Objects in Articles: March Edition

I love learning as much as I can about the past, so I’ve included in this post a variety of articles that I’ve enjoyed reading this month. They are all about objects and – now that I’ve put them all in one place – there seems to be theme on England and ancient Rome! Anyway, I hope there’s something here that will catch your interest as well. Enjoy!

• ‘Blenheim Palace Discovers Marble Flower Pot is actually a Roman Coffin’
  • Amazing what you can find in your own backyard! A great article on the discovery of an ancient Roman sarcophagus in the gardens of Blenheim Palace.
• ‘A Swedish Valentine’
  • Objects can have so much meaning; personal and cultural. A lovely look at the history of Swedish wedding heirlooms made by hand and with much love.
• ‘Why did Greenland’s Vikings Vanish?’
  • A lengthy article, so set aside 15-20 minutes to really get your teeth stuck into it – it certainly is worth reading to the end! I think I’d want to do a bit of my own research before I came to my own conclusion, but the article sets forth some really interesting theories as to why the Vikings seem to vanish from the historical and archaeological record in Greenland during the early 15th century AD.
• ’10 Remote Roman Forts’
  • These Roman forts give an idea of the perimeters of the Roman Empire. It stretched from Wales, to Egypt, to the Ukraine! This article includes some great pictures of the archaeological sites; I found it interesting to compare the architecture and/or foundations of each fort.
• ‘Sutton-Hoo Bitumen links Syria with Anglo-Saxon England’
  • There is still plenty to learn about the past, even from sources that have been around for a while! In this case the Sutton Hoo artefacts. This article discusses what’s new in our understanding about the extent of medieval trade routes.
• ‘Scottish Castle and Jacobite Hideaway for Sale’
  • How I’d wish to own a castle! This one is incredibly picturesque and played host to a defeated Jacobean following the Battle of Culloden. I’m thinking I might do a post about this in the near future to find out a bit more!

Happy reading!

Did you enjoy any articles in particular? Tell us why in the comments below.