This Week In History News, Nov. 3 – 9

Published November 8, 2019

Knights Templar treasure tunnels uncovered, ancestral homeland of all humankind located, medieval Viking warrior's face reconstructed.

Archaeologists Uncover 800-Year-Old ‘Treasure Tunnels’ Of The Knights Templar Under Israeli City

The Knights Templar's Tunnels

Wikimedia CommonsResearchers found a new network of secret tunnels buried underneath the Israeli city of Acre.

The story of the Knights Templar — Catholic warrior monks known as the “crusading soldiers of God” — is the stuff of legends and continues to be studied today. Most recently, researchers uncovered a new network of hidden tunnels buried beneath a city in Israel, believed to have been built by the Knights Templar as a passageway to their treasure tower.

As part of a new documentary series by National Geographic called Lost Cities, archaeologist and show host Albert Lin and his team utilize light detection and ranging technology known as LiDAR.

This innovative tool allows researchers to detect hidden artifacts underneath the Earth’s surface through aerial scanning to produce accurate 3D maps.

Dig deeper here.

Researchers Traced The Ancestral Homeland Of Modern Humans To Botswana

Okavango Delta In Botswana

Joachim Huber/FlickrA new study suggests the common ancestors of modern-day humans came from Botswana.

Each individual human being has a unique ancestral history, but a group of researchers set out to answer the ultimate question: Where do all humans come from? And it looks like they might have figured it out.

Researchers claim in a new study that they have successfully traced the homeland of all modern humans to a region in northern Botswana.

Learn more in this report.

Scientists Reconstruct The Mutilated Face Of A 1,000-Year-Old Female Viking Warrior

Reconstruction Of A Viking Warrior

National GeographicIt’s unclear whether this wound was the cause of death, since a scientific exam showed signs of healing.

A skeleton found in a Viking graveyard in Solør, Norway has been identified as female for years, but experts weren’t sure if the woman was really a warrior when she was alive. Now, cutting-edge facial reconstruction appears to confirm her status as a fighter.

Archaeologist Ella Al-Shamahi explained that this latter part was in dispute “simply because the occupant was a woman” — despite her burial site being filled with an arsenal of weaponry that included arrows, a sword, a shield, a spear, and an axe.

Read on here.

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All That's Interesting
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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
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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.