04 AOUT 2023 NEWS
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TURQUIE – 
Istanbul - While Istanbul continues to surprise with the richness of its historical heritage, this time a chapel was discovered in Bağcılar. While the historical building, which is not known exactly when and by whom it was built, draws attention to its unprotected and derelict condition, archaeologists suggest excavations in the region. Located in the Bağcılar district of Istanbul, this structure, which resembles a passage when viewed from afar, draws attention as one of the forgotten historical spots of Istanbul. Answering the questions of NTV reporter Sinan Kunter, Archaeologist Ömer Faruk Yavaşçay said that he noticed the historical structure while researching on city maps. Archaeologist Yavaşcay states that on some old maps, the structure is shown as “Ayazma”, which means holy water for Orthodox. Noting that there was a Greek village in the region during the Ottoman period, Yavaşçay says that the structure was probably built by the people of the Greek Village in the late 1800s.
https://arkeonews.net/a-mysterious-chapel-discovered-in-istanbul-bagcilar/
MEXIQUE – 
El Cerrito - Archaeologists from the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) in Guerrero discovered a prehistoric settlement spread across 29 hectares in the El Cerrito neighborhood of Tecpan de Galeana. This site may be the old Apancalecana settlement location, which was previously only mentioned in pre-Hispanic codices. According to the INAH, after citizens were alerted about the presence of prehispanic vestiges archaeologists from its Center in Guerrero went to the site and registered 26 mounds, as altars and long structures in good condition, as well as residential areas and courts of ball game. These sets are distributed peripherally to a large mound, whose base is 73.5 meters by 60 meters, and 25 meters high, with adjacent spaces, such as squares, where two smooth stelae, two rock outcrops with wells, and little. Because the site is strategically located 850 meters from the eastern bank of the Tecpan River and one kilometer from the Laguna de Tetitlán, hollows were identified within this complex that is combined with the elongated structures, possibly associated with water storage and dams. A study of the ceramic material recovered on the surface suggests that the site was first inhabited during the Classic period around AD 200 to 650. Aerial photography taken by the speleologist Frédéric Henri Jean-Marc Bochet during the mapping process allowed the location of an altar with two twin stelae on top of the nearby Cerro del Mono, which is where the main mound of the recently discovered settlement is located. When comparing the dimensions and proximity of the site with the town of Tecpan de Galeana and the toponymic glyph that appears in a petroglyph, with sources from the 16th century, Lobato Rodríguez suggests that it could correspond to the old main town of Apancalecan, referred to on Plate 18 of the Codex Matrícula de Tributos, which after the Spanish invasion became Tequepa, as recorded on a map by the cartographer Abraham Ortelius, from 1570. However, the location of the settlement was lost until now. Regarding the Nahua meaning of Apancalecan, the word is made up of apan (apantli, ditch water channel), calli (house), and can (locative), which is why it has been translated as “Place of the house with water channels”. The place name of this town is illustrated by a temple over which water runs with chalchihuites and snails, which coincides with the proposed translation according to the Nahua words taken from Remy Simeon’s dictionary.
https://arkeonews.net/archaeologists-may-have-discovered-lost-settlement-of-apancalecan-in-mexico/
SLOVAQUIE – 
Jánovce - This year's archaeological research at the hillfort in Jánovce near Poprad has revealed traces of a five thousand-year-old settlement on the site, showing the site was home to a flourishing community in pre-Celtic times. During research over the last three years, archaeologists have unearthed thousands of various objects. In the previous two years, archaeologists examined the northwestern part of the fortifications of the fort, which consisted of a pair of ramparts with a moat between them. "On the basis of archaeological findings, as well as the results of radiocarbon dating of the preserved parts of the wooden lattice structure, we can say that the investigated fortification was built in the late Late La Tene period, specifically at the beginning of the 1st century BC, and violently disappeared at the end of it," Mária Hudáková from the Spiš Museum in Spišská Nová Ves, who is heading up the research, said at a press conference, as quoted by the SITA newswire. At the beginning of July this year, her team started researching the aforementioned trench. "From preliminary results, the numerous finds of fragments of richly decorated ceramic vessels and stone industry, which belong to the Baden culture from the Late Stone Age, i.e. the period 3,500-2,900 BC, will be interesting," Hudáková said. The findings suggest that part of the fortification dates back to the Late Stone Age. The research also showed that at the time of the Púchov settlement, i.e. in the period from the 3rd century BC to the 2nd century AD, according to him, people in this area were engaged in intensive craft works and related trade. “They mined and prospered due to the proximity of mineral resources. They mined various metals, from which they also produced various objects, which they further distributed and traded with," he said. Objects found at the site suggest these commercial activities extended to Moravia, Poland, the Balkans and parts of the Roman Empire. This year, in the northwestern part of the castle, archaeologists continued to investigate the remains of what seems likely to have been wooden building with a wheel or column structure judging by wheel pits carved into the bedrock.In addition to ceramic vessels, animal bones, metal parts of clothing, ornaments and craft tools have also been found at the building.
Čítajte viac: https://spectator.sme.sk/c/23199663/evidence-of-flourishing-pre-celt-community-in-janovce-unearthed.html
ISRAEL – 
Mount Meron - An Israeli youth uncovers a Byzantine era “magical mirror” during a “Young Leaders’ Survival Course” in the north of the country, a 56 mile trek from the mystical Mount Meron to the highest point in Israel, Mount Hermon. Weizman described the moment she saw the unusual pottery sherd as just peeping out of the ground between the walls of a building. She showed it to Dr. Einat Ambar-Armon, Director of the Israel Antiquities Authority Northern Education Center, who recognized the find as the plaque of a magical mirror. “The fragment is part of a “magical mirror” from the Byzantine period, the 4th–6th centuries CE,” Israel Antiquities Authority Curator of the classical Periods, Navit Popovitch, said about the find. “A glass mirror, for protection against the Evil Eye was placed in the middle of the plaque: the idea was that the evil spirit, such as a demon, who looked in the mirror, would see his own reflection, and this would protect the owner of the mirror.” “Similar mirror plaques have been found in the past as funerary gifts in tombs, in order to protect the deceased in their journey to the world to come,” Popovitch explained.
TURQUIE - 
Harput Castle - Located in Türkiye's Elazığ, Harput Castle, where the traces of the first settlements date back to 3000 B.C., continues to be the focus of intense archaeological research. Emphasizing the significance of bringing Elazığ's underground treasures to the surface, the head of the excavation, Ismail Aytaç, said: "Harput Castle boasts a continuous settlement history dating back to 3000 B.C., reaching until the A.D. 1900s. Known as the starting point of life in Harput, the castle is not only a regional but also a societal structure housing numerous cultural assets beyond what is known. As a former garrison, it contains many yet undiscovered historical elements, such as hidden passages, dungeons, walls and religious centers."
https://www.dailysabah.com/arts/excavations-in-turkiyes-harput-castle-reveal-anatolias-deep-history/news
KAZAKHSTAN – 
Ainabulak - UST KAMENOGORSK. KAZINFORM The archeologists of the Al Farabi Kazakh National University together with the specialists of the University of Cambridge carried out research of the Bronze and Early Iron Age monuments, Kazinform has learnt from the Kazakh Science and Higher Education Ministry’s press service. The excavations in the village of Ainabulak, Zaisan district of East Kazakhstan region were led by head of the archeology, ethnology, and museology department of the Kazakh National University Rinat Zhumatayev. The research was initiated as part of the archeological scientific research development program of the East Kazakhstan akimat. The full topographic map of the Ainabulak-Temirsu burial ground was compiled, several burial mounds were explored. The remains of an ancient woman were unearthed in one of the burial mounds. There were also discovered a bronze arrowhead, a hanger, a bronze cup, 180 assysks (traditionally made out of the talus bone of a sheep, collected and used for traditional Assyk games), and a bronze frog. There were also defined three ancient rural settlements. Metallic items, bones, and soil samples from the graves were collected in field conditions for further research at the laboratories of the University of Cambridge.
ANGLETERRE –
Minety - Cotswold Archeology and a team of volunteers have found an unusual potter’s signature or graffito in Minety, a village in the north of Wiltshire, England. First complete ‘TPFA’ stamp, more TPF and LHS tiles, paw prints, and even footprints found from the site. Minety, 12 miles south of Cirencester, has long been known as a place where ceramic tile production took place during the Roman period, and as the likely source of tiles stamped with a series of Latin letters found in Cirencester, the Cotswolds, and beyond. A very unusual potter’s signature or graffito was found in the kiln trench this week. 1,800 years ago a Roman potter stood right where we are, and scored this into the tile with their finger and fingernail, marking their work, either for ownership or payment (or both?). A tile was also found with a small paw print! Originally thought to be a cat, it has now been revealed to be from a small dog. A deer print was discovered on a separate second tile. The team also discovered rib fragments in the filling of the central chimney of the Celia furnace. These are the first historical bones found during the excavation.
CHYPRE – 
Geronisos - The Department of Antiquities announced on Wednesday the impressive findings brought to light by the New York University archaeological dig on Geronisos Island, in the area of Agios Georgios of Pegeia. The expedition encompassed excavation work at Maniki Harbour, the Meletis Necropolis, and atop Geronisos Island. Comprehensive studies were also conducted on the excavated materials in preparation for publication. The international team of scholars and students participated in a multi-disciplinary program involving various aspects of excavation and research. Notably, Dr. Stella Demesticha from the University of Cyprus analyzed late Roman amphorae found along the shores of Maniki Harbour, revealing important trade connections with South Palestine during the mid-6th century AD. Drs. Theotokis Theodoulou (Head of the Cretan section of the Ephorate for Underwater Antiquities in Greece) and Alexandros Tourtas (University of the Aegean) conducted a comprehensive coastal and underwater survey of Maniki Harbour and Cape Drepanum area, identifying mooring bollards and retrieving stone anchors from the sea floor. Atop Geronisos Island, Philip Ebeling from Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster directed the excavation of a significant deposit of Hellenistic roof tiles, providing insights into the monumentality of structures built on the island. Architect Pieter Brouke from Middlebury College studied Geronisos limestone architectural blocks and moldings. The New York University team also completed the excavation of a rock-cut tomb discovered in 2018 at the Meletis necropolis, approximately half a kilometer inland from Agios Georgios. This family tomb, dating from Late Hellenistic through Roman times (1st century B.C. to possibly early 4th century A.D.), yielded a variety of artifacts, including oil jars, jugs, laygnoi, table amphorae, and lamps. Dr. Paul Croft from the Lemba Archaeological Research Centre led the excavation of the tomb, and the tomb's artifacts are under study by Prof. Jolanta Mlynaczyk from the University of Warsaw, while Dr. Monika Miziolek from the Polish Academy of Sciences focuses on the Roman cooking pottery. A considerable amount of glass and glass fragments recovered from the tomb are being studied by Dr. Mariusz Burdajewicz from the University of Warsaw. Additionally, Dr. Efthymia Nikita from The Cyprus Institute and her students examined the tomb's human skeletal remains, discovering a minimum of 6 individuals buried in the tomb chamber and 4 infants outside the chamber. Concluding the expedition, a team led by Athanasios Koutoupas from the Andreas Pittas Art Characterization Laboratories (APAC Labs) at The Cyprus Institute utilized 3-D scanning and photogrammetry for the full documentation of the Meletis tomb. These remarkable findings offer valuable insights into the history and archaeology of Geronisos Island and its surrounding areas, providing a deeper understanding of the region's past.
MEXIQUE – 
- An Olmec cave mask dating back almost 3,000 years was returned to Mexico in July after an investigation by prosecutors in Manhattan with Homeland Security discovered it had been looted and seized in May. Bragg's office described the mask as "extraordinarily rare" and said it had been crafted as far back as 800 B.C.E. in Mexico. The sculpture depicts the jaguar god Tepeyollotlicuhti with large oval eyes, flaring nostrils and a gaping mouth. "Representing of the passage to the afterworld, the hulking Olmec Cave Mask guarded the entrance to a ceremonial cave at the archaeological site Chalcatzingo, Mexico," prosecutors said in the statement.
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2023/08/03/5641691118780/
SERBIE – 
Drmno - Archaeologists in Serbia are carefully removing sand and soil from an ancient Roman ship found in a large coal quarry that was excavated by miners. When an excavator at the Drmno mine exposed some timber, experts from the nearby former Roman settlement called Viminacium quickly moved to protect and preserve the ship’s skeleton. This is the second time such a discovery has been made in the area since 2020. The ship was likely a member of a fleet that operated on the river, serving the extensive and well-developed Roman city, which was home to around forty-five thousand people. The city boasted a range of notable features, including a hippodrome, fortifications, a forum, a palace, temples, an amphitheater, aqueducts, baths, and workshops. According to lead archaeologist Miomir Korac, earlier discoveries indicate that the ship could be from the 3rd or 4th century AD. This period coincides with the time when Viminacium served as the capital of the Roman province of Moesia Superior and had a port located close to a tributary of the Danube River. Archaeologists have a theory that the two ships and three canoes discovered in the region either sank or were left abandoned along the riverbank. The excavations at Viminacium have been ongoing since 1882, but despite the long duration, archaeologists believe they have explored only about five percent of the site. Over the years, excavations have led to various intriguing discoveries. Among these are golden tiles, jade sculptures, intricate mosaics, and colorful frescos. Additionally, weapons from ancient times and the remains of three mammoths have also been uncovered, providing a fascinating glimpse into the history and life of this ancient Roman settlement.
https://greekreporter.com/2023/08/04/ancient-roman-ship-serbia/