6th-century ivory comb

What is it? This 6th-century ivory comb, which may have been used by its owner to style his hair and beard, was found in a grave in Germany, in an early medieval toiletry bag that also contained a small pair of scissors for personal grooming. The ivory comb is approximately…

Women War Photographers

Calum Henderson explores the lives and works of war photographers Gerda Taro, Endre Friedmann, Françoise Demulder, Anja Niedringhaus, Lee Miller, and Catherine Leroy.…

Against the Odds Quiz

At which narrow pass did a small Greek force including 300 Spartans fight a heroic rearguard action against a substantially larger Persian army in 279 BC?…

The British Sundial Society

The British Sundial Society is compiling a register of all the Mass dials (also known as scratch dials) in the country. So far, 5,500 examples have been recorded and the society is keen to hear from anyone who can help them find more. A typical Mass dial consists of a…

Edwardian excavations: Corbridge, Northumberland

This newly colourised image, based on an black-and-white photograph taken over a century ago, shows Edwardian labourers excavating the granaries at Roman Corbridge, an ancient town and supply base that began life as a military fort 2.5 miles south of Hadrian’s Wall. Recent research by English Heritage has led to…

Finds tray – medieval lion figurine

This small lion figurine, which probably dates to c.AD 1300-1500, was found last year by a metal-detectorist on cultivated land near St Teath in Cornwall. The 6.8cm-high animal, which is made from copper-alloy and weighs 173g, was most likely cast as a decorative element originally attached to one of the…

Persepolis, 1935

Persepolis paintings perfectly glorious’ was the verdict Prentice Duell cabled from Egypt to James Henry Breasted, founder of the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago (OI). He had just seen the work American artist Joseph Lindon Smith (1863-1950) created at the ancient Persian city. Founded by the Achaemenid king…

Roman Britain Quiz

Julius Caesar raided Britain in 55 and 54 BC. But which emperor began the Roman conquest in earnest in AD 43?…

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