Interesting History news today, they have found the first Temple of the Ark of the Covenant in the West Bank, they think they found the body of the Apostle Paul in Rome and the ‘lost’ Afghan Bactrian treasure horde went on display in Paris.

All three are interesting stories. The Temple story mentions the dig is in the West Bank, in an Israeli village surrounded by Palestinian villages. It is amazing to me that delicate archeology is going in the midst of all the strife there. I also wonder how much of it will be able to continue as the situation over there changes over time. The story excitedly declares that this site may have also been the first Christian church ever, interesting site to have so much history in one place.

The tomb of Paul is interesting as well, apparently it was buried relatively recently after rebuilding from a fire in 1823. Given its long history of public visits it is probably about as historic as any of the holy items that pilgrims have flocked to, I am surprised they buried it in the first place.

The Afghan gold is a cool story as well. Most thought the Taliban had melted and sold it. They would have, but it was in a vault with seven locks, each with a key held by separate people. They tried to break in, but apparently were lazy as well as stupid as they couldn’t get in. No offense, but if Jessie James could do it, I would suspect a national government that wanted to open a locked vault could pull it off. Glad they didn’t get in, at least that bit of history won’t be lost now.

Edit: BBC Photos of the Afghan gold exhibit here.

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