04 MAI 2017 NEWS: Draa Abul Nagaa - Zerzevan - Botswana - South Africa - Lesotho - Salamine - Cerro Saltur-
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EGYPTE - 
Draa Abul Nagaa - Archaeologists have discovered the remains of a nearly 4,000 year old model garden outside a tomb in the ancient Egyptian capital of Thebes, the antiquities ministry said on Wednesday. The find was made by a Spanish team in the Draa Abul Nagaa necropolis across the Nile from the modern-day city of Luxor, the ministry said. The three metre by two metre (10 foot by seven foot) garden consists of equally divided square plots each about 30 centimetres (a foot) across. It was found in an open courtyard outside a Middle Kingdom (2050 to 1800 BC) tomb. The garden "probably had a symbolic meaning and must have played a role in the funerary rites," the ministry cited the head of the Spanish team, Jose Galan, as saying. "The like has never been found in ancient Thebes." The ministry's head of ancient Egyptian antiquities, Mahmoud Afifi, said the tiny square plots seem to have each contained different species of plants and flowers. "In the middle there are two elevated spots for a small tree or bush," the ministry cited him as saying. "At one of the corners, the root and the trunk of a 4,000 year old small tree have been preserved to a height of 30 centimetres (a foot). "Next to it, a bowl was found containing dates and other fruits, which could have been presented as an offering." In ancient Egypt, the dead were traditionally surrounded by objects they enjoyed in life, so they could continue to enjoy them in the afterlife. The team also discovered a small mud-brick temple attached to the tomb containing three stone slabs, one of which contained a dedication to the Egyptian gods Montu, Ptah, Sokar and Osiris.
TURQUIE - 
Zerzevan Castle - Excavations being carried out in the Zerzevan Castle in the southeastern province of Diyarbakır’s Çınar district have unearthed a Mithraea, an underground temple where a pre-Christian cult gathered and performed rituals 1700 years ago. The castle, which is located in the Demirölçek neighborhood, 13 kilometers away from the district, served as a military base in the Roman era. Excavations in the castle have been ongoing since 2014 with the contributions of the Culture and Tourism Ministry, Diyarbakır Governor’s Office, Çınar District Governor’s Office and Dicle University. On an area of a 60,000-square meter field lies the remains of 12 to 15-meter-high and 200-meter-long walls, 21-meter-high watch and defense tower, church, management building, residences, granary and weapon storage, underground sanctuary, shelters, rock tombs, water tunnel and 54 water cisterns. The archaeological excavations have so far unearthed an underground church, a 400 person-capacity underground shelter, residences and secret tunnels. The most recent discovery at the excavation site was this 700-year-old underground temple of the Mithras religion, which had its center in Rome but lost its popularity after Christianity rose to prominence.
BOTSWANA / AF. DU SUD / LESOTHO – 
- Scientists have directly dated Stone Age rock paintings in southern Africa reliably for the first time. Their work reveals that early hunter-gatherer peoples created art at three sites in the region, some 5,700 years ago (A. Bonneau et al. Antiquity 91, 322–333; 2017). And the findings open the door for archaeologists and other researchers to date thousands more rock paintings in this part of Africa — and so piece together the lives and development of ancient people there. The study focused on paintings in present-day Botswana, South Africa and Lesotho created by the San people, whose direct descendants still live in the area. The San have been much studied, but many mysteries remain about how they lived, and how they interacted with other groups — such as early farmers.
https://www.nature.com/news/dreams-of-the-stone-age-dated-for-first-time-in-southern-africa-1.21924
GRECE – 
Salamine - A Mycenean chamber tomb with grave goods dating to the 13th-12th centuries BCE has been discovered in the centre of the main town on the island of Salamina, Greece, during a project meant to link a home with the central sewage network. Ada Kattoula of Western Attica, Piraeus and the Islands Antiquities Ephorate said it was the third tomb located in the area, following two discovered in 2009 during excavation to install the sewage pipes. Those finds had led to the discovery of 41 intact pottery vessels in very good condition, with inscribed decorations typical of the era, as well as pieces of roughly 10 more vessels, she said. he tomb is part of a Mycenean-era cemetery discovered many years earlier and investigated in archaeological digs held in 1964, 1992 and 2009. The chamber, carved from the natural rock in the area, is 2.6 metres by 2.9 metres across and 1.5 metres high at its tallest point. It is slightly smaller than the other two tombs in the cemetery, which measured 3×3 metres across. The tomb contained the skeletal remains of at least five people, indicating it was a group grave typical of the time. Chamber tombs were dug into rock, as roughly square chambers accessed via “roads”. With each new burial, the entrance was opened and the remains of the previous dead were moved aside to make room for the new body and its grave goods.
PEROU – 
Cerro Saltur - Archaeological research works have been launched at Cerro Saltur site in Chancay-Lambayeque valley, Lambayeque’s Execution Unit 005 Naylamp reported on Tuesday. Aimed at preserving and enhancing Cerro Saltur archaeological site throughout 2017, the project is intended to ensure continuity of research works commenced in 2013 by archaeologist Luis Chero Zurita, head of the project. According to stated objectives, excavations will be carried out in five areas to ascertain the cultural sequence of the site, defining and distinguishing different cultural occupations throughout the time. Interventions will explore missing data required to understand and validate evidence (collected in 2013) on the function and social implication of Huaca Oeste and the walled Compound, located in North 2 area, which date back to the Late Intermediate Period.