The Basiliscoe Mercury 125

 

The Internet newsletter for the arms and armour community

Happy New Year, to those of you not snowed in. Good start to the New Year with news of two interesting armour exhibitions,
in Spain and France, nice pictures of Roman helmet and fascinating gothic ivories project. And the usual mix of U-boats, mammoths and graves.

Arms and armour in the news

Ancient arms

Early Stone Age tools from Crete - pictures           
http://www.artdaily.com/index.asp?int_sec=2&int_new=43897

Piece on the Hallaton helmet - detailed picture
http://www.culture24.org.uk/history+%26+heritage/archaeology/art315285
http://www.thisisleicestershire.co.uk/news/Restoration-sheds-new-light-Roman-helmet/article-3034809-detail/article.html

Roman forts explored in the Crimea
http://www.thenews.pl/international/artykul146739_polish-archeologists-discover-roman-fort-in-ukraine.html
http://www.pasthorizons.com/index.php/archives/12/2010/artezian-excavation-on-the-crimean-peninsula

Beasts of assorted varieties...

Dangerous dogs are nothing new
http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1967622/evidence_suggests_ancient_wolfdog_crossbreeding/index.html

Mastodons make early bid in the mammoth stakes
http://www.artdaily.com/index.asp?int_sec=2&int_new=43973

Grave stories

Now the Swedes get to play with Ötzi
http://www.thelocal.se/31018/20101222/

Henri II’s skull identified
http://www.artdaily.com/index.asp?int_sec=2&int_new=43449

Excavating the soldiers from Iwo Jima
http://www.archnews.co.uk/featured/4322-archaeologist-to-recover-12-000-japanese-soldiers-on-iwo-jima.html

Through the gunloop...

Excavating Winchester’s and Worcester’s defences - pictures
http://www.pasthorizons.com/index.php/archives/01/2011/winchesters-civil-war-defences-discovered
http://www.archnews.co.uk/world-archaeology/uk-archaeology/4346-english-civil-war-battle-brought-to-light.html

Work begins on restoring San Juan de Ulua Fortress in Veracruz Port
http://www.artdaily.com/index.asp?int_sec=2&int_new=43866

Exploring the fortifications of Ras al-Khaimeh
http://www.pasthorizons.com/index.php/archives/01/2011/the-towers-of-ras-al-khaimah

Looking for a challenge for the New Year? Convert a Martello tower
http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2010/dec/20/martello-tower-conversion

Cannons to the left, cannon to the right

Gunfounding career of Paul Revere
http://www.boston.com/yourtown/news/concord/2011/01/casting_paul_revere_in_a_new_l.html

Two cannons vandalized at Thamesmead
http://www.newsshopper.co.uk/news/8755831.THAMESMEAD__Historic_cannons_vandalised/

Cannons on the move in Georgia - pictures
http://qconline.com/archives/qco/display.php?id=523601

Miscellany

More about the finds from Towton - pictures
http://www.economist.com/node/17722650?story_id=17722650

Williamsburg gets historic Spanish documents
http://www.dailypress.com/news/williamsburg/dp-nws-jamestownletters-evg-20101223,0,1401757.story

Breaking the Civil War code - message in a bottle
http://news.discovery.com/history/civil-war-message-bottle-101227.html

Investigating POW escape tunnels - with interactive map and pictures
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/great-escape-ii-dig-to-shine-light-on-stalag-luft-iii-tunnel-george/story-e6frg6so-1225977798080

Obituaries

Geoff Egan
http://www.finds.org.uk/news/stories/article/id/203

Nautical news

Divers claim they have found the Revenge, lost 1811 - pictures and video (suspicious timing, I would say)
http://www.necn.com/01/07/11/Shipwreck-discovered-off-RI-Coast/landing.html?blockID=387215&feedID=4206
http://www.projo.com/news/content/OLIVER_PERRYS_SHIP_01-07-11_4QLR7P8_v9.b14fb.html
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110107/ap_on_re_us/us_shipwreck_discovered

Update on CSS Pee Dee and its artillery
http://www.pasthorizons.com/index.php/archives/12/2010/confederate-gunboat-located-by-underwater-archaeologists
http://www.live5news.com/Global/story.asp?S=13722608

Laurence of Arabia - and his boat
http://www.culture24.org.uk/history+%26+heritage/transport/maritime+history/art314884

Torpedoes for USS Cobia
http://www.postcrescent.com/article/20110102/APC0101/101020498/Manitowoc-mus

Museums

News

What London’s museums are planning for the Olympics
http://www.theartnewspaper.com/articles/Olympics-move-in-to-London-s-museums/22144

New museums openings and new museums

KLM inaugurates its new museum: Interpretation Centre Second World War
http://www.klm-mra.be/klm-new/nuts/Bastogne/album/index.html

Air Raid shelter explored at Explosion!
http://www.culture24.org.uk/history+%26+heritage/war+%26+conflict/world+war+two/art315311

Buildings in the Arsenale to be restored
http://www.theartnewspaper.com/articles/New+national+pavilions+planned+for+Arsenale/22160

Museum developments

Apps sent to the Tower
http://www.culture24.org.uk/art314888

Museum commissions a mural, then removes it - pictures
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/dec/19/los-angeles-museum-obliterates-mural

Conservation corner

Gothic Ivories project
http://www.artdaily.com/index.asp?int_sec=2&int_new=43403
http://www.gothicivories.courtauld.ac.uk/

Courtauld conservators helping Bhutan
http://www.artdaily.com/index.asp?int_sec=2&int_new=43995

Germany gives money to restore Auschwitz
http://www.artdaily.com/index.asp?int_sec=2&int_new=43473

Objects

Vermont guns to go on display - pictures
http://www.manchesterjournal.com/headlines/ci_16998750

Met’s Velazquez declared original - picture of portrait
http://www.artdaily.com/index.asp?int_sec=2&int_new=43607

A reminder of stolen paintings across the world and down the years
http://www.artdaily.com/index.asp?int_sec=2&int_new=43798

Exhibitions

Livrustkammaren’s exhibitions for 2011
http://lrk.lsh.se/default.asp?id=7357&ptid=&refid=2686&filename=&xmlfilename=

Commemorating the outbreak of the US Civil War, but cheaply
http://www.artdaily.com/index.asp?int_sec=2&int_new=43734

David Starley in Saltaire - Good luck!
http://www.thebutterflyrooms.co.uk/index.php?main_page=page_2

Still time to catch Cranach in Brussels
http://www.bozar.be/activity.php?id=9136&
http://www.artdaily.com/index.asp?int_sec=2&int_new=43744

Gabriel Metsu at Amsterdam
http://www.rijksmuseum.nl/metsu?lang=en
http://www.artdaily.com/index.asp?int_sec=2&int_new=43462

Napoleon and his times in Bonn
http://www.bundeskunsthalle.de/
http://www.artdaily.com/index.asp?int_sec=2&int_new=43383

Art Installation at the Tøjhusmuseet, Copenhagen - video, too
http://www.thm.dk/udstil/udstil_kom.htm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWlooEzmYas

Joan ot Martorell and the autumn of the cavalry at Valencia
http://hoyesarte.com/exposiciones/1/8970-joanot-martorell-y-el-otono-de-la-caballeria.html
http://www.artdaily.com/index.asp?int_sec=2&int_new=43797

Books

Fredrik Hagen: New Kingdom Ostraca from the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge
http://www.brill.nl/product_id43963

Ed. Jennifer D. Keene and Michael S. Neiberg: Finding Common Ground
New Directions in First World War Studies
http://www.brill.nl/default.aspx?partid=210&pid=31471

Ed. Ingrid Sharp and Matthew Stibbe: Aftermaths of War. Women's Movements and Female Actitivists, 1918-1923
http://www.brill.nl/default.aspx?partid=210&pid=31522

John Schofield: Aftermath: Readings in the Archaeology of Recent Conflict
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Aftermath-Readings-Archaeology-Recent-Conflict/dp/0387094652

Linda Maria Koldau: Mythos U-Boot
http://www.steiner-verlag.de/titel/58165.html

Thomas Wildenberg and Norman Polmar: Ship Killer. A History of the American Torpedo
http://www.usni.org/store/books/history/ship-killer

Online Book

Defeating the U-boat: Inventing Antisubmarine Warfare
http://www.usnwc.edu/Publications/Naval-War-College-Press/Defeating-the-U-boat--Inventing-Antisubmarine-Warf.aspx

David McConnell:
British Smoothbore Artillery: A Technological Study
http://www.sha.org/research_resources/documents/British%20Smooth-Bore%20Artillery%20-%20English.pdf

Popular Culture

Curious George and his wartime escape
http://www.thereycenter.org/Welcome.html
http://www.artdaily.com/index.asp?int_sec=2&int_new=43722

The King’s Speech - in gold braid and uniform territory.
http://www.kingsspeech.com/

True Grit - the remake - more of gun-feste movie
http://www.truegritmovie.com

Season of the Witch - Nicholas Cage in tights
http://www.seasonofthewitchfilm.com/