The Basiliscoe Mercury 344

The Basiliscoe Mercury344


TheInternet newsletter for the arms and armour community


Hurrah- life must be getting back to normal, because we have several cracking stories- medieval arrows, Bronze Age weapons, a Viking helmet, and – what we have been waiting for- a new sword-in-the-lake!


Arms and armour in the news


Ancient arms and forts


Studying tools before stone

https://theconversation.com/boxgrov...and-what-we-learned-about-their-makers-144340


Poisoned arrows- not just for whodunnits

https://www.sciencealert.com/humans-may-have-been-aiming-poison-arrows-for-at-least-70-000-years


BronzeAge sword, scabbard and horse harness found in Scottish borders

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-south-scotland-53714864


New Roman fort discovered in Lancashire

https://www.archaeology.org/news/8893-200730-england-roman-fort


Feature on Offa’s Dyke

https://www.heritagedaily.com/2020/08/offas-dyke-the-giant-earthwork-boundary/134542


Hunting round the world and through the ages


Mammoths in a Siberian lake

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smar...act-ligaments-emerge-siberian-lake-180975431/


Humans not to blame for the extinction of woolly rhinos

https://www.theguardian.com/science...likely-cause-of-woolly-rhino-extinction-study


Pigeon towers of ancient Iran

https://www.tehrantimes.com/news/45...ficant-but-strange-buildings-of-ancient-times


Medieval arms and armour


Viking helmet identified from northern England

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tees-53713029

Medieval sword from Polish waters

https://www.thefirstnews.com/articl...ty-found-fully-intact-at-bottom-of-lake-14787


Arrowheads and crossbow bolts found in Polish forest

https://archaeologynewsnetwork.blogspot.com/2020/07/hundreds-of-arrowheads-and-crossbow.html


On the Frontlines


Saladin’s battlefield discovered?

https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news...ld-where-crusaders-defeated-saladin-1.9030323


Battle of Formigny

https://nationalinterest.org/blog/reboot/how-battle-formigny-showcased-new-age-firearms-166171


Benningtonbattlefield protected

https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/Land-purchase-preserves-key-part-of-Bennington-15433467.php


Through the arrow-slit . . .


Cave & tunnels found under Olsztyn Castle, Poland

https://www.heritagedaily.com/2020/07/hidden-cave-system-discovered-beneath-historic-castle/134498


Castles suffered break-ins in the lock down

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8571757/Surge-castle-break-ins-illegal-metal-detecting.html


Istanbul criticised over ham-fisted restoration work at the Galata Tower

https://artdaily.com/news/127296/Istanbul-in-uproar-over-restoration-damage-to-iconic-tower


Work begins on Norwich Castle Keep renovations

https://www.edp24.co.uk/news/politi...wich-castle-keep-back-to-the-future-1-6787617


World Heritage


Restoring ancient Chinese bronze chariot

https://archaeologynewsnetwork.blogspot.com/2020/07/ancient-bronze-chariot-restored-in.html

https://www.scmp.com/video/china/30...china-hints-lavish-ceremonies-held-2800-years




Restoring Jakarta’s walls

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/new...7th-century-fortified-walls-ciliwung-12949274


Through the gunloop…


Fort found near Cork, Ireland

https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/munster/arid-40027673.html


Coalhouse Fort’s future in doubt

https://www.essexlive.news/news/essex-news/historic-essex-jewel-coalhouse-fort-4390002


Cannons to the left, cannon to the right


Cannons in Russia

https://www.rbth.com/history/332556-biggest-guns-of-medieval-russia


Repairs needed for Fernhurst furnace

https://www.chichester.co.uk/news/p...pairs-help-preserve-fernhurst-furnace-2928204


Cast-iron British cannon in India

https://www.jagran.com/uttar-pradesh/agra-city-cannon-of-british-period-will-be-preserved-after-testing-the-metals-used-20600667.html?utm_expid=.W6HdjhiBQ-ml0nTAajwI9g.0&utm_referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.co.uk%2Furl%3Fsa%3Dhttps://therivardreport.com/restored-cannons-return-to-alamo-as-3-more-sent-to-lab/


Concern for old cannon in Hyderabad

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com...-now-forlorn-figures/articleshow/77344182.cms


Café Basiliscoe


Ancient olive presses

https://menafn.com/1100546320/Australian-scholar-explores-ancient-olive-presses-in-Jordan


Ancient wine…

https://phys.org/news/2020-07-grape-pips-reveal-collapse-ancient.html


or whisky galore

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/whiskey-1941-shipwreck-auction-180975523/


Miscellany


Basket-hilted sword found in Northern Ireland

https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/53713880


Clearly the Fens are a dangerous place…

https://www.cambstimes.co.uk/news/the-extraordinary-finds-of-fens-magnet-fisherman-1-6789869


Princesses and Amazons


Queen Berengaria finally finds a resting place

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/aug/03/berengaria-of-navarre-cursed-tomb-restored-france


Visiting dead royalty round the UK

https://museumcrush.org/britains-best-places-to-see-burial-locations-of-the-english-monarchs/


Into the 20th century


Chelsea FC adopt a Lancaster Bomber

https://artdaily.com/news/127136/Chelsea-FC-adopts-RAF-Museum-Lancaster-bomber


Nautical news


Remembering the Sacramento, lost off South Africa in 1647

https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/the-sacramento-cannon-monument


Researching the horrors of WWI Submarine warfare

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/...e-north-sea-archaeology-history-a9655336.html


Replica Nao Victoria sets off round the world

https://www.euroweeklynews.com/2020...sailed-around-the-world-visits-costa-del-sol/



Museum news and exhibitions


News


Galleries and museums caught in the Beirut explosion

https://www.theartnewspaper.com/news/beirut-explosion


Museums Association gets a new website

https://www.museumsassociation.org/


New museums


Fort Nelson re-opens

https://royalarmouries.org/venue/fort-nelson/


Royal Chariot Museum in Egypt to open shortly

https://www.egypttoday.com/Article/4/90473/All-you-need-to-know-about-Royal-Chariots-Museum-prior


Museum developments


Derry’s Tower Museum puts collections online

https://afloat.ie/marine-environmen...ease-new-online-maritime-heritage-collections


Objects


Feature on National Parks Firearms collections

https://nationalinterest.org/blog/r...ericas-largest-stockpile-historic-guns-165843


Cache of WWI weapons found in Western Australia

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-08-08/vintage-ww1-guns-found-buried-on-wa-farm/12534512


Two Purdeys sold for charity

https://artdaily.com/news/127292/Tw...be-sold-in-aid-of-Gunmaker-s-Charitable-Trust


Exhibitions


Early portraits at Williamsburg

https://artdaily.com/news/127085/Americans-of-varied-backgrounds-represented-in-new-exhibition#.Xypls6-SmUk


Andalusian metalwork in Madrid

https://thearabweekly.com/madrid-museum-showcases-andalusian-metalwork


5 new exhibitions open in Qatar

https://artdaily.com/news/126984/Qatar-Museums-to-welcome-visitors-back-in-August-with-five-special-exhibitions#.XyZ2HJuSmUkhttps://artdaily.com/news/126984/Qatar-Museums-to-welcome-visitors-back-in-August-with-five-special-exhibitions#.XyZ2HJuSmUk


Books


Rachel Peat: Japan: CourtsAndCulture; Telling the story of 400 years of British royal contact with Japan

https://www.rct.uk/collection/themes/publications/japan-courts-and-culture


Matthew Moss: The PIAT: Britain’s anti-tank weapon of World War II

https://ospreypublishing.com/store/military-history/upcoming-books/available-this-month/the-piat


David Lordkipanidze: The Georgian National Museumirector's Choice

https://www.scalapublishers.com/the-georgian-national-museum/


On the medieval book shelf

https://www.medievalists.net/2020/08/new-medieval-books-soldier-imposter/


Online book


The Armoury of His Grace the Duke of Buccleuch and Queensberry

http://eprints.hud.ac.uk/id/eprint/...oyal_Armouries_version_2_5_FinalProofEDIT.pdf



Events


Diary Dates


ICOMAM conference – new dates

Toledo, Spain

17 – 21 May 2021

https://ejercito.defensa.gob.es/eventos/icomam_toledo_2021/


Sales Fairs and auctions


18 19 August Morpheys edged weapons

https://artdaily.com/news/127240/Mo...-Edged-Weapons--Armor---Militaria--Aug--18-19


Websites and downloads


Latest om the Met’s C19 series of articles here:

https://us19.campaign-archive.com/?u=a84329d90ebce21b14f4a0c23&id=685a60e24f

https://us19.campaign-archive.com/home/?u=a84329d90ebce21b14f4a0c23&id=1891b1f9ee


Medieval manuscripts to browse online

https://www.medievalists.net/2020/08/medieval-manuscripts-kbr/


1066 etc: 100 Years war, Chares the Good& 1066

https://www.medievalists.net/2020/08/hundred-years-war-end/

https://www.medievalists.net/2020/08/murder-charles-good/

https://www.medievalists.net/2020/08/bad-histories-norman-conquest/


This fortnight I have enjoyed C B Newham’s photographs of monuments

https://twitter.com/cbnewham

https://twitter.com/Basiliscoe


Compiled by Ruth Rhynas Brown –15 August 2020


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