01 JUIN 2022 NEWS
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POLOGNE – 
Starorypin Prywatny - Excavation carried out by the Museum of the Dobrzyń Land in Rypin, headed by Dr. Jadwiga Lewandowska, revealed a sequence starting in the 11th century when a fortress was built atop a hill, and a settlement to the east, with a cemetery southwest of the stronghold. The stronghold consisted of two wooden defensive structures that burned down in the mid-12th century and were abandoned. Later, during the mid-13th century, a medieval Motte-and-bailey-type castle, of which only the foundations survive, arose where the stronghold once stood. Residential and industrial areas were erected around the castle, where the oldest brick factory in Poland was found. The castle too proved short-lived and ceased to exist in the mid-14th century. As the archaeologists started excavating the Late Medieval cemetery in 2008, they found the skeleton of a man, aged between 40 to 50, who had been buried according to Christian rites at the very edge of the cemetery. Burial by the cemetery wall, or in one of its corners, was considered as a sort of postmortem punishment during the Middle Ages. Subsequent anthropological analysis of the deceased conducted by Tomasz Kozłowski revealed that the man had been tall, between 180-185 centimeters (over six feet), and suffered from numerous pathologies and potentially disconcerting developmental anomalies. Some of them had to have been perceptible during his lifetime, such as crowding and distortion of his front teeth. While pathologies would not necessarily have been unusual in that time and place, Lewandowska suspects that people with visible, unsightly anomalies would have been considered misfits, potentially imbued with evil. Further excavation in 2009 and then in 2014 unearthed more peculiar burials. One man who died at the age of 20 to 25 (and who was rather short, 160 centimeters in height) didn’t evince signs of pathologies, but like the previous chap, he was buried at the fringe of the cemetery, with no grave goods. Above all, his body was placed in a peculiar position: face down. His arms strongly bent at the elbows, indicating that they may have been tied. This positioning was no accident, Lewandowska says: the community deliberately buried him in that position and, based on previous research in Poland and elsewhere in central and eastern Europe, interring a body face-down indicated that the deceased had been a misfit – and was suspected of being able to rise after death, and not in a good way. Were people buried in “alternative” fashion really suspected of potential vampirism? An account called Casus de Strigis describes an event in 1674 in Lesser Poland. A man rose from the grave, becoming a revenant, and terrorized the local community by drinking their blood. In order to fight this vile creature, the local priest told the villagers to reopen the grave and turn the cadaver face down. That did not do the trick, and the revenant continued to prey on the living. So the people opened the grave once again and cut the man’s head off.
ISRAEL – 
Jerusalem - A segment of the Low-Level Aqueduct to Jerusalem has been excavated over the past few weeks in the Armon Hanatsiv section of East Talpiot, Jerusalem. The Low-Level Aqueduct is 21 km long, stretching from Solomon’s Pools south of Bethlehem to the Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem, with a very slight gradient descending just over 1 meter on average along every kilometer. This amazing water system, initiated by the Hasmonean kings to increase the water supply to Jerusalem and in particular to the Temple Mount . Two aqueducts brought water from Solomon’s Pools, located between Bethlehem and Efrat and Jerusalem: the Low-Level Aqueduct and the High-Level Aqueduct.
BANGLADESH – 
Mahasthangarh - A recent re-interpretation of a stone tablet measuring around 32 square inches discovered in 1931 at an archaeological ite at Mahasthangarh in undivided Bengal, now in Bangladesh's Bogra district, has thrown fresh light on the presence of ndependent urban centres in the region during the Mauryan dynasty around 2,500 years ago.
IRAQ – 
Kemune - Since the Mosul Reservoir was created in the 1980s before the settlement was archaeologically studied and cataloged, its re-emergence represents a rare opportunity for scientists to explore it. The archaeological site has been named Kemune. The ruins consist of a palace and several other large structures, dating back to the Bronze Age in the region, around 3,400 years ago. Scientists think the ruins might be the ancient city of Zakhiku, a bustling center for the Mittani Empire, which thrived on the banks of the Tigris River between 1550 and 1350 BCE. In addition to the palace that was uncovered in 2018, the researchers found some other interesting structures. These included a large fortification with a wall and towers, an industrial complex, and a huge, multi-story storage building, all dating back to the Mittani Empire. The preservation of the mud brick walls was rather remarkable, considering they had been underwater for over 40 years, but that was a result of the city's rather abrupt fall in 1350 BCE. During this, an earthquake devastated the region, toppling buildings, which resulted in a protective coating of rubble falling over the remaining intact walls, covering their painted murals and the buildings' contents.Fascinatingly, the city also yielded some ceramic jars containing over 100 unfired clay tablets inscribed in cuneiform, dating to the Middle Assyrian, shortly after the earthquake. The excavation results show that the site was an important center in the Mittani Empire.
https://www.sciencealert.com/a-shrinking-reservoir-has-revealed-the-ruins-of-a-3-400-year-old-city
EGYPTE – 
Saqqara - Egypt on Monday unveiled a cache of sarcophagi and bronze statuettes -- including one of pioneering architect Imhotep -- at the Saqqara archaeological site south of Cairo. Among the 150 bronze statuettes unearthed in the latest findings is one of Imhotep, who "revolutionised architecture" in the ancient world. Imhotep, who lived in the third millenium BC, built the Djoser step pyramid, one of the earliest in ancient Egypt. He later became the god of medicine. Other unearthed statuettes depict various gods and goddesses including Bastet, Anubis, Osiris, Amunmeen, Isis, Nefertum and Hathor. The mission also unveiled "250 wooden sarcophagi with mummies inside, dating back to the Late Period," around the fifth century BC. Inside one sarcophagus, the team found an untouched and sealed papyrus. The papyrus -- estimated at nine metres (9.9 yards) long -- likely contains chapters of the Book of the Dead, collections of funerary texts composed of spells that Egyptian used to guide the dead through the underworld.
PEROU – 
Chavin de Huantar - Chavin de Huantar temple, located in the north-central Andes, was once a religious and administrative center for people across the region. The passageways were found earlier in May and have features believed to have been built earlier than the temple’s labyrinthine galleries. Located 3,200 meters above sea level, at least 35 underground passageways have been found over the years of excavations, which all connect with each other and were built between 1,200 and 200 years B.C. in the foothills of the Andes.It’s a passageway, but it’s very different. It’s a different form of construction. It has features from earlier periods that we’ve never seen in passageways.
https://www.euronews.com/next/2022/05/30/us-peru-archaeology
GALLES – 
Llanddeusant - A Bronze Age hoard of axes, spear and bracelet fragments dating back to about 1,000 BC have been declared treasure. Richard Trew made the finds while metal-detecting in Llanddeusant, Carmarthenshire between 14 and 22 November 2020. Archaeologists from National Museum Wales believe the 20 items were buried in a specially-dug pit, which could have been a sacrifice to the gods. In all, one large spearhead, three small spear fragments, a bracelet fragment, nine ribbed socketed axes, two plain socketed axes, one faceted axe, two sheet bronze fragments and a casting jet were found. They date to between 1,000 and 800 BC. Doctoral student Christopher Griffiths said Mr Trew's actions in reporting the find and documenting it meant more of the story behind the hoard could be revealed, with it buried in a specially-dug pit far from a local settlement. "The large bronze spearhead, struck with a blunt tool and snapped in half prior to its burial, was carefully placed at the top of this hoard," he said. "It is possible that the breaking of the spearhead and the burial of the hoard was carried out during a ceremony held by a local Bronze Age community, intended as a sacrifice to the gods."
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-61632636
ISRAEL – 
Megiddo - Archaeologists excavating at the base of the Legio VI Ferrata Roman Legion near Megiddo (known as Legio) believe they have found evidence of the first military amphitheater to be identified in the Southern Levant. Fewer military amphitheaters have been excavated, and most of those are in the western regions of the empire. Military amphitheaters are connected to the military and not to a city. This structure is a few hundred meters from the military base. The amphitheater is one of several parts of the excavation of the base of the Roman Sixth Legion that was stationed here from the second to third centuries CE. The team excavated an area of almost 250 square meters in archaeological sections revealing parts of the flattened arena, remains of ramps made from layers of dirt and rock that would have supported the cavea, and two sections of the outside supporting wall. They have just begun to uncover the stone wall of the entrance gate to the amphitheater. In addition, they found remains of what appears to have been stone seats. The arena of the amphitheater would have been 50-70 meters (164-230 feet) long and the seating area some eight to nine meters high. Compared to the elaborate amphitheaters used for the civilian population, military amphitheaters were a more rustic affair, he said, with wooden seating and a less lavish setting. Located near the Roman military camp, the amphitheater would have been built by the manual labor of the soldiers with picks and hoes. It was used as both a training ground for soldiers as well as for “entertainment” for the troops such as gladiator battles and animal fights.
