LifeArtEarth

Early Medieval runic gold coins are very rare. One type, a shilling or thrymsa found in East Anglia, is known from only two examples (plus a broken contemporary plated forgery). Dating to about 670 (on the basis of the paleness of the gold), in the "Trophy" series (the earliest East Anglian coinage), it is known as the 'Runic Reverse' or ‘Runic Ring-Bearer’ shilling (Marsden 2016, Marsden & Pol 2020). The example shown here was found in 1998 by a detectorist near East Bergholt, Suffolk (about 25 km from Sutton Hoo) and is registered with the Fitzwilliam Museum's Early Medieval Coin Finds . The other known example  was found near Billockby, Norfolk. The obverse shows the head of an emperor facing left with a floating cross in front and above, and a nine-rayed starburst with two connected rings and a slightly disconnected third (with attached line) below. The floating cross on this coin is particularly reminiscent of Constantine's vision (as recounted in ...

Deramakot lies in central Sabah, northwest Borneo. It's reached by a drive of about 4 hours from Sandakan, the major part being through seemingly endless palm oil plantations. The sustainably managed forest reserve is known as the best place in Borneo to have a chance of encountering the spectacular clouded leopard, but even so, sightings are few and far between. I found myself with a few clear days before needing to be back at university to give a talk in Kuala Lumpur, so on the spur of the moment (after checking with Alternative Adventure Borneo that it would be OK to turn up at such short notice), I booked a flight to Sandakan for the following morning.  Once installed in a room at Deramakot, there was a meal and then it was straight out into the evening to see what we could find. Sharp-eyed guide Elsie was balanced on top of the cabin of the vehicle. For the following two evenings, we headed out in the afternoon with a packed dinner to be eaten just after dusk before continuing...

Over the years, I've met some very interesting wildlife within the limits of Kuala Lumpur. Two days ago, on a walk through a hilly area of forest in the city, I heard quite a large splash in a small lake hidden by trees and wondered if that could have been an otter. This afternoon I went back to focus on the lake and see what could be seen. Once again, there was a large splash and ripples moving across the surface of the lake, which I could only glimpse through small gaps in the trees. I found a way down towards the lakeside and there they were, four very lively otters splashing, surging, turning and making quite a lot of noise. I managed a couple of photographs, but once they noticed my presence, they disappeared, leaving a calm lake surface disrupted only by pond skaters and the occasional fish. Here are three of them boisterously chasing a fourth. They are smooth-coated otters ( Lutrogale perspicillata ). And here is the calm lake after their disappearance. I walked slowly and q...

I had visited the site of Monte Verde in southern Chile once before, in 2011. On the 7th January 2024, I drove there again (from Puerto Montt) to see what has changed. What I found was not encouraging. A formerly attractive wooden house at the Monte Verde I site is now a decrepit ruin. There are some helpful information boards (kudos to whoever made these), now fading badly and with Monte Verde I and II mislabelled. A rudimentary archaeological theme park nearby appears to be entirely abandoned. This is a sad state of affairs for such an important site. Despite all the signs of abandonment and neglect, the place is a joy to visit for the vivid music of the varied birdsong. There were southern lapwings, buff-necked ibises, striped woodpeckers, a snipe, grasslands yellow finch, rufous collared sparrows, austral blackbirds, and Chilean swallows. Also, not far from the site is a line of burrowing owl colonies with their alert to dozy, but always utterly charming sentries, a complete deligh...