Dynasty City Wall, China
A construction crew in China made an unexpected discovery when attempting to install plumbing, unearthing a tomb containing the mummies of a couple believed to date back to the Ming Dynasty.

The discovery of the corpses, which are believed to be around 500 years old, was made in Taikang county in Zhoukou, Henan province, the Dahe Daily reported. Other discoveries found at the site included a tombstone and two crystal coffins.


Boat

Ancient military harbor for epic Greek battle found

 Battle of Salamis
© V. MentoyannisAt the end of the jetty there was a round tower, which would have been part of the fortified harbor during the Battle of Salamis.
Greek archaeologists have found the ancient military harbor of the island of Salamis — the very physical space from which the largest and most decisive naval battle ever fought in antiquity was launched.

The ancient harbor was identified as being located in the small and well-protected Bay of Ambelaki, in the eastern part of the Greek island, during an archaeological search by a team of 20 experts from two Greek universities — the Ephorate of Underwater Antiquities and the Hellenic Institute of Marine Archaeology — according the Greek Ministry of Culture and Sports.

"This is the first systematic underwater reconnaissance to be initiated by Greek institutions in a severely polluted marine environment, yet in a crucial area of historical importance," the ministry said. [10 Epic Battles That Changed History]

Archaeology

Archeologists uncover 4,000yo tomb of one of the most important Egyptian noblemen from 12th Dynasty

Egyptian tomb brother Sarenput II
© Vivek Prakash / Reuters The tomb dates back to almost 4,000 years ago.
A team of archaeologists has uncovered the tomb of the brother of Sarenput II, one of the most important Egyptian noblemen from the 12th Dynasty. The discovery reveals new details about those who lived within the corridors of power during the period.

The team from the University of Jaén in Andalucia made the discovery in Aswan, Egypt where they have been working since 2008.

A mummy was found inside the tomb along with pottery, two cedar coffins and two wooden models representing funerary boats and scenes of everyday life at the time, according to a statement from the university.