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Martin Rundkvist (born 4 April 1972) is a Swedish archaeologist who focuses on the Bronze, Iron, and Middle Ages of Scandinavia. He has excavated various sites in Sweden. In a 2011 book, he identified nine possible regional power centres in Östergötland, and attempted to determine where the "Beowulfian mead halls" of the day once stood. Years later at one of these sites, Aska, he uncovered the foundations of a large mead hall, and 22 ornate gold figures that may have represented gods or royals. Rundkvist has also catalogued the finds from Barshalder, the largest prehistoric cemetery on Sweden's Gotland island; excavated the boat grave of a Viking; and analysed both the placement of deposited artefacts in the landscape and the lifestyles of élite Scandinavians during the Middle Ages. Rundkvist authors the blog Aardvarchaeology, which the James Randi Educational Foundation termed "the most-read archaeology blog on the Internet". He is an associate professor at the University of Łódź in Poland. (Full article...)

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Royce Clayton

... that Royce Clayton (pictured) idolized Ozzie Smith, the shortstop for the St. Louis Cardinals, as an amateur and took his job as a professional?
... that the 2022 game Needy Streamer Overload allows the player to make a female livestreamer engage in psychoactive drug abuse?
... that Samuel Marolois wrote books about theory and practice of both perspective and fortification?
... that in the television series sequel Imortal (2010), Angel Locsin portrayed the lead role as the daughter of her lycan character in the Lobo TV series?
... that journalist Travis Lupick first wrote about the opioid epidemic for The Georgia Straight in 2014 and has since published two books, Light Up the Night and Fighting for Space, on the subject?
... that Saint Rose Catholic Church was moved from the ghost town of Fleetwood, Oregon, to the Fort Rock Valley Historical Homestead Museum in 1988?
... that in 2019, Border Report launched a ten-day project covering news stories along the Mexico–US border?
... that WBAA, the radio station of Purdue University, received its broadcast license 100 years ago today?

In the news

Viktor Orbán

Hundreds of Ukrainian civilians are found dead after Russian forces withdraw from Bucha.
Fidesz, led by Viktor Orbán (pictured), wins a fourth consecutive term in the Hungarian parliamentary election.
In the Serbian general election, Aleksandar Vučić is re-elected as President of Serbia and his Serbian Progressive Party wins the most seats.
In rowing, Oxford win the men's event and Cambridge win the women's event in The Boat Race.

On this day

April 4

Martin Luther King Jr.

1866 – Russian tsar Alexander II narrowly survived an assassination attempt by Dmitry Karakozov.
1873 – The Kennel Club, the world's oldest kennel club, was founded in the United Kingdom after Sewallis Shirley became frustrated by trying to organise dog shows without a consistent set of rules.
1905 – An earthquake hit the Kangra Valley in India, killing more than 20,000 people and destroying most buildings in Kangra, McLeod Ganj, and Dharamshala.
1949 – Twelve nations signed the North Atlantic Treaty, establishing NATO, an organization that constitutes a system of collective defense whereby its member states agree to mutual defense in response to an attack by any external party.
1968 – American civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. (pictured) was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee.

William Strachey (b. 1572)
Pierre Monteux (b. 1875)
Isaac K. Funk (d. 1912)

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SMS Gefion

In the 1880s and 1890s, Germany built nine unprotected cruisers in three classes. These ships proved to be transitional designs, and experience gathered with them and a series of avisos helped to produce the first light cruisers of the German Navy. The unprotected cruisers, generally designed for service in Germany's colonial empire, required great endurance and relatively heavy firepower. The first ships of the type, the two Schwalbe-class cruisers, were acquired in an effort to modernize an aged cruiser force that relied primarily on old sail frigates. All nine cruisers served extensively in Germany's colonies and foreign interests, particularly in Africa, Asia, and the Pacific. They participated in the suppression of numerous rebellions, including the Abushiri revolt in German East Africa in 1889–90, the Boxer Rebellion in China in 1900–01, and the Sokehs rebellion in the Caroline Islands in 1911. Most of the ships were recalled to Germany and decommissioned by the early 1910s, having been replaced by newer light cruisers. (Full list...)

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The Colombo National Museum is a museum in Colombo and the largest in Sri Lanka. Established in January 1877 and maintained by the Department of National Museums, it holds collections of significant importance to Sri Lanka, such as the regalia of the Kingdom of Kandy, as well as many other exhibits relating the country's cultural and natural heritage. This photograph depicts the facade of the museum, housed in a 19th-century building constructed by Arasi Marikar Wapchie Marikar.

Photograph credit: Alexander Savin

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