Richard III Inn Redone Using 3D Printer

This 3D printing is getting quite remarkable.

A group of archaeologists have put their 3D printer to use cranking out parts of a model of a building that they think might have been used for a night by the famous Richard III, he of the "My kingdom for a horse" fame.

Seems a 19th Century architect left a notebook with a very detailed drawing of the Blue Boar Inn, where Richard stayed the night before the Battle of Bosworth Field. Henry VII's Yorks carried the day, won the Wars of the Roses, and created the Tudor line. Richard met his end that day.

The University of Leicester archaeologists got to work and turned the 19th Century drawings, which included measurements and descriptions of the tiniest detail, into 21st Century three-dimensional walls and roof, with a bit of CAD modeling thrown in in the middle.

Now that the model is complete, the reconstructers can get on to building the real thing.

Carvings Show Egypt's 1st King

Recently rediscovered carvings show scenes from the reign of Egypt's first king.

The carvings, recorded in 1890s and rediscovered in 2008, show a figure wearing a white crown and traveling in a ceremonial procession and on a sickle-shaped boat, accompanied by representations of falcons and bulls. Most importantly, researchers have dated the carvings to between 3200 B.C. and 3100 B.C., which would have been during the reign of Narmer, who united Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt into one nation.

The seven carvings, made in and around the village of Nag el-Hamdulab, clearly show a pharaoh and, in one instance, illustrate a tax collection campaign. Another carving shows what looks to be the brewing and drinking of beer, which would point to a festival that could have been associated with pharaoh recognition.

Other carvings illustrate the herding of animals, including not only pedestrian cattle but also beasts that are part-lion.

The research appears in the December issue of Antiquity.