An ancient cemetery was discovered in Hassleben Thuringia which remained the richest ancient grave found in Germany for almost a hundred years. Not only was the oldest written Germanic word ever discovered etched onto a comb, but hundreds of Roman coins, ceramic fragments and Roman-style brooches were also discovered. This is no accident as much of our knowledge regarding Thuringia and broader Germania comes from the Roman historian Tacitus. The Elbe Germanic tribes who moved into this region were allies of the Romans who were trading partners, a buffer to the neighbouring Chatti - sworn enemies of Rome, as well as specialised in metalworking of iron and precious metals.

Here you can see the richly outfitted grave of the Princess of Hassleben which demonstrates the influential noble class who had a very close relationship with the Romans. She was a young woman buried with a choker, golden fibulae, a ring, a collier of roman glass beads, roman coins, pottery plates and vessels. In her mouth was a Roman gold coin - known as Charons obol - which would provide payment to Charon the ferryman to allow her soul to reach the world of the dead. Next to her remains lay the skeleton of a small dog - possibly her personal pet.

Aethelred II, known later as the Unready, was King of the English from 978 to 1013 and again from 1014 until his death. He came to the throne at the age of 12 after his half brother was murdered. At the start of his reign, Danish raids on English territory began in earnest. Aethelred defended his country by a diplomatic alliance with the duke of Normandy. The Battle of Maldon on 11. August 991 AD involved 2,000-4,000 fighting Viking men led by Olaf Tryggvason against the Anglo-Saxon leader Byrhtnoth who was the Ealdorman of Essex. This ended in defeat for the Anglo-Saxons and King Aethelred was forced to pay tribute, also known as Danegeld, to the Danish king. This payment of 10,000 Roman pounds of silver was the first example of Danegeld in England - a pattern which would follow. The Danish army continued ravaging the English coast until a Danegeld of 22,000 pounds of gold and silver was paid - at which point Olaf Tryggvason promised to never return. Viking attacks only grew worse - Danish raids would follow leading to an even larger Danegeld payment of 24,000 pounds for peace in the Spring of 1002 AD.

The same year, Aethelred married Lady Emma, the sister of Duke Richard II of Normandy in hopes of a stronger diplomatic alliance. On St. Brice's Day, 13. November 1002, the confident yet paranoid King ordered the killing of all Danes living on border towns such as Oxford. Aethelred described this massacre in his own words: ... a decree was sent out by me with the counsel of my leading men and magnates, to the effect that all the Danes who had sprung up in this island, sprouting like cockle amongst the wheat, were to be destroyed by a more just extermination, and thus this decree was to be put into effect even as far as death, those Danes who dwelt in the afore-mentioned town, striving to escape death, entered this sanctuary of Christ, having broken by force the doors and bolts, and resolved to make refuge and defence for themselves therein against the people of the town and the subrubs; but when all the people in pursuit strove, forced by necessitym to drive them out, and could not, they set fire to the planks and burnt, as it seems, this church with its ornaments and its books.

In 1991, hikers discovered the mummified remains of a man who died 5300 years ago in the Alps with an arrow stuck through his shoulder. His genetics show great affinity to modern Sardinia and it is thought if you have ancestors stem from the region between Sardinia and the Alps, there is a chance you could be related to Ötzi. Found in the Ötztal Alps between Italy and Austria, he was given the nickname Ötzi and represents Europe's oldest known natural mummy.

He is believed to have been murdered as the arrowhead in his left shoulder was a fatal wound. He had brown eyes, O-type blood, was lactose intolerant and probably had Lyme disease. Analysis of his colon showed Ötzi's second-to-last meal included ibex meat, cereals and plants. His last meal included red deer meat, grasses and cereals. He had a gap in his smile, lacked wisdom teeth and also had a fairly rare condition where he lacked the smallest ribs on either side.