Roman bronze cauldron unearthed in central Norway burial cairn

Sometime around 150-300 CE a person died at the place now called Gylland in the Gaula River valley, in southern Trøndelag county. After the body was cremated, the remains were laid in a bronze vessel. This was then covered ...

The world's oldest autograph by a Christian is in Basel

A letter in the Basel papyrus collection describes day-to-day family matters, and yet is unique in its own way: It provides valuable insights into the world of the first Christians in the Roman Empire, which is not recorded ...

2 rare Barbary lion cubs born in Czech zoo

Two Barbary lion cubs have been born in a Czech zoo, a welcome addition to a small surviving population of a rare lion subspecies that has been extinct in the wild.

Desert truffles are Libya's 'manna from heaven'

Braving the cold and hostile Libyan desert, Milad Mohammed scratches the ground to extract what he calls "manna from heaven"—white truffles coveted as a delicacy at home and abroad.

Synthesizing a deadly mushroom toxin

The death-cap mushroom has a long history as a tool of murder and suicide, going back to ancient Roman times. The fungus, Amanita phalloides, produces one of the world's deadliest toxins: α-amanitin. While it may seem ill-advised, ...

It's not how you play the game, but how the dice were made

Whether at a casino playing craps or engaging with family in a simple board game at home, rolling the dice introduces a bit of chance or "luck" into every game. We expect dice to be fair, where every number has equal probability ...

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