06 MAI 2021 NEWS
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FRANCE – Cosne d'Allier - Une histoire qui remonte en l'occurence au IIe siècle av. JC.
Sur une parcelle de 1500 m2, de très nombreux objets d'usage quotidien ont été découverts, dont des bracelets, des fibules, des morceaux d'amphores ou des vases. Le signe d'un lieu de vie dynamique au carrefour de grands axes d'echanges commerciaux et à proximité du filon de schiste bitumeux de Buxières les Mines. Et ce village d'artisans qui pourrait couvrir une surface totale de 10 hectares est loin d'avoir livré tous ses secrets. David Lallemand nous raconte la suite au micro de Juliette Moyer.
https://rcf.fr/culture/une-agglomeration-celte-retrouvee-cosne-d-allier
ALGERIE – 
Adekar - C’est une bien étrange stèle qui a été découverte récemment à Adekar, dans la forêt de l’Akfadou. Toute sa surface visible est couverte par une série d’étranges motifs géométriques concentriques, des pétroglyphes en spirales. Les motifs rupestres de la stèle se regroupent en quatre catégories : les spirales qui couvrent presque entièrement la surface visible et dont l’intérieur est marqué d’un point au centre, les motifs linéaires combinés, les méandres et un motif en forme de quadrillage. De tels motifs en spirale sont présents en grande quantités dans le Tassili, notamment dans la vallée de l’Oued Djerat, où ces gravures sont souvent représentées aux côtés de buffles antiques (bubale), ce qui les fait rattacher à la période stylistique dite «bubaline», groupe de gravures les plus anciennes connues au Sahara. Ces vestiges d’un art rupestre aujourd’hui éteint remonteraient à la préhistoire, vraisemblablement à la période néolithique, sans toutefois avancer avec certitude des datations absolues.
EGYPTE – 
Kom al-Khaljan - À Kom al-Khaljan (gouvernorat de Dakhleya), dans le delta oriental du Nil, les archéologues égyptiens ont mis au jour 110 sépultures creusées dans les temps les plus reculés de l'Égypte ancienne, de l'époque prédynastique à la Seconde Période intermédiaire. Ce large éventail des époques représentées à Kom al-Khaljan suscite d'ores et déjà la curiosité de la communauté scientifique. «Il s'agit d'un cimetière extrêmement intéressant car il associe certaines des périodes les plus anciennes de l'histoire égyptienne à une autre époque importante, celle des Hyksôs». La majorité des sépultures exhumées par les archéologues, 68 tombes sur les 110 découvertes, datent de la période prédynastique de Bouto, qui se développe en Basse-Égypte au milieu du IVe millénaire avant notre ère, entre 3900 et 3400 av. J.-C.. Un peu plus récentes, 5 autres sépultures de Kom al-Khaljan appartiennent à la culture dite du Nagada III, qui correspond à la toute fin de cette période prédynastique. Datée des environs de 3300 à 3000 av. J.-C., cette période - qu'on nomme aussi protodynastique, ou dynastie 0 - précède immédiatement la première unification de l'Égypte. Nettement postérieures aux tombes prédynastiques, les 37 dernières sépultures ne datent que de l'époque des Hyksôs. Sans doute originaire de la région syrio-palestinienne -, ce peuple étranger a dominé l'Égypte pendant la Seconde Période intermédiaire, entre le XVIIIe et le XVIe siècle av. J.-C.. Mieux connue des égyptologues que les temps prédynastiques, cette époque coincée entre le Moyen Empire et le Nouvel Empire correspond à une ère de troubles mais aussi de mutations de la civilisation égyptienne, sous l'impulsion des dynasties Hyksôs. Cette même période, caractérisée par des proches contacts, voire des métissages, entre les habitants de la Basse-Égypte et les populations levantines est également à l'origine de l'écriture alphabétique. L'interaction entre ces deux groupes forme depuis des années un axe important de la recherche
ARABIE SAOUDITE – 
– Makkah - Authorities in Saudi Arabia have released new specially processed images of the most important Islamic and archaeological sites in the Grand Mosque in Makkah. The General Presidency for the Affairs of the Two Holy Mosque took 1,050 photographs of the Black Stone and the shrine of Ibrahim using Fox Stack Panorama technology, which combines images with varying degrees of clarity to produce a single accurate high-resolution picture of the Black Stone, known as Hajar Aswad in Arabic. The reddish-black, oval-shaped stone is 30 cm in diameter and is located in the southeast corner of the Kaaba.
https://www.arabnews.com/node/1853636/saudi-arabia
MEXIQUE – 
Aquada Fénix - More than 100 black and red handprints were discovered on the walls of a cave in Mexico, possibly created during an ancient Mayan ritual. Archeologists said most of the 137 prints were made by children some 1,200 years ago and that it was part of a tradition when children entered puberty. The cave, located near the northern tip of the Yucatan Peninsula, is surrounded by large pyramid-like ruins and sits some 33 feet beneath a Ceiba tree that is considered sacred in Mayan beliefs. Archeologist Sergio Grosjean, who currently is working at the site, said: 'They imprinted their hands on the walls in black... which symbolized death, but that didn't mean they were going to be killed, but rather death from a ritual perspective.' 'Afterwards, these children imprinted their hands in red, which was a reference to war or life.' The Mayan rite of passage was for both boys and girls. Girls of the tribe would receive a shell to wear around their waists, indicating they were of age to have children. The site, called Aquada Fénix, is 4,600 feet long and up to 50 feet high, making it larger than the Mayan pyramids and palaces of later periods. It was built between 800 BC and 1000 BC, according to the team behind the discovery.
NORVEGE – 
Østfold - The seven gold pendants – known by the name of bracteates – were found in a field and near a small hill at the edge of the field. If this spot was in fact a place where gold bracteates would have been laid down for sacrifice, it has been disturbed in modern times by farming. Save for an assembly of gold artefacts which included one bracteate which was found in Møre og Romsdal in 2014, it has been 70 years since similar findings were done in Norway. A total of about 160 bracteates have been found in Norway, whereas in total around 900 such pendants are known. . They are considered a Scandinavian phenomenon, and when found in Germany and England are presumed to have been imported to those places. The inspiration for the pendants, however, are the Roman Empire Medallions. In homely tradition, the portrait of the emperor has been replaced by Norse gods and animal figures in Germanic style.The name bracteate is derived from the Latin bractea – meaning a thin piece of metal. The pendants were single-sided, made out of gold, and usually worn as jewelry. They could also be laid down as votive gifts to the Gods, as hoards of gold bracteates suggest. Bracteates are classified according to what they depict. The seven that were recently found in Råde in Østfold, are of the types C and D. Type C bracteates depict scenes of a person on the back of a horse-like animal, often in combination with birds, other symbols and runes. The dominating feature, however, is a large human head with prominent hair. Type D bracteates are different stylistically from the other classifications, and are assumed to be the youngest variants, dating from the 6th century AD. They depict various highly stylized animals and can be quite hard to understand and interpret today. The bracteates are from the so-called Migration Period, a time of widespread migrations in Europe that mainly took place between the 4th and 6th century AD. This is also evident in the gold bracteates. “There is little doubt that these were items connected to aristocratic communities within a Germanic elite in Scandinavia”, they write. In the years AD 536-540 however, a series of volcanic eruptions lead to thick clouds of ashes that affected the climate. This is referred to as the Fimbul winter in Norse literature. The sun did not shine for more than a year, crops failed, and people starved. “We don’t know if the gold bracteates from Råde were laid down before or after 536”, the archaeologists write. “But it appears as though gold offerings become larger and more numerous during the 500s. In a time of bad years and insecurities, people may have felt a heightened need to try and avoid dangers and seek protection. The Gods needed pleasing, and an increased amount of gold offerings may have taken place”.