Victorian Boys' Clothes

Normally, I don't think or write about clothes. Yes, they can be interesting to look at, but on the whole, I am of the opinion they are just there to keep you from being naked.

That said, I found this dress here, and according to the description, this dress is for a young boy. I started to think about it, and it really does make sense. Clothes were hard to make and clean, diapers had to be changed, and it would be easier to lengthen a dress for a growing child than to sew them a new pair of pants every few months.

A bit more searching brought me to these young gents: who are clearly ecstatic. They look to be between four and seven years of age, so the elder boy probably was "breeched," or allowed to wear long pants not long after this picture was taken. Assuming his mama was willing to relinquish her hold on his apparel. But may she was okay with it, since she still had the younger sibling to fuss over for a few years yet.

We all know who this tot is, even though we can't see his companion. Young Christopher served as his father's model for his books. He was dressed in gingham smocks until he had passed his 8th birthday. This was, however, unusual. When he went off to his boarding school, the other boys teased him for it.

This wasn't the first time a writer used their child as a model for a story. Francis Hodgson Burnett s young son, Vivian, was the model for Little Lord Fauntleroy. The fashion craze this generated was based off of the illustrations that were done from photos of young Vivian.

This isn't Vivian, but an illustration of the outfit that had to have been the bane of the existence of at least two generations of young boys.

Though it may seem silly to our modern eyes, and for some clothing historians, it is hard to tell the boys and girls apart, there were some, at first, practical reasons for dressing young boys in this manner. And I'm sure a vast majority of the boys turned out just fine.

Hatshepsut Found!

Two posts ago, I started telling you about one of my favorite Royal Ladies; Queen Hatshepsut. A little over a year ago, in June of 2007, Hatshepsut's mummy was finally identified. She had been found in a mummy cache in a Valley of the King's tomb, KV60.

The cache was series of secret tombs in which agents of the High Priests of Amun, who controlled the Theban area during the 21st and 22nd Dynasties, hid the bodies of many of the kings and queens of the 18th, 19th, and 20th Dynasties. They may have stripped both the mummies and the royal tombs of most of their valuables; they also acted piously, to protect the royal remains from the tomb robbers, which were rampant, even in antiquity.

When the mummies from that tomb were brought up, the mummy we now know as Hatshepsut was mostly ignored, for one very simple reason—she was fat.

However, what they did have were Hatshepsut's canopic jars, and a wooden canopic box bearing her cartouches. The box was the real treasure—inside was Hatshepsut's mummified liver and a single tooth.

The tooth fit into the head of the heavy woman with millimeters to spare, so she was indeed the long missing queen.

Subsequent DNA tests have proved it conclusively, we indeed have Hatshepsut's mummy.

From the information that we have about her, Hatshepsut's last few years weren't very comfortable.

" . . . Bald in front but with long hair in back, the mummy of Hatshepsut shows an obese woman just over 5 feet tall, with rotten teeth . . .[the]examination of the mummy's mouth and her missing molar. . .revealed very poor dental hygiene."

"Her mouth shows the presence of many dental cavities, periapical (root) inflammation and pockets," Ashraf Selim, the radiologist at Cairo University who examined the mummy, told Discovery News.

Obesity and poor oral hygiene suggested to Selim and colleagues that she might have suffered from diabetes.

But, Selim said, "Surely this is just a theory based on this circumstantial evidence, which we cannot confirm."

One thing, however, is certain: Hatshepsut had cancer, cancer that had metastasized.

"The type of cancer we discovered is affecting the pelvic bone, specifically the left iliac bone. From its location, character and the few tiny foci of bone rarefaction in the spine, we concluded that this tumor is a metastatic deposit rather than a primary tumor," Selim said.

Though bone cancer could not be totally ruled out, Selim said he believed it was more likely that another kind of tumor spread to the bone.

"It could have been a tumor affecting the lung, breast or kidney," Selim said.

Whatever the tumor's origins, it is very likely that Queen Hatshepsut spent her last days in pain.

"A bone tumor is certainly painful. The picture emerging from the mummy is not only unflattering, but would indicate rather poor health. But with the data at our disposal, I think any diagnosis is merely speculative," Gino Fornaciari, professor of forensic anthropology at the University of Pisa, told Discovery News."

From Discovery News

*

I am glad that the theories that her step-son/nephew Thutmoses III killed her can be laid to rest, but it does seem like a sad ending for such a forward looking woman. But, despite all Thutmoses III's careful planning, Hatshesput's name will not be forgotten and she will live forever.

*

The embedding has been disabled, but this is an interesting interview with Dr. Hawass on the finding of Hatshepsut. It is 6 minutes long. The Lost Queen of Egypt Interview

Ancient Beer and the Safety of Dry Land

I know I promised the rest of Hatshepsut's story and I am working on it. However, I saw these two articles from The Discovery Channel via MSNBC and I just had to share them.

I DID NOT WRITE THIS!
****
Ancient yeast reborn in modern beer
Scientist brews barrels of pale ale and German wheat beer


By Eric Bland
updated 8:11 p.m. ET, Tues., Sept. 23, 2008

Trapped inside a Lebanese weevil covered in ancient Burmese amber, a tiny colony of bacteria and yeast has lain dormant for up to 45 million years. A decade ago Raul Cano, now a scientist at the California Polytechnic State University, drilled a tiny hole into the amber and extracted more than 2,000 different kinds of microscopic creatures.
Activating the ancient yeast, Cano now brews barrels (not bottles) of pale ale and German wheat beer through the Fossil Fuels Brewing Company.
"You can always buy brewing yeast, and your product will be based on the brewmaster's recipes," said Cano. "Our yeast has a double angle: We have yeast no one else has and our own beer recipes."

The beer has received good reviews at the Russian River Beer Festival and from other reviewers. The Oakland Tribune beer critic, William Brand, says the beer has "a weird spiciness at the finish," and The Washington Post said the beer was "smooth and spicy."
Part of that taste comes from the yeast's unique metabolism. "The ancient yeast is restricted to a narrow band of carbohydrates, unlike more modern yeasts, which can consume just about any kind of sugar," said Cano.

****

Skoal! Kampai! Bottoms up! Or not. Moving on.

This next story is also from The Discovery Channel via MSNBC . I DID NOT WRITE THIS!

####

Fossils tell of mass exodus from sea to land
Creatures moved onto shore for safety, paleontologists believe


By Michael Reilly
updated 3:33 p.m. ET, Wed., Sept. 24, 2008

New fossils of the first land animals reveal that ancient shores were alive with more crawling, slithering creatures than anyone previously thought.
In the late Cambrian era, nearly 500 million years ago, the seas were teeming with life. Food was abundant, but so were predators. Paleontologists believe animals fled the marine environment for the safe confines of tide pools, and ultimately dry land, where they could live without fear of being eaten.
From fossil tracks found in Ontario, Canada, researchers know that a group of insect-like creatures called arthropods were crawling on sand dunes around this time. But how they migrated from the ocean to the dunes — and when — is still a mystery.

"They'd first have to cross an intertidal zone — a tidal flat," said James 'Whitey' Hagadorn of Amherst College in Massachusetts. "So we went exploring, looking for rocks of similar Cambrian age representing coastal sandy settings."
In the fossil-laden rocks of Wisconsin, New York and Missouri, they struck it rich — arthropod tracks, left after the critters crawled through mud flats, were in abundance. Alongside the tracks, fossilized mud cracks and impressions from rain drops proved the mud was dry as they scampered past.
Surprisingly, they also found evidence that slug- or snail-like mollusks and worm-like annelids had slithered through the tidal flats as well.
"We knew arthropods should be there, but didn't know what else," Hagadorn says. "In a way the mollusks are more interesting because they weren't carrying a big shell around, and they had to deal with all of the problems of being on land."
Despite the lack of predators, living on land was a dangerous proposition for creatures used to life at sea. Suddenly they were faced with intense radiation from the sun, an atmosphere that would dry them out in a matter of hours, and no support from buoyancy.
Modern-day arthropods include hermit crabs, horseshoe crabs and insects — all characterized by a hard, protective exoskeleton. Their Cambrian cousins also had hard exteriors, making them well-suited to the rigors of life out of water.
"But how did mollusks deal with this? They weren't carrying around a big shell," which made them vulnerable to drying out, Hagadorn said. "Were they nocturnal? We see evidence of them burrowing beneath the surface, perhaps to avoid desiccation from the heat."

####

All the links are from the original articles. All I did was fix the pop-up.
NEXT: HATSHEPSUT FOUND! I promise.

Great Royal Lady

Who are the Great Queens of the world?

Catherine the Great maybe?

What about Cleopatra?

Or Queen Victoria?

Queen Elizabeth I perhaps?

If you said 'yes' to any of these ladies, you would be absolutely right. But there would still be one name missing from your list: the Horus, mighty by his Kas, the lord of East and West abounding in years, the good goddess, the pious lady, the golden falcon, divine in her rings, the King of Upper and Lower Egypt, Kamara, the daughter of Ra, Khnumit Amon, Hatshepsut.

This 18th Destiny Egyptian Queen was the daughter of Thuthmose I (1506 - 1493 BC) and Queen Ahmose. Her elder brother, Wadjmose, died before his father, so when Tuthmose I died, Hatshepsut married her younger half-brother/cousin, Tuthmose II. The reason for this was because the kingship was bestowed through the female line though no female could be pharaoh.

Tuthmose II (1492-1479 BC) was a weak man, physically and possibly mentally, which may be a result of too much inbreeding. May Egyptologists believe Hatshepsut was the true power behind his throne. Together, they had at least one child, a daughter named Neferure, and Tuthmose II had a son with a concubine. That boy was engaged to Neferure, and would one day become Tuthmose III.

When Tuthmose II died, his young son became Tuthmose III. The boy was far too young to rule on his own, so his step-mother/aunt, Hatshepsut stepped in as regent. After two years of pretending joint rule, Hatshepsut sent the boy away to a temple to study for the priesthood and put herself on the throne. Her reign brought 20 years of peace to Egypt.

Now free of that pretense, Hashepsut hired a scholar named Senmut to teach her daughter, and competently administered the affairs of state. Most importantly, she had the backing of the high priests. Without it, they could have destroyed her in an instant.

Hatshepsut' s rule is often looked at negatively or reduced to a few lines in older Egyptology books because she chose to expand Egypt's bordered without fighting anyone.

On an expadition to Punt, a country in Black Africa, though no-one is sure exactly where Punt is, many goods were brought back. Included in that list was an incense known as antyu, ivory, and ebony. There were also animal skins; giraffes, panthers and cheetahs which were worn by temple priests, and enough live animals to start a small zoo.

Hatshepsut built her morturary temple at Deir el-Bahri, though she was never buried there.

Then, Hatshepsut's reign abruptly ends and Tuthmose III comes back to the throne. The first thing he does is hop in a chariot and head off to start a war. During his reign, he captured over 350 cities and is some times called the Napoleon of his day.

Near the end of his bloody reign, in order to legitimize the succession of his son by a lesser wife, Tuthmose III went on a campaign to remove all traces of Hatshepsut. He took her name out of the Pheronic records, broke or removed the faces of her statues and chizled her name off of the buildings and temples.

In Ancient Egyptian culture, if someone remembered your name, you truely lived for ever. Your soul would die permanently if your name was forgotten, and he wanted her gone.

NEXT: HATSHEPSUT FOUND!

September 11, 2001

Twin Towers




BY CRISTINA

MTV’s first music video, “Video Killed the Radio Star” by The Buggles played on August 1, 1981. I was born twenty four days later, making me truly a child of the so called ‘MTV generation.’ When I was younger, I often lamented the lack of truly significant causes and events for my generation that had marked the previous two. For my grandparents, it was World War II, the horrors of the Holocaust, the advent of television, and the start of the Cold War. My parents’ generation was shaped by the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Vietnam War, the Civil Rights movement, and the assassination of four very significant people.


As I think back, very few people in my generation may recall the following events, but I remember them distinctly. I remember the fall of the Berlin Wall, and feeling as excited as the young people with their sledgehammers, dancing on top of the Wall’s ugly, graffiti covered surface. I remember the first Iraq War, and being afraid of what I was seeing on the TV. I was nine at the time, and the TV was on twenty-four hours a day, locked on CNN. I recall the first World Trade Center bombing, the fall of Communism and thus the end of the Cold War, I remember Tiananmen Square.


But the impact on my life because of these events was small. The biggest event, though it still only affected me indirectly, was September 11, 2001. It was a bright, sunny Tuesday—a perfect early fall morning— and I was on my way to work, when the radio made the first announcement that started eighteen months of worldwide confusion fear, anger, grief, and loss of life:

“This just in—a small aircraft has just struck the World Trade Center in New York City . . .”


It has been seven years. Let us never forget.


Our True Story
We are wounded, but not slain.
We shall lay and bleed awhile,
Then rise to fight again.


The flower bars are from here

Farming: The Equalizer of Ancient Man

BY CRISTINA

The native people of Fort Ancient, Kentucky in the United States did not begin farming until the Late Prehistoric period, around AD 1000-1750. When William Sharp, who at the time was with the University of Kentucky Cultural Resource Assessment, and David Pollack, with the Kentucky Heritage Council; first excavated the site between 1989 and 1990, the site provided an excellent example of the Middle Fort Ancient Period (AD 1200-1400). They uncovered a public plaza that was most likely used for village events and rituals. To the north of the plaza, was the area for burying the persons of high social standing. Another area close to the plaza served as the cemetery for the adults and adolescents, but the children and infants—having not been accepted by the tribe—were buried in the refuse area.

The Fort Ancient people cultivated corn and beans, and supplemented their diet by hunting deer, elk, bear, and turkey. The village was fairly small, with up to 180 residence. This site is located near an older one, indicating the people moved to the new site to purposely establish a larger village.

However, the amount of crops the Fort Ancient people produced was small and had to be supplemented by hunting, the act of farming itself allowed them to settle in one area and for their population to grow and become stable.


A 7,000 year old Neolithic or Late Stone Age—farming village has been excavated in Egypt. The site is 50 miles southwest of Cairo, in the Faiyum depression oasis. Mere centimeters below the modern plowed surface, Dutch and American archaeologists have discovered evidence of buildings with clay floors and hearths that contained homegrown wheat grain and barley. They also found the remains of sheep, goats, and pigs, which like the grains—were imported.

Earlier work was done in the area in the 1920’s by British archaeologist Gertrude Caton Thompson. Thompson discovered Neolithic granaries and farming tools, and the radiocarbon dating on the tools put the site at 5200 BC, but nothing further could be done at the time. Today, a magnetic survey, followed by extensive excavation showed that at the depth of a yard, there are undisturbed habitation layers, indicating multiple generations of settlers one on top of the other.

The finding seems to suggest that around 7,000 BC, the grains and animals—none of which are native to Egypt—were introduced in that country from the Middle East, where farming was being done as early as 9,000 BC. It is not clear how it was introduced, but it could have come across the Red Sea, on Sinai Peninsula trade routes.

If the Neolithic Egyptians were farming and trading 5,000 years before the Old Kingdom began, there is a possibility the true length of Egypt’s history as country will need to be reanalyzed. Such activities are not only the first steps in permanent settlement building, but in nation building as well.


11,400-year-old Neolithic figs found in Israel may be proof of the earliest form of agriculture, even before humans began cultivating cereals and legumes such as peas and beans. The find surpasses the oldest known fruit to date, 6,000-year-old grapes and olives from the Mediterranean. The nine figs are small, but ripe and show signs of being dried for human consumption. The figs developed from a common mutation called parthenocarpy, which means that the figs were grown from an unfertilized female flower. They also lack the embryonic seeds of normal figs, another feature of parthenocarpy.

Usually, these mutations last no longer than one generation. However, the Neolithic horticulturists were maintaining the trees by planting live branches in the ground. Fig trees are particularly amenable to this type of horticulture, which is called vegetative propagation.

Horticultural seems a logical step between the hunter/gatherer lifestyle of the Ice Age, and full-fledged Neolithic farming, as man tested his environment and learned how things worked and what about his environment he could control.

Agriculture was a huge step in the development of man. Neolithic man, as the Ice Age ended and the climate became more favorable, began farming in the Near East, Europe and Asia. Farming is highly labour intensive, and the domestication of animals helped to lessen that burden a bit. The invention of machinery to aid in farming—as compared to other industries—has been very slow. The sickle, and the scratch plow were the top of the line, must have items for nearly 2,200 years, before the invention of the heavy plow in the European Middle Ages along with the mill, and the 3-field system of farming. Until the birth of the internal combustion engine in the late 1800’s, nothing much changed. In some parts of the world, it still has not.

Be that as it may, the discovery of 11,400 year old figs in Israel, the 7,000 year old farming village in Egypt, and the prehistoric farming village in Kentucky all help to emphasize not only the true breath of farming the world over; but it also helps to highlight the fact that no matter when a culture begins to farm—11,400 years ago, or a recently as CE 1000—it is an essential step in the development of society and community. For the Egyptians, farming allowed them to eventually build a society that lasted nearly 5,000 years. For the people of Fort Ancient, their history was much shorter—only 400 years—but was no less rich. Farming is truly the impetus for the growth of populations and cultures.

Pictures from National Geographic

Cosplay: Crazy subculture or Anthropological Wonderland?

BY CRISTINA

The very idea of hundreds of adults, teenagers, and a couple of dozen children getting together, wearing costumes, and eating raw fish sounds like a very odd Halloween party doesn’t it? Well, in many ways, it is a very odd, weekend long Halloween party. In America and Europe, it’s a weekend hobby; in Japan—a lifestyle. The it—cosplay. The term comes from Japan, and is the combination of the words ‘costume,’ and ‘playacting.’ What cosplay has become for many, especially in its country of origin—is an imagined community with its own set of rules, laws, and ‘we really wish you wouldn’ts,’ as well as a sophisticated way of expressing ones’ individuality; while still remaining in the group.

In Japan, cosplayers dress as their favorite cartoon or anime and comic book—manga, and video games characters, as well as members of their favorite flamboyant—visual-kei bands. They gather after school, and on the weekends in Tokyo’s main shopping district, to see and be seen by their fellow cosplayers and have their picture taken by the photographers that often follow these groups around.

Having been taught from a very young age “to think first of being part of the group . . . [and] always be conscious of others. . .” (Condon 1984, pp.8-9) for many of the young Japanese that are cosplayers, the masks and layers of makeup that are often required for the costumes they wear must be liberating. Usually, they are still in a group, whether each person wants to be a different character from the same anime, or the same character, each person puts a unique interpretation on their costume, thus allowing them to be individual while remaining in the ‘group.’

One of the unspoken rules for Japanese cosplayers is that once you have on your costume, you become the character. Consequently, many fans will spend weeks memorizing their persona’s favorite phrases and mannerisms, so that no matter what happens, they will be able to stay ‘in character.’

There is even a new organization forming in Japan called Cosengokai, to help out cosplayers who have been victimized. In mainstream Japanese culture, cosplay is looked down upon, and politely discouraged because it breaks the continuity of ‘the group.’
Some cosplayers have been stalked, usually by the photographers and some—especially the females—have been sexually harassed.

The other side of the imagined cosplay community are the Europeans and the Americans. In the West, while seen as somewhat silly, there is either a totally ignorance or indulgent acceptance of cosplayers. Being an individual is what is prized in most Western countries, so many of the strict Japanese rules of being totally ‘in character,’ are dropped or partially ignored. While many American cosplayers will make some effort to at least be able to mimic their personas’ signature pose, most cosplayers carry on acting like themselves once they are in costume.

Usually, most American cosplayers meet once or twice a year at the various anime conventions around the country, which allows them ample time to complete their costumes. Unlike the Japanese, who’s costumes are often store bought and very intricately detailed, many American coplayer’s costumes are handmade, and the opportunity to show off their hardwork is highly prized. Since being in ‘the group,’ isn’t as important in America, many fans will attend the conventions either alone and seek out others from their chosen series for an informal photo shoot, or if they attend in a group, 90 percent of the time, everyone will be someone from a different anime, manga, or game. Even American comics, like Batman and Superman, movies like The Martix, and TV shows like Star Trek are all acceptable choices for gleaning cosplay inspiration.

For American and European fans, cosplay is a chance to show off an artistic skill, and have fun, where as the Japanese take it very seriously. Even being referred to as an Otaku or fanboy, while insulting to the Japanese, is a term worn with pride by the Americans and Europeans.

A lot of hard work, time, and money is invested in cosplay around the world, and even though East and West have different interpretations on the best way to behave once the new persona is taken on, there is still a deep sense of camaraderie and freedom.

Linguistics

I heard a rather amusing quote once: English doesn’t borrow words from other languages. English follows them into dark alleys, knocks them out and rummages through their pockets, looking for loose grammar.

I am not certain how that pertains to archaeology or Egyptology, but I found it rather fun. It is true, though. In a few thousand years when we’re not here anymore and the archaeologists of the future start sifting through the refuse of our lives, what will they say when they see all the writings we will have left behind?

I am supposing, of course, that at least a few of our stone monuments will have survived, and someone will attempt to read them, as the French did when Neapolitan took his troops into Egypt.

Our language conforms to no true laws since technically it consists of the grammar, syntax, and bastardized pronunciations of dozens of other languages—including but not limited to German, Latin, Spanish, French, Welsh, Old German, Old Norse, Norman French, Danish, and probably several other Scandinavian languages.

Linguistic archaeologists and anthropologists must love English. Words fall in and out of favour quickly and often. For instance, when was the last time you heard someone say “verily,” and they were not practicing for a Shakespearean play? Here’s another fun word I heard recently and had to look up; taciturn. It is an adjective that means “to be silent by nature; habitually uncommunicative in speech or manners.”

It still shows up in my 1928 ed. of the Winston Simplified Dictionary, so we know that at least 70 years ago, someone knew what it meant. But when I look it up online, it is listed as archaic. What makes the word doubly interesting is that it comes from French, from Latin. There we are, grammar rummaging again.

Did you know that a “husband” or hus-bondi was actually and Anglo-Saxon word from Scandinavian that meant “a person bound to a household; an agricultural land worker, or property holder?” It’s true; his companion was a “hussy,” which, until the Renaissance meant “a household bound woman, hus-wife.”

Neither of these words had anything to do with marriage. From Medieval Wordbook ,by Madeleine Pelner Cosman, copyright, 1996. 2007 Barnes & Noble, Inc. Ed.

I know that it seems as if I am rambling a bit, but after opening with the above quote, I must end with an excerpt from an amusing essay entitled WHY THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE IS SUCH A JOY TO LEARN!

“ . . . We take English for granted. But if we explore its paradoxes, we find that quicksand can work slowly, boxing rings are square and a guinea pig is neither from Guinea nor is it a pig. And why is it that writers write but fingers don't fing, grocers don't groce and hammers don't ham?

If the plural of tooth is teeth, why isn't the plural of booth beeth? One goose, 2 geese. So one moose, 2 meese? One index, 2 indices? Doesn't it seem crazy that you can make amends but not one amend, that you comb through annals of history but not a single annal? If you have a bunch of odds and ends and get rid of all but one of them, what do you call it? If teachers taught, why didn't preachers praught? If a vegetarian eats vegetables, what does a humanitarian eat? . . .”


What indeed?

Great Pyramid Astronomy

I have NASA and Astronomy listed as off topic, but in a way, they are actually a huge part of archaeology, and Egyptology. The Ancient Egyptian who was in charge of the building of the first true pyramid was Imhotep. Imhotep was an astronomer, High Priest of the sun god Ra, and chancellor to the Pharaoh Djoser (Zo-sir)(reigned c.2630 - c.2611 BC).

The pyramid Imhotep built is called the Step Pyramid and is at Saqqara. The pyramid was massive by the standards of the time; the base covered 37 acres (0.05 mi.), which was the size of a fairly large town then. The pyramid has six steps or mastaba, rising to a height of 197ft, with the base 397x358 feet sq. and it contains 11,668,000 cubic feet of clay and stone.

Underground, the pyramid goes down for 3 1/2 miles of tunnel, shafts, stairwells, galleries, vaults, and passages.

How does this relate to astronomy? Well, Djoser's grandson, Pharaoh Khufu (Cheops his Greek name), took his grandfather's tomb to the next level so to speak, and built the Great Pyramid of Giza.

The axis of the pyramid is lined up with what the Egyptians called the "hoof star," in the constellation of the Bull's Foreleg (outlined in black in the image; click for larger view). We call the star Benetnasch or Alkaid, and it is part of Ursa Major--the Great Bear constellation.

The Great Pyramid is the most accurately aligned of all the Egyptian pyramids; the average deviation from True North is a little more than 3 minutes of a degree. That means that the foundation is level to within less than an inch of True North.

In 2000, Kate Spade, a scientist at Cambridge University--pointed out something interesting. When the Great Pyramid was built, it's accuracy was perfect and now it has shifted. She thinks it is because the Earth's axis tilt rotates somewhat like a gyroscope, so the celestial North Pole seems to move. The rate of movement is so slow it is imperceptible to the naked eye since the cycle takes nearly twenty-six thousand years to complete.

However, when the pyramid was built, no one star was aligned to True North. The stars that could potentially have been used weren't in the correct place until seventy years after the pyramid was built, so the debut continues as to which stars were used.


Information from Building the Great Pyramid by Kevin Jackson and Jonathan Stamp pub. 2003 by Firefly Books Ltd.

Image of the Denderah Zodiac is from here. The bold line was added by me for clarity.

Scientific Cycle

I have just finished reading the second chapter in my archaeology text book, Archaeology, by David Hurst Thomas and Robert L. Kelly—about something called the 'scientific cycle,' or method. They explain, in six simple (their words)steps, how to perform a scientific investigation.

• Define a relevant problem.
  
• Establish one or more hypotheses.
  
• Determine the empirical implications of the hypotheses.
  
• Collect appropriate data through observation and/or experimentation.
  
• Test the hypothesis by comparing these data with other expected implications.
  
• Reject, revise, and/or retest hypotheses as necessary.

(Archaeology, 4th Ed. by David Hurst Thomas and Robert L. Kelly, copyright 2006 Thomson Wadsworth)

What that all means in laymen’s' terms is:

• Figure out what’s bugging you and why it needs an answer.
  
• Armchair Quarterback it for a while.
  
• Tell everyone that if they had listened to you the problem would already be solved.
  
• Read about the problem in the paper if you can. Or on the Internet.
  
• Get together with your friends and talk about how brilliantly you could solve the problem if you had the time and money.
  
• They will dis you; just talk louder until they agree with you or someone else has a better solution.
  

I said all that to get to this: There is Doubt over date for Brit invasion. Yes, someone out there is trying to figure out exactly when Julius Caesar landed in Britain. The general consensus seems to be that he landed between August 26-27, 55BC. There is new evidence that the tide was in the wrong direction for that date to be accurate, says Dr Donald Olson, a tide expert.

He puts the invasion date around August 23-24.

I say let's end this debate, and make August 25th, a good, in-between day (and also my birthday!) ROMAN INVASION DAY.

On R.I.Day, there should be a parade, and everyone has to dress up like a Roman soldier or Celtic native, we'll stage mock battles, and reenact the Landing at Deal, the very port the Great General's landing.

Wouldn't that be great?