Pillars holding up Canterbury Cathedral, founded in 602, are being held together by duct tape because of a shortage of funds needed to carry out urgent repairs.

Experts warn that parts of the cathedral are “falling down” and that the building as a whole is “in serious jeopardy”.

A fifth of the structure’s internal marble pillars are currently held together by duct tape.

In July, masonry around the Great South Window fell out, forcing the authorities to fence off the area around the window and south entrance to protect the public.

Life Magazine has posted a great gallery showcasing some great photographs of New York in the 1940s.

The 1940s in New York are often seen as a Golden Age — a decade when America emerged from the second World War as the globe’s undisputed superpower, and New York City became, in a sense, the Capital of the World. Sports, finance, music, art — New York was where it was at, and photographers worked overtime to capture glimpses of the energy, rhythm, and optimism that powered the city that never sleeps.

Computer scans of the fossil remains of the Haast’s eagle, a giant raptor that went extinct 500 years ago, show that the bird was a predator, not a scavenger as previously thought.

Scientists believe the Haast’s eagle became extinct about 500 years ago, most likely due to habitat destruction and the extinction of its prey species at the hands of early Polynesian settlers. Before the humans colonized New Zealand about 750 years ago, the largest inhabitants were birds like the Haast’s eagle and the moa.

Scofield said the findings are similar to what he found in Maori folk tales. “The science supports Maori mythology of the legendary pouakai or hokioi, a huge bird that could swoop down on people in the mountains and was capable of killing a small child,” he said.

The Smithsonian website has posted a great article in which they dispel some  of the urban legends surrounding the institution.

Myth #4: The Smithsonian discovered Egyptian ruins in the Grand Canyon.

Fact: It didn’t.

Backstory: On April 5, 1909, the Arizona Gazette ran the following headline: “Explorations in Grand Canyon; Mysteries of Immense Rich Cavern Being Brought to Light; Jordan Is Enthused; Remarkable Find Indicates Ancient People Migrated from Orient.” The article includes testimony of one G. E. Kincaid who says that he, traveling solo down the Green and Colorado Rivers, discovered proof of an ancient civilization—possibly of Egyptian origin. The story also asserts that a Smithsonian archaeologist named S. A. Jordan returned with Kincaid to investigate the site. However, the Arizona Gazette appears to have been the only newspaper ever to have published the story. No records can confirm the existence of either Kincaid or Jordan.

The remains of 2,000-year-old synagogue has been found on the shores of the Sea of Galilee.

“It is possible that Jesus had preached in this synagogue since Migdal was an important Jewish city at the time,” excavations director Dina Abshalom-Gorni, who led the dig, told AFP.

Jesus did much of his preaching on the shores of the Sea of Galilee, also known as Lake Kinneret, where Christians believe he performed several miracles.

Archaeologists were particularly excited by the discovery of an imprint depicting the menorah — a seven-branched candelabrum — from the Jewish Second Temple destroyed in 70 AD during the Roman siege of Jerusalem.