01 AVRIL 2019: Jerusalem -Abydos - Pontefract - Hull - Umm Al Quwain - Pompéi - Tangeda -
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ISRAEL – 
Jerusalem – A 2,600 year old seal bearing the inscription “(belonging) to Nathan-Melech, Servant of the King” was discovered in the City of David, it was announced on Sunday. The seal was deciphered by Dr. Anat Mendel-Geberovich of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the Center for the Study of Ancient Jerusalem. “Although it is not possible to determine with complete certainty that the Nathan-Melech who is mentioned in the Bible was in fact the owner of the stamp, it is impossible to ignore some of the details that link them together,” Mendel-Geberovich said in a statement. The statement notes that the name Nathan-Melech appears once in the Bible, in the second book of Kings 23:11, where he is described as an official in the court of King Josiah. The bulla (seal impression), along with other artifacts, was discovered inside a public building that was destroyed during the destruction of the First Temple and were uncovered in archaeological excavations of the Givati Parking Lot in the City of David National Park in Jerusalem. The dig was conducted by archeologists from the Israel Antiquities Authority and Tel Aviv University. A second artifact was also located during the dig. A stamp-seal was also in uncovered, made of "bluish agate stone, engraved with the name - '(belonging) to Ikar son of Matanyahu,'" according to the release.
https://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/2600-year-old-seal-discovered-in-City-of-David-585321
EGYPTE – 
Abydos - New York archaeologists have discovered an ancient Egyptian palace at the site of a royal temple, Egypt’s Ministry of Antiquities announced Thursday. The structure adjoins the Temple of Ramesses II at the ancient site of Abydos, an important city also home to the tombs of several early kings. Archaeologists uncovered evidence of the structure during excavations of the Temple of Ramesses II and the surrounding area. Researcher Sameh Iskander with the New York University mission said the team found a stone walkway at the southwest entrance to the temple. This led them to the entrance of another building adorned with the cartouche—a hieroglyphic marking that denotes royalty—of Ramesses II. Researchers also excavated the temple's cornerstones, which were decorated with similar royal symbols. These etchings, and the newly-discovered structure itself, will contribute to archaeologists' understanding of temples of this period, the Ministry reported. Mustafa Waziri, who heads Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities, said the evidence will change researchers' floorplan of the temple for the first time in roughly 160 years.
https://www.newsweek.com/ancient-egypt-palace-ramesses-ii-archaeology-1378627?piano_t=1
ROYAUME UNI – 
Pontefract - A right femur (thigh) bone and probable ulna (arm) fragments were uncovered by workmen last week who were clearing earth from the exterior walls of the 15th century King’s Tower. Jenny Craggle, of Wessex Archaeology, who was called to the site said the bones were found 15 feet up the exterior wall of the King’s Tower. She added: “They (the bones) were indeed human, likely to be between 1,000 and 500 years old, “The King’s Tower is located very close to the ruins of an Elizabethan chapel and an 11th century predecessor, and so it is possible that the bones were accidentally disinterred during Victorian ground works. “It appears that the exterior castle walls at the location of the tower were shored up with earth in the 19th century, with the material feasibly taken from close by. “The presence of human remains would indicate that the soil came from the area of chapels within the castle walls, or alternatively from the area of a ruined Saxon church immediately east.”
ROYAUME UNI – 
Hull - The secrets of Hull's lost Tudor fortress have been uncovered in a major excavation. Archaeologists have spent the past month revealing part of the South Blockhouse which once formed a huge walled defence on the east bank of the River Hull. Originally commissioned by King Henry VIII, it was built between 1541 and 1543 and was one of two identical structures either side of a castle. They were used as gun posts with cannons positioned on two floors with further gun positions on a flat roof behind low parapets. An intact cannon was discovered in a previous dig at the site ahead of the construction of The Deep. It is now on display at the Hull Streetlife Museum. A second cannon has been found during the current excavation, although not in one piece. Two parts of the blockhouse have been exposed during the current dig.
U.A.E. - 
Umm Al Quwain - Excavations carried out by the Department of Tourism and Antiquities at the archaeological site of Ed Dur in Umm Al Quwain have unearthed 15 tombs, settlement remains, bronze statues, pottery and jewellery, dating back to the 1st Century AD. Coins from the time of the Greek emperor Alexander the Great were also found, Alia Al Gafli, Director General of the Department, the official news agency WAM reported. Sometimes called ‘Arabian Alexanders’, the coins were circulated widely in the eastern Arabian peninsula around the beginning of the Christian era. The discovery several years ago of a stone mould for making coins at Mleiha, Sharjah, confirmed that some of this coinage was minted in the UAE. “The excavations project is in line with the strategy of Umm Al Quwain Government to support archaeological exploration across the emirate,” Al Gafli said. The objective is to learn more about the region’s history through identifying more burial sites and by excavating more material, she added.
https://gulfnews.com/uae/15-tombs-artefacts-uncovered-in-umm-al-quwain-1.63012208
ITALIE – 
Pompéi - Archaeologists in the ancient Roman city of Pompeii have unearthed a remarkably well-preserved "fast food" counter. The frescoed thermopolium, as these counters are called, was found in Regio V, a site located in the north of the old city. An image of the 2,000-year-old find was shared on Instagram by Massimo Ossana, the site's general director.These counters were popular, with about 150 of them spread across the city before the volcanic eruption in 79 AD which killed more than 2,000 people and buried the town under ash. They served drinks and snacks including coarse bread with salty fish, baked cheese and lentils.
https://www.aol.co.uk/news/2019/03/30/fast-food-joint-from-2-000-years-ago-in-pompeii/
INDE – 
Tangeda - A 15th Century stone trough has been spotted on the right back of the Krishna river at Tangeda village in Dachepalli mandal, Guntur district during the explorations. Dr Reddy, accompanied by Durga temple trust board member Gudapati Padmasekhar noticed the stone trough chiselled in local Palnadu limestone measuring 15ft x 3ft x 3ft with a depth of one foot to store the water drawn from the river Krishna to facilitate drinking water for elephants during the 15th century AD. A ferry point and an inland port tour served as an administrative headquarters of Tangedasthala and also as a multinational trade centre. Dr Reddy said that Tangeda was encircled by a fort and a moat was a strategic defence outpost of the Kakatiya, Reddy and Vijayanagara rulers in the medieval times.
