Countess Alys Katharine reports that two sets of photos of Christmas interpretations, taken by British photographer and historical interpreter "spiral_tower," are available on Flickr.

The Stone of Scone and the Tower Ravens may have some competition. A fight has broken out over the fate of London's Stone of Brutus. A development company wants to relocate the stone, while tradition holds that, "So long as the Stone of Brutus is safe, so long will London flourish."

On the blog KimikoSews, the author offers a detailed review of the book The Queen's Servants by Caroline Johnson which focusses on clothing of the serving class in Tudor England.

In 1545, Henry VIII's flagship, the Mary Rose sank while fighting the French in the Solent, the straits north of the Isle of Wight in England. The remains of the ship were rediscovered in 1971, catching the imagination of historians worldwide. A documentary, Ghosts of the Mary Rose, is available online.

The Art History News blog has published the full transcribed inventory of Catherine Howard's jewels, from the manuscript in the British Library. The transcription was done by Tudor historian Alasdair Hawkyard and compiled by Nicholas Bristowe, who was clerk of the King's wardrobes.

For the first time in 125 years, the Glastonbury Grace Cup, a 16th century, carved oak tankard, believed to have once belonged to the abbots of Glastonbury, is on display until January 31, 2012 in the abbey museum. (photo)

An unassuming building with an interesting chimney in Ennis, County Clare, Ireland, may be “potentially one of the most exciting urban archaeological discoveries in Ireland in recent years.” The building, currently under restoration, is believed to be Ireland’s earliest surviving example of a timber framed house. (photo)

Archaeologists working on a dig in Chatham, England have confirmed that a dockyard dating to the time oif Henry VIII existed on the site of the Command House pub on the banks of River Medway. Officials hope to make a bid to declare the dockyard a World Heritage site.

Milan, Italy is one of Western Europe's most polluted city, and art historians fear for the survival of Leonard daVinci's Last Supper located on a wall of the refectory of Santa Maria Delle Grazie Church.

The BBC program, The Manor Reborn, has restored a 16th century manor house to four distinct periods of its history.

The new film Anonymous, which debates the authorship of Shakespeare's plays, has opened a new controversary: the playwright's religion. L'Osservatore Romano reports that references in several plays prove that the Bard was Roman Catholic.

Musicians and choir directors have long speculated on what music of the past would have sounded like. Now a new study by a student and a professor from New York University and the University of Cambridge may offer a sample from 16th century Venice.

Lord Mungo Napier reports that all 37 of the reproduction Stirling Heads, from Stirling Castle in Scotland, are available as full colour images on the Stirling Castle website.

The Tudor Tailor, publishers and authors of books on re-constructing sixteenth century dress, have announced the publication of their latest book: The Queen's Servants: Gentlewomen's dress at the accession of Henry VIII by Caroline Johnson.

The quest for the body of Sir Francis Drake, who died at sea in 1596, is on. Pat Croce, owner of a pirate museum, believes he has discovered the location of Drake's body off the coast of Panama.

The Cornell College (Mount Vernon, Iowa) website, which publishes the writings by students in the class, Women Writers in the Age of Shakespeare, includes a short essay on vagrancy in Tudor England. The article, Vagrancy in Sixteenth and Seventeenth Century England, was written by Sara Byrnes.

Peruvian and Spanish archaeologists recently used historical documents from an archive in Spain to help locate the site of Peru's oldest Roman Catholic church near Piura on the country's northern coast. The church was built in 1534.

An inscribed woman's wedding ring, believed to date to the Tudor period, has been found by a metal detectorist in Boroughbridge in North Yorkshire, England. The inscription on the gold ring is unreadable.

Students of music in the Middle Ages would have learned their notes in a different manner than their modern counterparts. They would have learned the Guidonian Hand, a mthod in which "a map of notes  was arranged on the hand."

Jewelry and other artifacts from the 1500s have been found in an excavation of a Native American village in Georgia (USA). The artifacts suggest that conquistador Hernando de Soto may have travelled far off course in his exploration of Florida and points west.

In an article for The Jerusalem Post Magazine, writer and professor of Jewish history Renee Levine Melammed explores the life of Benvenida Abravanel, a 16th century resident of Naples and Ferrara, known for her philantrophy and patronage of David Hareuveni, the 16th century messianic claimant.

Craig Best and Derek Greenwell struck paydirt in 2010 when the two metal detectorists discovered a gold signet ring and a pilgrim badge bearing the image of St George. The coat of arms on the ring indicated that it belongs to the Prestwich family of Hulme in Manchester. (photo)

Anonymous, the new film by director Roland Emmerich which proposes that the plays of William Shakespeare were actually written by someone else, is causing controversy even before the film hits theater screens. James Shapiro offers his opinion in an op-ed for the New York Times.

Most people viewing Michelangelo’s magnificent sculpture of David admire its artistic beauty and proportion, but to Dr. Kelly Cline, the statue symbolizes something else: the birth of modern science. The article appears in the Independent Record (Helena, Montana).

Nonsuch Palace, the Surrey home of Henry VIII, built to rival French King, Francis I, has been rebuilt - as a 2.2m by 1.2m (7ft 2in by 3ft 11in) model. (photo)

Calligraphers, needleworkers, heralds and artists take note. The Retronaut website has posted pages from the Tudor Pattern Book published around 1520.

Rome Reports has released a sort video on YouTube showcasing the newly renovated left Colonnade at St. Peter's Basilica in Rome.

Damaged by years of exposure to the weather, four of the most seriously deteriorated Hampton Court roundels have been restored and will be shown to the public.

You are invited to the palace of the Doge of Venice to witness the end of a long standing dispute between the widow Sammicheli of Venice and Fortunato of Florence. As it is an Italian feast of 1585, expect intrigue, plotting, bloodshed, poisonings, mayhem and murder. As well as lots of good food.

Visitors to the Arthur M. Sackler Museum of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, will have the opportunity to view 16th century woodcuts, engravings, and etchings relating to the study of science when the museum presents Prints and the Pursuit of Knowledge in Early Modern Europe.