The order of the Knights Templar was a small contingent of warrior monks who defended Christian pilgrimage sites in the Holy Land in the Middle Ages. Christian Crusaders took Jerusalem in 1099, but struggled to maintain control of venerated holy sites tied to the birth, life and crucifixion of Jesus.
One of the most infamous conflicts in American history, Little Bighorn is proof that winning the battle doesn’t always result in winning the war. The Battle of Little Bighorn was a fierce clash that occurred over 25-26 June 1876, between the US military’s 7th Cavalry division and the combined might of multiple Lakota Sioux, Cheyenne …
A landau is a type of mobile coach, consisting of a four-wheeled, convertible carriage and a set of horses to pull it. It was designed in the 18th century in the German city of Landau – hence its name – and was first introduced to England at the start of the 19th century.
The first humans to arrive in North America lived rather hardscrabble — and unhygienic — lives. Archaeologist Dennis Jenkins from the University of Oregon discovered this firsthand while exploring eight small rock caves near the city of Paisley, Oregon. There he found copious amounts of fossilized feces, called coprolites, that had been left behind by …
The Battle of Agincourt is one of Europe’s most famous battles, echoing down the centuries in historical record, song and even dramatic re-enactment on stage and film. The battle itself was part of the Hundred Years War, a series of conflicts that actually waged for over a century (1337-1453) between the Kingdoms of England and …
Star shaped forts are a type of fortification that remained popular from the mid-15th century right up until the end of the 19th and they evolved for two main reasons. First, they aimed to counteract the game-changing effects of gunpowder during sieges, with traditional square and ring-shaped forts now easily breached by cannon fire. Second, …
Styled like colossal human hamster wheels, these cranes allowed huge loads to be hoisted with ease. The treadwheel crane was a wooden, human-powered lifting and lowering device invented in Ancient Rome. It was used in construction and industry for lifting all manner of materials and produce. Its creation was a revelation at the time, granting …
Discover the operation of one of Da Vinci’s most famous aviation designs, the ornithopter. This image is a 3D interpretation of Leonardo Da Vinci’s flying machine, the ornithopter. Da Vinci designed the contraption in 1488 after studying the flight mechanics of birds. Indeed, in many regards the flying apparatus shares a lot of common features …
Even when it was named La Isla de Los Alcatraces in 1775, no one had anything nice to say about this nine-hectare (22-acre) island. It was barren, with hardly any soil or vegetation, no beaches, and a layer of guano coated its surface. The stratified rock made it difficult for people to build on and …
In the Ancient Near East, the chariot core was dominated by the elite warriors of the age. Here, the chariot was as revolutionary to the military as the modern fighter plane. The word chariot comes from the Latin ‘carrus’, which means wheeled vehicle. It had various uses, but in the Near East the chariot dominated …
