Excellent BBC round up of new findings on research that uncovers the technology of Roman civilization. No iPods, but they could probably kick our asses in a fight. Read the article here. Read More...

During World War II the Army Corps of Engineers needed to hide the Lockheed Burbank Aircraft Plant to protect it from a Japanese air attack. They covered it with camouflage netting and trompe l’oeil to make it look like a rural subdivision from the air. Click the pic to see the remarkable gallery. Read More...

How has the geography of religion evolved over the centuries, and where has it sparked wars? Our map gives us a brief history of the world's most well-known religions: Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Judaism. Selected periods of inter-religious bloodshed are also highlighted. Want to see 5,000 years of religion in 90 seconds? Ready, Set, Go! Read More...

The first documented evidence on the existence of carpets came from Chinese texts dating back to the Sassanid Dynasty (224 - 641 CE). In 628 CE, the Emperor Heraclius brought back a variety of carpets from the conquest of Ctesiphon, the Sassanian capital. The Arabs also conquered Ctesiphon in 637 CE, and among the spoils brought back were said to be many carpets, one of which was the famous garden carpet, the "Spring time of Khosro". This carpet has passed into history as the most precious of all time. Made during the reign of Khosro I (531 - 579 CE) the carpet was 90 Feet square.

The Arab historians' description is as follows: "The border was a magnificent flower bed of blue, red, white, yellow and green stones; in the background the colour of the earth was imitated with gold; clear stones like crystals gave the illusion of water; the plants were in silk and the fruits were formed by colour stones" However, the Arabs cut this magnificent carpet into many pieces, which were then sold separately.

In the Persian (or Sinneh) Knot, the wool thread forms a single turn about the warp thread. One end comes out over this thread and the other over the next warp thread.

In the Turkish (or Ghiordes) knot the yarn is taken twice around two adjacent warp threads and the ends are drawn out between these two threads Read More...

A nice flash movie that shows how the Middle East has been fought for and occupied over the past 5000 years. Read More...

This site is completely independent and noncommercial. It is the product of a single author (Bruce Harris of Australia). Selection of the persons featured in the hero and killer files has been entirely at the author's discretion. fascinating. Read More...

Plaster Casts from the 79 A.D. Eruption of Vesuvius

"One of the morbidly fascinating results of the 79 A.D. eruption of Vesuvius is the large number of holes found in the volcanic deposits around Pompeii that represented corpses of people and animals that were buried by the hot ash. The ash lithified before the corpses decayed so that a good mold of the deceased remained. Early in the excavation it was discovered that filling these molds with plaster produced remarkable casts of the victims of the eruption. This page is a collection of photos taken of casts at Pompeii, Herculaneum, and the Museo Archeologico Nazionale in Naploli."
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An oral history project that covers the Roma people of Kosovo

The name Roma is used in place of Gypsy - a word with its origins in the misplaced assumption, by Europeans, that the Roma in their midst originated in Egypt. Europe was recently emerging from the dark ages when Roma first appeared there; no one had seen Egyptians in a long time, and things got a bit confused.

While the word Gypsy has romantic connotations in North America, it is considered a racist term, as are its many equivalents in the European languages: Zigeuner (German), Cigan (Serbian/ Croatian), Maxhup (Albanian), Athingani (Greek- do not touch), Kipti (Turkish), Gitano (Spanish) and Gitan (French).

This project exclusively uses the word Roma. It encompasses all sub-groupings. Sometimes, Roma in this project are sub-identified by their particular clan, be it Gurbeti, Muhadjeri, Arlija, Bugurdjije, Ashkalija, or Egyptian (although Egyptian is more a hopeful non- Roma classification than a clan).

click the pic for more. Read More...