Human remains found at Rosslyn Chapel
Conservationists have found what are thought to be human remains at Rosslyn Chapel. The bones were discovered at the Midlothian chapel by workers carrying out conservation work. A police spokesperson confirmed the discovery, while Rosslyn Chapel has declined to comment on the case. The bones - discovered under a slab while a new heating system was being installed inside the chapel - have now been removed from the site to be examined by archaeologists to discover their age and type.
(scotsman.com)
Knights Templar related 700-year-old cave carvings at risk as worms eat walls
Mysterious carvings inside a hidden cavern linked to the Knights Templar are in danger of disappearing before their meaning is solved. Having survived 700 years, the symbols in the ancient cave at Royston, Hertfordshire, are under attack by worms eating the chalk walls behind them. The chamber was shaped out of a 180ft-thick seam of chalk and extends 30ft beneath the centre of the market town. It was discovered in 1742 and the depictions of biblical scenes and portraits of Christian martyrs inside it have confused historians ever since.
(guardian.co.uk)
Rosslyn Chapel scanned in hi-tech 3D detail
Rosslyn Chapel has been photographed in detail using cutting edge digital technology. A team from Historic Scotland and Glasgow School of Art recorded Rosslyn Chapel using special 3D scanners. The resulting photographs capture details of the 15th Century Midlothian building down to the millimetre. The information provides an accurate view of the chapel's condition, and dimensional information for the 13m conservation and improvement project.
(bbc.co.uk)
Knights Templar castle for sale in France
Château de La Jarthe, once a safe place for the Order of the Knights Templar, is for sale at 5.5 million euros. Located on 120 hectares (297 acres) in the Dordogne near Périgueux, the restored castle offers many of the "conveniences" buyers might expect in a 12th-century castle ruled by the order, including a chapel, massive fireplaces, stained glass windows and a 102-square-meter gathering hall known as the Knights Room.
(nytimes.com)
The last Templar stronghold: Tomar, Portugal
On a hilltop above the town of Tomar, north of Lisbon, stands a castle complex that was once the command post for the Knights Templars. When this mighty Medieval order was dissolved by Pope Clement V in 1307, those who made it through the witch-hunt went underground. But the Templar story was not quite over in Portugal. While kings elsewhere seized Templar castles and lands, killing the knights, Portugal's King Dinis successfully requested the Pope to found a new order of religious knights, the Order of Christ. King Dinis then let the word out that all former Templars were welcome.
(examiner.com)
The palace of the Queen of Sheba, an altar that held the Ark of the Covenant, found?
German archaeologists lead by Professor Helmut Ziegert claim to have found the palace of the Queen of Sheba, and an altar that held the Ark of the Covenant - raising disbelief in the archaelogical community. The location of the Ark, and its existence, has been a source of controversy. The Ark is at the centre of a debate about whether archaeology should chronicle the rise and fall of civilisations or explore the boundaries between myth and ancient history. The Ark, said to be the source of great power, was allegedly made of gold-plated acacia wood and topped with 2 golden angels.
(timesonline)
Crystal skulls are modern fakes, not the work of ancient American civilisations
Two of the best known crystal skulls are forgeries, a study shows. Examples held at the British Museum in London and the Smithsonian Institution in Washington DC are anything but genuine, since results show the skulls were created using tools not available to the ancient Aztecs or Mayans. The researchers used an electron microscope to show that the skulls were likely shaped using a spinning disc-shaped tool made from copper. This "rotary wheel" technology was not used by pre-Columbian peoples. Analysis of genuine Aztec and Mixtec artefacts show they were created using tools made from stone and wood.
(bbc)
Knights Templar tomb discovered in Languedoc region, in France
A hidden tomb in the mountains of the Languedoc region in France has the archaeological community buzzing. The site holds a mummified corpse under a shroud with the red cross of the Knights Templar - and wooden chests filled with gold chalices and coins. This discovery, an intact Knight's Templar burial, will be revealed in the documentary Bloodline. Plans for a dig are under way. When the French King ordered the arrest of the Templars and the capture of their assets in 1307, very little of their gold, treasure, or relics were ever found. Some think these items were buried in secret locations in the Languedoc.
(marketwire)
Rosslyn Chapel Revealed by Mike Turnbull
Mike Turnbull spent 3 years researching Rosslyn Chapel Revealed. "I spent a lot of time at the chapel looking at it and taking photographs. Some of the research I had done before. I had written a book called Edinburgh and Lothian's Holy Corners and was able to use some of the knowledge there such as Soutra." The book, packed with illustrations and photos of the chapel and nearby area, is a detailed account of the chapel's origins and the growth of the Sainteclaire family. The chapel was attacked in 1688 by an anti-Catholic mob and step by step fell into disrepair.
(midlothianadvertiser)
Oak Island - The world's longest and most expensive treasure hunt
It has been the central point of "the world's longest and most expensive treasure hunt" and "one of the world's deepest and most costly archaeological digs" -- and also "Canada's best-known mystery" and one of "the great mysteries of the world." It may even "represent an ancient artifact created by a past civilization of advanced capability." The subject of these exaggerated expressions is a mysterious shaft on Oak Island in Nova Scotia's Mahone Bay. For some two centuries, greed, and even death have attended the so-called "Money Pit" and "pirate tunnels" enigmas. Are they man-made (pirates, Knights Templar) or natural formations?
(csicop)