23 January 2023 - VIKING SILVER DISCOVERED IN SWEDEN

 

 VIKING SILVER 

DISCOVERED IN SWEDEN 

G'day folks,

Buried beneath an unassuming Gotland farm was the largest collection of Viking silver, mostly of Islamic origin. 

In 1999, a TV crew accompanied archaeologist Jonas Ström and numismatist Kenneth Jonsson to an unassuming farm on Gotland, Sweden’s largest island. After a farmer had discovered a Viking coin, roughly 150 coins and artifacts had been unearthed. The crew got the footage they wanted and left the site, but Ström and Jonsson stayed behind, continuing their unofficial search with a metal detector. In less than half an hour, they discovered two massive caches of Viking treasure.

 

They immediately asked for permission to officially excavate the site, and over 2,000 people reportedly visited the farm the first weekend after the dig was made public. A third cache was soon discovered, and by the end of the excavation, 67 kilograms (148 pounds) of silver and 20 kilograms (44 pounds) of bronze artifacts had been dug up. 

The hoard, believed to have been buried beneath a ninth-century outhouse, consisted of coins, ingots, and jewelry items such as rings, bangles, and necklaces. Of the 14,295 coins discovered here, as many as 14,200 of them were centuries-old Islamic dirhams. The remaining 95 were an assortment of Nordic, Byzantine, and Persian coins. A few were contemporary counterfeits.

Perhaps most compelling was the discovery of “the Moses Coin.” Minted in the Khazar Kingdom around 800, the coin imitates the design of the silver dirham, but mentions Moses rather than Muhammad in its inscription, offering some archaeological evidence for the popular yet unconfirmed claim that Khazar rulers converted to Judaism.

The Spillings Hoard is the largest Viking hoard ever discovered. Its treasures are now on display at Sweden’s Gotland Museum.

22 January 2023 - PADLOCK TREE PARK - MOSCOW

 

PADLOCK TREE PARK

 

 - MOSCOW -

G'day folks,

Welcome to dozens of padlock-trees along the Moscow River. 

Rows of dozens of trees, each one housing hundreds if not thousands of padlocks, adorn the banks of the Moscow River and symbolize a couple’s eternal love in marriage.

 

When a couple get married, they write their names on a padlock (which is often the shape of a heart), lock it to some free space on one of the metal tree frames, and toss the key into the river. Although the practice is common in many other countries, the iron trees that lovers affix their lock to make Moscow’s bridge of love a unique and romantic site.

It is not uncommon to see newlyweds on the bridge, and even brides in their wedding gowns, kissing just before clicking down their padlock of love on Luzhkov Bridge.

16 January 2023 - ANCIENT STONE GRAVES SHAPED LIKE SHIPS - SWEDEN

 

ANCIENT STONE GRAVES 

SHAPED LIKE SHIPS 

- SWEDEN  -

G'day folks,

Welcome to ancient stone graves shaped like ships provided a Viking-like burial to carry the dead to the afterlife. 

Gotland is a Swedish island brimming with ancient structures, from Visby’s medieval city wall to a roughly 5,000-year-old megalithic tomb. Some of the most fascinating sights are the stone burial “ships,” or skeppssättningar, found throughout the island. These ancient gravesites date from the late Bronze Age, between 1100 and 400 BC. 

 

The boat-shaped stone monuments were generally used as burial spots for an important member of this coastal community. The person would be cremated and their bones beaten to dust. These remains would then be collected in a stone urn and buried inside the ship. It is believed that this was done to equip the dead with everything they had in life and to facilitate the journey to the afterlife.

The stone ships in the village of Gnisvärd are among the best preserved examples of the ritual in Gotland, and one of them is also the largest on the island. Made of around 100 tall stones, it stretches 148 feet (45 meters) long. The site contains three ships in total that are erected one after another as if going in a ghostly precession. The lead ship is pointed toward an ancient megalithic tomb, the only one in Gotland. Archaeologists believe this was done to “moor” the newer graves to an old revered place.

13 January 2023 - MAYMAND - ANCIENT CAVE VILLAGE - IRAN

 

MAYMAND

 - ANCIENT CAVE VILLAGE -

- IRAN -

G'day folks,

This 12,000 year old Iranian cave village has been continuously inhabited for over 3,000 years. 

From an American point of view, where very few settlements have been around for more than a few hundred years, its hard to fathom just how long a village like Maymand in Iran (which is thought to have been established around 12,000 years ago) has been around. But the still inhabited cave dwellings help.

 

The staggering age of the settlement at Maymand was determined by fragments of stone etchings that established the existence of human settlers. However the defining characteristic of the village, namely its 300+ in-ground cave homes are not nearly so old, only dating back 3-4,000 years. It is thought that the cave dwellings began as religious sites, but slowly evolved into permanent houses as settlers stayed on the spot longer and longer. As the locals tell it, their ancestors carved out the simple cave homes using a type of hard, sharpened stone that can be found in the area as opposed to traditional tools. The single room dwellings are stacked atop one another four and five tall sometimes, yet each of the barren caves has room for its own stove area. 

 

Miraculously for such an ancient and stark settlement, the array of caves that make up the village are still inhabited today. Some of the homes are thought to have been continually inhabited since their creation thousands of years earlier. The population as of 2006 numbered 673, but tends to fluctuate with the seasons. The caves may have a sort of barren beauty, but they are not exactly luxury accommodations. 

Iran is a country rich in history, and the village of Maymand is one of the oldest places there, as well as one of the most beautiful.

12 January 2023 - SHAKI WATERFALL & HYDRO - ARMENIA

 

SHAKI WATERFALL

 & HYDRO 

- ARMENIA -

G'day folks,

After visiting hours, this picturesque waterfall is essentially turned "off" to be used for hydroelectric power. 

Shaki Waterfall is a beautiful spot, where cascades of water plunge 60 feet down over solidified basalt lava flows. The waterfall was enjoyed much like any other natural attraction until the 1990s, when someone built a small hydroelectric generator nearby and began diverting most of the water from upstream to generate electricity.

 

When visitors would come to witness the falls, they were disappointed to see the diminished flow as the picturesque falls were essentially turned “off.” And so a compromise was reached: For a fee, visitors could have all the water sent to the waterfall and enjoy the full effect once more. This agreement lasted for several years, but many folks were not happy to have to pay to see their old waterfall.

In 2017, the Armenian government decided that at least during tourist season, the waterfall should flow uninterrupted and free of charge for much of the day. They set regular opening hours, and now anyone can enjoy the full splendor of the falls—as long as you get there at the right time.

8 January 2023 - A FORMER ROMAN QUARRY in GERMANY

 

A FORMER 

ROMAN QUARRY

 in GERMANY

G'day folks,

This natural "sea of stones" was once used by the Romans as a quarry.  

Despite often looking like a scree slope of very large stones, this Felsenmeer (or Blockfield) has a unique history.

These stones did not come from the mountain but were generated by a weathering process that occurred below the ground. As the surface began to erode, these massive rocks were exposed. The most popular theory behind their creation is that they are the result of frost weathering, however, it has also been suggested that subsurface chemical weathering played a role. This Felsenmeer is one of the most gorgeous in Germany. It’s part of the Geo-Nature Park Bergstrasse- Odenwald, just south of Darmstadt.

 

After being exposed, the rocks were significantly modified by glaciation processes around 10,000 years ago. This occurred across several Ice Ages and gave the rocks their round shape. 

Romans occupied this part of Germany during the 3rd and 4th-century CE. There is evidence of stone masonry across the rocks when they utilized the Felsenmeer as a quarry.

A number of both naturally formed and modified stones have been given specific names such as the”Altar Stone” and the amazing, yet very natural, “Crocodile.” A major attraction at the site is a massive column intended for a Roman temple but, for some reason, was never removed from the site.

This amazing natural phenomenon is located in a lovely wooded glade on the slopes of a hill known as Feldberg.

2 January 2023 - THE SAD TALE of CHATEAU LAURIER - OTTAWA

 

THE SAD TALE 

of 

CHATEAU LAURIER 

- OTTAWA -

G'day folks,

The mastermind behind this palatial hotel perished on the Titanic weeks before its grand opening. 

With its elegant turrets and enormous size, this riverside hotel looks like it could double as some sort of fairytale castle perched atop a European hillside. The nearby canal even makes it seem as though a moat surrounds part of what could easily be mistaken as a stoic fortress.

The architectural beauty isn’t a palace at all, though it has had a few brushes with royalty. Many famous figures, prime ministers, and royalty from around the world have stayed within this 429-room hotel.

 

Its insides reveal early 20th-century hand-moulded plaster decorations, original Tiffany stained-glass windows, and walls made with the finest Indiana limestone. When it first opened in 1912, a private room cost a whopping $2 per night.

Yet despite the hotel’s grandeur, its story is tinged with sadness. The palatial Château Laurier was commissioned by Charles Melville Hays, American millionaire, philanthropist, and president of the (now long-bankrupt) Grand Trunk Railway System. But unfortunately for Hays, he died before he could see the hotel’s grand opening.

 

Hays, anxious to return from London to Ottawa for the Château’s big opening, booked a ticket on the famously ill-fated RMS Titanic. Strangely, he reportedly prophesied an “appalling disaster” on the very night the ship collided with the iceberg and met its demise. Hays sadly perished when the ship sank.

Notably, the Château has a second connection to the Titanic. Hays commissioned French sculptor, Paul Chevré, to create a bust of prime minister Sir Wilfrid Laurier for the hotel’s official opening. The bust, still located in the hotel foyer today, was transported aboard another ship, La Bretagne. Chevré and Hays boarded the Titanic, but unlike Hays, Chevré survived the sinking.

27 January 2023 - TUOL SLENG MEMORIAL MUSEUM - CAMBODIA

 

TUOL SLENG 

MEMORIAL MUSEUM 

- CAMBODIA -

G'day folks,

This once was the Khmer Rouge's high security prison. 

Tuol Sleng is nestled within in the heart of Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia. From the outside it looks unremarkable: a multi-story former high school with whitewashed walls and grey shutters. However, inside, Tuol Sleng holds a dark history.

Under the Khmer Rouge, Tuol Sleng was transformed from a school into Security prison 21 (S-21), a place in which some of the most violent atrocities of the Pol Pot’s regime were perpetrated. Originally named Chao Ponhea Yat High School, the complex includes five buildings in total. Several months after the Khemer Rouge took power in 1975, they implemented measures to convert the high school into a high-security facility. Between 1975 and 1979 it is estimated that over 15,000 people were imprisoned at Tuol Sleng. The prison held between 1,000 and 1,500 occupants along with a large security force.

 

Life within the prison was terrible, and the people imprisoned at Tuol Sleng were treated cruelly. Prisoners were shackled into their cells, forbidden to talk to one another and frequently beaten and tortured by the guards. All prisoners were interrogated during their stay at Tuol Sleng. These interrogations normally included torture: Prisoners were shocked with electricity, burned with irons and water-boarded.

In 2010, Cambodia convicted Kang Kek Iew, the chief of Tuol Sleng Prison, for crimes against humanity and grave breaches of the Geneva Convention. He was sentenced to life imprisonment, and died while still in custody in 2020.

 

Today, the former prison stands as a monument to the brutalities of the Khmer Rouge. It is now a museum dedicated to preserving the memory of those who passed through its gates. Several of the implements that were used to torture the prisoners are also on display along with a “skull map,” a map of Cambodia made entirely from human skulls and bones. Rooms that were once used to torture and abuse are now lined with thousands of photographs of those who were incarcerated there.

17 January 2023 - PHNOM PENH MEMORIAL STUPA - CAMBODIA

 

PHNOM PENH 

MEMORIAL STUPA  

- CAMBODIA - 

G'day folks,

Here, 5,000 skulls are in memorial to those who were killed by the Khmer Rouge. 

After the Cambodian Civil War ended, the vicious rule of Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge began.

From 1975-1979, they killed 1.7 million people out of a population of 8 million. Many of those murdered were buried in mass graves in what has come to be dubbed the “killing fields.”

 

In Phnom Penh at Choeung Ek, a memorial was erected to remember those who were killed at the hands of the Khmer Rouge. At the site, the remains of an estimated 10,000 people were found. The memorial was then constructed so as not to obscure the facts, but to show the grisly and honest truth.

Designed in the style of a Buddhist stupa, the Choeung Ek memorial has glass sides, and is comprised of multiple layers of human skulls. Totaling 5,000 of those executed at the site, the skulls are a harsh reminder of a genocide that took place only 40 years ago. The memorial is particularly disturbing upon closer examination of the skulls, many of which bear marks of the trauma they suffered before their execution.

Along with the stupa, Choeung Ek still has a number of pits that were used as mass graves, and some human bones can still be seen in the area. The Cambodian government encourages visitors to see the site, and never forget the atrocities committed during the Khmer Rouge regime.

9 October 2022 - SECRET WW11 HOME OF THE BBC

 

SECRET WW11 

HOME OF THE BBC

G'day folks,

This abandoned funicular tunnel was a secret base for the BBC during World War II. 

There’s a secret hiding in the rocks lining the road that runs along the River Avon. There, tucked behind a gate, is an abandoned Victorian-era funicular tunnel that served as a clandestine sanctuary during World War II.

The underground funicular opened in March of 1893. It was the work of an entrepreneur named George Newnes, who hatched a plan to build a luxurious spa atop the gorge. He decided to construct the railroad to link the spa with the port down below.

 

The town let Newnes complete his plan, but there were a few conditions. The funicular had to be underground, so as not to spoil the picturesque scenery. It also needed secret entrances and exits to keep commoners separated from the hotel guests.

Unfortunately for the railroad, its working days were short-lived. By the 1920s, automobiles rendered it largely unnecessary. The last rail journey took place in 1934, and the secluded funicular seemed doomed to fade into obsoleteness.

But World War II changed all that. Locals took refuge from bombs in the upper parts of the tunnel. The BBC set up camp in the lower chamber, using it as a place to house its Symphony Orchestra. The BBC also constructed an emergency studio within the bowels of the tunnel network, though the air raids stopped before it was ever put to proper use.

The BBC kept the studio even after World War II ended, considering it a backup option during the Cold War. However, the organization moved out in 1960, and the tunnel was abandoned once again.

In 2008, a volunteer group set to work restoring the tunnel. Rocks, broken bottles, shoes, and other remnants from its bomb shelter days litter the space. The rusted train tracks still stretch throughout the tunnel, though they’ll likely never be used again.

 

6 January 2023 - COLD WAR FORTRESS BENEATH MOSCOW

 

COLD WAR FORTRESS 

BENEATH MOSCOW

G'day folks,

Dr. Strangelove-esque tours reveal the inside a bunker once reserved for Stalin himself. 

There’s an amazing tunnel system snaking beneath the streets of Moscow, leading to a secret cold war fortress once code named “Bunker-42.”

Designed and built after the first series of nuclear tests by the Soviet Union, these tests revealed that the optimum depth for the bunker’s silo must be no higher than 165 feet beneath ground in order to survive nuclear fallout intact. The task for the builders was enormous: construct a gigantic structure beneath the city streets without damaging Moscow’s existing infrastructure of streets and communication pathways. To do so would alert the public and innumerable unknown spies to the existence of the bunker, thereby rendering the entire (read: top-secret) thing useless. 

 

Strategically located inside a hill in the Tagansky district due to its proximity to the Kremlin, allowing quick access to the bunker for Stalin and the premier tier of government officials within the USSR, Bunker-42 wasn’t completed until 1956 and was thankfully never put into use in its full capacity. Rather, it spent the subsequent three decades as an airstrike command base, communicating with aircraft transporting strategic bombers carrying nuclear weapons until the political climate began to shift in 1986.

 

Today, the space exists as a historical monument that is equal parts museum to what life was like on the Soviet side of the Iron Curtain during the Cold War era and tour of the previously top-secret bunker itself, bringing visitors below ground to a time when the world lived on the constant brink of nuclear annihilation. A variety of tour packages are available at all hours of the day, catering to a range of ages, some of which focus more on the historical aspects of the space, while other take a nearly comic angle on the tangible threat of nuclear annihilation for all humankind.