17 lost pyramids found by satellite

Amazing. There are still things to discover in Egypt, one of the most-studied countries on earth. From the Telegraph:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/egypt/8535571/17-lost-pyramids-found-by-satellite.html

 Seventeen lost pyramids and more than 1,000 tombs have been found in a new satellite survey of Egypt.

Two new finds are at Saqqara, an older but lesser known pyramid site than Giza Photo: REUTERS

By Rob Crilly 1:43PM BST 25 May 2011

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Scientists at the University of Alabama also found 3,000 ancient settlements using a new technique of infra-red imaging.

The astonishing results have been confirmed by archaeologists with picks and shovels, who have located two of the pyramids found from space...

Jewish group fights for chaplain monument at Arlington

http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2011/05/07/jewish-group-fights-for-chaplain-monument-at-arlington/ 

Jewish group fights for chaplain monument at Arlington

By Eric Marrapodi, CNN Belief Blog Co-Editor

Arlington, Virginia (CNN) – Three German torpedoes ripped through the icy waters of the Atlantic off the coast of Greenland. On February 2, 1943, the USS Dorchester was transporting 902 U.S. servicemen to war. Only one torpedo hit, but it struck a deathblow - killing scores instantly and resetting the ship's course to the bottom of the ocean.

Amid the chaos, survivors later recalled, four U.S. Army chaplains fought to bring calm and comfort, praying for the dead and encouraging the living to fight for survival. They helped frightened servicemen find life jackets and head to rescue craft. Each of the four chaplains gave up his life jacket to save the life of another.

All four stayed on the ship's new course to the bottom of the ocean and gave their lives so others might live. The last thing survivors saw of the four chaplains, they were huddled together praying.

Lt. George Fox, a Methodist chaplain; Lt. John Washington, a Roman Catholic chaplain; and Lt. Clark Poling, a Dutch Reformed chaplain, are each memorialized on Chaplains Hill at Arlington National Cemetery on monuments honoring the service of Protestant and Catholic chaplains killed in the line of duty.

But amid the sea of white marble tombstones and granite monuments, one name is missing - Lt. Alexander D. Goode, the fourth chaplain from the USS Dorchester.

He was Jewish - a rabbi...

Haint Blue

I just found out about this. Allegedly among various Southern peoples the belief exists that various shades of blue can repel ghosts. From Curious Expeditions:

http://curiousexpeditions.org/?p=722

Bright Prussian blues, pasty greens, muted periwinkles, rich aquas and pale violetshttp://curiousexpeditions.org.nyud.net/http://curiousexpeditions.org.nyud.net/; yet they are all one color, united by a name and an ancient tradition.
Haint Blue originated in the deep American South. Today, in cities and towns throughout the south, one will find these blues and greens tints on shutters, doors, porch ceilings and windowsills, gracing many historic homes. The pretty blues and greens compliment any grand old Victorian mansion, but the first painted strokes of Haint Blue adorned not the homes of the rich, but the simple shacks of African slaves.

Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease: Coroners Wrong to Say No to Post-Mortem Tissue Collection, UK Academics Argue

From Science Daily. What we have here is a failure to communicate - one that could cost lives.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/05/110509065744.htm?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+sciencedaily+%28ScienceDaily%3A+Latest+Science+News%29

ScienceDaily (May 9, 2011) — The creation of a post-mortem tissue archive for a study of the human form of mad cow disease failed because of a "misguided" refusal by coroners to participate, academics argue in a new article.

The Coroners' Society of England and Wales (CSEW) did not recognise its "moral obligation to protect public health" from potential new risks associated with variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD) when it decided not to allow the collection of tissue from autopsies...

Another story from the inexhaustible BBC:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-13225829

1 May 2011 Last updated at 21:13 ET

Princess sheds new light on early Celts

By Stephen Evans BBC News, Baden-Wuerttemberg

German experts are carefully taking apart a complete Celtic grave in the hope of finding out more about the Celts' way of life, 2,600 years ago, in their Danube heartland.

It wasn't the most glorious final journey for an aristocratic Celtic lady who, in life, clearly had a bit of style.

 

 

Gold and amber jewellery found in the grave indicate the woman was of high rank

She died just over 2,600 years ago and rested in peace until a few months ago when her grave was dug up in its entirety - all 80 tonnes of it - and transported on the back of a truck through countless German towns...
 

Pope John Paul II's coffin exhumed ahead of beatification

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-13243797

BBC story with video

29 April 2011 Last updated at 12:48 ET Help

The Vatican has removed Pope John Paul II's coffin from its crypt in St Peter's Basilica ahead of his beatification on Sunday.
The wooden coffin is to be placed for the ceremony near St Peter's tomb, up in the basilica, after which it will be interred in a new crypt under an altar.