On this day, in the early hours of October 12th, 1915, a British national, still wearing her nurses’ uniform, was led out into a yard at Belgium’s national rifle range in Brussels. Alongside her was Phillipe Bancq, a Brussels-based architect. Shortly after dawn, two German firing-squads, each of eight men, were paraded in front of the pair. When ordered, the soldiers fired executing both Bancq and the British nurse - Edith Louisa Cavell.

Here are the World War Two recipes that Tastes Of History cooked 'on the ration' at Tanfield Railway's 1940s Weekend (September 24th & 25th 2022).

Asked to imagine or portray a pirate, most people undoubtedly will have a certain look in mind. But the pop culture version was created by fiction writers and movies-makers. So, what did pirates look like? Dispelling some myths about Pirates.

A brief history of foods and their origins. This time, sugar.

The widely accepted view is that Cleopatra, Queen of the Nile, was ethnically an olive-skinned Macedonian Greek. Some argue, however, that the 'African' queen was a black woman. Who's right? What evidence is there to know how the enigmatic queen looked?

Medieval recipes suitable for celebrating the Battles of Bosworth Field, the final battle in England's Wars of the Roses.

It's a story that's lasted over 900 years but what is the truth behind Lady Godiva's naked ride through the streets of Anglo-Saxon Coventry?

The Forme of Cury (‘The Method of Cooking’ is an extensive 14th-century collection of medieval English recipes.

Isabella Mary Beeton was an English journalist, editor and writer who is most associated with her first book, the 1861 work "Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management".

Statecraft requires intelligence to determine the potential threats to a nation. It should be no surprise, given Rome’s highly organised military and civil bureaucracy, that the army provided the means to gather the necessary information. What follows is an attempt to unravel the "who’s who" and discover what roles, tasks, and functions Rome’s "secret agents" performed.

Ahoy m'hearties! If you landlubbers are looking for food fit for pirates then here are some tasty recipes from the Georgian period that will fit the bill.

Introducing Eliza Acton a cookery pioneer who is far too often forgotten. She established the format for written recipes still used to this day that includes a description of the process, a list of ingredients, and the cooking time. Before her, cook's relied on just a list of ingredients and their own skill to create dishes. Eliza's innovative style allowed anyone to reproduce a recipe from scratch.

"Kitchenalia" introduces objects from different historical periods, discovers a bit about their history and how each was made. We look at how, through our practical experiments, we have learnt to best use them, and offer some recipes for you to try at home. Today's objects are "fish eaters". which became popular in the Victorian period.

A brief history of the orange inspired by a delicious Georgian era recipe for Orange Cake.

Explaining the difference between the historical punishments known as pillories and stocks, which are often confused.

This article questions the oft quoted parallels between Mithraism and Christianity that have led to so much deliberation on whether Christianity is a re-branded version of Mithraic beliefs.

Dispelling the popular misconceptions that people were shorter and didn't live as long in the past.

In an earlier article, we challenged the idea that Roman soldiers cooked farinata, a type of unleavened bread made from chickpea flour, on their shields (link here). Given that Roman shields (Latin scutae; sing. scuta) were typically made of wood this is highly unlikely and at best a myth. So, if not using their shields, then what utensils might the average Roman soldier carry to cook with?

While teaching primary school children about the Romans, and specifically hygiene, we have encountered the belief that they cleaned their teeth with urine. We dispel this myth while explaining what uses urine did have in the past.

Science overwhelmingly agrees that urine is not safe or healthy to consume. Despite what some might claim, drinking urine offers no health benefits and actually could cause you harm.