King’s College Choir.

Es ist ein’ Ros’ Entsprungen is an early German Christmas carol and Marian hymn performed in a harmony written by Praetorius in 1609 by the Dresdner Kreuzchor.

Mid-16th century Spanish artifacts discovered at the site of Tristan de Luna’s 1559 settlement in Pensacola. (photo: University of West Florida)

The Pulse reports that archaeologists have identified the site of the first European settlement in America.

For centuries, the exact location of Tristán de Luna y Arellano’s 1559 settlement in Pensacola — the first multi-year European settlement in the United States — has been a mystery.

Not anymore.

Archaeologists from the University of West Florida announced on Thursday the discovery of one of the most significant historical sites in the nation: the archaeological site of the de Luna settlement, hidden just beneath the surface in the city’s East Pensacola Heights neighborhood.

“Our archaeological team has discovered and can support the statement that the land settlement site of Tristan de Luna has been located within the city limits of Pensacola, Florida,” said Dr. Judy Bense, the university’s current president and founder of its archaeology program. “And we are telling the world today.”

In October, Pensacola native Tom Garner discovered Spanish colonial and Native American artifacts at a privately owned residential lot within view of two previously discovered shipwrecks in Pensacola Bay. The so-called “Emmanuel Point shipwrecks,” located in 1992 and 2006, have also been linked to the de Luna expedition.

The artifacts Garner discovered are definitive evidence of de Luna’s settlement, which lasted from 1559 to 1561 — the earliest multi-year European colonial settlement ever archaeologically identified in the United States. De Luna’s Pensacola settlement predates the Spanish settlement in St. Augustine, Fla. by six years, and the English settlement in Jamestown, Va. by 48 years.

After collecting several artifacts, Garner brought them to the UWF archaeology lab on October 30. Dr. John Worth, associate professor of historical archaeology, is an archaeology and ethnohistory expert and focuses on the Spanish colonial era in the southeastern United States.

“What we saw in front of us in the lab that day was an amazing assemblage of mid-16th century Spanish colonial period artifacts,” said Worth. “These items were very specific to this time period. The University conducted fieldwork at this site in the mid-1980s, as have others since then, but no one had ever found diagnostics of the sort that Tom found on the surface. People have looked for this site for a long time.”
Various artifacts, including Native American beads, have been discovered at the site of Tristan de Luna’s 1559 settlement in Pensacola. (University of West Florida/Special to the Pulse)

Various artifacts, including Native American beads, have been discovered at the site of Tristan de Luna’s 1559 settlement in Pensacola. (University of West Florida/Special to the Pulse)

With the cooperation and support of residents and property owners, UWF began test excavations at the site was able to recover other artifacts. Archaeologists recovered numerous shards of broken 16th century Spanish ceramics found undisturbed beneath the ground’s surface. They are believed to be pieces of assorted cookware and tableware, including liquid storage containers called olive jars. Small personal and household items were also among the findings — a lead fishing line weight, a copper lacing aglet, and wrought iron nail and spike fragments. Additionally, the team recovered beads known to have been traded with Native Americans. These items are consistent with materials previously identified in the shipwrecks offshore in Pensacola Bay.

The artifacts were linked to the Spanish expedition led by de Luna, who brought 1,500 soldiers, colonists, slaves, and Aztec Indians in 11 ships from Veracruz, Mexico, to Pensacola to begin the Spanish colonization of the northern Gulf Coast in 1559. One month after they arrived, the colony was struck by a hurricane, sinking many of their ships and devastating their food supplies. After two years, the remnants of the colony were rescued by Spanish ships and returned to Mexico.

The UAE National reports that a falcon recently brought down a drone in a back garden in Dubai.

A drone enthusiast was brought back down to earth when his gadget was attacked by a bird of prey.

The remote-controlled device was flying above Jumeirah Park when it encountered a falcon.

The bird, possibly mistaking the rotor-powered drone as an adversary or a meal, locked its talons into the device and took it down in front of an astonished onlooker.

Lukas Franciszek, from Poland, was out for a stroll last week with his wife and 16-month-old baby when he saw the drone hovering.

“We looked up and there was a drone, and I told my wife that we should move away,” said the resident of four years.

“We walked two or three metres and then heard a whizzing noise and a thump. As I turned around, I saw the drone going down and a bird right after it.”

The drone crashed into the garden of an elderly Arab woman, whom Mr Franciszek approached to notify of the incident.

“She didn’t speak English very well, so she telephoned her husband, and he asked me to check out the situation,” said Mr Franciszek.

“We walked in, and we saw the drone on the ground but no bird was in sight. However, when I came close, I saw a big bird sitting on a plant pot and realised it was a falcon.

“I was looking at the bird, it was looking at me. We had a little stare-off.”

As Mr Franciszek approached the drone, the falcon rushed and perched on the device.

“He was looking at me as if to tell me: ‘Hey, back off. This is mine. I hunted it’,” he said.

Mr Franciszek then took a photo of the bird, which he later posted on social media.

The owner of the drone arrived and said that the falcon, which was tagged, did not belong to him.

It is not clear to whom the falcon belonged but social media users who commented on Mr Franciszek’s picture said it belongs to a Dubai man.

Eventually, the falcon flew away, leaving Mr Franciszek and the others dumbfounded by the bizarre events.

Hat tip to Matt MacLean.

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Gallery Huue:

Yunhee Lee is a very popular young ceramic artist still in her twenties. Straight out of university, Lee has been invited to numerous exhibitions in and outside Korea, many of which has seen her artworks do extremely well. Lee is currently a resident artist at Clayarch Gimhae Museum, as part of its initiative to support creative and experimental artists. In 2013 Gyeonggi International Ceramic Biennale, she was selected as one of 20 ‘Hot Rookies’ artists, which included young talents from around the world including China, US, Germany, France, and Spain. Lee calls herself a collector: collector of common stories around her, regarding people’s insatiable desires, fears, anxieties and the cure they search and find to overcome them. She takes note of these ‘curing processes’ and bring them to life with her hands using clay as a medium. Layers of variously sized units and the splendid patterns and colors have created a beautifully delicate and refined artwork that has come to define Lee’s artistic style.

Beautiful Decay:

South Korean artist Lee Yun Hee creates narrative ceramic pieces inspired by literature and story telling. She uses both Western and Eastern influences, creating a style of her own that is striking, unique and undoubtably contemporary. Her work is fragile and flawless, almost creating an aura of effortlessness. She uses her work to reflect upon stories of everyday people; their struggles, fears, hopes, and anxieties. Yet, most importantly to her, she is truly interested in documenting their “cures” — the sort of “up from below” type stories that end with a protagonist who has had the strength and endurance to overcome a difficult task. For example, her piece La Divina Commedia, reinterprets the classic 14th century poem by Dante. In her version, she depicts a young girl’s search for truth. She explains the tale behind the piece in an interview with Brilliant 30. She states,

“there was once a girl that received an oracle, telling her future. The knowledge, the predestined desire and insecurity left her troubled. In search of happiness and peace, she embarked on a journey. Along the way, she encountered many obstacles; but at the end, she discovered the peace she has been striving for…By overcoming anxiety and suppressing desire, the girl reaches a state of ultimate peace.”

Her work acts as windows into her own version of a fairy tale; she is able to re-create morality stories within her own framework. She refers to her self as a collector— she takes influence from everything she sees. She explains, “I have been keen on collecting images since I was a child. I would rather cut out the pictures from cartoons than read them. Even the encyclopedia wasn’t safe. These processes have had more influence than anything else on my background as an artist.”

Lee Yun Hee’s work is mystical and fantastic. Though balancing modern, classic, Eastern, and Western styles, she has creating an epic body of art that is honest, profound, and truly unique.

Russian TV Network RT mocks Obama and Kerry:

Bust of Beethoven in the room where he was born. Bonn, Germany, 17 December 1770. (photo,1934)

String Quartet no.15 op.132 “Lydian”- Budapest String Quartet.