07 SEPTEMBRE 2016 NEWS: Ardrasan - Eagle Rock - Skaftárhreppur - Loches - Szigetvar - Ermenek - Burnswark -
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TURQUIE – 
Ardrasan - One of the world’s richest plate sets from the Eastern Roman Empire has been discovered off the coast of the southern province of Antalya’s Adrasan district. “We were not hopeful of finding anything considerable,” said Selçuk University Archaeology Department academic Hakan Öniz. “Just then, we found a solid, very beautiful plate with its own colors. It made us very happy. We were amazed by the designs on it. As we found the others, we were surprised by the motifs on each plate. There are fish and flower motifs unique to the era. The workmanship was very good. All of them were 800-900 years old.” Among the most striking plates in the set are unique ones that are in the same design and color but in different sizes. The ship that was carrying the plates is thought to have sunk after hitting a rock sometime in the 12th century. The Byzantine Empire underwater excavations started in 2014 in collaboration with Dokuz Eylül University, Selçuk University and the Antalya Museum. Öniz said the plates off Adrasan were scattered over an area of 15 to 20 meters. “The ship was loaded with plates from two different plate factories. We don’t know where these factories are. I say two different factories because there are two different techniques used on the plates. We see that the plate set existed 900 years ago, too, and that women took care of their sets,” he said. He said they had found the plates underwater on top of each other. Most of them were broken, while some had been taken by people, he added. He said 100 unbroken and 300 broken plates had been removed, and highlighted the importance of the laboratory at the Antalya Museum.
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/rare-ancient-plate-set-found-underwater-.aspx?pageID=238&nid=103582
USA – 
Eagle Rock Shelter - Working in layers between 6,000 and 12,000 B.C., nine Lee University archaeology students participated in two summer field schools excavating at the Eagle Rock Shelter on the Gunnison River near Delta, Co. According to Dr. Dirksen, humans entered the North American continent from two possible directions, across the Bering Strait ice bridge or by way of the Pacific Island chain. Common interpretation of the settlement of the western part of the United States is that early peoples were large game hunters that came down from the north pursuing and killing woolly mammoths and bison. While archaeologists have uncovered a significant number of mammoth kill sites with large stone tools called Clovis points, that is only part of the pre-history explanation. The Eagle Rock Shelter is suggesting a different scenario. A newly evolving picture is that around 12,000 B.C. groups came from the Pacific coast in small family groups of semi-nomadic foragers. Moving from site to site they collected wild grasses, like quinoa grain, and later developed maize cultivation, fished with spears and nets, and began to weave baskets and ropes from yucca. It is within this natural context of Eagle Rock that Lee archaeology students are allowed to develop their excavation skills. The thousands of years of stratified occupation are seamlessly documented by the numerous C-14 dates from charred materials taken from over 65 fire hearths.
http://www.chattanoogan.com/2016/9/5/331338/Lee-Students-Excavate-12000-Year-Old.aspx
ISLANDE – 
Skaftárhreppur - Hunters tracking geese in the wilds of southern Iceland have returned with an unexpected catch - an incredibly well-preserved 1,000 year old Viking sword. The group of hunters fortuitously stumbled upon the weapon in Skaftárhreppur, south Iceland, a region badly hit by floods last year. Pictures of the Viking weapon of war - a double edged sword - show it to be in remarkably good condition, save for the tip which has broken off. The sword is slightly curved at the point and due to years of exposure the metal blade has partially corroded. But despite years out in the open, splinters of wood can still be observed around the handle. With a history dating back to 950 AD if not earlier, an interesting - though unlikely - theory has emerged. One of the men who discovered the sword, Arni Bjorn Valdimarsson, said the blade might have belonged to the man credited with founding Iceland around 870 AD.“[I was] going goose hunting but ended up finding a sword that I think has been owned by Ingólfur Arnarson,” Valdimarsson posted on Facebook. Thought to be the first permanent Norse settlers on the island, Ingólfur Arnarson and his wife Hallveig are said to have founded the city of Reykjavik with a simple wooden hut. In fact, archaeological excavations on the Reykjavik’s Main Street have backed up historical texts by finding evidence of human inhabitants around this time.
https://www.rt.com/viral/358354-viking-sword-iceland-archaeology/
FRANCE – 
Loches - Dans les mains de l'archéologue, quelques os et des fragments de céramique. « Cela paraît sans importance mais la céramique nous permet de dater les différents niveaux de sol », commentent Pierre Papin et Vincent Hirn. Les deux responsables du chantier de fouilles en cours au fond du parc du Logis royal vont de surprise en surprise. Dès la fin août, le premier coup de théâtre survenait. La grande salle seigneuriale du palais des comtes d'Anjou s'avère bien plus grande que ce qu'avaient laissé entendre les premiers sondages conduits en 2013. Elle avoisine en réalité 500 m2 et non 150 m2. Depuis, les archéologues du Département ont fait une nouvelle découverte. « On pensait que ce bâtiment était d'un seul volume. Mais on a trouvé de premiers indices qui montrent que, probablement, il s'agissait d'un bâtiment à étage », a expliqué Pierre Papin, Dans le fond d'une tranchée, l'équipe a mis au jour le début d'un escalier qui conduisait vraisemblablement d'un espace en rez-de-chaussée, sans doute dédié au service, vers l'extérieur. Au-dessus, devait se trouver l'étage noble, avec la salle d'apparat. « Les fouilles de cette année apportent une multitude de précisions sur un bâtiment qui, avant notre intervention, était inconnu. Alors même qu'il s'agissait du palais des comtes d'Anjou », a précisé Pierre Papin. La salle seigneuriale, qui date du XIe siècle, a été construite à la même période ou presque que le donjon et la collégiale voisine. Une deuxième campagne de fouilles aux abords du chantier actuel est d'ores et déjà programmée à l'été 2017 . Depuis trois ans, les archéologues du Département réalisent un programme de recherches archéologiques dans la cité royale de Loches. Dès cet été, ils avaient pour but de remonter le plus loin possible dans le temps, avant même l'an 1000 (lire ci-dessous). Donc de retrouver des traces des périodes carolingienne (VIIIe-Xe siècles), mérovingienne (Ve-VIIIe siècles) et, surtout, de l'époque romaine. Le palais des comtes d'Anjou pourrait, en effet, avoir été construit tout contre l'ancien castrum romain. Prouver cette hypothèse sera, en particulier, l'enjeu de la campagne de fouilles programmée l'année prochaine.
HONGRIE – 
Szigetvar - De récentes découvertes, sur un site à quatre kilomètres du château, focalisent tous les espoirs: les chercheurs sont convaincus d'avoir exhumé le tombeau du plus célèbre sultan de l'histoire ottomane, mort à 70 ans passés, quelques heures avant l'assaut final sur Szigetvar, le 7 septembre 1566. La légende veut en effet que le corps de Soliman, malade, et décédé dans la tente impériale, ait été rapatrié à Constantinople, l'actuelle Istanbul, pour être inhumé dans la mosquée Süleymaniye que le Magnifique avait fait édifier. Mais son coeur et ses organes internes auraient été inhumés sur le lieu de son décès, le champ de bataille de Szigetvar. Les combats acharnés s'étaient soldés par une victoire à la pyrrhus des Ottomans, stoppés dans leur progression vers Vienne. Les fouilles mettent au jour les vestiges d'un monastère derviche, d'une mosquée, des pièces d'argent, des restes de vêtements, de poteries, de verre, de métal. Et les ruines d'un tombeau composé de plusieurs salles. Pour l'historien, la nature de ces trouvailles ne fait pas de doute: "Nous pouvons dire avec certitude que nous avons trouvé la tombe de Soliman" autour de laquelle les écrits anciens racontent que les Ottomans avaient bâti une petite cité, appelée Turbek. La quête n'est pas finie: les chercheurs espèrent encore découvrir les murs de la cité de Turbek, des vestiges de baraquements militaires et, pourquoi pas, le cercueil où aurait été enterré le coeur du sultan.
TURQUIE – 
Ermenek - A Byzantine-era stone tablet has been found during road construction in the Central Anatolian province of Karaman’s Ermenek district. Discovered in the field of farmer Ali Boztoprak, the tablet features a Greek message that says: “Hello, friend. May you receive twice that of which you wish for me,” as well as the words “proastion – topothesia.” The tablet was delivered to museum officials for examination. “The inscription is an address and starts with a familiar prayer that is also said today,” said Karamanoğlu Mehmet Bey University Classical Archaeology Department academic Mehmet Alkan. “Considering the other words, we can say that it is an inscription of property. The word ‘proastain’ is generally used for suburbs in ancient resources. From the late ancient age, this word began to be used for landholding rich people. The word ‘topothesia’ was used to define an imaginary place that does not exist. We also see this word in commercial documents unearthed in Egypt, meaning big land and region. So the inscription states that a rich person had property here,” he said. “In this sense, the inscription may provide a contribution to scientific works on the late ancient age and the Byzantine-era economy. Also, it may provide information about the economy and social structure of Germanikopolis [Ermenek], one of the largest cities of the Isauria region,” he said. Alkan also noted that a similar prayer had been found in the Central Anatolian province of Konya.
ROYAUME UNI – 
Burnswark - A cache of more than 180 Roman lead sling bullets - thought to be the largest ever found in Britain - has been unearthed in southern Scotland. They were discovered during an archaeological dig at Burnswark in Dumfries and Galloway. Investigations have been ongoing at the flat-topped hill near Lockerbie over the past fortnight. Dark organic soil was also found nearby which could be the remains of a bag or sack for the bullets. Archaeologists have been trying for centuries to assess the role of Burnswark in the Roman occupation. One theory is that it may have seen the first battle in the Roman invasion of Scotland around 140 AD. During the latest dig, small numbers of the lead bullets were initially found with identical 4mm holes in them which were something of a mystery. However, an expert in sling shot ballistics showed how the deadly weapon would make a terrifying "screeching noise" after it was fired. Now a much larger find of the bullets has been made."We have had a good second season digging at Burnswark and can confirm that we have excavated the most significant hoard of Roman bullets in Britain," said John Reid, of the Roman heritage group the Trimontium Trust. "It is becoming increasingly clear that these are likely to have been deposited in a single brief episode. "This greatly strengthens the suggestion of a Roman assault on the hill top which appears to have been occupied at that time."
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-south-scotland-37260157
