Photograph by Franck Goddio / Hilti Foundation / Christoph Gerigk 1,200 years ago the ancient Egyptian city of Heracleion disappeared beneath the Mediterranean. Founded around 8th century BC, well before the foundation of Alexandria in 331 BC, it is believed Heracleion served as the obligatory port of entry to Egypt for all ships coming…
OBSERVING MARS IN 1926 Photograph via Smithsonian Institution In this photo from 1926, we see George A. Van Biesbroeck (1880-1974), an astronomer at Yerkes Observatory, observing Mars when it approached close to the Earth that year. Van Biesbroeck is shown using the observatory’s 40 inch refracting telescope, the largest of its kind…
Drawing of the Statue of Liberty in Upper New York Bay Designed by Frédéric Bartholdi in collaboration with the French engineer Gustave Eiffel (who was responsible for its frame) and dedicated on October 28, 1886, the Statue of Liberty is a large neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor. The statue was…
Strahov Monastery’s Theological Hall Photograph by RUDI (RUDOLF) MOERKL Strahov Monastery is a Premonstratensian abbey founded in 1143 by Bishop Jindřich Zdík, Bishop John of Prague, and Duke Vladislav II. It is located in Strahov, Prague, Czech Republic. In 1670 Jeroným Hirnheim, a philosopher and theologian became the abbot of Strahov. His…
Photograph by Pierre Jahan/Archives des museés nationaux Beginning in 1938, the threat of war prompted a large-scale evacuation of France’s public art collections. The storage sites chosen for works of art were châteaux, tranquil locations in the heart of the French countryside, far from strategic targets, and thus escaping the imminent danger of bombing.…
On April 22, 2013, the Oklahoma Historical Society in partnership with the First Lutheran Church unearthed a 6-ft x 3-ft x 3-ft (1.83m x 0.91m x 0.91m) chest, buried in the church’s basement exactly 100 years prior. Dubbed the ‘Century Chest‘, the project was created in 1913 by Virginia Sohlberg of the Ladies Aid…
In architecture, a gargoyle is a carved stone grotesque, usually made of granite, with a spout designed to convey water from a roof and away from the side of a building thereby preventing rainwater from running down masonry walls and eroding the mortar between. Architects often used multiple gargoyles on buildings to divide the…
FOREST ON SHIPWRECK ISLAND Photograph by Bruce Hood | brucehoodphotography.com In this reflective beauty by Bruce Hood, we see the shipwrecked SS Ayrfield in Homebush Bay, Sydney, Australia. The photograph was taken from Wentworth point, and what I find truly remarkable are all of the trees growing on the abandoned ship! Nature…
VINTAGE SURF SIRENS Photograph by Ray Leighton (via National Library of Australia) In this vintage photo we see five lovely ladies posing on top of some old-school surfboards. The photograph was taken by Ray Leighton between 1938 and 1946 at Manly beach in New South Wales, Australia. The photograph was uploaded to…
Located 135 meters (443 ft) underground is the famous Wieliczka Salt Mine in southern Poland. Entered into the UNESCO First World Heritage List in 1978, it was also proclaimed a Historical Monument by the President of the Republic of Poland in 1994. The mine is located in the town of Wieliczka and is within…