History Shorts: snippets of local history

History news from the wires... (Dec 2025) A new study of Roman sewer drains at Vindolanda, near Hadrian’s Wall, has found that soldiers stationed there were infected with multiple intestinal parasites. Sediment from a third-century CE latrine drain revealed roundworm, whipworm and Giardia duodenalis , all spread through poor sanitation and contaminated food or water. While roundworm and whipworm are known from other Roman sites, this is the first evidence of Giardia duodenalis in Roman Britain. Image by  Julia Phillips  from  Pixabay Researchers from the universities of Cambridge and Oxford analysed fifty samples from a nine-metre-long drain serving a communal latrine. Around 28 per cent contained parasite remains, and a further sample from an earlier first-century fort also showed infection. The parasites could have caused chronic illness, including diarrhoea, fatigue and malnutrition, weakening soldiers despite the presence of latrines and sewers. Published in Parasi...

Around 6000 pillboxes likely remain in the UK, from maybe 18000-28000 constructed as anti-invasion fixed defence measures during the early years of the Second World War 1 . Two of these, at Portna Lock and Kilrea in County Derry, are physical reminders of how the River Bann valley in Northern Ireland was fortified during the conflict. Invasion was a real fear at this point of the war, especially in the aftermath of the  rapid German advance through France and the British retreat from Dunkirk. Initially concrete and steel were at the heart of the anti-invasion defence in both Northern Ireland and the wider UK. The result in Northern Ireland was a network of fixed positions built to slow any invasion pushing inland from the north coast. The pillbox at Portna Lock outside Kilrea stands near the lock gates on the Lower Bann, positioned to cover a vital point on the river network between Coleraine and Lough Neagh. The structure is a solid concrete design, with a forward-facing firing sl...

In the heart of Randalstown, County Antrim, a remarkable transformation has taken place. The imposing eight-arched railway viaduct, designed by the famed architect Sir Charles Lanyon and built by engineer William Dargan in the 1850s, has been revitalised into a beautiful urban green space. This is an example of an historical structure being reclaimed from its industrial past and potential decay or ruin, to become something positive for current and future communities. The viaduct, spanning the River Maine, carried its last trains in the 1950s, after which the tracks were lifted and a linking bridge over the main road removed. However, community efforts starting in the 1990s breathed new life into the structure, replacing the road bridge and clearing the overgrown viaduct to become a crucial part of a footpath and cycleway linking two ends of the town.  During the 2020s, it has been further transformed into a community garden, offering a serene escape from the hustle and bustle of da...

In 1907, Ireland’s ‘Crown Jewels’ vanished from a safe in Dublin Castle, four days before they were to be used during a state visit by King Edward VII.  Public domain image of the jewels from the police reward notice More than a century later, the mystery behind their disappearance remains unsolved, at least officially.  Suspicion continues to linger around Francis Shackleton, younger brother of the famous explorer Ernest Shackleton, despite being officially cleared by a commission of enquiry.  Did he pull off a heist under the nose of his colleague, friend and sometime housemate Sir Arthur Vicars? Sir Arthur was the Ulster King of Arms, or senior herald, responsible for the safe-keeping of the jewels and who was disgraced by their disappearance.  But why, more than 110 years later, are we still fascinated by this crime? Simply put, if these treasures still exist today, they would be worth millions.  So, what are the Irish Crown Jewels?  Officially called t...

"Then I found a two faced stone On burial ground, God-eyed, sex-mouthed, its brain A watery wound." — 'January God', by Seamus Heaney. In an apparently ancient cemetery on an island in Lower Lough Erne, county Fermanagh is a historical curiosity. The two-sided Boa Island figure is an enigma, even whether it is pagan Iron Age or early Christian (Caldragh cemetery has been dated to 400-800 AD). It's not really a Janus figure either but two separate figures standing back to back. Is one side male and one side female, as many think? Writing in the Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy in 1933, the Lady Dorothy Lowry-Corry described and published photographs of the carved stone, which she believed represented male effigies on both sides. In that she disagreed with George Du Noyer who had first officially recorded the figure in a sketch in 1841 (not very accurately, she said). In her photos, the stone is very noticeably askew and partially sunk in the ground. She also...

The Maritime Mile is a heritage trail alongside the River Lagan in Belfast, connecting key sites from the city’s seafaring and shipbuilding past with striking public art and storytelling, culminating in the Titanic Quarter, home to Titanic Belfast and a host of other historic attractions. Another eye-catching feature is the Glass of Thrones trail – a series of stained-glass panels celebrating the fantasy series filmed in nearby Titanic Studios. Here is the Stark Window, with its vivid imagery of direwolves, northern landscapes, tragedy and battle - a dramatic tribute and a popular photo stop. The Stark window with Titanic Belfast in the background Nearby on Donegall Quay, a public space opposite the Custom House blends historic and contemporary Belfast. A red buoy—once used in Belfast Lough— is repurposed here as public art, while the Salmon of Knowledge sculpture (better known as the Big Fish) stands where the hidden Farset River flows into the Lagan, telling the story of Belfas...