SOME people say that everything is cyclical.

It doesn’t matter if you’re talking about news, politics, fashion or history, over a long enough timeline, it becomes easy to see trends repeat themselves - as regular readers of my columns for the last few years will no doubt agree.

While recovering from a week off, I scanned social media and found an international story which I thought had been covered a couple of years ago, only to find it’s a brand spanking new archaeological wonder.

It appears workers digging at a site for a new building in Alexandria, Egypt, recently discovered something they a) didn’t expect to, and b) experts had never seen before.

Specifically, they found a black granite sarcophagus, six feet tall, eight- and-a-half feet long and more than five feet wide, sealed with mortar more than 2,000 years ago and buried 16 feet underground.

Also found in the same underground tomb - according to sciencealert.com and the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities - was an enormous white alabaster head, thought to represent whoever was buried inside.

The site is currently under guard to prevent it being plundered, and expert archaeologists are currently exploring methods which which they can find out who this individual was.

Now, back in October 2016, I wrote a column about how certain classic horror tropes were invading the news, after scientists used new technology to read an ancient, burned up scroll - a copy of the Book of Leviticus which dated back to about AD 300 - found in the holy ark of a synagogue on the shore of the Dead Sea that was destroyed by fire in AD600.

Obviously, the gadgetry and science was incredible, but - as I said then, and still believe now - nothing good can come of this sort of thing.

I’m absolutely certain curiosity will drive archaeologists to find out who is inside this enormous granite casket, and while logic dictates the scale of the burial chamber means whoever it is was highly thought of in his/her time, there’s still that nagging feeling that cracking open the lid of this centuries-old tomb will lead to at best, disappointment, or at worst, the end of the world as we know it.

We’ve all seen Raiders Of The Lost Ark, and it didn’t end well for the guys who peeped inside. At least they were Nazis though, so all’s well that ends well.

All I’m saying is, while actual Nazis appear to be on the rise again around the world, that’s no reason to flip the lid off this onyx obelisk in the hope their faces will melt off.

Another thing that comes around fairly regularly - every four years, in fact - is the World Cup, and all the media furore that surrounds it.

As I’m not much of a sports enthusiast (try to contain your surprise), this year’s tournament started in much the same way as always for me - more or less ignorant of all but the bigger names taking part, interest spiked in the first match, then amazement as the team actually appeared to be quite capable.

I celebrated alone in an empty office as England beat Panama 6-1, and while I’m well aware we had the luck of the draw on our side, I watched with growing bewilderment as game by game Gareth Southgate’s boys actually looked like they had a chance of getting to the final.

Sadly, it wasn’t to be, and - repeating a trend last seen in 1990 - England lost in the semi-final.

However, in a curious but refreshing break from the usual “build them up and knock them down” attitude of the media, the end of this team’s journey was met (largely), with respect and gratitude.

The surprising success of the national squad offered an earned confidence and sliver of hope for a nation which has seen self-doubt and ugly arguments seep into everyday life on a level I’ve never known before, and for that, they should be held in high esteem.

Maybe, just maybe, this could mark the way forward, but some people say that everything is cyclical.

It doesn’t matter if you’re talking about news, politics, football or history, over a long enough timeline, it becomes easy to see trends repeat themselves - as regular readers of my columns for the last few years will no doubt agree...