An ancient grave in southwestern England containing a sword, shield, and mirror is believed to have belonged to a woman who fought in raids and defended against enemy attacks around 2,000 years ago. The discovery was reported by Bruce Bower in “Iron Age warrior grave belonged to a woman” (SN: 1/13/24, p. 5). Radar data suggests that enormous polygonal rock patterns lie near Mars’ equator deep below the surface, indicating that the Red Planet’s equator was once much icier than it is now. Elise Cutts reported this finding in “Buried polygons hint at Mars’ tipsy past” (SN: 1/13/24, p. 12). Reader Robert Walty questioned whether a cosmic collision could have caused the tilt of Mars’ axis to change, but geoscientist Ross Mitchell and colleagues believe that it was the natural evolution of the planet’s spin over time. For more information, visit www.sciencenews.org
