Henry VIII’s Lost Chapel Discovered

It’s not in the most glamorous location, but British archaeologists are still excited about the remains of a 500-year-old royal chapel that have been discovered under a parking lot in the Greenwich district of south London. Generations of British monarchs worshipped at the lost chapel, including Henry VIII, the Tudor king who had six wives.

The ancient tiled floor emerged by chance when a bulldozer’s bucket scraped against some brickwork three weeks ago. Since then careful digging by archaeologists has revealed the eastern walls of the chapel and a ten-foot-by-five-foot(three-meter-by-six-meter) area of floor covered in a checkerboard of what were once black and white glazed tiles.  The area was once on the grounds of the Palace of Placentia, which was demolished in the late 1600s.

Among the rubble, fragments of stained glass, and pieces of decorative stonework have been found.

“This used to be a private chapel belonging to the palace. There aren’t really any of these surviving, and so it is a unique find,” said Julian Bowsher, senior archaeologist from the Museum of London Archaeology Service.

Read more about it over at National Geographic.

DirecTV blade coming to Xbox360 Dashboard?

Seeing as I have DirecTV this would great! XBOX360fanboy has the scoop…

A scan of the March 2006 issue of Official Xbox Magazine reveals “that a DirecTV blade might be added to your Xbox 360 Dashboard to accompany the Xbox Live, Games, Media, and System blades. In that blade, you could download TV episodes in high definition, HD movies on demand, and standard-definition streaming DVR (i.e., TiVo) functions.”

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Google Desktop Dangers

Some companies today still do not restrict their users from downloading and installing applications on their work computer. Regardless of the reason, it could be your IT department’s worst nightmare one day. With the ability to download any application from the web, some that are even “promoted” by some well known websites, typical users install applications all the time without thinking of the hazards. It seems innocent enough, right? It’s just a simple application/program that’s new. The user usually thinks it’s harmless, it’s going to help them perform some function better or faster. Some will download and install just because it looks cool, or it’s the new thing in town. Such is the case usually with apps like Google’s Desktop Search.

As Download Squad points out, there are some hidden dangers. In the newest version of Google’s Desktop Search, version 3, a new feature has been introduced called Search Across Computers. This feature will simultaneously search files stored on multiple computers. Sounds cool, right? Not if your an IT administrator. Granted the feature appears to be turned off by default, but if enabled could have serious implications to your entire company. Currently the EFF is warning people that Google will copy the files to their servers which could theoretically be retreived by the government with a simple subpoena. Now you may think the information you have stored on your computer isn’t incriminating, but would your company say the same? How about those confidential company documents? Top-secret patents, perhaps? Incriminating or not, I’m sure almost any company would have issues with company documents being released without their knowledge. The funny part is – they won’t know until someone comes knocking on their door…

Your Name in Hieroglyphs

Here’s a cool little website the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology has where you can find out what your name would be in hieroglyphic form.

Find your name in hieroglyphs.

Lost: The Ultimate Theory – Revised and Expanded

One of the most advanced fan theories for the TV show ‘Lost’ has just been revised and expanded. This all encompassing theory certainly sounds compelling…

EDIT: It seems the site requires a login account now. 

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The Streaker…

The funniest commercial during SuperBowl XL…

King Tut – Died of an Infection?

King Tutankhamun died of an infection set in by a wound in the left knee, according reports in the Italian press which disclose the conclusions of new research on the 3,300-year-old boy pharaoh.

Eduard Egarter Vigl, the caretaker of Ötzi the Iceman, and Paul Gostner, head of radiology at Bolzano General Hospital were both members of the Egyptian-led research team that last year begun examining King Tut’s CT scan images.

They found compelling new evidence for a deadly infection after examining three-dimensional images of the left knee and foot, the local daily Alto Adige reported.

The CT scan revealed that King Tut’s kneecap was broken, as well as his left foot. Moreover, the embalming liquid had entered the spaces within the knee fracture, a clear sign that the pharaoh was mummified when the wounds were still open.

Read the full article at Discover.

It’s all in the teeth…

More detailed information on the circa 1500 African slaves found in America…

While remodeling the central plaza in Campeche, a Mexican port city that dates back to colonial times, a construction crew stumbled on the ruins of an old church and its burial grounds. Researchers who were called in discovered the skeletal remains of at least 180 people, and four of those studied so far bear telling chemical traces that are in effect birth certificates.

The particular mix of strontium in the teeth of the four, the researchers concluded, showed that they were born and spent their early years in West Africa. Some of their teeth were filed and chipped to sharp edges in a decorative practice characteristic of Africa.

Full story at NY Times.

Slaves in the New World, circa 1500

Researchers have found the remains of African slaves in a 16th century Mexican graveyard, confirming historical accounts that slavery began in the New World not long after Europeans conquered Mexico, according to a new study.

The graves were discovered near the ruins of a colonial church in Campeche, Mexico, a port city on the Yucatan Peninsula. The authors of the study being released Tuesday say the remains are the earliest physical evidence of slavery in North America.

Full story at MSNBC.

Countdown for nasty Windows virus

On FEB 3 the Nyxem virus is set to delete Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Acrobat files, Compressed Archives, and Photoshop on infected machines.

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