This weekly feature is a place to discuss new developments in fields of history and archaeology. This can be newly discovered documents and archaeological sites, recent publications, documents that have just become publicly available through digitization or the opening of archives, and new theories and interpretations.
They've just revealed a metal whip used for self-flagellation in an abbey in Nottinghamshire, one of four found in England that were used during the Black Death.
Tel Aviv researchers believe high-protein diets were responsible for Neanderthal body shapes, specifically wider pelvis and ribs to accommodate enlarged livers.
Something kinda neat from Laos that tells us more about the Plain of Jars
Long story short: a team of Australian archaeologists have found burials in the ground near some of the stone pots. They are theorizing that bodies were placed in the stone vessels to decompose. When the soft tissues were all gone, the bones would then be buried in the ground nearby.
Early Modern scholars might dig this:
Dr. Alexander Cummins just posted his Kepler College webinar on 17th-century English astrology: "Ecology, Propaganda, and Prophecy", which covers "introductions to ecological, political, medical, and interpersonal uses for star-lore and the astrological end of occult philosophy and magical practices."
I did a quick search and it seems that this hasn't come up here yet, it seems.
Five inscriptions in Crimean Gothic were identified on bits of reused 10th century Byzantine masonry from Mangup. Prior to this find the only evidence of that language we had was a few words recorded in Constantinople in the 16th century. Here's [the article (in Russian)] (https://www.hse.ru/pubs/share/direct/document/169329298).