Pol Pot died on April 15, 1998 at the age of 73 — seemingly from heart failure, though rumors of suicide or even murder began to spread in the aftermath. The post Pol Pot’s Death: Inside The Sudden Demise Of The Genocidal Cambodian Dictator appeared first on All That's Interesting.

Bronze medallions from 1465 bearing the effigy of Pope Paul II have been discovered buried in the foundations of a building during construction of a new Metro station in Piazza Venezia in the historic center of Rome. The commemorative medallions were found inside a terracotta pot and were hidden in the foundations of the Palazzetto Venezia during its construction as an auspicious practice. The Palazzetto Venezia was commissioned by Paul II in 1467 and stood next to its big brother the Palazzo Venezia. He lived in it for the rest of his papacy, even though it was only completed some years after his death by his nephew. It was removed and rebuilt on the other side of St. Mark’s Cathedral in the first decade of 20th century to make space for the construction the Victor Emmanuel Monument and the much-enlarged Piazza Venezia. It was lucky. Many other buildings from Papal Rome were demolished entirely. The Victor Emmanuel Monument was dedicated to the first king of a unified Italy, Victor Emmanuel I, and was conceived as a secular altar to the newly united kingdom. The Pope had held out for a decade after the rest of Italy was unified, refusing to allow Rome to be absorbed into the new nation as its capital. Ultimately the Eternal City was wrested from his grip by the Italian army in 1870, and there was still a great deal of anticlerical sentiment in the government when the monument was in the planning stages in the 1880s. Medieval and Renaissance buildings, many of them constructed by the popes, a convent, a church, whole blocks and streets, were razed. All told, almost five acres of Rome and even some ancient remains were leveled. Archaeologist of the city of Rome Rodolfo Lanciani, who had been vocally opposed to the demolitions, excavated the construction site. He reported finding similar pots containing coins and medallions, always three or five, in the foundations of the Palazzo Venezia. This is evidence of how widespread and consistent this ritual was, going back to antiquity. Confirmation also comes from the words of Marta Baumgartner, archaeologist of the Superintendency and scientific director of the excavation: “Concealing these objects in the plinths of large and small buildings is an auspicious practice of a much older tradition, connected to a kind of foundation rite linked to the building of important complexes such as palaces and churches, for example, but which is also found, even today, in the most common private construction.” The medals have been cleaned, and will now be conserved for their long-term stability. After conservation and study are complete, they will go on display in the new Metro station.

1881 - Chicago Tribune reports on a televideo experiment 1922 - Second government of Ruys de Beerenbrouck installed in Netherlands 1931 - Mukden Incident: To create a pretext for the invasion of Manchuria, China, the Japanese detonate a small quantity of dynamite close to a railway line owned by Japan's South Manchuria Railway 1962 - Bob Aspromonte sets a National League third baseman record of 57 consecutive errorless games 1976 - Rev Sun Myung Moon holds "God Bless America" convention at Yankee Stadium in New York City 1980 - Soyuz 38 carries two cosmonauts, including one Cuban, to the Salyut 6 space station 1990 - Atlanta is chosen to host the 1996 (centennial) Summer Olympics 1994 - Ken Burns' documentary miniseries "Baseball" premieres on PBS (wins an Emmy for Outstanding Informational Series) More Historical Events »

Historical Events 1882 - Pacific Stock Exchange opens as Local Security Board 1905 - Electric tramline opens in Rotterdam 1971 - Ryder Cup Golf, Old Warson CC: US beats Europe, 18½-13½; after leading by 1 match, GB loses all Friday morning 4-ball matches to lose momentum 2004 - Farm Aid 17 held in Auburn, Washington; performers include Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp, Neil Young, Dave Matthews, Lucinda Williams, Steve Earle, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Marc Broussard 2006 - Right-wing protesters riot at the building of Hungarian Television in Budapest, Hungary, one day after an audio tape is made public in which Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsány admits he and his party lied during the 2006 general election More Historical Events » Famous Birthdays 1916 - Rossano Brazzi, Italian actor (Final Justice, South Pacific, The Barefoot Contessa), born in Bolognia, Italy (d. 1994) 1931 - Anthony Bowles, British music director (Jesus Christ Superstar; Evita), born in England (d. 1993) 1933 - Scotty Bowman, Canadian NHL player and coach (Montreal Canadians/Detroit Red Wings), born in Montreal, Quebec 1956 - Tim McInnerny, British stage, screen, and radio actor (Blackadder; Notting Hill), born in Cheadle Hulme, Cheshire, England 1977 - Li Tie, Chinese footballer and coach (Everton), born in Shenyang, China More Famous Birthdays » Famous Deaths 1137 - Erik II Eimune [Onvergetelijke], King of Denmark (1134-37), murdered 1611 - Membertou [Mabretou], Micmac chief (1st chief of a First Nations community to be converted by Catholic missionaries), dies 1945 - "Blind" Willie Johnson, American gospel blues singer and guitarist ("Dark Was the Night, Cold Was the Ground"), dies of malarial fever, syphilis at 48 2002 - Ernest Sidey, British air marshal (General of RAF Medical Services, Honorary Surgeon to the Queen), dies at 89 2013 - Ken Norton, American boxer (WBC heavyweight champion 1978; famous Muhammad Ali trilogy; International Boxing HOF), dies at 70 More Famous Deaths »

The dinosaur eggs, mainly classified as Placoolithus tumiaolingensis, are about 85 million years old, meaning they were laid around a time when the global climate was changing. The post Researchers In China Just Directly Dated Dinosaur Eggs For The First Time Ever — And They Could Reveal New Insights About The Cretaceous Period appeared first on All That's Interesting.