04 OCTOBRE 2017 NEWS: Thing's Va - Kongramkulam - Demre - Borovoe - Cape Kaliakra - Komishani -
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ROYAUME UNI – 
Thing's Va Broch - Possible evidence of a medieval Norse parliament meeting place may have been found at an archaeological site in the Highlands. A geophysical survey of Thing's Va Broch near Thurso has found "faint features" that may relate to activity associated with the meetings.The site of an Iron Age broch, a stone-built roundhouse, takes it name from "thing", meaning a Norse meeting place. Archaeologists will now carry out small-scale excavations this month. The geophysical survey of Thing's Va Broch was carried out in August. Caithness has more broch sites than anywhere else in Scotland. The stone-built roundhouses were some of Scotland's oldest and most formidable structures and can be found in the Highlands and Orkney. Thing's Va is thought to have been used as a meeting place in Norse times, with the word "thing" coming from the Norse word "ting", meaning parliament.Thing sites have been found elsewhere in Scotland, including at Dingwall, which was a Viking power base in that part of the Highlands.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-41485948
SRI LANKA - 
Kongramkulam - Evidence pointing to the existence of human settlements dating back 12, 000 years has been unearthed from the Kongramkulam Village in Settikulam, Vavuniya. The team of Monks from the university's Department of Archaeology have made a host of discoveries, including seven ancient stone tablets (sellipi), remains of chaityas, Bodhi Mandapas and Buddha Statues during their excavation. One of the stone tablets identifies the cave where much of the excavations took place as belonging to a Monk named Ayushmath Giritissa. However, there is evidence that the area was inhabited by humans much earlier, with it serving as a settlement for prehistoric humans, according to Ven. Wimalakanthi Thera. The archaeologists have been able to find stone weapons as well as weapons made from animal bones belonging to prehistoric humans as well as two pieces of human bone suspected to belong to the area's prehistroic inhabitants. The team hopes to complete carbon dating of the artifacts and submit their final report by December.
http://www.sundaytimes.lk/article/1032321/prehistoric-settlement-dating-back-12-000-years-found-in-vavuniya
TURQUIE – 
Demre - Archaeologists may have become a step closer to finding the grave of St. Nicholas, more popularly known as Santa Claus, as they discovered what may be the actual grave of the Christmas saint below the surface of a church in Turkey's southern Antalya province, reports said Monday. A special section containing a grave site was recently discovered in the St. Nicholas Church, located in Antalya's Demre district, known as the birth place of Santa Claus. The head of Antalya's Monument Authority Cemil Karabayram told the daily that they came across an untouched shrine while conducting digital surveys below the surface of the church."We believe this shrine has not been damaged at all, but it is quite difficult to get to it as there are mosaics on the floor" Karabayram said, adding that they need to scale each tile one by one and remove them as a whole in a mold.
KAZAKHSTAN – 
Borovoe - The Akmola region administration and the scientists plan to work together to reconstruct the Botay culture in Borovoe. Zaibert noted that stormy historical events had occurred on the territory of Akmola, North Kazakhstan, Pavlodar and Kostanai regions, beginning in the sixth millennium BC. “It was here that the era of horse-transport communications began; then the steppe civilization. All this relates to the ancient Botay culture. And President Nursultan Nazarbayev in his programme article [Modernisation of Kazakhstan’s identity] paid special attention to this, because behind global economic processes we sometimes forget about the main spiritual values,” he said. Baimukhanov will be involved in the joint project on the reconstruction of Botay culture. He noted that people who see the documentary on the history of equestrian transport and communications will undoubtedly want to see related historical places, and the reconstruction of the Botay culture in Borovoe will help attract tourists. “EQUUS” was filmed in Akmola region, and explains how horses were saddled for the first time in the world in the northern regions of Kazakhstan.
http://astanatimes.com/2017/10/ancient-botay-culture-to-be-explored-and-displayed-in-borovoe/
BULGARIE – 
Cape Kaliakra - A unique white jade amulet, probably made in China during the Yuan Dynasty, was discovered during excavations on Cape Kaliakra. this artifact is the first of its kind found in Bulgaria and has identified the find as the most significant in the more than a decade-long study of the team of the ancient and medieval fortress of Kaliakra. The amulet features a small falcon scene hunting wild goose among lotus flowers. The spring awakening scene of nature has a symbolic significance for prosperity and success, explained Associate Professor Petronova. The archeologist added that the beautiful artistic object dating from the 14th century was used as a buckle in the uniform of Chinese and nomadic peoples. Imperial jade is extremely revered in China as a stone-healer and may have been on Bulgarian soil with the Golden Horde as a donation to some of the rulers of the Dobrudzha despotism, is one of the archaeological versions. The amulet may have "traveled" along the trade routes from Venice, with which the Dobrudzha despotism has maintained good connections. During this year's archaeological season in the study of the necropolis at the end from the 14th century, the team also found a piece of stone icon.
IRAN – 
Komishani - Komishani in Behshahr, Mazandaran Province in northern Iran is one of the biggest Neolithic villages in Iran, Head of the archeological exploration team in Komishani site said. The Public Relations Office of the Research Institute of Cultural Heritage and Tourism (RICHT) quoted Fazeli as saying that the purpose of this project which is underway in collaboration with Tehran University and the Research Institute of Archaeology, is to find out the origin of the first villages which have been formed in the southern part of the Caspian Sea.'The area is located between the Eurasia and the Middle East,' Fazeli said, and reiterated that therefore the archeological studies are important for the Middle East and as a bridge for Eurasia which connects these two regions together and thus is valuable in terms of archaeology. Elaborating further on the implementation of the project, he said major research projects which have been launched in conjunction with the Neolithic and becoming Neolithic have been focused on west of Iran; Zagros, Iraq, parts of Turkey, Syria, Lebanon and Palestine, adding that many researchers have conducted broad works in the area in connection with the origin of the Neolithic communities. Fazeli noted that the archaeologists are still facing the question whether this transformation, based on what Carlton has researched in north of Iran, started 3,000 years after Zagros. If Neolithic communities which are assumed to have come here from Zagros and promoted this life style and culture in this region, why they were 3,000 years late and how did this transition stage occur as they were expert hunters, he added. Defining the probing project for determination of the limits and privacy of the area and archeological explorations in Komishani, Fazeli referred to the complete destruction of Kamarbandi cave and reiterated: 'In this project the remaining part of a cave in Rostam Kola which is exposed to destruction by a stone mine and its entrance has been completely blocked will be salvaged.'
He described the Komishani area as the largest Neolithic village in the entire Iran the span of which has spread up to the surrounding gardens. He said Komishani is one of the oldest Pre-Pottery Neolithic villages which is located outside the cave in north of Iran.