"It will make us rethink the Dark Ages."

If you have a metal detector in your storage bin somewhere, don't get rid of it. Use it. You never know what you might find.

An amateur treasure hunter prowling English farmland with a metal detector stumbled upon the largest Anglo-Saxon treasure ever found, a massive seventh-century hoard of gold and silver sword decorations, crosses and other items, British archaeologists said Thursday.

One expert said the treasure found by 55-year-old Terry Herbert would revolutionize understanding of the Anglo-Saxons, a Germanic people who ruled England from the fifth century until the Norman conquest in 1066. Another said the find would rank among Britain's best-known historic treasures.

a trip to Monticello

Maira Kalman writes - and draws - of her experience in visiting the home of a remarkable man, the second President of the United States. I've been to his home only once, on a trip to Washington with my parents and grandmother years ago. I remember the bed, though, that separated his dressing room and his study.

Trail of Death 1838

Trail of Death 1838
Originally uploaded by Good Brownie

The plaque on the marker reads:

"In 1838 the northern Potawatami tribes and many Indians from other tribes were forcibly located to Eastern Kansas. The first point of encampment in Illinois on the march westward was the North Fork River in Danville. This monument is to commemerate the hardships, death, and humiliation these people suffered during their forced passage. We salute their courage. It is in their memory we make this dedication. May 13, 1990."

top 10 photography "firsts"

This list is to be viewed only by my nephew-in-law Dustin. Don't you dare look, because you don't have permission.

Okay, look if you must.

Conrad Heyers examines the language of Genesis

Careful consideration of Genesis 1 in its historical and theological context indicates that it uses a very different kind of narrative form and linguistic usage than those used in modern natural histories. Much of the controversy over creation and evolution is, therefore, inappropriate and misleading.

Read.

Was the universe "born" in 4004 BC? I can guess what my nonChristian friends who stop by here would say, but what about my Christian friends (and family)?

we got dates

Kim Frabricius, in a sermon about remembering one of Christianity's most significant dates in history, mentions memorable recent dates like 9/11/01 and 8/31/97 (the day Princess Diana died). I'm surpised he didn't bring up two dates that stand out for me as ones to remember: 3/30/81 (the Reagan assassination attempt) and 1/28/96 (the space shuttle Challenger disaster).

the curse has a face

King Tut has been revealed.

King Tut's buck-toothed face was unveiled Sunday for the first time in public — more than 3,000 years after the youngest and most famous pharaoh to rule ancient Egypt was shrouded in linen and buried in his golden underground tomb.

Archeologists carefully lifted thae fragile mummy out of a quartz sarcophagus decorated with stone-carved protective goddesses, momentarily pulling aside a beige covering to reveal a leathery black body.

The linen was then replaced over Tut's narrow body so only his face and tiny feet were exposed, and the 19-year-old king, whose life and death has captivated people for nearly a century, was moved to a simple glass climate-controlled case to keep it from turning to dust.

What of the curse?

• Curse of King Tut
• Are there tomb toxins?
• The curse of King Tut from "Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs"
• "Curse of the Pharaohs" on Wikipedia

Reformation Sunday 2007

My blogging friend Mark Daniels has written an informative post on Reformation Sunday.

He was born in November, 1483, in the German principality of Saxony. His father was a one-time coal miner who, through hard work, had risen to middle class status, the owner of several mines. His mother, who would exert so much influence over the boy was, in the custom of those times, a full-time housewife and mother.His name was Martin Luther. From an early age, he exhibited great intelligence and many talents. As time passed, he would become an extraordiary preacher, theologian, and musician.

These pursuits were far from his father’s intentions for young Martin. Hans Luther wanted Martin to become a lawyer in order to care for him and his wife in their old age.That, in fact, was the trajectory on which Martin’s life was moving when a shattering experience intervened.

What was the experience that so affected Luther? You'll have to jump to the link to read on....

When you're done reading Pastor Mark's post, come back and watch some classic Steve Green singing Luther's most famous hymn while sporting classic 80's hair:

July 2, 1776

The Declaration of Independence was adopted on this date in 1776. John Adams, who would become the first vice president and the second president, wrote the following to his wife:

The second day of July 1776 will be the most memorable epoch in the history of America. I am apt to believe it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival.

The Declaration was adopted two days later, which became the celebrated Day of Independence.

(The above picture was taken of the American flag at the Civil War museum in downtown Indianapolis. Note the number of stars.)

the U.S. Civil War in 4 minutes

Utterly fascinating. And again, thanks to Metafilter.

some presidential history...

Which administration has been viewed as the most corrupt?

Hint 1: I'm referring to a Republican administration.
Hint 2: It's not the current one.

the God of Washington

Al Mohler has a little something for President's Day.

Do you know your presidents?

This day in History

In 2004, Justin Timberlake ripped off Janet Jackson's bra at the Super Bowl. The term "wardrobe malfunction" was born. Does anyone remember who actually played in - and won - that game?

In 2003, the space shuttle Columbia disintegrates upon reentry into Earth's atmosphere. All seven astronauts on board perish.

In 1978, Roman Polanski flees the U.S. after pleading guilty to having sexual relations with a 13-year-old girl. He has never returned to American soil, because he would be immediately taken into custody if he did so.

"Black History Month" begins today.

Is the dream still alive?

In a recent survey of college students on U.S. civic literacy, more than 81 percent knew that the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was expressing hope for "racial justice and brotherhood" in his historic "I Have a Dream" speech. That's the good news. Most of the rest surveyed thought King was advocating the abolition of slavery. (WaPo)

Disturbing news, to say the least. Did you read that this was a survey of college students, not ones in high school? Yeah - college students. Students in university have had nearly a decade-and-a-half's worth of education, and they are still ignorant of something as recent as the American civil rights movement.

The recent survey of college students, conducted by the University of Connecticut's Department of Public Policy for the nonprofit Intercollegiate Studies Institute, suggests that schools are not doing as much as they could to go beyond a cursory history lesson. More than 14,000 college freshmen and seniors at 50 colleges and universities earned an average score of 53.2 percent in the survey.

Don't you want to want to take the survey now, just to see how you would do? It would be interesting to see the average scores from the different universities. What universities did the surveyors visit? Did they go to Ivy League schools like Yale or Brown? Did they visit community colleges?

A danger, educators say, is that lessons about King can become repetitive from year to year, especially when using the same theatrical performances and movies. As a consequence, many students know about King's 1963 "I Have a Dream" speech but not about his seminal "Letter From Birmingham Jail," also written in 1963.

That is why each year Deal Junior High rotates the focus of its assembly , Mosteller said.

An excellent idea. If all the grades in a certain school are going to talk about Martin Luther King Jr. at this time of year, then the grades should impart different information and not just rehash the same thing every January.

One sure thing about this: Parents, don't think that you're off the hook when it comes to educating your child, just because you send them to a school. You do your part.

More from: AnotherThink, Mark Daniels, Taylor Marsh, Mark Roberts, Scott Horton

the [real] word from the moon

So, there now appears to be solid proof that Neil Armstrong actually said, "That's one small step for a man..." instead of that same sentence without the article "a." It personalizes Armstrong's experience with the "a," don't you think?

In his official biography, First Man, Mr Armstrong tells the author James Hansen: “It doesn’t sound like there was time for the word to be there. On the other hand, I didn’t intentionally make an inane statement . . . certainly the ‘a’ was intended, because that’s the only way the statement makes any sense.”

Professor Hansen said: “Neil’s not got much of an ego, he’s a very modest man, but I think this really means something to him to have the proof.”

Have you ever been to the Neil Armstrong museum in Wapakoneta, Ohio? I went there years ago, dragging The Wife with me before we were married. We lived in Dayton, Ohio, at the time (although not under the same roof!), and Wapakoneta is only an hour north, so I decided to make the trip one Saturday. I think we went shortly after Apollo 13 hit theaters. I enjoyed it more than she did, but she was in love, so she didn't mind.

This Day in History

On this day in 1872, President Ulysses S. Grant signed a law declaring that Yellowstone, located in the northwest section of Wyoming, should become a national park. Of the many parks that I have visited, it is by far my favorite one (though not my most visited one - that would be the Great Smoky Mountains). Spouting geysers, stinking mud pits, gorgeous mountains, beautiful lakes, graceful elk, noble bison, even its own "grand canyon" - Yellowstone has it all.

For anyone who may care, I've been to the following parks, thanks to all the vacations I spent with my parents:

• Acadia - Bar Harbor, ME
• Appalachian (I've only been on parts of it)
• Appomattox Court House - Appomattox, VA
• Arches - Moab, UT
• Arlington House - Arlington, VA
• Badlands - southwestern South Dakota
• Blue Ridge Parkway - North Carolina and Virginia
• Boston - Boston, MA
• Cape Cod - Wellfleet, MA
• Chickamauga and Chattanooga - Fort Oglethorpe, GA
• Colonial - Jamestown and Yorktown, VA
• Dayton Aviation Heritage - Dayton, OH
• Devils Tower - Devils Tower, WY
• Eisenhower - Gettysburg, PA
• Ford's Theatre - Washington, D.C.
• Gettysburg - Gettysburg, PA
• Gila Cliff Dwellings - Silver City, NM
• Glacier - northwest Montana
• Grand Canyon - Arizona
• Grand Teton - Moose, WY
• Great Smoky Mountains - North Carolina and Tennessee
• Harry S. Truman - Independence, MO
• Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt - Hyde Park, NY
• Independence - Philadelphia, PA
• Jefferson - St. Louis, MO
• Little Bighorn Battlefield - Crow Agency, MT
• Mesa Verde - Cortze and Mancos, CO
• Minute Man - Concord, MA
• Mount Rushmore - Keystone, SD
• National Mall - Washington, D.C.
• Petrified Forest - Arizona
• President's Park - Washington, D.C.
• Rocky Mountain - Estes Park, CO
• Statue of Liberty - New York, NY
• Theodore Roosevelt - Medora, ND
• Valley Forge - Valley Forge, PA
• Vanderbilt Mansion - Hyde Park, NY