01 - 02 NOVEMBRE 2010
- 02 NOVEMBRE :
- ISRAËL : Silwan - In the more than 140 years of excavations at the "City of David" archaeological site in the Palestinian village of Silwan in Jerusalem, dozens of fragments have been unearthed bearing inscriptions in ancient Hebrew. Most date from the beginning of the eighth to the sixth century B.C.E , and many of them carry the names of high officials from the days of the Judean kingdom. Several names found on ancient seals are mentioned in the Bible as royal ministers. Prominent among them is Gmaryahu ben Shafan, who is mentioned in the Book of Jeremiah, and whose name appears on a seal discovered in excavations led by Professor Yigal Shila. However, of all the inscriptions that have been discovered, including the "Shiloah Tunnel" inscription that describes the quarrying of the tunnel, not one mentions the name of a king. Figures such as King David, King Solomon, and even King Hezekiah, whose names are so closely associated with biblical Jerusalem, are not to be found among the dozens of inscriptions that continue to be discovered at the site.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ir-amim/city-of-david-or-city-of-_b_775817.html
- U.S.A. : Ocala - Archaeologist and anthropologist Willet Boyer III is digging up parts of the county again and he's finding interesting things, such as a settlement from the late 1800s, a polished bird-bone necklace that correlates with Caribbean culture of the same era and heat treated chert where Ocale Indians worked stone anywhere from 200 A.D. to 1,000 A.D. His team has discovered an old settlement from the late 1800s or Civil War era. He said a polished bird-bone necklace was found that correlates with Caribbean culture, which points towards the owners possibly being freed slaves. Two feet below finding old pottery, buttons and keys, the team has also uncovered heat treated chert, also known as flint, in a possible quarry near a cistern. Boyer said these discoveries may rewrite the history books on the Timucuan Indians of Central Florida.“You usually don't get a clear line of where one culture ends and begins. All that we are finding here is totally new. From a historic standpoint it is very important because they were among the first Indians encountered by the Europeans,” he said. Boyer hopes to continue long-term research in the area and also plans to find a buried cache of weapons mentioned in Hernando de Soto Chronicles, if it still exists.
http://www.gainesville.com/article/20101031/articles/101109996&tc=yahoo?p=3&tc=pg
- 01 NOVEMBRE :
- MEXIQUE : 
La Antigua - Nearly 20 human skeletons and fragments of Colonial ceramic were found in a 16th century cemetery by archaeologists in the back of Casa de Cortes, in La Antigua, Veracruz. Excavations conducted since June 2010 had already found 8 skeletons, but the arrival of Hurricane Karl derived in the discovery of more remains. La Antigua was one of the first Colonial settlements so it is common to find skeletons that present marks of Prehispanic rituals. One the skeleton’s stands out a skull that presents dental mutilation, which indicates that the person was an Indigenous buried in a Catholic context. Another skeleton was wearing a beaded necklace; another was accompanied by a red ceramic recipient with feldspar inlay, typical of the contact-with-Europe period. Sadly, most of the burials have been found in dug up contexts due to modifications that happened in the terrain during 2 centuries. During the first decades of the Colonial period La Antigua was a strategic point for commerce since it was part of the obligatory route to Mexico City from the coast.
http://www.artdaily.org/index.asp?int_sec=2&int_new=42220
- ROYAUME-UNI : 
Essex - Archaeologists have unearthed a collection of Bronze Age axe heads, spear tips and other 3,000-year-old metal objects buried in an Essex field. The items include an intact pottery container with heavy contents which has been removed undisturbed. To find a hoard still located in its Bronze Age context, below the level of ploughed soil, is very rare. The fact that there is pottery involved makes the find even more unusual. The location was reported to archaeologists at Colchester and Ipswich Museums by a landowner from the Burnham-on-Crouch area. The excavation at the Bronze Age site was filmed (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P9ai44gkxAw) and the objects have been removed to allow archaeologists to carry out their studies.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-11651691
- VIET-NAM : Phu Yen - Vestiges of ancient Cham crematoria artefacts were excavated in the central province of Phu Yen Province. More than 70 crematoriums were discovered at an excavation site near the Cai River, said archaeologist Nguyen Tien Dong, who heads the excavation team. Dong said that each crematorium were 1.5-2m in length and 0.8-1m in width. The scientists have also discovered burnt charcoal and pieces of bone at the site. Archaeologist are continuing to work at the site.
- U.S.A. : Mystic - When a young Israel Putnam climbed into a craggy den on a snowy afternoon in 1743 and killed the last wolf in Connecticut, colonists could breathe a sigh of relief. No more would they need to place huge slabs of stone over the burial sites of loved ones to prevent wolves from digging up and scattering the remains. The "wolf stones," as they were known, were eventually used as capstones for stone walls, were discarded, or became buried over time. Behind the iron gates of Wightman Burying Ground — located near the site of the state's first Baptist church — are the graves of Revolutionary War and Civil War soldiers and many of Groton's early settlers, including John Burrows. A huge wolf stone — an extremely rare one on which the inscription carved into the granite is legible — covers his grave. Burrows' wolf stone, which reads "JB A74 dyed 1716," was believed to be the only wolf stone in the cemetery.
- BULGARIE : 
Gigen - The 2-meter antique statue, which was found buried in the back yard of a Bulgarian village house belonging to illegal treasure hunters, is not of Aphrodite, as the police, who seized it, initially believed. The statue is a Roman tomb sculpture of an ordinary woman. The find has no signs and symbols around her legs and/or arms, designating the female figure as a goddess, adding it was made during the flourishing of the ancient Roman city of Ulpia Oescus on the Danube, close to the village of Gigen in the Pleven District. However, the archeological value of the discovery is still very high because it is of great quality and craftsmanship and it would give historians precious information.
http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=121674
- ROYAUME-UNI : 
Orkney - Archaeologists on Orkney are investigating what is thought to be a 5,000-year-old tomb complex. A local man stumbled on the site while using a mechanical digger for landscaping. It appears to contain a central passageway and multiple chambers excavated from rock. There is a large neolithic burial complex nearby called The Tomb of the Eagles where over 300 bodies were found. One end of the tomb was accidentally removed as it was discovered and as a result, the burial site has now been flooded. Archaeologists are in a race against time to recover its contents before they are damaged or destroyed.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-11656142
- SYRIE : 
Apamée - A group of experts from Poland are currently working to restore a number of rare frescos dating back to the 3rd century AD at the Hama Museum laboratory. The frescos are murals that came from the temple of Mithras in the site of Horta hill in Apamea. The frescos were found in previous excavation seasons and were transported to Hama Museum along with their fragments and broken pieces where they were preserved for the purpose of studying and restoring them later. The frescos depict the worlds of good and evil, with depictions of the god Mithras that was worshipped by the ancient Romans, the sun god Helios, and other lesser gods, in additions to various pagan demons, animals and geometric shapes.
- FRANCE : Bourg-Charente - Des traces de présence humaine ont été révélées lors de fouilles préventives sur le site prévu pour construire une esturgeonnière, au bord de la Charente, sur la commune de Bourg-Charente. Elles correspondent à trois époques différentes d'occupation, paléolithique, gallo-romaine et médiévale. Il s'agit d'une découverte importante qui sera bientôt présentée lors d'une conférence de presse.
- MALTE : 
Tal-Virtù - A group of ancient tombs dating back to the Punic period were discovered during excavation works for the construction of a new primary school. The discovery is of “great scientific interest” and “confirms the archaeological importance” of the Tal-Virtù area in Rabat.
