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The Hobbit ring that may have inspired Tolkien put on show | Books | The Guardian

In what was once the housekeeper’s office of a Tudor mansion in Hampshire, a very odd golden ring glitters on a revolving stand in a tall perspex column. In chapter five of The Hobbit, Bilbo Baggins finds a ring in the gloom of Gollum’s cave. Not just any ring. “One very beautiful thing, very beautiful, very wonderful. He had a ring, a golden ring, a precious ring.”

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Production year: 2011
Country: Rest of the world
Cert (UK): 12A
Runtime: 169 mins
Directors: Peter Jackson
Cast: Aidan Turner, Andy Serkis, Benedict Cumberbatch, Billy Connolly, Cate Blanchett, Christopher Lee, Elijah Wood, Evangeline Lilly, Hugo Weaving, Ian Holm, Ian McKellen, Lee Pace, Luke Evans, Martin Freeman, Orlando Bloom, Richard Armitage, Sir Ian McKellen, Stephen Fry
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A new exhibition opening today at The Vyne, now owned by the National Trust, raises the intriguing possibility that the Roman ring in the case, and the ring of power in JRR Tolkien’s book The Hobbit, and in his Lord of the Rings trilogy, are one and the same.

(via At the Crossroads: When Humans met Neandertals)

(via Göbekli Tepe - Pictures, More From National Geographic Magazine)

I have to go to Gobekli Tepe. And soon. Please?

Slouching Towards Bethlehem - The Lion Man.

I’ve seen the Lion Man before, but I’ve never really thought about it properly - but it is truly amazing

"We found the ruins of a three-level palace with a staircase carved into the rock,” Papadopulos said, adding that they also found a well, dating back to 13th century BC, when the Trojan War is believed to have taken place. According to the archaeologist, the discoveries are identical to the ones described in Homer’s Odyssey, presumably written about 8th century BC."

— Bulgaria: Greek Archaeologists Claim They Discovered Odysseus’ Palace - Novinite.com - Sofia News Agency

"On average, both abstainers and bingers have shorter, harsher lives. The human liver is specially equipped to metabolize alcohol, with about 10 percent of its enzyme machinery, including alcohol dehydrogenase, devoted to generating energy from alcohol. Our organs of smell can pick up wafting alcoholic aromas, and our other senses detect the myriad compounds that permeate ripe fruit."

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Orgies or Beer? You Only Get One

Rather tempting theory that agriculture (and thereby civilisation) came about through the urge to brew

Last few early humans survived in 'Eden', scientists say | News.com.au

Yet more on the littoral beginnings of homo sapiens

10,000-year-old weapon found in melting glacier

Ancient legends once walked among early humans? - USATODAY.com

Megafauna cave painting could be 40,000 years old - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)