Posts by Madeleine Muzdakis

Madeleine Muzdakis

Madeleine Muzdakis is a Contributing Writer at My Modern Met and a historian of early modern Britain & the Atlantic world. She holds a BA in History and Mathematics from Brown University and an MA in European & Russian Studies from Yale University. Madeleine has worked in archives and museums for years with a particular focus on photography and arts education. When she isn’t writing, she enjoys hiking, film photography, and studying law while cuddling with her cat Georgia.
Ancient Art
October 3, 2022

3,000-Year-Old Canoe Found in Wisconsin Is Oldest One Ever Discovered in Great Lakes

Scuba diver and maritime archeologist Tamara Thomsen is on an amazing streak. In November 2021, while swimming on her off day in Wisconsin's Lake Mendota, she spotted an interesting logout buried in the sand. Upon further investigation, the log turned out to be a 1,200-year-old dugout canoe stretching a whopping 15 feet in length. Now, less than a year after her impressive find, Thomsen has discovered another ancient canoe.

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Ancient Art
September 30, 2022

Palestinian Farmer Discovers an Ancient Byzantine Mosaic Under His Olive Grove

Ancient mosaics turn up in surprising places. From urban London to a New York City coffee table to Italian vineyards and English fields, mosaics are unearthed across the world. The Roman Empire and the Byzantine Empire (its descendant) were especially prolific mosaic creators. Now, a stunning new example of Byzantine craftsmanship has been discovered—this time by a Palestinian farmer in Gaza who was digging in his olive grove.

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Science
September 21, 2022

Floating Contra-Rotating Wind Turbines That Can Produce Double the Energy

Wind is an inexhaustible, clean resource. Capturing these powerful gusts is a critical component of many plans to replace fossil fuels with renewable, eco-friendly energy. Norwegian company World Wide Wind has designed an innovative floating, vertical-axis wind turbine (VAWT). With two sets of “contra” blades, these turbines known as contra-rotating vertical turbines (CRVT) have the potential to double the output of traditional one-set turbines. They could offer a route to large-scale, less-expensive wind energy production.

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My Modern Met

Celebrating creativity and promoting a positive culture by spotlighting the best sides of humanity—from the lighthearted and fun to the thought-provoking and enlightening.