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USA – Tucson - As many as nine centuries before Pima County voters approved a bond for a new animal care facility in 2014, the plot of land slated for construction was the site of an ancient homecoming. What the company found was evidence that two Hohokam villages were established on the same site during periods separated by as many as five centuries, according to company project director Mike Lindeman. The first village likely started during the Tortolita phase of Hohokam presence in the Tucson basin, dating from roughly 500 A.D. to 700 A.D. Then, possibly due to environmental challenges and social unrest, the village was abandoned by its estimated several dozen inhabitants. “We’re hypothesizing that as the village failed, people moved and joined another village,” Lindeman said. “But they probably maintained access to the farmlands there.” Those ongoing links may have been why possible descendants of the original inhabitants returned to the same site sometime between 1100 and 1300 A.D. and re-established the village, according to Lindeman. Lindeman said it is “unusual” to find sites with interrupted inhabitancy, but added that the “elaborate oral histories” maintained by early residents of the Tucson valley could have helped keep memories of the original village alive. Both villages were likely built in rings around a central plaza, a common design, according to Lindeman. During the excavation, numerous pieces of pottery, a number of stone tools and arrowheads, and jewelry made out of shells, among other items, were found. More than 40 “mortuary features” were also found, according to Ian Milliken, with the county’s Office of Sustainability and Conservation.
http://tucson.com/news/local/excavation-at-county-animal-care-site-unearths-twice-inhabited-village/article_0c659d38-bc0e-5479-bb75-b915dcf90aae.html
ROYAUME UNI – Henley - The remains of what could have been a medieval chapel have been found in Sonning Common. Encaustic tiles, which could have been part of the floor of the building, were found during an archaeology dig of the lawns at the Johnson Matthey research centre in Blounts Court Road. Up to 20 people from the Berkshire Archaeological Society and the Berkshire Archaeology Research Group have been working on site for the past three weeks and have unearthed what they believed to be the foundations of a large, timber-framed building. Ann Griffin, chairwoman of the society, said: “If we can date when it was built then we can speak a lot more about it. This type of tile is very often found on the floor of medieval chapels or high status buildings. They use two different clays to make a pattern. It’s significant for us.” The archaeologists began working on the project in 2013 when they carried out a geophysical survey of Blounts Court, which dates back to the 14th century. This showed up several anomalies where the colour was darker due to more dense material. Three trenches were dug where the archaeologists found a chalk block wall, a chalk floor and artefacts. Some of the pieces of tile or rock found in the trenches have been kept to help with the research and provide context to later finds.
http://www.henleystandard.co.uk/news/news.php?id=263205
ROYAUME UNI – Fenland - The Cambridge Archaeological Unit, along with a crew of local volunteers, have been intricately searching deep beneath the marshy Fenland ground that was once the home of a ‘socialist utopian’ community from 1838 to 1841. The dig discovered artefacts such as ceramics, storage jars and glass, as well as excavating test pits to determine geological change in the area during the colony’s time there. The biggest find of the three-week dig, however, were the foundations of some of the colony’s foundations, created by farmer Robert Owen under the guidance of socialist, Robert Owen, who harboured dreams of a ‘communitarian’ lifestyle.
http://www.cambstimes.co.uk/news/big_fenland_dig_uncovers_the_mysteries_of_the_manea_colony_1_4718336
CANADA – La Prairie - Si de nombreux artéfacts ont été découverts dans le secteur du rang de La Bataille à La Prairie le 17 septembre, rien ne permet d’affirmer pour l’instant que l’endroit a été le théâtre d’un épisode sanglant entre les Français et Britanniques le 11 août 1691. Une dizaine de bénévoles participaient à une prospection archéologique sur un champ dont l’emplacement demeure secret pour éviter les fouilles illicites. Marchant dans les hautes herbes, les bénévoles devaient repérer divers objets reliés à l’histoire de la Nouvelle-France couvrant la période de 1600 à 1700. La chasse aux indices a été bonne, puisque quelque 75 artéfacts ont été amassés. Parmi les trouvailles, des morceaux de céramique et de poterie, divers objets associés à l’exploitation agricole, des clous en fer forgé, des balles de plomb de gros calibre pour fusils et la tête d’une hachette. Dans ce dernier cas, elle constitue une belle trouvaille en raison de son état et de l'époque d’où elle provient.«Si on retrouve des balles de plomb en grande concentration à cet endroit, ce n’est pas normal. Cela signifie qu’il s’agit sans doute d’un affrontement militaire. On recherchait aussi des têtes de hachette, car elles étaient utilisées souvent comme arme par les Amérindiens», mentionne l’archéologue.
http://www.lereflet.qc.ca/actualites/2016/9/28/le-passe-fouille-a-la-prairie-.html
FRANCE - Die - Des fouilles préventives sur le chantier d'une future ZAC ont permis de découvrir une nécropole dans un remarquable état de conservation. Le premier tumulus mis au jour dans la Drôme. Cette nécropole circulaire d'une quinzaine de mètres de diamètre est recouverte de terre et entourée d'une ceinture de pierre. Elle date du dernier millénaire avant Jésus-Christ. L'édifice apporte des informations précieuses sur la population qui vivait dans le secteur de Die il y a 3000 ans.
https://www.francebleu.fr/infos/culture-loisirs/une-decouverte-exceptionnelle-die-et-une-premiere-pour-la-drome-1475095770