06/01/2020
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POLOGNE – 
Suwałki - Archaeologists have discovered rare swords, spears and knives among hundreds of items belonging to a long-disappeared people famed for their warrior culture in the Suwałki region of eastern Poland. The weapons were among 500 items dating back around 1,000 years dug up on the site of a cemetery belonging to the Yotvingians. A Baltic people the Yotvingians had cultural ties to the Lithuanians and Prussians. Occupying an area of land that now straddles parts of Poland, Lithuania and Belarus they spoke a language related to Old Prussian but were, over time, absorbed into the larger Slavic and Germanic groups that surrounded them. “The area was used by the Yotvingians in the early Middle Ages, between the 11th and 13th centuries,” he added. “It was the site of very unusual crematory cemetery where the remains of funeral pyres were dumped along with gifts for the dead.” The area of the find is now secured and its whereabouts kept secret to prevent further robbery.
INDE – 
Delhi - A lakhori brick lined late Mughal-era drain was unearthed in front of Delhi Gate of the Red Fort by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) around two weeks ago. The structure will soon be ready for reuse. “The drain runs for around 30 metres and connects the Delhi Gate with the moat surrounding the Red Fort. It was found about two-and-half feet below the surface,” an official from the ASI said. The drain is paved with stones in the bottom and its arch is constructed with lakhori bricks. Speaking about the historical significance of the drainn, historian Swapna Liddle said that the drainage system inside the fort, like the rest of the city, would have been mostly covered. The city’s drain water did not go into the moat, but went into a big drain that flowed halfway between Sunehri Masjid to Rajghat Darwaza (beside the road which runs parallel to the south wall of the fort). “However, I am guessing that the drainage system inside the fort went into the moat,” she added. “Since the time of the Rajputs, who ruled Delhi in the 11th century, rulers have created systems to make efficient use of rainwater. Over the years we have ignored the natural drainage system and built modern infrastructure all over them,” said urban planner Shubham Mishra. He added that reviving the drain in the Red Fort will definitely be of value. “But I am not sure to what extent it will be a successful attempt, since modern urban planning often do not take into consideration historical structures.”
MEXIQUE – 
Kulubá - Scientists have spent years excavating and restoring Maya structures surrounding the palace, which is located at the archaeological site of Kulubá, a landmark in northeast Yucatán just 100 miles (160 kilometers) west of Cancún. But it was only recently that scientists had time to study the enigmatic palace and conclude that it was probably a building for only the posh upper echelons of society, the archaeologists said. The palace had six rooms and measures about 180 feet long, 50 feet wide and 20 feet tall (55 by 15 by 6 meters). Because it's so big, restorers have a ways to go before the building is fully conserved. The palace would have been even grander back in the day, when it was part of a larger complex that included an altar, an oven and residential rooms, archaeologist Alfredo Barrera Rubio, one of the project's leaders, said in a statement. The palace even has a staircase, he added. An analysis of the palace indicates that people lived there at two different times: during the Late Classic period, from A.D. 600 to 900, and again during the Terminal Classic period, from A.D. 850 to 1050. However, it appears that Kulubá didn't remain independent for that entire time. "It was in the Terminal Classic when Chichén Itzá, becoming a prominent metropolis in the northeast of present-day Yucatán, extended its influence over sites such as Kulubá," Barrera said. Based on similar artifacts made out of ceramic and obsidian found in Chichén Itzá and Kulubá from the Terminal Classic, "we can infer that it [Kulubá] became an Itzá enclave," he said. The palace also has a few secondary burials, meaning that people were buried there after their original burial, the archaeologists said. Future studies will shed light on the age, sex and medical conditions of these people, Barrera said.
https://www.livescience.com/maya-palace-found-in-mexico.html
AFRIQUE DU SUD – 
Lebombo Mountains - Researchers have found evidence that early modern humans collected and cooked starchy plant parts known as rhizomes some 170,000 years ago. The charred rhizomes were recovered from fireplaces and ash dumps at South Africa’s Border Cave, which is located in the Lebombo Mountains, and identified with a scanning electron microscope as Hypoxis, a plant also known as the Yellow Star flower. The researchers suggests that a wooden digging stick discovered in the cave may have been used to dig such rhizomes out of the ground. Wadley also explained that cooking the rhizomes would have made them easier to peel and digest. She thinks that since the rhizomes were cooked in the cave, rather than in the field, they may have been shared with others who shared the cave as a home base. Today, the plant is still valued for the nutrition, energy, and fiber it provides.
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-01/uotw-emh010220.php
IRAQ – 
Assur - A rare drawing of a demon has been discovered on a 2,700-year-old Assyrian clay tablet held at Berlin’s Vorderasiatisches Museum by Troels Pank Arbøll of the University of Copenhagen. The tablet was found in northern Iraq, at the site of the ancient city of Assur, in the library of a family of exorcists. Arbøll said the damaged drawing depicts the demon with curved horns, a long tail, and a forked tongue. The tablet’s inscription, written in cuneiform, describes cures for convulsions, twitches, and other involuntary muscle movements now thought to represent symptoms of epilepsy. The Assyrians called the affliction “Bennu,” and thought the demon caused it, and madness, on behalf of Sîn, the Mesopotamian moon god.
https://www.livescience.com/assyrian-demon-tablet-found.html
CHINE – 
Xian - The clay army flanks the mausoleum of Emperor Qin Shi Huang, whose short but formidable reign lasted from 221 to 210 B.C. Archaeologists estimate that some 7,000 warriors, more than 2,000 of which have since been excavated, were interred alongside the emperor. Now, the state-run Xinhua news agency has announced the discovery of an additional 200 soldiers, as well as a large number of weapons, in the emperor’s tomb. The finds were made over the course of the 10-year excavation of “No. 1 Pit,” the largest of three major pits containing the fascinating figures. (A fourth pit discovered during early digs turned out to be empty, suggesting the burial project was abandoned before it could be finished.) Shen Maosheng, the researcher who headed the excavation, tells Xinhua that most of the newly discovered warriors were sculpted into one of two positions: either clutching pole weapons, with their right arms bent and fists partially clenched, or carrying bows, with their right arms hanging at ease. The figures were arranged in different positions within the pit based on their military tasks; details on their armor and clothing point to their rank. This individuality is one of the soldiers’ more remarkable qualities: All figures found thus far boast distinct expressions, hairstyles and physical features.
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/200-more-terracotta-warriors-excavated-china-180973900/
