dispensation to reveal what once were state secrets, we're learning all sorts of things about World War II. For instance, hundreds of allied prisoners of war in German concentration camps were helped to escape via smuggled maps and tools that were cleverly hidden inside the boards and playing pieces of Monopoly and other board games. British airmen were briefed before missions with data about the countryside, and were told that should they be captured, it was their duty to attempt escape. They were told to watch for "special" Monopoly sets and other board games that would contain escape kits, and specially printed silk maps, hidden in special compartments beneath the board surface. The Monopoly games were marked by a red dot in the Free Parking square.
In addition to the silk maps, game sets included the parts to assemble a compass, small metal tools like files, and local currency, hidden beneath the fake monopoly money. Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of POWs were assisted to escape by virtue of the "special" games. The effort to create and distribute the board games via the Red Cross was enormous, and completely secret—not even the Red Cross knew. MI9 worked directly with a British printer to manufacture and distribute the games in absolute secrecy. You can read more about it here.
North of England. The initial fort was built before Hadrian's Wall, in modern Chesterholm, near the modern border of Scotland. The outpost was intended as a guard post overlooking the Roman road known in the middle ages as the Stangate road, which led from the River Tyne to the Solway Firth. Today Vindolanda is an archaeological museum, an English Heritage site, as well as an active dig. Once a Roman fort in what was, to Rome, the Northern Hinterlands, today Vindolanda is a major tourist attraction, as well as a working dig every summer and early fall.
The site was initially mentioned as a Roman site in the sixteenth century. It was raided over the years for stone masonry an artifacts until British historian and archaeologist Eric Birley purchased the house (now housing the museum) and grounds with an eye to preserving and excavating the site. His sons Robin and Anthony, and his grandson Andrew Birley, all trained archaeologists, have pursued his vision. Andrew Birley leads the current excavation projects. You can, in fact, for a fee, work as a volunteer excavator during the summer.
While the site itself—which includes most of the bathhouse, the fort and several buildings that were inhabited
by civilians—is interesting, it's the human detrius, the pottery shards, coins, bits of glass and weapons, and most of all, the tablets, that are the most interesting. Vindolanda has proven an incredible treasure trove of wooden tablets (and fragments of tablets) inlaid with wax and used for writing, and many wooden tablets inscribed with ink ; over 1500 have been recovered, including military orders, letters home, requisitions, and love letters. They date from the first century CE, and are important not only in terms of British Roman history, but in terms of the history of the Roman empire. Most of the tablets are in the British Museum, but infra red photographs (the best way to recover data from the worn tablets) are widely available in digital form.
The tablet encompass all sorts of correspondence, much of it from elsewhere in the Roman empire. There are birthday party invitations; care packages involving socks and underpants; family matters regarding finances and a share business, even military reports regarding the fighting tactics of the native Briton cavalry, who were not all under Roman sway.
There's an interesting discussion of the role served by Vindolanda here. The University of Oxford is placing high quality digital images of all the tablets and fragments online with a transcription and translation, and authoritative notes, here. Information about the site, the related museums, and site visits is here.
The largest hoard of Anglo-Saxon loot was found recently, according to British archeologists. The Staffordshire Hoard was found by amateur treasure hunter Terry Herbert on English farmland in the former northern shire Mercia. Herbert was using a metal detector when he came across the stash. The treasure includes the pommel caps (a piece of the sword) which is relevant based on the story Beowulf, which mentions warriors stripping pommel caps as a memento of war, according to Archaeologist Kevin Leahy.
The hoard contained mostly ornamental war pieces of gold a
nd silver with some inlaid jewels. Among the more culturally relevant finds were several crosses, which should give more insight into the relationship between the Anglo-Saxons and the Christian church.
The clearly excited finder made no allusions to his lack of cultural interest: "Imagine you're at home and somebody keeps putting money through your letterbox, that was what it was like," Herbert said. "I was going to bed and in my sleep I was seeing gold items." in the Yahoo News article. He will be rewarded for his find as he and his farm owning friend will split the profits of a sale to a museum 50/50.
One of the more curious pieces is a gold band with a Biblical quote "Rise up, O Lord, and may thy enemies be dispersed and those who hate thee be driven from thy face."
This find adds invaluable information about a culture who was replaced in 1066 when William the Conqueror took over England from mainland Europe. There are few documents left from the time so a find as rich as this is understndably linked to finding Tutankamun's tomb. They have a great website setup for the find, HERE.
Located in Blarney Castle near Cork, Ireland the Blarney Stone is rumored to endow anyone who kisses it with the gift of gab. Coincidentally it was also recently named the most unhygienic tourist destination on Earth. The folks at Blarney Castle may want to quit their claim that it has been kissed by millions… The origins of the Blarney Stone are steeped with lore and multiple stories ranging from it being the pillow upon which various Saints rested their heads to being part of other famous stones (see Stone of Scone). To kiss the stone is no easy feat, one must hang upside down in the highest tower of the castle and pucker up.
Law Rock at the Althing (Iceland)
Law Rock is where the Icelandic people began holding their governmental meetings in 930 BCE, making their assembly the longest running government body on Earth. Althing means “General Assembly” in Icelandic. Set in the plains near Reykjavik the Althing governed uncontested until 1262 when Iceland lost its independence to Norway, but it continued to function until 1800 when its purpose became more symbolic. It was reinstated in 1843 and has since met in Reykjavik.
Stone of Scone (Scotland)
The Stone of Scone or the Stone of Destiny was used in the coronations of Scottish royals for hundreds of years, and then by those pushy Brits who took it and started using it as a symbol for their own monarchs. In 1296 King Edward I jacked it from the Scots and its use in English coronations was symbolic of their dominance over the Scots. In 1950 four college students stole it back for Scotland but broke it in half. After a nationwide search the stone was repaired and left with the Church of Scotland, then returned to Westminster Abbey in London. In 1996 the Brits returned the stone to Scotland after Mel Gibson’s Braveheart helped to rouse Scottish national sentiments. It is rumored that the Blarney Stone is a piece of the Stone of Scone given by Robert the Bruce to the Irish for their help at the Battle of Bannockburn.
Rock of Gibraltar (Gibraltar)
The Rock of Gibraltar is itself the very symbol of stability and security. Sitting at the southern tip of Spain, it was turned over to the English as part of the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713 the rock has served as a symbol of Britain’s military and political dominance in Europe and the world. It was known to the ancients as one of the Pillars of Hercules marking the end of the known world. Today it is a major tourist destination due to its extensive tunnels, its population of Barbary Macaque monkeys, the only wild population of mankeys in Europe, and for its place in history ranging from the remains of Neanderthals to its key role in World War II.
Plymouth Rock (United States)
Americans are taught that the United States began when the Pilgrims allegedly first set foot on Plymouth Rock in 1620. There is no reference of that contact from the Pilgrims who actually landed and the first reference to it comes a full 121 years later, yet the rock’s lore has only grown. In 1774 the people of Plymouth removed the rock from the sea and placed it in the town’s meeting hall. It has been moved several times and now sits in a small structure near the waterfront. There are, in fact, several pieces in circulation. The rock has been buried twice by Native Americans protesting the mistreatment of their people since the landing at Plymouth.
On August 6th, 1945, at 08:15, over Hiroshima, Japan, the SuperFortress Enola Gay accompanied by two other B-29 bombers dropped the first atomic bomb to be used as a weapon.
An estimated 80,000 people died almost instantly. At least 50,000 more would die in the days and weeks to follow. Truman told the public that dropping the bomb would save 250,000 American troops, and conveniently did not mention that Japan's emperor had already broached the topic of peace. Both the Roosevelt and Truman administrations invested a great deal of money in the development of an atomic bomb, but no one knew precisely what it would do to human beings at ground zero.
Three days after bombing Hiroshima, we dropped another atomic bomb on Nagasaki.
Germany had already surrendered. World War II was winding down. Critics of the decision to drop the bomb—code-named "Little Boy"—suggest that the Truman administration felt pressured to justify the 2 billion dollars spent to develop the atomic bomb with this very visible and public demonstration before the war was over; a demonstration that, not coincidentally, the Truman administration perhaps believed would serve as a warning of military superiority to the rest of the world, especially Stalin's Russia.
There's frankly a good deal of evidence to support this cynical perspective. As horrible as it sounds, the American decision to vaporize tens of thousands of civilians in two Japanese cities when American Intelligence of the time suggested strongly that Japan was already on the verge of an unconditional surrender, seems to have more to do with the desire to shape the outcome of post-war politics and diplomacy.
The Folly of War, by Donald E. Schmidt, explores the Japanese military situation of the time quite closely, and reports that The Strategic Bombing Survey reported, shortly after the conclusion of WWII, "Based on a detailed investigation of all the facts and supported by the testimony of the surviving Japanese leaders involved, it is the Survey's opinion that certainly prior to 31 December 1945, and in all probability prior to 1 November 1945, Japan would have surrendered even if the atomic bombs had not been dropped, even if Russia had not entered the war, and even if no invasion had been planned or contemplated."
General Dwight D. Eisenhower observed, "The Japanese were ready to surrender & it wasn't necessary to hit them with that awful thing." By August of 1945, the Japanese navy had essentially been destroyed. Over half of Japan's sixty largest cities had been carpet-bombed to rubble. The war in the Pacific theater was effectively over, according to American military intelligence.
