History News

Archaeologists have unearthed an ancient city called Idu, which thrived under the Assyrian Empire almost 3,300-2,900 years ago, hidden beneath a mound in a village called Sau Qala, in Kurdistan, Northern Iraq. An ancient relic with the city's name engraved on it, a cylinder seal dating almost 2,600 years back are among many artifacts discovered in the area.

Vice-President Hamid Ansari on Monday unveiled "Momentous Times", a special book brought out by The Times of India as part of its 175th-year celebrations. The 200-page book, priced at Rs.599, covers 175 landmark events since 1838 that have shaped modern India, ranging from the first struggle for India's freedom in 1857, India's Independence in 1947 to the 2012 Nirbhaya agitation.

A new study, published in the journal 'Geology', shows that acid rain and ozone depletion caused the extinction of over 90% marine species and 70% terrestrial species 250 million years ago. Gases released during contemporaneous volcanic eruptions in Siberia resulted in ecology-damaging pH fluctuations and UV radiations. These combined with global warming led to the earth's worst known species die-off.

Chinese archaeologists on Wednesday excavated a 4,500-year-old city Neolithic Chinese city in eastern Anhui Province. The archaeology team has also unearthed items from the Neolithic Age to the Han Dynasty, which dates back about 2,000 years. The items include deer heads and antlers, tortoise shells and wheat and rice seeds, China's news agency Xinhua reported.