Heritage

White coat with black spots: almost every child knows “Lilla Gubben” the horse of Pippi Longstocking. But what about the popularity of spotted and speckled horses (so called leopard complex spotting) during the last millennia?

Analyzing varnishes and decorations could provide a new way to identify mandolin “Old Masters”

A team of international scientists have discovered that the smallest member of the Mary Rose crew – the ship’s dog – was a he, and not a she as was previously believed.

Two researchers have published a paper advancing our understanding of the Antikythera Mechanism, an ancient Greek mechanism that modeled the known universe of 2,000 years ago.

On August 14, 1864, in a Union Army camp in Georgia, a captain from Wisconsin plucked a plant, pressed it onto a sheet of paper, wrote a letter describing the plant as "certainly the most interesting specimen I ever saw," and sent it with the plant to a scientist he called "Friend" in Wisconsin.

A few years ago, the oldest known piece of clothing ever discovered in Norway, a tunic dating from the Iron Age, was found on a glacier in Breheimen. Now about to be reconstructed using Iron Age textile techniques, it is hoped the tunic will inspire Norwegian fashion designers.

Through the ages, women have suffered greatly because of wars. Consequently, to protect themselves and their offspring, our female ancestors may have evolved survival strategies specific to problems posed by warfare, says Michelle Scalise Sugiyama of the University of Oregon in the US.

An epic new history of England offers some eye-catching conclusions on Englishness – suggesting, among other things, that a “remarkable” level of cultural unity and a relative openness to other cultures are both key components of English national identity.

Manchester scientist Ernest Rutherford – famed for “splitting the atom” – also deserves better recognition for helping to pioneer a system we now know as sonar as part of a top secret World War One defence project.

Eastbourne Pier, industrial treasures and the shipwreck Hazardous have been added to the Register. 15 years on from the first Register, we have the most comprehensive view of the state of our heritage to date, but there's more to be done.

If you found yourself up against Henry VIII at a jousting tournament, it might have been advisable to let the king win. It proved to be a good career move for Charles Brandon. He was a fantastic jouster, able to beat all his opponents…except Henry. However, he did end up as a Duke and married the king’s sister.

Some of mankind's earliest and most mysterious artistic achievements—including prehistoric cave paintings, canyon petroglyphs and megalithic structures such as Stonehenge—may have been inspired by the behaviors of sound waves being misinterpreted as "supernatural."

A new encyclopaedia includes contributions from 1,000 experts from 54 countries.

Europe’s historic buildings attract visitors from across the world. However, keeping the popular historic sites energy-efficient without significant construction works can be somewhat of a challenge. The EU-funded project SEEMPUBS plans on using a new ICT-based monitoring, visualisation and control system to reduce the buildings’ energy consumption, cope with already-installed energy systems and avoid potential damages caused by crucial building interventions.

Shropshire Council is gambling with public money and elector confidence by keeping housing allocations by Old Oswestry hillfort in its development masterplan, say campaigners.