The 6th century Byzantine marvel, the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, may be returning to its orgins as a place of worship by once again becoming a mosque. The former church is now a museum.

Lady Biya Fujin unveiled a new aviculture resource section on her web site.  The new "articles" section of Lady Biya Fujin's web site now features articles on a wide range of topics, mostly focused on medieval aviculture, presented for the first time as standard webtext.

The Known World Aviculturists Guild has its web presence on Facebook, with a site featuring research resources such as links, period illuminations, and discussions by guild members on a wide range of aviculture topics.  A bird is not required to participate in their Society-wide guild--only a genuine interest in how companion birds shaped medieval life.

The Arthur M. Sackler Gallery in Washington D.C. has announced that it has received a collection of Tibetan Buddhist art from collector Alice S. Kandell. Objects in the collection date from the 12th through 20th centuries CE.

A 16th century Chinese bronze in the form of a Foo Dog has been found off the Pacific coast of Baja, Mexico. The artifact is believed to come from the cargo of the galleon San Felipe which disappeared in 1576.

Colin Renfrew, Senior Fellow of the McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research at the University of Cambridge, offers a lecture on the Unsolved Mysteries of the Silk Road. The video is available on YouTube.

Galot, fabric died with the juice of unripe persimmons, likely originated in Korea in the 15th century and became the mainstay clothing of farmers and fisherman. Largely lost to the centuries, a fashion designer is reviving the art on the resort island of Jeju.

Fishermen in Indonesia have found a shipwreck that probably dates to the 14th century. The wooden ship contains green and gray ceramics similar to what Chinese merchants traded at the time.

In October 2010, Rohesia Anven of Thessalonica, from the Kingdom of Atlantia, visited the Art Institute of Chicago and documented many of the museum's period objects in an amazing collection of photographs. Her album is available on Picasaweb.

Over 200 objects, including a 1st century 'collapsible' gold crown, on loan from the National Museum of Afghanistan, will go on display for the first time at the British Museum. The traveling exhibit, Afghanistan: Crossroads Of The Ancient World, will be in London March 3 to July 3 2011. (photos)

The Arthur M. Sackler Gallery in Washington D.C. offers the exhibit Shahnama: 1000 Years of the Persian Book of Kings October 23, 2010 - April 17, 2011. The rare paintings of kings, heroes and mythological creatures are from the Shahnama, Iran's national epic.

Titania's Garden artist Jennifer Wong creates and purveys jewelry from metal and stones, as well as chain maille jewelry.

Researchers studying 5th-9th century Buddhist cave paintings in the Afghan region of Bamiyan have learned that the paintings used an oil technique, centuries before the same technique was used in Europe.

Ii Toonishinokami Katsumori of the Palatine Barony of the Far West offers a report on a recent demo held in the Incipient Canton of Golden Playne, Thailand. (video)

The mummified remains of a 16th century noble woman were found at a construction site in Osan (Gyeonggi Province), South Korea.

Ii Toonishi-no-kami Katsumori reports that photos from the Far West A&S Coronet Tournament, which took place in Vale de Draco, Camp Zama, Japan, are now available online.

The Sackler Gallery in Washington D.C. will host Gods of Angkor: Bronzes from the National Museum of Cambodia, "the first international exhibition to focus specifically on the skills and achievements of Khmer bronze casters," May 15, 2010 through January 23, 2011.

"If you need a reign coin, site token, or mercenary pay coin-we have it here." After 25 years of Moneyers Guild work throughout the SCA, Master Emmerich of Vakkerfjell, OL, OP, has opened the internet doors on his very own online "Mint." For those that need a coin from almost any period, for almost any event-he suggests, "pay a visit."

A mural, discovered in 1965 in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, may prove that envoys from Korea visited the country in the 7th century. A replica of the original mural, now destroyed, is on display at the National Museum of Korea.

Archaeologists believe they have found Shangra-La in the form of Himalayan caves holding wall paintings, illuminations and 15th century religious texts. (photos)

Experts have long held that the Islamic religion did not reach into southeast Asia until the 13th century, but new evidence found near Ache, Indonesia, may dispute that claim.

On Saturday October 24th, 2009 in Bangkok, Thailand the Palatine Barony of the Far West held its Coronet Tournament and Investiture. This year, to reflect the event’s location and it being the first event of the Canton of the Golden Plains, the theme was ‘Rumble in the Jungle’.

As of the West Kingdom's October Crown, the Society for Creative Anachronism officially has members and an incipient Canton in a country where it has never existed before: the modern Kingdom of Thailand.

A large "ondol," under floor heating system, dating to the 10th century, was discovered recently at an excavation in the Russian town of Kraskino. The discovery confirms that the Russian maritime province was settled by Koreans.

Visitors to New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art will be treated to a small exhibit of ceramic jars, lacquer boxes, and scroll paintings from 15th - 17th century Korea when they encounter Art of the Korean Renaissance, 1400-1600. (photos)

Archaeologists from Bulgaria and Great Britain are joining efforts to begin research in the area of the lower Danube River, concentrating on the 5th through 7th centuries. The goal of the project is to study "changes in lifestyle and social life in the transitional period from antiquity to the Middle Ages."

Historians have long debated the cause of the collapse of the ancient city of Angkor in Cambodia. Now, through the study of tree rings, they believe that the city was brought low by a massive drought.

The Medieval Academy of America is a web site devoted to scholarly research of the medieval period. They offer a magazine, Speculum, which has been published since at least 1975. There is a searchable index of articles if you are interested in a particular subject.

The recent tsunamis that have caused such devastation in the Indian Ocean may not have been the first. According to a new study which sampled sediments in Thailand and Sumatra, the area may have been hit by a massive tsunami between 600 and 700 years ago.

As part of its October 22, 2008 episode, the Mythbusters took on the challenge of proving the veracity of the medieval Korean hwacha, a weapon able to fire dozens of exploding arrows at a time. The results are chronicled on YouTube.