An international team of geneticists, led by those from Trinity College Dublin, has joined forces with archaeologists from Bournemouth University to decipher the structure of British Iron Age society, finding evidence of female political and social empowerment.  

The researchers seized upon a rare opportunity to sequence DNA from many members of a single community. They retrieved over 50 ancient genomes from a set of burial grounds in Dorset, southern England, in use before and after the Roman Conquest of AD 43. The results revealed that this community was centred around bonds of female-line descent. 

Tiffany Earley-Spadoni, an associate professor of history at UCF, and a team of researchers made the new discoveries during field work at the Bronze Age site of Kurd Qaburstan. The research provides insights into regional heritage and fills gaps in knowledge about how ancient humans lived and advanced.

In the context of a PhD thesis, the Politecnico di Milano carried out a cutting-edge technological investigation, working in collaboration with the Sforza Castle and with technical support from Codevintec. The survey revealed the presence of numerous passages under the Castle, in the area once covered by the "Ghirlanda" or outer wall, some of which could be linked to secret military passages, also shown in Leonardo's designs. According to historical sources, Ludovico il Moro had an underground passageway built to allow him to visit his beloved wife Beatrice d 'Este, who was buried in the Basilica of Santa Maria delle Grazie. This passageway is immortalised in Leonardo's drawings, and has long been the subject of legends and considerable speculation. But now, thanks to technology, it seems that its existence can be confirmed. However, there are many other secret passageways.