Historical Period

The Stone Age is the period of human history that covers the time from when humans first started using stone tools through to when they started using metallic tools. The term ‘Stone Age’ is somewhat arbitrary, as it suggests that humans used nothing…

Stone Age

Stonehenge: Trying to Understand the Mystery

Stonehenge is a famous, but little understood, stone circle just outside Amesbury in Wiltshire. It is also more than just a stone circle, with a ritual landscape spreading out from it in every direction. Within this landscape, there are a number of…

Stone Age

A Brief History of Climate Change

Climate changed dramatically during the Stone Age, from warmer than today to much colder. There were a number of ice ages, where glaciers expanded down from the north and sometimes covered much of Britain, making it impossible to live there.

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Fact of the Day

When Holy Roman Emperor Frederick Barbarossa laid siege to the Italian city of Crema, he allegedly let his troops play football with the severed heads of his captives.

Quote of the Day

"Ἀνερρίφθω κύβος - let the die be cast "

~ Julius Caesar

On This Day

1781 Washington captured the British force at Yorktown, which turned Parliament against continuing fighting in the American War of Independence

1813 Napoleon was decisively defeated in battle for the the first time by the Sixth Coalition army of Prussians, Russians, Austrians and Swedes, at the Battle of Leipzig. It was the largest battle in Europe prior to the First World War.

1914 The First Battle of Ypres began following the unsuccessful 'Race to the Sea' - where both sides had tried to outflank each other - of the First World War. The fighting, which lasted until November, would become typical of the war on the Western Front.

1933 Germany withdrew from the League of Nations, the excuse being that, while Germany had already disarmed, other members of the League were not willing to do the same. A massive programme of German rearmament followed.

1987 Stock markets around the world crashed during Black Monday. The Dow Jones recorded its largest ever one day percentage drop of 22.68%

1989 The Guildford Four, who had been convicted of the 1975 IRA bombings of pubs in Guildford and Woolwich, were cleared of all charges after nearly fifteen years in prison.