06 OCTOBRE 2016 NEWS: Bazira - Buffalo Jump - Dublin - Torkhanabad - Knidos -
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PAKISTAN – 
Bazira - Archaeologists have claimed to have made new discoveries that show that Bazira area in Barikot, Swat was a living city even before the arrival of Alexander to the region in 326-327 BC. The experts, working at Pak-Italian Debt Swap Agreement (ACT) project, said that the discoveries changed the old theory of Gandhara grave culture. They made the claim after the recent discovery of about 3,500-year-old fallen building during excavation at Bazira by Italian and Pakistani archaeologists, led by Dr Luca M Olivieri. It should be called Late Bronze Age, Swat Culture, said Massimo Vidale, professor of archaeology at University of Padowa, Italy. According to the old theories, Gandhara grave culture was featured by small rural settlements and extensive graveyards. “We are here between the end of the Bronze Age and Iron Age, meaning about 4,000 years ago and this is what the archaeologists used to call the grave culture of Gandhara. Now it is time to change that notion as this is not a grave culture because it is the culture of large settlements,” said Massimo Vidale. He said that Bazira was a big city not only at the time of Alexander the Great but also long before him. “It shows that even 3,000 years ago it was already an important city where, probably, more than 10,000 people lived,” he added. About the recent excavation at Bazira, he said that they excavated a big building about 3,000 to 3,500 years old. “The remnants of the building show that a huge earthquake destroyed the city of Bazira. It was about 1,000 years later that the city was reconstructed,” he added. Elisa Iori of Bologna University said that during the last season of excavation, the archaeologists made some very important findings related to the Indo-Greek (2nd BCE) and Mauryan period (3rd BCE). “We found three inscriptions. Two inscriptions are in Brahmi [one bears a name with title] and the second one is the Greek inscription which refers to the first part of a name of someone,” she added. She said that below the Indo-Greek occupation they found Maurya occupation and important evidence like the terracotta figurines known as “Baroque Ladies” which were found also in Charsadda and Bhir Mound, Taxila. Also archaeologists found an important coin belonging to Chandragupta, who was one of the most important kings of the Mauryan dynasty.Below the Mauryan phase, she said, they found some pottery typical of the Achaemenian period [tulip-bowls], which were also very important evidence attesting it a satrapy of Iranian rule, known as “Gandara” in 5th and 4th century BCE. Dr Luca Maria Olivieri said that it was the third sherd, inscribed with Greek letters, found at Bazira. “All were found in Indo-Greek layers [2nd century BCE]. Two bear names, one a single letter. Another sherd with Greek inscription was found in the Indo-Greek layers at Ora [Udegram] in the late fifties of the last century,” he told Dawn. Luca said that the Greek inscriptions found in Bazira and Ora were the easternmost evidence of Greek script ever found. Niaz Ali Shah, from the department of archaeology, said that the new excavation at Bazira was really important as it traced not only the Mauryan layers bus also pre-Mauryan layers and Achaemenid layers with ample evidence. He said that they also found seed of rice and wheat during the excavation.
USA - Buffalo Jump - An artifact discovered 26 years ago at Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump has finally been excavated, and is now on its way to the Royal Alberta Museum. Bob Dawe, lead archaeologist on the project from the Royal Alberta Museum, first found the artifact during another dig back in 1990. Dawe found an assortment of bones from various animals at that time, but then realized there was an entire different discovered: a roasting pit, underground and still sealed with the contents of a meal inside. Although the recovery is momentous, there is still a mystery surrounding the roasting pit itself, according to Dawe."For some reason the people never came back to open this object. They prepared this delicious meal, but they never came back and ate it,” Dawe explained.
IRLANDE – 
Dublin - A team of archaeologists are undertaking a dig at the Hellfire Club in the Dublin Mountains, where they hope to uncover some of the secrets of famous site. The dig is aimed at uncovering the story of Montpelier Hill, where the ruins of the Hellfire Club are located. Neil Jackman of Abarta Heritage told TheJournal.ie that they’re aiming to discover the condition of what is believed to be a passage tomb near the Hellfire Club ruins. “The tomb itself is quite large, over 30m in diameter,” he explained. “It was largely destroyed when they were building the Hellfire Club.” It’s believed that stones from the tomb were used in the creation of the building, which has long been linked by some to supernatural happenings. The archaeologists are opening a quarter of the tomb and have already dug a strip of about 2m wide across the area. They’ve taken off the grass and topsoil from this area and will soon begin to dig deeper into the site. “Then we will start opening a bigger area and find out the complexity of the area,” said Jackman, pointing out that they need to do it “in a very manageable way” as the site needs to be returned to as it was when the dig concludes at the end of October.
VIDEO = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d2R2cmrx1w0
http://www.thejournal.ie/archaeological-gig-hellfire-club-3010161-Oct2016/
IRAN – 
Torkhanabad - Excavations to demarcate Torkhanabad in Marivan in western province of Kurdistan, have uncovered three cemeteries where Islamic-era pottery, architecture, and human remains abound. Ali Behnia, local official of Cultural Heritage Research Center told reporters on Tuesday that the hill had been registered on the national heritage list in 1998; “the difficulties of protecting the ancient hill rise from the illegal expropriations of land in the vicinity of the hill; the housing schemes have exacerbated the problem, with levelling operations threatening the site,” he added. “Archaeology Research Center thus carried out a project to demarcate the hill with agreement of the local office; accordingly, 13 excavations delved deep into the history of the region and found valuable items from historical and Islamic times; the tombs contain human bones, a skull, remains of brick and stone architecture, along with pottery bearing parallel scriptures belonging to the Islamic periods,” he detailed. Still in a related story, this time in the northwest of the country, the repair and reconstruction of Qoban, a Timurid fort in Makou, will start in upcoming month of November. Ali Khorablou, head of local Cultural Heritage office told reporters. “The reconstruction will be a joint venture of Cultural Heritage Organization and Makou Free Zone Organization; the tentative repairs had revived the bath, towers, and parts of walls during past decade; the natural weathering had ruined the major bulwarks of the fort, where the repair has been started,” Khorablou added. He also said that the first season of an archaeological investigation would examine the fort in upcoming month; “tunnels lead to the highest point of the fort, leading the viewers in tortuous and difficult crosses; the evidence shows that tunnels functioned as hidden paths for scape in times of emergency,” said the official.
http://en.mehrnews.com/news/120287/3-tombs-uncovered-in-western-province
TURQUIE – 
Knidos - Archaeological excavations in the 2,600-year-old ancient city of Knidos in the western province of Muğla’s Datça district have unearthed new structures. Selçuk University Archaeology Department academic and the head of the excavations, Associate Professor Ertekin Doksanaltı, said the exciting new findings included the main wall of a small theater, two structures and a VIP area used for ceremonies once held on the main street of the ancient city. Archaeologist Batıkan Bora said they had found many important artifacts during this year’s excavations. “The main wall of a 5,000-person theater was unearthed for the first time. The nearly 100-meter-long wall, which is around seven or eight meters high, has magnificent workmanship that still survives. We have also found two arched structures right next to the wall. The biggest of these two structures, which had been underground for thousands of years, may have been a water source while the other may have been a storage area,” Bora said. He added that the most exciting finding was what he called a “VIP area.” “It looks like it was a special tribune. People were awarded here in front of the public,” Bora noted.
