History

[CaaC (John)+]

Centuries-old warships linked to 'Vasa' found in Sweden

© STR Pictures released by the Swedish National Maritime and Transport Museums show parts of the wrecks found in the waters outside Stockholm archipelago

Swedish maritime archaeologists have discovered two wrecks believed to be 17th-century warships, and at least one is likely the sister ship of the iconic Swedish vessel "Vasa", which sank on its maiden voyage, the Swedish Museum of Wrecks said Friday.

"When I came down as the first diver... I saw this wall 5-6 metres high and I came up and there was a massive warship,"  diver and maritime archaeologist Jim Hansson told AFP, adding that "it was a thrilling feeling."

The two wrecks were found in the Swedish archipelago outside the town of Vaxholm in a strait leading into Stockholm.

At least one of the ships is believed to be the sister ship Sweden's most famous warship the "Vasa," a 69-metre ship carrying 64 cannons, which sank on its maiden voyage in 1628.

Named after one of Sweden's kings, it was originally meant to serve as a symbol of Sweden's military might but instead capsized after sailing just over 1,000 metres.

Vasa was salvaged in 1961 and is currently on display at the Vasa Museum in Stockholm, one of Sweden's most popular tourist spots.

Three other ships were however ordered from the same shipwright: Applet (the Apple), Kronan (the Crown) and Scepter, and unlike their predecessor, they all served in the Swedish navy and participated in naval battles.

"We think that some of them were sunk in the area," Patrik Hoglund, another maritime archaeologist and diver at the newly established Museum of Wrecks.

The ships are believed to have been sunk on purpose after they were decommissioned, serving as underwater spike strips for enemy ships.

The divers took wood samples of the ships which will be sent to a laboratory for dating.

"Then we can even see where the timber has been cut down and then we can go back and look in the archives and I think we have good chances to tell exactly which ship this is," Hansson said.

Despite being centuries old, the wrecks -- just like the Vasa -- are in fairly good condition, thanks to the brackish waters of the Baltic Sea.

"We don't have saltwater and some organisms that live in other waters don't exist in the Baltic so it is very well preserved generally in our waters," Hoglund said.

As the wrecks are better preserved in the sea, there are currently no plans to salvage them.

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/offbeat/centuries-old-warships-linked-to-vasa-found-in-sweden/ar-BBWuRHP

[CaaC (John)+]

23 Countries That No Longer Exist and the History Behind Them

SLIDES - 1/24

There are 195 countries in the world today, some of which the U.S. government prefers you not visit, but this number has changed over the centuries. Throughout history, borders have rarely remained static, with new countries forming and others ceasing to exist.

Many nations were created organically as a group of people had a common culture and language. Other countries were formed simply because of geography -- such as these 25 smallest countries and territories in the world.

Some were created following mass migrations, and some were established after the breakup of bigger empires or countries into smaller states, and others were established following wars and treaties.

To account for the changes in our world over time, 24/7 Wall St. has compiled a list of countries that no longer exist.

 

[CaaC (John)+]

American History Myths You Probably Believe

 

One common American history myth many believe is that the iconic cowboy hat has always been wide-brimmed, high-crowned. Yet Butch Cassidy's Wild Bunch gang donned bowler hats in the late 19th century.

 

[CaaC (John)+]

@Mel81x @Harry @Devil-Dick Willie @Toinho Oye, cobbers, are you four related to the following?...

 

Genetic Testing Reveals That The Earth’s Oldest Civilization Is The Aboriginal Australians

Australia's Aborigines have a long and rich history that stretches back nearly 60,000 years.

For thousands of years, Aboriginal Australians have lived throughout the continent. But new evidence reveals that their existence in the continent’s deserts dates back much further than previously believed.

The Oldest Civilization In The World

Aboriginal Australians became genetically isolated 58,000 years ago, tens of thousands of years before other ancestral groups, making them the world’s oldest civilization. They then settled in Australia around that time.

But a September 2018 study has extended the group’s history in the interior deserts of Western Australia by 10,000 years. Indeed, the ancient group’s connection to the interior part of the continent goes back much further than once believed, with new estimates that the group had been in the desert region for at least 50,000 years— which blows away previous estimates.

Researchers came to this conclusion while excavating nearly 25,000 stone artefacts from the desert rock shelter of Karnatukul. The objects spanned different uses and purposes as well as timelines. One particularly interesting discovery was that of an early microlith, a pointed tool with one sharp edge blunted.

FULL REPORT

Edited November 24, 2019 by CaaC (John)
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Dinosaurs: Restoring Mongolia's fossil heritage

Eighty million years ago, during the Cretaceous Period, Mongolia's Gobi Desert was a dinosaur's paradise of vast valleys, freshwater lakes and a humid climate.

Mammal-eating velociraptors, lizard-hipped sauropods and spike-armoured ankylosaurs could have been spotted roaming in what are now the Martian red sandstone spires of Bayanzag's Flaming Cliffs.

These prehistorically favourable conditions make the Gobi Desert the largest dinosaur fossil reservoir in the world.

Over almost 100 years of palaeontological research in the Gobi, more than 80 genera have been found. But for many people living there, this scientific heritage remains unknown.

"Putting a fence up is not protection; protection is people's knowledge," Mongolian palaeontologist Bolortsetseg Minjin explains as we wind through the Flaming Cliffs in search of signs of fossil poaching.

It was here, nearly a hundred years ago, that the world's first dinosaur egg nests were found by American scientist Roy Chapman Andrews - the whip-wielding, trilby-wearing inspiration for Indiana Jones.

This discovery was a turning point in the palaeontological history of the world - the first proof that dinosaurs laid eggs.

FULL REPORT

[Mel81x+]

3 hours ago, CaaC (John) said:

@Mel81x @Harry @Devil-Dick Willie @Toinho Oye, cobbers, are you four related to the following?...

 

Genetic Testing Reveals That The Earth’s Oldest Civilization Is The Aboriginal Australians

Australia's Aborigines have a long and rich history that stretches back nearly 60,000 years.

FULL REPORT

The guy 2nd from left looks just like my uncle does when he sees us behaving like muppets at a family gathering. But, no I doubt it since I am from India and the rest are probably closer to the Aborigines. Maybe you meant @Spike?

[CaaC (John)+]

8 minutes ago, Mel81x said:

The guy 2nd from left looks just like my uncle does when he sees us behaving like muppets at a family gathering. But, no I doubt it since I am from India and the rest are probably closer to the Aborigines. Maybe you meant @Spike?

I forgot about @Spike he is another fair dinkum Aussie.  

[Spike]

37 minutes ago, CaaC (John) said:

I forgot about @Spike he is another fair dinkum Aussie.  

I am not. However, there were over 200 language groups, so it was never really one civilisation.

[CaaC (John)+]

9 minutes ago, Spike said:

I am not. However, there were over 200 language groups, so it was never really one civilisation.

Do you just live out there then @Spike, whereabouts?

[Spike]

32 minutes ago, CaaC (John) said:

Do you just live out there then @Spike, whereabouts?

I grew up in a small rural town named Cunnamulla. It's just north of the NSW border but firmly in South-West Queensland. There is a significant Indigenous population in that part of QLD not just in my town but all over. If you've got any questions I'd be more than happy to answer.

[CaaC (John)+]

27 minutes ago, Spike said:

I grew up in a small rural town named Cunnamulla. It's just north of the NSW border but firmly in South-West Queensland. There is a significant Indigenous population in that part of QLD not just in my town but all over. If you've got any questions I'd be more than happy to answer.

We emigrated out to Aussie land in 58 and I grew up in Melbourne in Victoria, I have been to Sydney and did some body surfing at Bondi then made my way to Surfers Paradise for some more surfing, I was young then, fit and free as the wind, today I am in my 70's with sciatica, asthma, COPD and on heart tablets but I still plod along and enjoy life, our son has just flung me a tenner and said "here you are you old fart, go and buy you and ma some wine...", that will do me.      

[Spike]

1 hour ago, CaaC (John) said:

We emigrated out to Aussie land in 58 and I grew up in Melbourne in Victoria, I have been to Sydney and did some body surfing at Bondi then made my way to Surfers Paradise for some more surfing, I was young then, fit and free as the wind, today I am in my 70's with sciatica, asthma, COPD and on heart tablets but I still plod along and enjoy life, our son has just flung me a tenner and said "here you are you old fart, go and buy you and ma some wine...", that will do me.      

Well with that resume you wouldn't really be needing much storytelling about Oz but you'd probably drop dead at what Surfers has become these days. It's terribly built up, high-rise after high-rise, over-priced shops in a crowded plaza, traffic congestion, a huge casino just off in Broadbeach, drug trafficking, etc. It's still a beautfiul place to visit but even in my lifetime it feels like a different place altogether, like it isn't real but a facade. The entire South-East corner is really just a metropolis now, stretch north into the Sunshine Coast all through Brisbane, and over the border to the Tweed Heads. Even the hinterlands around the Gold Coast like Tambourine Mountain have become tourtist hotspots pricing out the locals. What used to be a sleepy hidden town in paradise is now another tourist trap. It's all depressing really, how crowded and 'big' Australia is becoming, it's losing a lot of local charm to commericalisation, and it only gets worse everytime I go home. I miss it everyday however and now I'm getting all worked up, feeling trapped in a winter-hell of Chicagoland.

[Toinho]

11 hours ago, CaaC (John) said:

@Mel81x @Harry @Devil-Dick Willie @Toinho Oye, cobbers, are you four related to the following?...

 

Genetic Testing Reveals That The Earth’s Oldest Civilization Is The Aboriginal Australians

Australia's Aborigines have a long and rich history that stretches back nearly 60,000 years.

For thousands of years, Aboriginal Australians have lived throughout the continent. But new evidence reveals that their existence in the continent’s deserts dates back much further than previously believed.

The Oldest Civilization In The World

Aboriginal Australians became genetically isolated 58,000 years ago, tens of thousands of years before other ancestral groups, making them the world’s oldest civilization. They then settled in Australia around that time.

But a September 2018 study has extended the group’s history in the interior deserts of Western Australia by 10,000 years. Indeed, the ancient group’s connection to the interior part of the continent goes back much further than once believed, with new estimates that the group had been in the desert region for at least 50,000 years— which blows away previous estimates.

Researchers came to this conclusion while excavating nearly 25,000 stone artefacts from the desert rock shelter of Karnatukul. The objects spanned different uses and purposes as well as timelines. One particularly interesting discovery was that of an early microlith, a pointed tool with one sharp edge blunted.

FULL REPORT

I am the first born in Australia from my family so nope unfortunately not.

As @Spike said, even though they’re all Aboriginal Australians, there are many many different tribes. I’ll find a map...

[Toinho]

This is a language map.

But the south west corner of Australia is all Noongar people. However, in that you can see different language and tribes. 

In the small town I live, unfortunately they’re so disconnected to their own culture that they don’t even speak their own language outside of limited slang. 

If any of the Aussies here have heard of Nicky Winmar or Leroy Jetta, they’re from the town I am in. 

[Spike]

5 hours ago, Toinho said:

I am the first born in Australia from my family so nope unfortunately not.

As @Spike said, even though they’re all Aboriginal Australians, there are many many different tribes. I’ll find a map...

And get this @CaaC (John). The term ol' Anton here used is inappropriate and could be considered offensive. 'Language Nation' is the correct nomenclature

 

5 hours ago, Toinho said:

This is a language map.

But the south west corner of Australia is all Noongar people. However, in that you can see different language and tribes. 

In the small town I live, unfortunately they’re so disconnected to their own culture that they don’t even speak their own language outside of limited slang. 

If any of the Aussies here have heard of Nicky Winmar or Leroy Jetta, they’re from the town I am in. 

 

It's completely normal really. Which ultimately makes sense due to the sheer number of languages. They aren't as 'disconnected' as you think, their cultures just have changed to the modern world, just because they aren't dressed in paint doing a corroboree doesn't mean they don't understand their heritage or history, or practise others things like avoidance, dreamtime stories, music, art, sports, and so on. They have just had the unfortunate job to integrate into a modern world that didn't really want them, and to do it in a very short amount of time. But in my experiences most have a latent pride and understanding of their people, even if they have fallen into the wrong crowd or made the wrong choices. 

I mean if I were to emulate my heritage entirely, I'd either be a black-lunged coal miner or a serf digging a ditch somewhere in England, ahaha.

[CaaC (John)+]

1 hour ago, Spike said:

As @Spike said, even though they’re all Aboriginal Australians, there are many many different tribes. I’ll find a map...

 

1 hour ago, Spike said:

And get this @CaaC (John). The term ol' Anton here used is inappropriate and could be considered offensive. 'Language Nation' is the correct nomenclature

 

Lol, I am sure Anton didn't mean it that way and believe it or not we use that expression here in Scotland when we have family or friends visiting and we will say " [whoever] is visiting [whenever] and bringing the tribe with them..." meaning all the family and kids. 

[CaaC (John)+]

Mummified lion and dozens of cats among rare finds in Egypt

SLIDES - 1/3

A rare discovery of mummified big cats, cobras and crocodiles has been unveiled by Egyptian authorities.

Egyptologists are thrilled at the cache, which includes dozens of mummified cats, 75 wooden and bronze cat statues, mummified birds, and an enormous mummified beetle three to four times the normal size.

Egyptian officials hoped that the announcement would help to boost the country’s image abroad and encourage more tourists to return. “It’s a wonderful promotion for Egypt,” said Khaled El-Enany, Egypt’s antiquities minister.

Of five large mummified wildcats, two have been identified as lion cubs; the remaining three will be analysed to determine their species.

“If it’s a cheetah, a leopard, a lioness, a panther – whatever, it will be one of its kind,” said Mostafa Waziry, the head of Egypt’s Supreme Council for Antiquities.

The mummified large cats were found close to the remains of an adult mummified lion discovered beneath the Saqqara necropolis in 2004, and provide more information about the ancient Egyptians’ use of animals in worship.

Worshippers either believed that the mummified animals were deities to be worshipped, or mummified the creatures in order to offer them to the gods. “People would make devotional offerings in the form of animals as mummies,” said Dr Salima Ikram, an Egyptologist and mummy expert at the American University of Cairo. “This would have more potency as a blood sacrifice, compared to stone or wooden images.”

Ikram was elated by the new finds, which she estimated the date from the Ptolemaic period that ended in 30BCE. “I think it’s one of the most exciting series of finds in the world of animal mummies ever,” she said.

Egyptian officials hope the new discoveries will spark curiosity among potential visitors to the country in the run-up to the opening of the Grand Egyptian Museum close to the Saqqara necropolis. The long-delayed opening is expected next year, amid fervent hopes the project will help draw tourist numbers back to the highs of over 14 million visitors who came to the country in 2010, before the 2011 revolution which overthrew former autocrat Hosni Mubarak.

Political instability and concerns about security drove down tourist numbers in the years following, dipping to record lows after the downing of Metrojet flights 7K9268 close to the resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh in 2016. In recent year there has been a surge in arrivals, with 11.3 million people visiting Egypt last year, according to local news reports. The UK recently lifted a ban on flights to Sharm el-Sheikh, that had been in place since 2016.

Egyptian officials are eager to promote cultural tourism to the country, attempting to sidestep its draconian international image following a recent crackdown on protests. At least 4,427 people were arrested following a brief spate of anti-government protests in September according to the Cairo-based NGO the Egyptian Commission for Rights and Freedoms. Egypt’s public prosecutor insisted that 1,000 were arrested.

Shortly before the finds on the Saqqara necropolis were unveiled to the public, Egyptian security forces raided the home of an editor at Egypt’s sole surviving independent news outlet Mada Masr.

Shady Zalat, who has worked at Mada Masr since 2014, was detained incommunicado. The outlet has come under intense pressure from the Egyptian authorities for its critical coverage, and access to its website has been blocked from inside Egypt since 2017.

“He has done nothing more than use words to report the news,” said Mada Masr in a statement. “His arrest marks yet another escalation in the crackdown against journalism in Egypt.”

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/offbeat/mummified-lion-and-dozens-of-cats-among-rare-finds-in-egypt/ar-BBXeK1p

[Toinho]

2 hours ago, Spike said:

And get this @CaaC (John). The term ol' Anton here used is inappropriate and could be considered offensive. 'Language Nation' is the correct nomenclature

 

It's completely normal really. Which ultimately makes sense due to the sheer number of languages. They aren't as 'disconnected' as you think, their cultures just have changed to the modern world, just because they aren't dressed in paint doing a corroboree doesn't mean they don't understand their heritage or history, or practise others things like avoidance, dreamtime stories, music, art, sports, and so on. They have just had the unfortunate job to integrate into a modern world that didn't really want them, and to do it in a very short amount of time. But in my experiences most have a latent pride and understanding of their people, even if they have fallen into the wrong crowd or made the wrong choices. 

I mean if I were to emulate my heritage entirely, I'd either be a black-lunged coal miner or a serf digging a ditch somewhere in England, ahaha.

I don’t think you can generalize, you don’t know this community. They’re completely disconnected. They have no understanding or pride in their people. I can only talk about my town and the surrounds. Which I did. I don’t disagree with you though completely, what you’ve said is definitely a reflection of those around our cities over here. Or so it appears. Ie. Changing to modern world etc 

Sounds like I’m generalising myself (could argue I am!!) but this is what is happening here. This is what their own people say. I’m not here to argue, just trying to paint part of the picture for John. 

Edited November 25, 2019 by Toinho

[Toinho]

Sorry for using tribe. Did not know it was offensive. Where is our education around this? I have never heard of this before. 

Edited November 25, 2019 by Toinho

[Toinho]

There we go. All clarified now. 

[CaaC (John)+]

Over 1,200-yr-old tomb unearthed in China's Hebei

 崔力,王昆,曹槟

 

 © Provided by Xinhua News Agency

SHIJIAZHUANG, Nov. 25 (Xinhua) -- An ancient tomb dating back to the Tang Dynasty (618-907) was found in north China's Hebei Province, according to the local cultural relics protection department on Monday.

The tomb, which experts believe dates back more than 1,200 years, was discovered by a villager when digging in Duanying Village under Cixian County.

A tombstone, two porcelains, 12 potteries and some bronze pieces were also unearthed.

The inscription on the square-shaped tombstone measuring 45 cm in length and 9 cm in thickness consists of 323 Chinese characters recording the name, birthplace and life story of the tomb owner, and its inscription year in 733.

The tomb owner was believed to be a respectable man, said Zhao Xuefeng, a cultural relics expert, adding that the findings can serve as a reference for research on funeral customs and the village's history.

The two porcelains, one a bluish-white glazed tripod censer and the other a black glazed jar with two loop handles, are important to the research of the porcelain craftsmanship of Cizhou Kiln from celadon glaze to white glaze, Zhao said. 

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/offbeat/over-1200-yr-old-tomb-unearthed-in-chinas-hebei/ar-BBXlWWJ

 

[CaaC (John)+]

Can you identify the landmark from its carving?

QUIZ: 1/10 Questions

Edited November 28, 2019 by CaaC (John)

[nudge]

8 minutes ago, CaaC (John) said:

Can you identify the landmark from its carving?

QUIZ: 1/10 Questions

 

 

Got 8 out of 10...

[CaaC (John)+]

7 minutes ago, nudge said:

Got 8 out of 10...

I got 7/10

[CaaC (John)+]

30 mysterious wonders that are forbidden to tourists

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