Lead pollution levels from the Middle Ages preserved in an ice core taken from Colle Gnifetti glacier in the Swiss Alps reflect political upheaval in England, some 500 miles away, a multidisciplinary research team has found. In addition to studying archaeological data and tax records, the researchers used lasers to measure how lead levels in the core changed from year to year. They observed a major spike in lead pollution during the reign of the English Angevin kings—Henry II, Richard I, and John—between 1154 and 1216, when economic growth led to an increase in silver and lead production from British mines. Lead particles from the extraction and smelting processes were carried southeast by weather patterns, and traces of the metal were trapped in Swiss glaciers.

The researchers noticed fluctuations in annual pollution levels, which they were able to correlate with specific historical events. During wartime or when a monarch died, lead production dipped, leading to lower levels. When a new monarch was secure, there were usually major building projects that required an increase in revenue and raw materials, which, in turn, produced more pollution. Specific occurrences that appear to match changes in lead pollution levels include the death of Henry II, in 1189, Richard I’s absence during the Third Crusade, from 1190 to 1194, and the assassination of Thomas Becket, archbishop of Canterbury, in 1170. “The whole team was very surprised at the extent of demonstrable association between political events, lead production, and lead and silver pollution in the glacier,” says University of Nottingham archaeologist Christopher Loveluck. “It was one of those ‘X marks the spot’ moments that never happen.”

Strip miners in the eastern Serbian town of Drmno uncovered a flat-bottomed ship and two monoxyles, or dugout longboats, along the banks of an ancient tributary of the Danube near the garrison at the Roman city of Viminacium. Measuring nearly 50 feet long and built for navigating shallow waters, the ship, which carried a crew of between 30 and 40, was used for either transport or combat. The timber-carved longboats were of a type used by the Avars and other nomadic groups who attacked the Romans at Viminacium. All three vessels likely date to the Roman period, explains archaeologist Miomir Korać of the Institute of Archaeology in Belgrade. “There is a possibility that the monoxyles were part of the invasion fleet that ultimately ended life as the Romans knew it at Viminacium in the early seventh century A.D.,” he says. “It looks like they were simply abandoned on the banks.”

The discovery of a 3,400-year-old ball court in the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca has led archaeologists to reconsider the origins of a popular ancient Mesoamerican sport. Although several different types of ball game were played by the Olmecs, the Maya, and the Aztecs, the best-known version was contested on a monumental stone court and involved players knocking around a rubber ball using their hips. (See “From Head to Toe in the Ancient Maya World: Headdresses.”) The earliest evidence for these ball courts dates to around 1650 B.C. and their prevalence at sites near the Gulf Coast and in the Pacific coastal lowlands has led scholars to believe that the game was developed in that region. However, recent excavations at the highland site of Etlatongo have uncovered two of these structures, as well as ballplayer figurines, suggesting that highland societies were playing the ball game almost as early as their lowland counterparts. One of the courts dates to between 1443 and 1305 B.C., making it 800 years older than any other playing field previously found in a highland context. “The discovery of these ball courts in Oaxaca indicates that highland groups were important players in the development of the formal ball game,” says George Washington University archaeologist Jeffrey Blomster. “The hip-ball game’s development was an important part of the establishment of Mesoamerican civilizations, and multiple regions were involved in its origin.”