The Hare #14 [April 2026]

Your monthly round-up of landscape discoveries, archaeological news, historical mysteries and folkloric curiosities, brought to you by Northern Earth magazine.

• The Spring issue of Northern Earth (#183) is out now (subs are still only £12 a year!). Inside we celebrate the 400th anniversary of John Aubrey, follow the footsteps of Merlin and the stone-throws of the Devil, run from the Baum Rabbit and go on a European pilgrimage (and much more besides).

Subscribe to the printed journal

• Our first Northern Earth presents… event is getting closer! Details:

And now on with the regulars…

(Other recent news can be found in the printed magazine.)

• Long-lost city of Alexandria found after going missing for thousands of years [Daily Express]

• Controversial claim ‘second Sphinx’ has been found guarding Giza Pyramids [Daily Express]

• Neolithic trackway discovered in Somerset by archaeologists [BBC News]

  

• ‘A fascinating discovery’: research challenges Battle of Hastings narrative [The Guardian]

• Stonehenge tunnel plan officially scrapped after years of protests [The Guardian]

• Giant Neolithic tomb discovered In Lublin, Poland [Ancient Pages]

• The Shroud of Turin bears DNA from many people (especially from South Asia), plants and animals [New Scientist]

• Deciphered 2,200-year-old rock inscription tells of an ancient journey to the mythical land of the gods [Ancient Pages]

• Bronze Age wooden well found in Gloucester [BBC News]

• Ancient engraved rock panels found hidden in the Arabian Desert [Diario AS]

• Mysterious ancient culture forged a weapon from a meteorite [ScienceAlert]

• 1,000-year-old altar and human sacrifices from Toltec Empire discovered in Mexico [Live Science]

• Melsonby Iron Age hoards may be from funeral of powerful Celtic queen [Live Science]

• Lost nuclear bunker rediscovered in castle grounds [BBC]

• Macabre ‘lady in the cupboard’ becomes village’s unlikely tourist attraction [Eastern Daily Press]

• Mysterious red ribbons tied on Bristol’s ‘love lock’ bridge [Yahoo News]

• Mysterious vial found in New England kitchen wall [newsweek.com ]

• A mysterious ‘numbers station’ is broadcasting through the Iran war [WIRED]

• April 1 The Horned God of the Witches. Online talk from the Folklore Centre.

• April 5 The British Museum and the Magical Revival – walking tour by Treadwell’s, London.

• April 7 Macbeth: the Fairy Tale? Online talk from the Folklore Society.

• April 8 Maritime Academy, Frindsbury: Early Neanderthal archaeology preserved in a chalk landscape capture point. Royal Archaeological Institute, Burlington House, London.

• April 11 What Was Lost – a walking tour exploring surviving slivers of archaeological evidence for Birmingham’s past. Starts at Stone Galleon, Birmingham.

• April 15 Marlborough Mound Conference at the Society of Antiquaries, London.

• April 18 Strange Central 2026: Mysteries, Monsters, Ghosts and UFOs. London Fortean Society conference online and at Conway Hall, Holborn.

• April 18 Otzi: Tales from the Ice, archaeology and storytelling workshop from the Folklore Centre, Todmorden.

• April 21 Picturing the Dead: Spirit Photography c.1860-1940. Online talk from the Folklore Society.

• April 25 & 26 Devilish Details: a walking tour in search of horned figures, cloven hooves and more populating Birmingham. Starts Black Sabbath Bridge, Birmingham.

• April 25 The Hillforts of the Clwydian Range. Field trip with CBA Wales.

• April 27 Dirt, Dragons, and Dictators: A Curious Histories’ London Special

• April 27 By a Long Chalk – an exploration of the environs and history of Chalk Farm and Primrose Hill, through the lens of ‘pace layers’, with Minimum Labyrinth and Long Now London.

• April 28 David Southwell: The Fortean and Folklore Origins of Hookland. Fortean Society of London event.

• Until 19 April ‘Don’t Let’s Ask for the Moon...’: Nocturnes and Atkinson Grimshaw. Leeds Art Gallery.

• Until 10 May Un/Common People: Folk Culture in Wessex, Salisbury Museum.

• Until 16 May Scientific Rambles: The Wild Between. Collection of work by four artist-antiquarians inspired by archaeology, cartography and storytelling. Silk Museum, Park Lane, Macclesfield.

• Until 20 May A View of One’s Own: Landscapes by British Women Artists, 1760-1860. Courtauld, London.

• Until 24 May Voices of the Countryside: 100 Years of the Campaign to Protect Rural England. Museum of English Rural Life, Reading. Also running: Radical Rural museum trail.

• Until 31 May Delaine Le Bas: Un-Fair-Ground. Solo exhibition exploring magic, folklore and witchcraft. The Whitworth, Manchester.

• Until 6 June John Piper in the South Country. Wiltshire Museum, Devizes.

• Until 2027 Viking North, showcase of best collection of finds outside London. Yorkshire Museum, York.

• [Film] Underland, inspired by Robert Macfarlane’s book of the same name, is now on limited general release.

• [Film] When does a walk become a pilgrimage? First of a new monthly series of online discussions from walk•listen•create.

• [Database] The National Wall Paintings Survey lists all known British medieval wall paintings.

• [Article] Unlocking maps of Aboriginal ‘sky country’ – the First Australians’ knowledge of the stars.

• [Blog] The Smell of Water – excellent photos and intriguing places explored by Tesside Psychogeography.

Thanks to various readers for the tipoffs! Do reply to this newsletter or email Northern Earth if you have useful links to share. (If your suggestion hasn’t appeared yet, it may well next time!)