by Lindsay Shapka in Book List, History, Travel
Since the first time I read a book by Paulo Coelho (The Alchemist), I've been hooked — and The Spy does not disappoint.
The book is based on the life and death of the fascinating Margaretha Geertruida "Margreet" MacLeod, also known as Mata Hari.
Read Moreby Lindsay Shapka in culture, Discovey, History, Travel
New technology is completely changing the fields of history and archaeology, as the use of innovations like Ground Penetrating Radar archaeology are resulting in new discoveries all over the world. This tech is even changing the way we look at old discoveries, as new chambers, burials, buildings, and more are being discovered in previously excavated areas. Before I share some of the most fascinating discoveries that have been made recently using GPR, let's start with one very important question.
Read Moreby Lindsay Shapka in History, Discovey, Travel, culture
Yes, there are two famous Pantheons that you can visit in Europe — one in Paris and one in Rome — but they were both constructed for very different reasons, and were built hundreds of years apart.
Read Moreby Lindsay Shapka in Discovey, History, Travel
What is the Grand Tour?
Long before Contiki Tour busses started carting tourists around Europe at breakneck speed — beginning in the late sixteenth century to be exact — young aristocrats from England, Germany, Scandinavia, and America started travelling to Paris, Venice, Florence and Rome as a way to round out their classical educations. This practice came to be known at the Grand Tour of Europe.
Read Moreby Lindsay Shapka in History, Discovey, Travel
In 1974, east of what is now called Xi’an in China, peasants digging a well in their field uncovered one of the largest, and arguably the most important finds of the 20th century — an underground vault full of thousands of intact terracotta warriors and horses standing in battle formation.
Read Moreby Lindsay Shapka in History, Discovey, culture
During World War II, Hitler was obsessed with tracking down and confiscating treasure in the form of art, relics, jewellery, gold, weapons, etc. He amassed massive secret caches of these items all over Nazi occupied territories, including — according to Polish lore — a train loaded with gold, weapons, and art that vanished into the mountains in Poland at the end of WWII and has never been found!
Read Moreby Lindsay Shapka in culture, Discovey, History, Travel
On my last trip to New York, I spent hours (and hours and hours) at The Met walking around in awe at all the incredible artifacts that seemed to appear at every turn. The only place I've seen anything comparable is at the Louvre or the British Museum. One thing I found different from both of these museums, however, was the unique and fascinating pieces that were in The Met's Egyptian exhibits.
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