#cave

#cave

Ninth Century Anglo-Saxon Cave House May Have Once Been Home to a KingForget castles, now this is a cave fit for a king!New research by experts from the Royal Agricultural University and Wessex Archaeology suggests that a medieval cave structure in Derbyshire, England, may actually be a home of Eardwulf, an exiled ruler of the medival English kingdom of Northumbria.The cave, cut out of the soft sandstone rock, used to be considered to be an 18th century folly, but new dating demonstrated that it was far older - more likely from the 9th century instead.“Using detailed measurements, a drone survey, and a study of architectural details, it was possible to reconstruct the original plan of three rooms and easterly facing oratory, or chapel, with three apses,” said researcher Edmund Simons in a statement.“The architectural similarities with Saxon buildings, and the documented association with Hardulph/Eardwulf, make a convincing case that these caves were constructed, or enlarged, to house the exiled king.”“It was not unusual for deposed or retired royalty to take up a take up a religious life during this period, gaining sanctity and in some cases canonisation. Living in a cave as a hermit would have been one way this could have been achieved.”Image: Wessex Archaeology#cave #Eardwulf #king #archaeology #AngloSaxon

Spot Robots Autonomously Explore Martian-Like CavernOne day, hopefully we’ll explore underground caves on Mars which may harbor preserved remains or even living microbial life but for now, NASA scientists are preparing by training the dog-like Spot robots in caves here on Earth.NASA’s BRAILLE (Biologic and Resource Analog Investigations in Low Light Environments) collaborated with Boston Dynamics and JPL’s robotic team CoSTAR to explore the Valentine Cave in the Lava Beds National Monument in California.Initial demonstrations with a team of the quadruped Spot robots show the advantages of legged robots in exploring the uneven cavern terrains autonomously, with each robot being able to carry special instruments to detect, collect, and analyze scientifically interesting samples.#SpotRobot #robot #Mars #NASA #JPL #BostonDynamics #cave #lavatube #LavaBedsNationalMonument #ValentineCave

How Did Stone Age Humans Light Their Caves? Cave-dwelling humans in the Stone Age didn't have flashlights, but they didn't necessarily live in complete darkness. To shed light on how our ancestors lit up their Paleolithic caves, archaeologists in Spain recreated ancient lighting techniques: torches, grease lamps and fireplaces.Ars Technica explains:... measurements showed that the various lighting sources had very different characteristics and, thus, were probably used in different contexts. The wooden torches, for instance, emitted light in all directions, up to nearly six meters (19.6 feet), and lasted an average of 41 minutes. The torches exhibited uneven light intensity and often needed to be relit by waving them from side to side, and they produced a lot of smoke, so they worked best for exploring caves or crossing wide spaces. The team also found that adding resin intensified the flame, while adding animal fat extended its duration.By contrast, the grease lamps emitted weaker light akin to the intensity of a candle over a span of three meters (9.8 feet) or so. They burned consistently, and didn't smoke, for over an hour, but they had a dazzling effect if the person was moving and didn't illuminate the floor very well.Research paper at PLOS ONE#cave #stoneage #archaeology #light #lamp #firepit