The Friday Digest brings you the best of the week's history news gathered from the experts:
* One of the biggest challenges for local historians is the preservation of historic buildings and sites. It is 100 years since the British state began officially collecting historic buildings and sites and opening them up to the public. The acquisition of hundreds of places saw the creation of what was, in effect, an outdoor museum of national history.
* An archaeological excavation at Bahrain has unveiled more details about one of the oldest trading civilisations. The meticulous maintenance of the archaeological settlement marks a turning point in the way Bahraini specialists are dealing with the vast store of historical remains on the island.
* The discovery of a previously unknown church beneath Lincoln Castle has been described as a 'major find' by Beryl Lott, the historic environment manager for Lincolnshire County Council. It is believed that the church dates back to the Anglo-Saxon period, after the Romans left Britain but before the Norman invasion of 1066.
* A number of iconic London landmark signs were auctioned this week, allowing members of the public to get hold of Buckingham Palace, Downing Street and Hyde Park.
Which one would you choose?
* In Bournemouth this week, an anniversary memorial was unveiled to mark the 70th anniversary of a WWII air raid. Nearly 200 people, mostly Allied airmen staying at the Metropole Hotel, died in the Luftwaffe raid on 23 May 1943.
* A 'treasure chest' of pre-World War I glass negatives found in a barn on Lewis have been preserved by a historical society. The photographs were taken by Dr Norman Morrison, and document island life.
* Considering that the British Museum protects more than seven million objects, it is amazing that in the last three years just 53 objects were damaged.
*A facial reconstruction based on the skull of King Richard III is going on display in Leicester's Guildhall as the first stop of a nationwide tour. Hopefully they will decide where he will be reinterred soon too...
* Ark Royal, the former flagship of the Royal Navy, left Portsmouth for the final time on Monday 20 May to be towed to Turkey for scrap. But how exactly do you scrap an aircraft carrier?
* An exhibition of art masterpieces which were lost to the UK for 234 years has opened at a stately home in Norfolk. The collection was originally owned by Sir Robert Walpole, Britain's first Prime Minister, but was sold to Russia to pay off debts incurrred by his family home.
Hopefully none of the visitors to the exhibition will be struck down by Stendhal's Syndrome - a psychological reaction that can occur when a person is exposed to a very well known, very beautiful painting - which can lead to palpitations and dizziness. It's a sort of art Beatlemania.
Are there any painting that you think are too famous to see?
* Speaking of Beatlemania, the custom-made guitar played by both John Lennon and George Harrison was sold for $408,000 at auction this week. Harrison practised 'I Am The Walrus' on the guitar in 1967 while Lennon used it in a video for 'Hello, Goodbye' later that year.
Beatles biographer Hunter Davies has donated letters and lyrics by John Lennon to the British Library as part of a new tax relief scheme. The Cultural Gifts Scheme allows recipients to reduce their tax by 30% of the value of the object over five years. The handwritten lyrics to 'Strawberry Fields Forever' will sit next to the Magna Carta in the British Library's Treasures Gallery
* Is this the return of the cassette tape? The 1980s classic is gaining popularity again amongst Canadian music fans.
* The National Archives has made a number of secret documents available to the public this week, which revealed that King Edward VIII was bugged by the government at the height of the 1936 abdication crisis.
Other revelations include the news that Churchill and Stalin made 'merry' until the early hours during an official visit in 1942 and that the Allies discussed killing Rommel in the run-up to D-Day landings. Secret files also revealed details of plots to kill Hitler. I find things like this so fascinating and it is fantastic that they are available for public viewing.
* Photographer Sara Hannant has captured some of the English rituals which mark the changing seasons in a stunning set of images. I had no idea that these customs existed and it makes for interesting reading.
* The news that Amazon has licensed fan fiction ebooks has been causing uproar this week. This article from Dustin Kurtz is the best response I have seen to the news so far...
* Less people are using libraries despite the Arts Council England concluding that they should be 'at the hub of their communities'. Many are even getting rid of physical books and becoming paperless. If libraries aren't your thing, book clubs may appeal. BBC News looks at the book clubs that try to find the next bestsellers
* On Tuesday an auction of annotated first edition books took place in London. A really varied selection of authors were approached and some of the comments were fantastic. Rick Gekoski shares his notes on this ambitious project.
* 5 writing mysteries that nobody knows the answer to...
* The Guardian disucsses the importance of image for your key protagonists.
* Scientists have used plant samples collected in the nineteenth century to identify the pathogen that caused the Irish potato famine
Which history and publishing stories have you enjoyed reading this week?