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BULGARIE – Heraclea Sintica - A sophisticated Ancient Roman gold necklace from the 4th century AD has been discovered by a team of archaeologists excavating the Ancient Thracian, Greek, and Roman city of Heraclea Sintica, the ruins are located near the town of Petrich in Southwest Bulgaria. Heraclea Sintica is thought to have been founded around 300 BC by Cassander, King of the Kingdom of Macedon in 305-297 BC, who also founded Thessaloniki, nowadays in Greece. The city was named “Heraclea” after the mythical Ancient Greek hero Heracles, more popularly known today as Hercules, and “Sintica” after the Thracian tribe of the Sintians who inhabited the valley of the Struma River. The newly discovered Ancient Roman gold necklace, which is over 1,600 years old, has been found amid the ruins of what was a shop at the city’s central square, which was later used as a home. The discovery has been completely unexpected for the archaeological team because precious metal objects like his one are usually discovered in necropolises or in graves of prominent people, rather than inside cities.
http://www.novinite.com/articles/184888/Ancient+Roman+Gold+Necklace+Discovered+by+Archaeologists+in+Ancient+City+Heraclea+Sintica+in+Southwest+Bulgaria
CHINE - Xinzheng - A 2,400-year-old pit containing skeleton of horses and chariots, beside a tomb possibly of a lord, has been found by archaeologists in central China's Henan Province, media reports said today. The horse and chariot pit (No 3) is a cluster of tombs belonging to noble families of the Zheng State, a vassal state during the Spring and Autumn (770-476 BC) and Warring States periods (475-221 BC), near the city of Xinzheng. Since February, four chariots and skeleton of 90 horses have been unearthed from the pit, which is said to be largest of the three within the cluster that have been excavated so far. "The total number of horses buried in the pit may exceed 100," Ma Juncai from the provincial cultural heritage and archaeology institute, who led the excavation, was quoted as saying by the state-run Xinhua news agency. He said that it was difficult to identify the tomb owner as the main tomb has been looted and no written records have been found yet. It may belong to a lord from the late Spring and Autumn period, judging from the size of the tomb and the details of items found inside, Ma said. He said that bronze artifacts have also been discovered from the pit which provides important information on technology, production, social status and funeral practices of the period. Ma said he believes the chariots were for daily use by a lord and his wife. One of the chariots is significantly larger and more extravagant. It is 2.56 meters long and 1.66 meters wide, and is equipped with rain and sun protection and decorated with bronze and bone artifacts. Li Hongchang, director of the Zheng State Horse and Chariot Pit tourist site, said that it is believed that during the Zheng State horses were usually killed first, then placed into a pit beside the owner's tomb with dismantled chariots added on top. Excavation of tombs and surrounding 49 acres of land has already found 18 large pits containing horses and chariots and more than 3,000 tombs.
https://www.outlookindia.com/newsscroll/archaeologists-discover-2400yearold-horse-chariot-pit-in/1179315
KAZAKHSTAN – Zhana-kala - The burial of the Saka era ruler was discovered in the Torgai steppe. The monument is located near the Zhana-kala village, the Arkalyk district and the Kostanai region. The magnitude of the burial confirms that it belongs to a person of high social status. The diameter of the burial is 32, and the height is 3 meters. Archeologists say that this stone construction is a rare case. The man was buried in a deep pit. The high dome completed the burial ground. Archeologists conducting excavations in burial places of Central Kazakhstan have not encountered this type of burial yet. All artifacts including 152 arrows, ancient daggers, fragments of brick wells were found in the vicinity of the mound will be carefully examined and transferred to the museum. Representatives of the Desht-I-Kipchak research institute take part in the excavations.
VIDEO = http://kazakh-tv.kz/en/view/news_kazakhstan/page_188501_
INDE – Baghpat - Archaeologists will begin excavation next month at a site in Baghpat, Uttar Pradesh, where locals believe a key incident of the Sanskrit epic Mahabharata was set, The Times of India reported on Thursday. The Archaeological Survey of India has approved the excavation in the district’s Barnawa area after repeated requests from local historians. “After a thorough study of the proposal, we have given licence to two ASI authorities, Institute of Archaeology in Red Fort, Delhi, and our excavation branch, to jointly conduct the excavation,” ASI’s director for excavation, Jitender Nath, told the newspaper. The excavation will begin in the first week of December and will continue for three months, officials said. Barnawa is believed to be the site of Lakshagriha – a house made of lacquer, which is highly inflammable. According to the epic, the house was built on Duryodhana’s instructions to kill his cousins, the Pandava brothers, without causing suspicion. However, the Pandavas managed to escape through a tunnel. Since Duryodhana and his brothers thought they were dead, it gave the Pandavas time to prepare for the imminent war. A tunnel in the town is believed to be the one the Pandavas used to escape.
https://scroll.in/latest/856381/archaeologists-to-excavate-site-where-locals-claim-duryodhana-tried-to-kill-the-pandavas-report