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The Corleck Head is a 1st or 2nd century AD three-faced Irish stone idol discovered in Drumeague in County Cavan c. 1855. It may have been buried, perhaps about 900–1200 AD, possibly due to its paganism and association with human sacrifice. Its dating is based on its iconography, similar to that of contemporary Celtic art artefacts. It is believed to depict a Celtic god and was intended to be placed on top of a larger shrine. The head is carved from a single block of limestone into three simply described faces, each with similar features, including protruding eyes, thin and narrow mouths and enigmatic expressions. The faces may depict all-knowing, all-seeing gods representing the unity of the past, present and future. The head is assumed to have been intended for ceremonial use on the nearby Corleck Hill, a major religious centre at the time and a site for celebration of the Lughnasadh, a pre-Christian harvest festival. It is on permanent exhibit at the National Museum of Ireland. (Full article...)

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In the news

Paul Thomas Anderson

At the Academy Awards, One Battle After Another wins six Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director for Paul Thomas Anderson (pictured).
German philosopher Jürgen Habermas dies at the age of 96.
Chilean architect Smiljan Radić Clarke is awarded the Pritzker Architecture Prize.
In cricket, the Men's T20 World Cup concludes with India defeating New Zealand in the final.
Mojtaba Khamenei is elected Supreme Leader of Iran following the assassination of his father, Ali Khamenei.

On this day

March 17: Saint Patrick's Day (Christianity); Anniversary of the Unification of Italy (1861)

British evacuation of Boston

1337 – Edward the Black Prince was created Duke of Cornwall, the first English dukedom.
1776 – American Revolutionary War: The 11‑month Siege of Boston ended with the evacuation of the city's British garrison (depicted).
1891 – The transatlantic steamship Utopia accidentally collided with the battleship HMS Anson in the Bay of Gibraltar, sinking in less than twenty minutes and killing 562.
1957 – A plane crash on the slopes of Mount Manunggal killed Philippine president Ramon Magsaysay and 24 others.
2011 – First Libyan Civil War: The United Nations Security Council adopted Resolution 1973, authorizing military intervention in Libya to protect civilians.

Marcus Aurelius (d. 180)
Joseph Baptista (b. 1864)
Scott Downs (b. 1976)
Anthony Storr (d. 2001)

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Today's featured picture

Burst of Joy is a photograph taken on March 17, 1973, by Associated Press photographer Slava "Sal" Veder. It shows Robert L. Stirm (1933–2025), a lieutenant colonel in the United States Air Force, meeting his family after five years as a prisoner of war in North Vietnam during the Vietnam War. Photographed at Travis Air Force Base in California, Burst of Joy captures the moment when Stirm's daughter runs toward him with her arms outstretched, followed by other family members, as he returns home after the repatriation of American prisoners following the Paris Peace Accords. The image was widely published in newspapers and magazines and became one of the most recognizable photographs of the war's human aftermath, winning the 1974 Pulitzer Prize for Feature Photography.

Photograph credit: Slava "Sal" Veder

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