chronology

Chronology, Ethnicity, Archaeology

A bronze horse bit in the Burrell Collection, Scotland (photographed by your humble correspondent). Note that there is no gap or join in the rings which link the left and right cheeks; the caster poured one side then made the mould for the other around it. They date it to the... Continue reading: Chronology, Ethnicity, Archaeology

Regnal Numbers

Most people today take for granted the custom of numbering kings, so that James Stuart is James VI of Scotland and James I of England. I am not certain that any society used this before the sixteenth century, although I have heard a story that it was invented in 14th century England to deal... Continue reading: Regnal Numbers

One Of Our Years Is Missing

In the course of my Master’s studies, I discovered a number of curious and unsettling details which are well known to specialists but not by the interested public. One of these is that we know very little about what happened for a year of the Peloponnesian War, and that we are not sure where to... Continue reading: One Of Our Years Is Missing