Miniature Bible the Size of a Coin Found in UK Library Storage

A tiny Bible that can only be read with a magnifying glass is among thousands of mysterious treasures rediscovered at a Leeds library during the lockdown.

The 1911 miniature replica of the 16th century ‘chained Bible’ is about the size of a £2 coin but contains both the Old and New testaments printed on 876 gossamer-thin Indian paper pages. 

Librarians said the origins of the bible, which measures 1.9in (50mm) by 1.3in (35mm), are a mystery. 

Rhian Isaac, special collections senior librarian at Leeds City Library, said the book was billed as the smallest Bible in the world when it was printed, although this was almost certainly not true.

Asked where it came from, she said: ‘We don’t know. It’s a bit of a mystery, really. A lot of items in our collection were either bought over time or might have been donated.

‘We’ve done quite a lot of work during the lockdown on cataloging our rare books and special collections.

‘Before that, hardly any of these books had ever been seen by anyone or ever been found, really.’

Ms. Isaac said the Bible’s origins were a mystery because it only resurfaced when library staff decided to do a comprehensive survey during the Covid lockdowns.

More than 3,000 new items have been cataloged, including some dating back to the 15th century.

Among them was a copy of Nouveau Cours de Mathematique, by Bernard Forest de Bélidor (1725) and Oliver Twiss — a rip-off version of Oliver Twist which was printed by the creators of the Penny Dreadfuls. 

The great Victorian novelist was so angered by the plagiarised works that he went to court to have them banned. But the judge in the case ruled that ‘no person who had ever seen the original could imagine the other to be anything else than a counterfeit’. 

Also among the discoveries was a copy of the Nuremberg Chronicle, dating to 1497. Oddly, however, the Leeds City Library copy has the outline of a key pressed into it, suggesting one was hidden inside the book.

Librarians are now hoping the tiny Bible and other items found will be cherished by all visitors and not just academics and researchers. 

‘It’s a massive thing for us,’ Ms. Isaac said. ‘Now people can come in and find them and look at them.’

She said anyone can come in and ask to see the tiny Bible.  

‘We ask people to get in touch and we can bring them out for people to see. You don’t have to be an academic or a researcher. 

‘If you’re just interested, we can get them out for you and you can come and read them in our beautiful Grade II-listed building, which is a wonderful place to come and do some studying,’ Ms. Isaac added.

‘We would rather these books were used and read. That’s what they were made for and that’s what we encourage people to come in and do, instead of locking them away.

‘They belong to everyone in Leeds. We’re just the guardians of them, really.’

Ms. Isaac said a visitor may even come in with a clue as to where the Bible came from.

Roman theatre found in Faversham Paul Wilkinson’s back garden

Archaeologists have discovered the remains of a Roman theatre – dating back 2,000 years.

Dr Paul Wilkinson, founder of the Kent Archaeological Field School, believes it is the first of its kind to be found in Britain.

The theatre with a nearly circular cockpit-style orchestra, which would have seated 12,000 people. It  was found in Faversham, Kent – just behind Dr Wilkinson’s back garden where his field school is based.

The site shows activity dating back to the Bronze Age, but it is the Roman theatre – which would have been used for religious occasions – that has really excited history buffs.

Dr Wilkinson is fighting to preserve the unique find for future generations and has applied for it to become an ancient monument site.

He said: ‘It really is an amazing find, the first one in Britain, and it is just beyond my garden. This is a unique and wonderful discovery, not only for Faversham but for all of Britain.

‘The theatre could have held 12,000 people and we are going to request for it to become an ancient monument site because it is so important and we can preserve it for future generations.

‘It would have been a religious sanctuary for the Romans. They would have held religious festivals there. It is called a cockpit theatre.

‘There are 150 of them in northern Europe, but none in Britain until now. We were not expecting it.’

Investigations began on the land back in 2007, but the results have only just been released. A cockpit theatre had a large nearly circular orchestra with a narrow stage set much further back than in traditional theatres.

Dr Wilkinson believes the site is the only known example in Britain of a Roman rural religious sanctuary, with a theatre actually built into the hillside. Two temple enclosures were found near by as well as a sacred spring.

Durolevum was the name the Romans gave to Faversham, and means ‘the stronghold by the clear stream.’

English Heritage spokesman Debbie Hickman said: ‘If the full analysis of the results does confirm that the site on the outskirts of Faversham is a Roman rural theatre, it would be a most remarkable find.’

Dr Wilkinson has led archaeological digs in Kent for more than a decade. In September he led a team that found an ancient ceremonial site the size of Stonehenge on the North Downs.

The purpose of the neolithic ‘henge’ near Hollingbourne is shrouded in mystery, however a large amount of burnt bone and pottery discovered suggested it was used for some sort of ritual.

The researchers also found antles and cattle shoulder blades, which they think were used as pick axes and shovels by workers who first dug out the henge.

The 50metre-wide henge was discovered after a circular mark was spotted in satellite images of the area.

Skeletons Found by Archaeologists in a London Dig Show Toxic Environment

According to The Guardian, archaeologists excavating a 19th-century burial site in southwest London have discovered 100 bodies.

Their skeletons have acted as a stark reminder of how bleak and violent life was in Dickensian times.

A man suspected of being a bare-knuckle boxer, a murdered woman with a broken nose, and a young girl who died before her second birthday were among the bodies exhumed.

Many of those living in the area at the time would have been very poor and leading “a life of drudgery and just-about surviving”, Wessex Archaeology senior osteo archaeologist, Kirsten Egging Dinwiddy, told The Guardian.

The bodies were found at the New Covent Garden market, where a cemetery was attached to a local church. The cemetery was partially cleared in the 1960s when the markets were built.

Among the skeletal remains was evidence of arduous working conditions, a noxious environment, endemic diseases, physical deformities, malnutrition and deadly violence, she said.

One of the women found who had syphilis also had a broken nose and appeared to have been stabbed in her right ear with a dagger.

Archaeologists believe the woman was murdered.

Another man, also with syphilis, measured almost six feet tall, a stature of some magnitude at the time.

He had a flattened nose and a depression on his left brow suggesting he had “several violent altercations”.

The man’s knuckles also showed signs of fighting, and he may have been a bare-knuckle boxer, a common form of entertainment at the time, Ms. Egging Dinwiddy said.

Undoubtedly he would have had a “distinctive look”, and a “less than winning smile, she said.

Infant mortality rates were tragically high before and during the 19th century and the discovery of little Jane Clara Jay was a reminder of those harsh times, Ms. Egging Dinwiddy said.

Jane died in 1847 just before her second birthday.

A coffin plate was found alongside her remains. Although archaeologists identified some signs of malnutrition, the exact cause of her death is not clear.