http://www.mnh.si.edu/vikings/start.html
Related: Middle AgesSecrets of Lost Empires by Dennis Gaffney The trebuchet was one of the most devastating weapons of the Middle Ages. During medieval sieges, this destruction machine crushed castle walls. Using trial and error, medieval engineers adjusted the trebuchet to make sure its missile hit the castle wall—and destroyed it. History - Vikings Teaching Ideas Viking Longship Burning - A set of photos showing the burning of a Viking longship on the seafront at Arbroath in 2003. Contributed by a visitor. Vikings - Act out this story about a Viking family feud. Viking Ideas - The Cursed Sword - A collection of History / Literacy ideas which are based on the book 'The Cursed Sword'. Viking Ideas - The Troll's Treasure - A collection of History / Literacy ideas which are based on the book 'The Troll's Treasure'.
Mysterious Pyramid Baffles Chinese Scientists No one seems to know the origin or the meaning behind a mysterious pyramid that sits atop Mount Baigong in western China that local legends claim is an alien UFO launch tower. Nine scientists form the team that will travel to the western province of Qinghai and the mouth of this 165-198 foot tall structure known as the “ET Relics.” “The pyramid has three caves with openings shaped like triangles on its façade and is filled with red-hued pipes leading into the mountain and a nearby salt water lake,” says China’s state-run Xinhua agency. To add to the mystery, iron debris and unusually shaped stones are scattered about the desolate area. “The theory that the pyramid was created by extra terrestrials is “understandable and worth looking into…but scientific means must be employed to prove whether or not it is true,” says Yang Ji, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. On the beach at nearby Toson Lake, many strangely-shaped iron pipes lay amid the sands and rocks.
Black Plague Simulation A "Time Travel" Pilgrimage/Voyage during the time of the Black Plague Your old pal Professor Sy Entz has been reworking his Time Travel Machine in the garage. You have stopped by after school and are having a conversation with him about the early Renaissance and Medeval period in Europe (he is a history buff, besides being a science genius!). You muse half-aloud, "Wouldn't it be great to travel back to the days when people wore those interesting clothes and there were fortresses and knights and damsels and all of that kind of stuff?" "Of course," mentions Professor Entz, "this was a time of great pestilence, including cholera and the Black Plague!" Viking Longships - Children's British History Encyclopedia Many Vikings were good sailors because they lived close to rivers and fjords (sea inlets). They grew up from childhood able to use ships for fishing and travelling. A big Viking longship would be about 30 metres long and were made from overlapping planks of oak wood joined together with iron rivets (bits of metal hammered into holes). Each ship could carry 60 men. Sea-chests were used to sit on when rowing and to store personal belongings.
Archaeologists discover earliest evidence of seafaring in Crete ATHENS, Jan. 5 (Xinhua)-- Greek and foreign archaeologists have traced the earliest evidence of seafaring in tools dating back to 130,000 years ago during excavations on Crete island, the Greek Culture Ministry said in a statement Wednesday. In over a century of systematic archaeological research on the southern Greek island, scientists had not found evidence that Crete was inhabited before the Neolithic period (7,000-3,000 B.C.). Recent findings of an excavation at Plakias- Preveli near the city of Rethymnon, which started in 2008 by a research team led by Thomas Strasser of the American School of Classical Studies in Athens and Eleni Panagopoulou of the Greek Ministry of Culture and Tourism, show that Crete was inhabited as early as the Palaeolithic period. Noting that even 130,000 years ago Crete was an island, archaeologists present the tools found as evidence that the ancestors of modern man sailed earlier than we thought so far.
A medieval mystery - The National Archives Tax records can tell us a great deal about life in the Middle Ages. They don’t usually come with pictures, but this one does. It is a cartoon from 1233 during the reign of King Henry III. It’s a detailed, complex cartoon and it is a bit of a mystery. It was found on an Exchequer Roll, a kind of government document recording various payments that is stored rolled up. This roll listed tax payments made by Jewish people in the city of Norwich in Norfolk.
* 101 Viking Facts from the History Specialists 1. Vikings were very clean people (at least by comparison to other people at the time!). 2. Witnesses to Joan of Arc and The Hundred Years' War Activity 1. Joan of Arc's Trials: The Testimony of the Witnesses You will be assigning excerpts from the trial transcripts to small groups of students. Middle Ages for Kids: Vikings Back to Middle Ages for kids The Vikings were people who lived in Northern Europe during the Middle Ages. They originally settled the Scandinavian lands that are today the countries of Denmark, Sweden, and Norway. The Vikings played a major role in Northern Europe during the Middle Ages, especially during the Viking Age which was from 800 CE to 1066 CE. Viking Raids The word Viking actually means "to raid" in Old Norse.
Maps to be Used for the History of Europe Periodis Web - A Historical Atlas and Gazetteer of Europe from Year 1 to 2000 Europe in Year 2000 Europe in Year 1900