* Astronomy

Britain and Ireland are so thoroughly divided in their histories that there is no single word to refer to the inhabitants of both islands. Historians teach that they are mostly descended from different peoples: the Irish from the Celts and the English from the Anglo-Saxons who invaded from northern Europe and drove the Celts to the country’s western and northern fringes.
But geneticists who have tested DNA throughout the British Isles are edging toward a different conclusion. Many are struck by the overall genetic similarities, leading some to claim that both Britain and Ireland have been inhabited for thousands of years by a single people that have remained in the majority, with only minor additions from later invaders like Celts, Romans, Angles, Saxons, Vikings and Normans. The implication that the Irish, English, Scottish and Welsh have a great deal in common with each other, at least from the geneticist’s point of view, seems likely to please no one. The genetic evidence is still under development, however, and because only very rough dates can be derived from it, it is hard to weave evidence from DNA, archaeology, history and linguistics into a coherent picture of British and Irish origins.

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A beachcomber claims he has found ancient human footprints dating back 8,000 years, embedded in an ancient Welsh peat bed.
Steve Maitland Thomas was walking on Kenfig Beach, Porthcawl, with his friend John Blundell, when they found a number of ancient size-eight footprints.

"We found the first on January 19, the day after storms had whipped up the sand revealing the bedrock below. The peat beds were formed from the floor of a vast forest, which once stretched right across the valley which now forms the Bristol Channel, until sea levels rose approximately 8,000 years ago."

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A piece of jawbone found in a Devon cave is being re-examined by scientists who believe it may be Britain's first direct evidence of Neanderthal man.
The bone was excavated from Kents Cavern in Torquay in 1927 and was thought to be about 31,000 years old.
But more research showed the Torquay Museum piece could be 40,000 years old.
A computer scan is to be carried out to determine if the bone was put back together correctly after it was found, and to see if DNA can be extracted.

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Human remains discovered on Barra exactly a year ago, have been confirmed as dating from nearly 4000 years ago.
After many months of investigation by Historic Scotland, the AOC Archaeology Group and local archaeologists, the final data has been compiled which concludes that the bones all date between 1880 and 1490 BC.
Initially discovered by Barra artist Moira Bard, the bones were exposed near Allasdale on the west side of the island, a site which has long been considered of archaeological interest.

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