03-04 JUILLET 2014 NEWS: Irchester - Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa - Myra - Constantine - East Angus - Yecheng - Jersey -
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ROYAUME UNI – 
Irchester - Archaeologists have unearthed more than two dozen skeletons in what is thought to be an ancient cemetery at Chester Farm, near Irchester. It is hoped the exciting discovery may shed further light on the 2,000-year-old Roman settlement and give another glimpse into what life was like in Roman Britain. Project manager at the dig Jennifer Sherrey said archaeologists had an inkling they might find skeletons at the site as several had been unearthed very nearby in a dig two years ago. However, archaeologists were completely unprepared for the number and quality of the skeletons discovered. Miss Sherrey added: “Chester Farm is a really important site as we have evidence of about 10,000 years of habitation. “We think the skeletons we found would have been poorer members of society, and that this was a small cemetery outside the main settlement. “Some of the graves were lined with stones, one with a millstone, so that may have represented their trade, but there are no other grave ornaments or trinkets. Irchester Roman Town is thought to have been home to 600 or 700 people – which would have made it a large settlement in Roman times. The town was near a ford on the River Nene and there was a walled fort.
http://www.northantstelegraph.co.uk/news/top-stories/twenty-five-skeletons-found-on-farm-1-6159678
PAKISTAN – 
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa - The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Directorate of Archaeology and Museums has formally launched its website – www.doamkp.gov.pk. The introduction says that the directorate of archaeology, since its inception in 1992, has been engaged in safeguarding and promoting the cultural heritage of the province. Through the efforts of the directorate, 12 new museums have opened across the province and it is also protecting about 57 heritage sites under the K-P Antiquity Act 1997. The website gives detailed information about the province’s museums, including Peshawar Museum, Dir Museum, Mardan Museum, City Museum, Gor Gathri (Gor Khuttree), Chitral Museum, Pushkalavati Museum, Hund Museum, Sethi House, Bumborate Museum, Bannu Museum and Archaeological Museum, Saidu Sharif. Separately, it includes brief descriptions of Gor Gathri, Dalazak Tomb and Kotla Mohsin Gateway among other places. The department has also vowed to develop and improve Peshawar and Swat museums, promote archeological activities in the province.
http://tribune.com.pk/story/730895/directorate-of-archaeology-launches-website/
TURQUIE – 
Myra - The rock tombs date back to Lycians and are located in the upper part of a Roman theater in the ancient city, which is also famous for the Byzantine-era St. Nicholas Theater. The ancient city of Myra served as the central city of the Lycian Union. Many structures were built and renovated in the city with the help of wealthy Lycians. During the Byzantine era, it was one of the leading cities in terms of religion and administration. Because of earthquakes and floods, Myra began losing its importance in the 7th century and became a village in the 12th century. The embossed and plain rock tombs are located on both sides of the Roman theater. Most of the tombs appear like large houses from a distance, while some are in the shape of a temple. The tombs show the Lycians’ use of wooden house architecture. Inside the tombs are human figures, depicting the deceased and their relatives. Pamukkale University Arts and History Department member Murat Dağdelen said the rock tombs are suitable for carving and processing and each clan had its own burying traditions. “We can see the examples of every kind of tradition of burying the dead in Anatolia,” he said, adding that rock tombs had become common in 1000 A.D. Dağdelen said the Urartians had become famous for processing tombs and made great contributions to give shape to rock tombs.
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/rock-tombs-focus-of-interest-in-antalya.aspx?pageID=238&nid=68570&NewsCatID=375
ALGERIE – Constantine - C’est une curieuse découverte archéologique que viennent de faire les chercheurs du Centre national de recherche en archéologie (CNRA), affectés à la mosquée Afane de Constantine. En effet, les travaux de restauration engagés en faveur de cet édifice datant de l’époque ziride (XIIe siècle) et situé dans la basse Souika, ont permis la découverte, par hasard, d’un nombre important de tombes musulmanes sous le sol de la mosquée. Jusqu’à hier, les archéologues ont trouvé 16 tombes et les ossements de plusieurs personnes, dont des enfants. Ceci dit, le mystère reste entier pour les chercheurs qui sont là devant un cas inédit, sachant que le rite musulman ne conçoit pas l’enterrement des morts dans une mosquée. Mme Adel Ouafia, qui pilote les fouilles, affirme qu’il s’agit bien de tombes musulmanes puisque, dit-elle, elles sont orientées est-ouest et aussi du fait que les morts sont placés sur le côté en décubitus latéral droit avec les jambes légèrement fléchies. Comment expliquer ce cas curieux ? Première hypothèse : cette mosquée, listée parmi les édifices habous abandonnés, aurait été détournée de sa vocation pour servir de lieu d’enterrement. L’hypothèse est appuyée par le contenu d’une lettre adressée par Salah Bey en 1776 à ses services et dans laquelle il critiquait l’état délabré de ces mosquées et ordonnait leur remise en état. Ce décret aurait amené les responsables de l’édifice à cacher dans la précipitation la nécropole. Plusieurs matériaux de l’époque ottomane ont été utilisés, mais aussi des dalles romaines. D’ailleurs, les archéologues ont aussi déterré des chemins couverts de dalles datant de l’époque romaine et qui pourraient renfermer des caniveaux. Une telle éventualité fait jubiler les chercheurs qui espèrent découvrir des trésors d’informations. Il pourrait aussi s’agir d’une nécropole ottomane improvisée lors de l’un des sièges de Constantine. Cette hypothèse pourrait être intéressante pour l’histoire sachant qu’en dépit de plusieurs siècles de domination, aucun cimetière ottoman n’est connu à Constantine
CANADA - East Angus - Une fouille archéologique à East Angus en Estrie a permis de découvrir des traces d'occupation datant probablement de 8500 à 9500 avant aujourd'hui aux abords de la rivière Saint-François. Cette découverte pourrait bien documenter la période de l'Archaïque ancien, un pan de la préhistoire jusqu'ici méconnu. Claude Chapdelaine, professeur au département d'anthropologie de l'UdeM, a dirigé une équipe responsable de la fouille du site pendant deux semaines. L'équipe a relevé plus de 800 éclats de quartz et de rhyolite ainsi que plusieurs pierres rougies par le feu. " Il s'agit d'une toute petite occupation, mais sa particularité, c'est la profondeur à laquelle les objets ont été trouvés. La plupart ont été trouvés entre 38 et 65 cm alors que la moyenne ailleurs est plutôt de 15 à 25 cm ", affirme Éric Graillon, archéologue attaché au Musée de la nature et des sciences de Sherbrooke. Ces objets permettront de comprendre les liens entre les différentes cultures anciennes afin de mieux cerner la préhistoire des Cantons-de-l'Est.
http://www.techno-science.net/?onglet=news&news=12939
CHINE – Yecheng - A Jade casket containing relics of a prominent Buddhist has been found in north China's Hebei Province, local authorities said on Thursday. A farmer accidentally found a cushion-sized "stone" when he was ploughing fields in the historic site of Yecheng, a 2,500-year-old ancient city located in what is now Linzhang County of Handan City, according to the county's cultural relics protection department. The casket is 22 cm long, 19 cm wide and 9 cm high. It is believed to be an artifact of Hinayana, a branch of Buddhism that prevailed in Sri Lanka, Myanmar and Thailand, said He Liqun, an archaeologist with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. He said the finding proves that Hinayana was introduced to China's middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River. "Such a casket containing relics of a prominent Buddhist is often enshrined in an underground palace of a Buddhist temple," he added. Yecheng, an ancient capital of many dynasties, was once a political, economic and cultural center in middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River. Historical data showed that it has more than 80,000 monks and nuns in 900 temples in the Eastern Wei and Northern Qi dynasties (534-577).
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/china/2014-07/03/c_133458242.htm?
ROYAUME UNI – 
Jersey - An iron age settlement has been unearthed in Jersey after a two month excavation. The work on the site in St Clement has discovered objects dating back over 2,000 years. Field Archaeologist, Robert Waterhouse, said the site had produced evidence of the first Iron Age house to be discovered on the island. He said the site dates from the 2nd Century BC to the early 1st Century AD and was likely a private home. Mr Waterhouse said: "It includes a probable rectangular house, built of timber with wattle and daub wall panels. "Three periods of activity have been identified, the first having a large ditch crossing the site, of 2nd to 1st century BC date - firmly in the Iron Age." The best evidence is from the second period, when a square wooden house and animal paddock were built inside a hedged and ditched enclosure.Finds from this period include much pottery of the mid to late 1st century BC, including high status imported wares from Brittany, bones of pig, sheep and cattle, and limpets, which were eaten in their thousands. The last period, from 10BC to 20AD includes evidence for iron smelting and much imported Roman pottery, made on the borders of France, Belgium and Germany, suggesting trade links with that area.
