There’s gold under these streets
In today’s newsletter, we explore the explosive origins of the Nobel Prizes, find long-hidden treasures under London, see attempts to build hurricane-proof houses… and ask: Can bird-watching make you smarter?
Harry Potter fans know that underground London holds secrets, such as gold-filled vaults guarded by goblins and dragons.
Fiction doesn’t compare with the long-hidden finds emerging from real London’s dark basements—including the unearthed remnants of a royal pleasure palace and a vast cache of gold and jewelry (above) dating to 1666. Oh, did we mention the recently discovered jousting court where Henry VIII almost died?
Read the full story here.
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In plain sight: Ruins of the Bishop of Winchester’s palace, founded in the 13th century, remain amid busy London. The site’s excavator, Derek Seeley, said the palace once had a tennis court, bowling alley, brewery, butchery, and six-acre garden down the centuries. Read more.
STORIES WE’RE FOLLOWING
• Climate change is melting the Alps—and scientists are trying to protect the people below
• Can bird-watching make you smarter?
• Archaeologists are searching for evidence of Jesus
• 5 secret societies that actually shaped the world
• See our best photos on changing leaves
• How scientists are developing hurricane-proof houses
• The explosive origins of the Nobel Prizes
IN THE SPOTLIGHT
Maidens and more: Women in Ancient Greece were rarely in the spotlight, but that doesn’t mean that their lives were dull. As researchers peel back the curtain, they’re discovering a fuller picture: days full of domestic responsibilities, art, and ceremonies (like the funeral preparation, pictured above)—and which women enjoyed the most power, Nat Geo History magazine reports.
PHOTO OF THE DAY
The new South: A May 1978 Nat Geo feature on a changing Nashville included this image of a doctor examining a blood specimen with his students at Meharry Medical College. The image has been recently featured in our Photo of the Day archival collection. The story came amid development in Nashville, Raleigh-Durham, Atlanta and other centers in the South. The New South, one that might be able to develop by transcending the prejudices that held it back, was a theme during the administration of President Jimmy Carter, a native Georgian.
LAST GLIMPSE
Master masons: Even the most solid stone crumbles—eventually. From Stonehenge to grand cathedrals (like Salisbury Cathedral, above, home to the U.K.’s tallest spire), stonemasons keep these iconic sites standing. Although the craft is fading, new students are picking up chisels, Nat Geo reports.
