Considering that we are part of the European Union we appear to have very little news content of what is happening on the continent – even in France and Germany. This situation is also true of science – what they are doing on the other side of the Channel is largely ignored – let alone research from further afield, in other parts of the world. Allen and Delair collated a lot of data from Russia during a time the Russkis were not very popular – which was unusual. A great deal of criticism levelled at them was they used obscure sources – which encapsulates the mindset. At Alfred de Grazia's web site we have science stories from around the world – and therefore it is well worth a visit. At www.q-mag.org/the-petroglyph-sundial-of-mount-bego.html …. we have some info on a region not many people know much about – yet it is just up the road from Nice on the French Rivierra. Over 35,000 engravings have been carved on smooth rock faces in the Mount Bego region, situated in the Alpes-Maritime of southern France. Nearly half of them are geometric box like shapes replete with two horns – schematic representations of horned animals (or horned objects). Another popular theme are daggers – lots of them. These might represent meteors.
At www.q-mag.org/mount-bego-an-electrical-mountain.html … which was a them close to the heart of A de Grazia, now sadly not with us anymore. Mount Bego is rich in metals – and has abundant springs and nearby lakes. It is also well known for its electrical storms. There are some wonderful images of petroglyphs at the link.
At www.q-mag.org/the-petroglyphs-of-mount-bego.html … has lots more images. It seems that the site is covered in snow for 8 months of the year and the petroglyphs are only accessible by foot over difficult terrain. Presumably the snow was not as abundant in the Bronze Age. The engravings, using a pock mark system (pecking at the rock face) date from between 3000 and 1700BC. We may note this was also the time when activity was at its peak around Stonehenge and other megalithic monuments.
Changing tack there are several posts on the submergence of the North Sea basin – see for example www.q-mag.org/the-tsunami-that-obliterated-doggerland.html … and includes more information on the Storegga Landslip which generated a tsunami wave that struck the eastern sea board of Scotland and NE England, as well as the Shetlands and the Faeroes. Computer simulation (as noted in an earlier In the News post) has claimed it also swamped Doggerland in the southern North Sea basin, inundating most of it permanently (a few uninhabited islands may have survived for a time).
At www.q-mag.org/a-stone-ax-from-doggerland.html … begins with an image of a lovely stone axe head. It was found on Bruine Bank in the North Sea, fished up in the nets of Dutch fishermen in an area noted for its mammoth bones and teeth which are regularly found in nets. The axe likewise ended up in a net – along with lots of wriggling fish. It dates from between 12,000 and 6,000 years ago (the Mesolithic period) and cannot be dated to a particular year or century. Likewise, a Neanderthal skull that was dredged up a few years ago dates from anywhere between a 100,000 and 35,000 years ago (or even earlier). A link is provided to a pdf article from the University of Birmingham and a National Geographic article on Doggerland.
Elsewhere we have www.q-mag.org/fragment-of-halleys-comet-hit-earth-in-536-a-d-causing-dro… …. which is taken from Live Science (see earlier post on In the News) and concerns research by Dallas Abbott and Patrick McCafferty. It was based on ice cores which displayed evidence of increased dust levels, some of which is claimed to be of extraterrestrial origin. Tiny fossils of tropical marine organisms were also found in ice cores of the period – indicating, it is alleged, an impact in the ocean.