Field of the Cloth of Gold

THIS MONTH’S BIG NUMBERS

22.5 The weight (in pounds) of Tutankhamun’s death

WELCOME JUNE 2020

Wall scene from the burial chamber of pharaoh

1953 ROYAL DAY OUT

These eager crowds are desperate to get a

1930s STONE-FACED

GETTY IMAGES Brave sculptor Gutzon Borglum and his

1908 THE RIGHT TO LEARN

GETTY IMAGES These pupils are being taught to

THINGS WE LEARNED THIS MONTH....

RECENT HISTORY HEADLINES THAT CAUGHT OUR EYE

Archaeologist Dr Miles Russell

“Different sites, different periods and different parts of

YEAR IN FOCUS.... 1913

SNAPSHOTS OF THE WORLD FROM ONE YEAR IN THE PAST

The day the music died 

MIRRORPIX X1, GETTY IMAGES X2 On 3 February

The Vandals sack Rome

On 2 June AD 455, Rome, the Eternal

Q&A YOU ASK, WE ANSWER

HISTORY’S GREATEST CONUNDRUMS AND MYSTERIES SOLVED

TV, FILM & RADIO

THE LATEST DOCUMENTARIES, BLOCKBUSTERS AND PERIOD DRAMAS

EVENTS & EXHIBITIONS

WHAT TO SEE AND WHERE TO VISIT IN THE WID ER WORLD OF HISTORY

BOOKS & AUDIO BOOKS

THIS MONTH’S BEST HISTO RICAL READS AND LISTENS

LETTERS

Prof Paul Cartledge (whom we spoke to for

NEXT ISSUE

GETTY IMAGES THE KOREAN WAR Seventy years after

CROSSWORD COMPETITION TERMS & CONDITIONS

The competition is open to all UK residents

CROSSWORD & PUZZLES

PHOTO FINISH

ARRESTING IMAGES FROM THE ANNALS OF THE PAST

LIFE AND DEATH IN ANCIENT EGYPT

For the ancient Egyptians death wasn’t an end, merely  a new beginning, and ensuring one’s eternal existence was an important part of daily life. Joann Fletcher explores the often perilous journey to the Egyptian Underworld, and beyond

HOW WILLIAM WALLACE BECAME A SCOTTISH HERO

Best known today as ‘Braveheart’, Wallace led a rebellion to free his country from the tyranny of the English – but he was forgotten for centuries 

HOW DID PEOPLE COPE WITH ‘LOCKDOWNS’ OF THE PAST?

Plenty has been made of the great feats achieved by  Isaac Newton and William Shakespeare during historical periods of quarantine. It is true that past pandemics have inspired creation, progress and discovery – but that’s not the whole story, writes Eugene Byrne. Here are ten very di erent experiences of life in lockdown

THE HISTORY OF YOUR HOME

House  historian Melanie Backe-Hansen explores the huge changes in Britain’s homes – from Georgian townhouses to post-war suburbia

LET THEM EAT... DORMICE? 

They say the past is a foreign country, and that applies to food as much as anything else. Emma Slattery Williams explores ten sumptuous snacks of yesteryear

WHAT IF... MAGNA CARTA HADN’T BEEN WRITTEN?

Jonny Wilkes talks to Prof Nicholas Vincent about how King John could have avoided his rebellious barons’ demands and how his successors ensured the historic document’s legacy