Recently revealed documents detail the largest theft of items from a British museum on record, and it’s something of a historical case itself. Between 1944 and 1953 John Nevin, a backroom assistant at the Victoria and Albert Museum, smuggled out 2068 items and used them to decorate his home. Some items were small, but others were entire tables and tapestries. The theft only came to light after an inventory was taken at the museum, but the report I saw doesn’t explain how that led the police to Nevin. He was sentenced to three years in prison.

A leading society is warning that a lack of young people involved in the traditional British folk dance called Morris Dancing may cause the activity to die out within twenty years. The origins of Morris Dancing are uncertain, but I’ve lived in several places where Morris Dancers have played a role in regular folk celebrations. The Dance is usually performed in costume, with bells, sticks, handkerchiefs and swords all used as part of the elaborate movement. A recruitment drive is planned.

Last December, when reporting on the creation of a museum for European history, I said “there is bound to be argument” over the content. Well, we’re barely into 2009 and I’ve already seen an article listing quotes from Europeans unhappy over the interpretations of key events. Polish MP Adam Bielan is concerned about language used in preliminary work about World War 2, saying that it ignores the contribution of Poland to the war and suggests that “the outbreak of World War Two was Hitler's success”. Meanwhile there appears to be a disagreement brewing over the influence of America on the continent. Further trouble is being caused by alledged internal sources implying that the museum should basically be selling the idea of an, even further, united Europe, which isn’t exactly attempting the bias free explanation of the past I like in a museum.

Archaeologists and collectors of Viking swords have been pondering a strange fact: some of the best Viking swords ever found bear the name of their maker, Ulfberht, on the metal of their hilt. Conversely, some of the worst, blades which have shattered in combat and been recovered in pieces, also have the name Ulfberht. The answer is that, just as you have to keep an eye out today for counterfeits (mentioning no auction sites by name), Vikings also had to do the same. Recent studies have added some science to our understanding: the excellent Ulfberhts were made from crucible steel brought up from the Middle East via trade routes; the poor Ulfberhts weren’t, and were particularly prone to shattering because of the way they were made, which was potentially lethal in battle. Intriguingly, archaeologists have noted that many of the poor Ulfberht’s have been recovered from graves, possibly used in that manner because they weren’t as reliable as real Ulfberhts, which tend to be recovered from where they were lost.