Lindow Man is the name given to the preserved bog body of a man
discovered in a peat bog at Lindow Moss, Cheshire, North West England.
The body was found on 1 August 1984 by commercial peat-cutters. Lindow
Man is not the only bog body to have been found in the moss; Lindow
Woman was discovered the year before, and other body parts have been
recovered. The find, described as "one of the most significant
archaeological discoveries of the 1980s", caused a media sensation. It
helped invigorate study of British bog bodies, which had previously
been neglected in comparison to those found in the rest of Europe.
Lindow Man was a healthy male in his mid-20s. He may have been someone
of high status, as his body shows little evidence of heavy or rough
work. There has been debate over the reason for Lindow Man's death. The
nature of his demise was violent, perhaps ritualistic; after a last
meal of charred bread, Lindow Man was strangled, hit on the head, and
his throat cut. Dating the body has proven problematic, but it is
thought that Lindow Man was deposited into Lindow Moss, face down, some
time during the 1st century AD. The body has been preserved by
freeze-drying and is on permanent display at the British Museum,
although it occasionally travels to other venues such as Manchester
Museum.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lindow_Man>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1806:
War of the Fourth Coalition: French troops under Napoleon engaged
Russian forces in both the Battles of Pultusk and Golymin.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Pu%C5%82tusk>
1871:
Thespis, the first comic opera by Gilbert and Sullivan, made its debut
at the Gaiety Theatre in London, UK.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thespis_%28opera%29>
1908:
Boxer Jack Johnson became the first African American Heavyweight
Champion of the World after defeating Canadian Tommy Burns in Sydney.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Johnson_%28boxer%29>
1975:
The Tupolev Tu-144, the first commercial aircraft to surpass Mach 2,
went into service.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tupolev_Tu-144>
2006:
The Hengchun earthquake struck off the southwest coast of Taiwan,
coincidentally on the second anniversary of the 2004 Indian Ocean
earthquake that devastated the coastal communities across Southeast and
South Asia, and on the third anniversary of the 2003 Bam earthquake
that destroyed areas of southeastern Iran.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2006_Hengchun_earthquake>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
supernal (adj):
1. Pertaining to heaven or to the sky; celestial.
2. Exalted, exquisite, superlative
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/supernal>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
The obstacles to peace are in the minds and hearts of men.
In the study of matter we can be honest, impartial, true. That is why
we succeed in dealing with it. But about the things we care for — which
are ourselves, our desires and lusts, our patriotisms and hates — we
find a harder test of thinking straight and truly. Yet there is the
greater need. Only by intellectual rectitude and in that field shall we
be saved. There is no refuge but in truth, in human intelligence, in
the unconquerable mind of man.
--Norman Angell
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Norman_Angell>