This Week In History News, Mar. 3 – 9

Published March 8, 2024

Sweater from 1807 found inside a sealed parcel in the UK, 8,600-year-old bread discovered in Turkey, medieval badge depicting a basilisk unearthed in Poland.

217-Year-Old Sweater Discovered Inside An Unopened Parcel In The UK

Sweater Seized In 1807

The National ArchivesThe Royal Navy seized the package in 1807 amid ongoing wars between Britain and Denmark, and it sat unopened in the UK National Archives until now.

Archivists in the UK have unsealed a parcel that was sent from the Faroe Islands to Denmark in 1807 but seized by the Royal Navy along the way. Researchers have found that the package contains a hand-knit sweater that remains in stunning condition after 217 years.

See more here.

Archaeologists Discover World’s Oldest Bread At Turkey’s Ancient Çatalhöyük Site

8600 Year Old Bread

University’s Science and Technology Research and Application Center (BİTAM)Archaeologists discovered this 8,600-year-old bread in Çatalhöyük.

Archaeologists recently discovered the remnants of an 8,600-year-old loaf of bread in Çatalhöyük, a Neolithic site in south-central Turkey. Now, the leavened bread has been identified as the oldest in the world.

Researchers are not only excited about the find itself, but also the development in technological capability it took to identify it.

Dig deeper in this report.

A Medieval Pilgrim’s Badge Depicting A Basilisk Was Just Discovered In Poland

Basilisk Pilgrim Badge

Lublin Provincial Conservator of MonumentsThe badge would have been worn by a religious pilgrim as protection against evil.

Basilisks are terrifying mythical creatures capable of killing someone with a single glare. But for one pilgrim traveling through Poland in the Middle Ages, the basilisk may have offered a degree of comfort — as suggested by the rare discovery of a basilisk “pilgrim badge.”

Unearthed in the village of Wólka Nieliska, Poland, the basilisk badge was worn by a pilgrim during the Middle Ages as a protective talisman.

Read on here.

author
All That's Interesting
author
Established in 2010, All That's Interesting brings together a dedicated staff of digital publishing veterans and subject-level experts in history, true crime, and science. From the lesser-known byways of human history to the uncharted corners of the world, we seek out stories that bring our past, present, and future to life. Privately-owned since its founding, All That's Interesting maintains a commitment to unbiased reporting while taking great care in fact-checking and research to ensure that we meet the highest standards of accuracy.
editor
John Kuroski
editor
John Kuroski is the editorial director of All That's Interesting. He graduated from New York University with a degree in history, earning a place in the Phi Alpha Theta honor society for history students. An editor at All That's Interesting since 2015, his areas of interest include modern history and true crime.