HISTORY

Scotland's history through the ages 70 AD St Andrew - patron saint of Scotland ST ANDREW - patron saint of Greece, Russia and Scotland - spread the word of God before he was crucified on an X-shaped cross known as a Saltire Cross. 83 AD Mons Graupius, where the Romans defeated the Caledonii DESPITE numbering 30,000, the Caledonians faced a better organised Roman army who won the battle but failed to fully capitalise on their victory. 832 AD Saintly aid at the battle of Athelstaneford PICTS and Scots defeated Athelstan's Angle army in East Lothian after timely intervention from St Andrew. 841 Reign of the House of Alpin THE Royal house credited with uniting Sco…

Robert 'Rob Roy' MacGregor: outlaw and folk hero Initially a cattle dealer, Rob Roy turned to crime after being made bankrupt. He harried local farmers and pursued a vendetta against the Duke of Montrose. He was immortalised by Sir Walter Scott and has remained a folk favourite by BRENDAN O'BRIEN 1671 - 1734 BY TURNS a thief and extortionist but also a daring hero, few men have been as celebrated in folk legend or literature as Robert Roy MacGregor. He was born in March 1671 in Glen Gyle in the southern Highlands, the third son of Donald Glas, a MacGregor chieftain, and Mary Campbell. From an early age he was given the nickname Ruadh, Gaelic for red because of …

Chariot races bring ancient Roman city back to life Tue Jun 14,12:09 PM JERASH, Jordan (AFP) - The sun bears down and dust swirls as Roman centurions, followed by armour-clad legionnaires and bruised gladiators, tramp out of the ancient hippodrome to the trailing sounds of a military march. In the seats all around, 21st century spectators in modern-day Jordan cheer and applaud the spectacle before them -- a one-hour show held in honour of Julius Caesar, and part of Jordan's newest tourist attraction. Starting mid-July, visitors to Jordan can plunge into the past, reliving in a unique location just north of the capital Amman some of the high moments that m…

Viking Burial Site Found in England Science - AP Tue Sep 7, 2:02 PM ET LONDON - Archaeologists in northwestern England have found a burial site of six Viking men and women, complete with swords, spears, jewelry, fire-making materials and riding equipment, officials said Monday. The site, discovered near Cumwhitton, is believed to date to the early 10th century, and archaeologists working there called it the first Viking burial ground found in Britain. The only other known Viking cemetery was found in Ingleby east of Cumwhitton. It was excavated in the 1940s, but the bodies had been cremated and not buried. Local metal specialist Peter Adams made the find …

Ananova: Farmhouse discovered 1,000 years older than pyramids A farmhouse which was built 1,000 years before the pyramids has been unearthed in a Scottish field. University researchers found the 80ft long and 30ft wide house complete with living rooms, bedrooms and a kitchen. Archaeologists say the 6,000-year-old structure suggests Neolithic people were engineers as skilled and intelligent as modern man. The house was found during an examination of Auchenlaich, the longest Stone Age burial cairn in Britain, near Callander in Perthshire. Its walls were made from massive timber posts, and split into separate compartments by light wooden partitions. Dr Gord…

Forgotten city lies beneath Edinburgh Thu Mar 11,11:29 AM ET By Jeremy Lovell EDINBURGH (Reuters) - Deep beneath the cobbled streets of the Scottish capital lies a dank and forgotten realm where prostitutes once rubbed shoulders with body snatchers and the light of day never penetrated. The thousands of subterranean citizens moved out long ago leaving the Edinburgh Vaults underneath the city's South Bridge alone with its multitude of ghosts until it was rediscovered in the 1980s and found new life as a tourist attraction. "There are no written records of who lived in these vaults, although there is ample anecdotal evidence that thousands of people lived an…

Ananova: Man finds Roman tablet in garden Experts are studying a gold Roman tablet engraved with magic symbols found by a man tending his garden. The tablet, a thin plate covered in Greek writing asking a god for protection and magic symbols, was found in Dereham, Norfolk, and handed to museum staff in Norwich. A spokesman for Norfolk County Council said the tablet, which is about an inch square and thought to date back to the second century AD, had been passed to the British Museum where it was being valued by experts. Officials have not released who found the coin or exactly where or when. But the council spokesman added: "Museum staff think it could be a …

I'm just curious to know how many people died in the Tower....any thoughts?

The link for a very different style of news site, Ananova home Archaeology

Ananova: 'Unluckiest church in the world' is found A British archaeologist has uncovered what is probably the unluckiest church in the world. The church was wrecked by two earthquakes, a flood, and a landslide - all of which happened while it was still being built. It later became an opium den and after it was abandoned most of the remains were washed into the sea. St Phocas' Church was founded on what is now a clifftop at the Turkish city of Sinop, on the shores of the Black Sea, because this is where its patron saint was martyred. The site was discovered when the Sinop museum found pieces of late Roman mosaic washed up at the coastal village of Chiftl…