Archivist finds Henry I charter

From the BBC: Archivist finds Henry I charter.

A long-lost royal charter has been discovered by historians at Berkeley Castle in Gloucestershire.

The document grants the manor of Maisemore from King Henry I to St Peter’s Abbey in Gloucester.

Although not dated, experts know the charter was made on 3 September 1101, more than 900 years ago, and have confirmed that it is original. [continue, see small photo]

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Ancient skull found in Ethiopia

From the Beeb: Ancient skull found in Ethiopia.

Fossil hunters in Ethiopia have unearthed an ancient skull which they say could be a "missing link" between Homo erectus and modern people.

The cranium was found in two pieces and is believed by its discoverers to be between 500,000 and 250,000 years old.

The project’s director, Dr Sileshi Semaw, said the fossilised specimen came from "a very significant time" in human evolutionary history. (…)

The skull appeared "to be intermediate between the earlier Homo erectus and the later Homo sapiens," Sileshi Semaw, an Ethiopian research scientist at the Stone Age Institute at Indiana University, US, told a news conference in Addis Ababa. [continue]

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