07-09 JUIN 2014 NEWS: Dra Abu Naga - Baton Rouge - Taj Mahal - St Augustine - Bulmer - Fort Boise - Rome -
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EGYPTE – 
Dra Abu Naga - Spanish archaeologists have discovered a pharaonic tomb belonging to a leader from the 11th dynasty of Egypt in the city of Luxor, the antiquities ministry said on Monday. The wide surface of the tomb showed it was that of "someone from the royal family or a high-ranking statesman", Egyptian Antiquities Minister Mohamed Ibrahim said in a statement. The Spanish team was headed by Jose Galan, who said the tomb would provide new insights into the dynasty that ruled in Luxor, the capital of Ancient Egypt. "This discovery confirms the presence of many tombs from the 11th dynasty in the Deraa Abu Naga region," said Galan. One tomb dating back to the same period was discovered in the area five years ago. It contained a red sarcophagus, a well-preserved mummy, as well as arrows and arches that are now on display in Luxor's museum. "The tomb may have been used as a mass grave given the high number of human remains" discovered in it, antiquities ministry official Ali al-Asfar said on Monday, referring to the newly discovered site. But it was also used during the 17th dynasty as pottery tools and utensils from this period were discovered in the tomb, Asfar added.
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/lifestyle/ancient-pharaonic-tomb/1143024.html?
USA – 
Baton Rouge - Archaeologists got a glimpse into what life was like in Louisiana in centuries past through the recent excavation of the old sugar mill at the 575-acre Chatsworth Plantation in south Baton Rouge. The team found items such as a Gay-Ola Cola bottle from the early 1900s, a human tooth and more than 200 French gun flints believed to have been used by slaves and workers to build fires.Jones said researchers hope to finish cataloging all the items they found -- including ceramic marbles, porcelain dolls, brass boot heel plates, ginger beer bottles, different coins and items belonging to American Indian tribes who lived in the area until the 1780s -- in the next few months. They also found areas where double-pen slave and worker cabins sat as well as privies and trash sites.:The history of the Chatsworth Plantation goes back to Fergus Duplantier, son of Magnolia Mound owner Armand Duplantier, who bought about 2,000 acres near the Mississippi River around 1830 to plant sugar cane, Jones said. The first crop was harvested in 1844, the same year Fergus Duplantier died.
http://www.sunherald.com/2014/06/07/5633658/dig-turns-up-bits-of-history-at.html
INDE – 
Taj Mahal - Probably the most iconic symbol of India, the Taj Mahal is in need of a makeover. That's according to archaeology officials in charge of safeguarding the 17th Century structure, built in 1653 by a Mughal emperor as a mausoleum for one of his wives. The monument is made of white marble, which is pleasing to the eye, but at the time it was built, its architects didn't have to contend with modern-day levels of pollution. The BBC reports that pollution from the city of Agra, and a nearby oil refinery, has left yellow stains on the once-pristine marble. The mud is supposed to help restore some of that lustre, and it's a 2 mm thick layer of lime-rich clay, according to the BBC. They know it works, because it's apparently been done three times before, the last time in 2008.
http://www.theweathernetwork.com/news/articles/mud-pack-makeover-for-taj-mahal/29100/
USA – 
St Augustine - "America's Most Sacred Acre" — the name given to the tranquil, shaded waterfront cemetery and grounds of the Nombre De Dios Mission and Shrine of Our Lady of La Leche — has been the center of activity and attention for six weeks. A lot of digging and scraping with shovels and pickaxes. A lot of chopping through sidewalk pavement and tree roots. All to uncover the foundation and inner walls of what experts say is the first shrine ever built in the New World to the Virgin Mary, the mother of Christ.
http://www.ocala.com/article/20140607/ARTICLES/140609779
ROYAUME UNI – 
Bulmer - Stour Valley Community Archaeology held its first ever excavation over two weekends in late May at Goldingham Hall in Bulmer near Sudbury, on the Suffolk/ Essex border. he site at Goldingham Hall was chosen as geophysical surveys carried out last year revealed many interesting features which were previously unknown. The dig concentrated on three features which turned out to reveal, through many hours of backbreaking digging and sieving, a large complex comprised of a big structure, a food preparation area (with no less than 6 bread ovens!) and a series of ditches filled with burnt pottery and bones. Post-excavation analysis will reveal specific dates, but preliminary thoughts date the site to late Anglo-Saxon or Norman times. Many finds were discovered, including an in situ medieval arrowhead and, most incredibly a "flint face" found at the bottom of the post hole of the structure. Could this have been a good luck charm placed in the foundations of the building!?
USA - Fort Boise - Preservation Idaho is partnering with the Boise VA Medical Center to restore the Surgeon's Quarters, also known as Building 4 at Old Fort Boise on Fort Street. Part of that restoration involves removing and replacing the building's front porch. A team of archaeologists from the University of Idaho will lead an excavation beneath the porch to see what remnants from Boise's past - military and otherwise - might be there. Building 4 dates to 1864, just a year after city leaders platted Boise's first 10 blocks The sandstone building is one of the oldest structures in the city. It's located on the east end of the drive near the northern edge of the VA grounds known as Officer's Row. The U of I archaeology team leading the excavation is the same group that led the dig on Boise's Basque Block two years ago. That dig got national attention and unearthed 16,000 objects.
http://www.idahostatesman.com/2014/06/07/3223219/u-of-i-visits-old-fort-boisesee.html?sp=/99/101/
ITALIE – 
Rome - The mausoleum of 'Romulus' on Rome's ancient Appian Way reopened to visitors Monday after 20 years. The restored tomb stands within a grand sporting arena known as the Circus of Maxentius, itself part of a broader imperial complex built by the emperor Maxentius in the early fourth century AD. It is thought to have been the burial place of Maxentius' son Valerio Romulus, who died prematurely in 309. "I am proud to be able to restore an absolute jewel of our archaeological heritage to Romans and to the millions of tourists who visit Rome each year," mayor Ignazio Marino said. "The reopening of the mausoleum of Romulus can certainly be considered another step towards realising our most ambitious aim: creating the world's biggest archaeological park, stretching from the slopes of the Capitoline hill in central Rome all the way here to the Appia," he continued.
