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JAPON – Kanai Higashiura - More news out of Gunma prefecture, where it was announced that the remains of an adult woman were found near the armor-clad man at Kanai Higashiura (金井東裏遺跡), the early-6th-century site that was buried in volcanic ash from the eruption of Harunayama Futatsudake (榛名山二ッ岳; Hr-FA). Her skeleton is almost fully preserved. The woman’s right knee is bent. The direction of her fall can be ascertained from her remains. She was wearing a necklace — a luxury unattainable for commoners during the early-6th century. Judging by the sumptuous display of wealth, Professor Tanaka Yoshiyuki of Kyushu University posits her to have been an elite woman of high rank. Her height has been reconstructed as 143 centimeters, rather short for the time. Information has yet to be released on the materials (most likely beads) used in the neck decoration.
http://japanesearchaeology.com/
ROYAUME UNI – Stickford - Skeleton remains of four people that could date back to the Roman era were unearthed during work on a new water pipeline. Specialists were assessing sites ahead of laying the 63km pipeline when they came across bones of an adult and child, loosley buried in farmland in Stickford. A spokeman said the bones were ‘more or less in the top soil’. The first discovery was of an adult and very young child crouched or ‘spooned’. Another two adults were then found nearby and appeared to have been buried lying on their backs. The bones have been taken away by experts from Oxford Archaeology East who will need to carry out carbon dating tests but initial estimates suggest that they could date back to the Roman era. There is evidence of settlements in Stickford dating back to the Neolithic period, with the land acting as a natural point to cross the Fens.
http://www.louthleader.co.uk/news/local/four-roman-skeletons-unearthed-by-workers-on-40m-covenham-to-boston-water-pipeline-1-5063623
USA – Adena - It’s been dubbed the Adena pipe and is now the official state artifact of Ohio, as soon as Gov. John Kasich signs off on it, which a spokesman says he will. The pipe is a 2,000-year-old Native American stone tobacco pipe that was found in 1901 in a burial ground near Chillicothe. The pipe was found after excavation of the Adena Mound, which once stood 26 feet tall on land owned by former Governor Thomas Worthington who wouldn’t allow its excavation. But when the land changed ownership, William C. Mills, curator of archaeology for what was then the Ohio Archaeological and Historical Society, made his move to discover the mounds’ secrets. “The Adena Effigy Pipe is the earliest representation we have of a human in all of Ohio history or prehistory,” said Bradley T. Lepper, curator of archaeology at the Ohio Historical Society, in a press release. “Listing the Adena Effigy Pipe as Ohio’s state artifact would honor our indigenous heritage by giving a face to the too often forgotten American Indian people who were the first Ohioans.”
http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2013/05/07/ohio-names-native-american-pipe-official-artifact-149250
THAILANDE – Ayutthaya - Renovation of ancient remains in Thailand’s old capital of Ayutthaya, severely damaged by the massive 2011 floods, are 80 per cent complete, according to the Fine Arts Department. Director-General Sahawat Naenna led high-level UNESCO and other United Nations officials to visit the Ayutthaya historical park, its ancient remains, centuries-old temples and the contemporary anti-flood embankments on both sides of the Chao Phya River yesterday. Ayutthaya province, the capital of Siam before the centre of the kingdom was relocated to Bangkok, has been announced a World Heritage site by UNESCO. The Fine Arts Department and UNESCO are working on flood prevention measures for the province as a precaution in case of future floods.
http://mcot-web.mcot.net/9ent/site/view/id/517dbd1a150ba0a539000133#.UYpRB7WeN1B
FRANCE – Vénissieux - Mais avant que les ouvriers ne prennent possession du chantier, les archéologues de l’INRAP sont venus s’assurer que le sous-sol ne recelait pas des vestiges dignes d’intérêt, comme c’est souvent le cas dans le périmètre du Vieux-Bourg. Des sondages ont été effectués durant les premiers jours de mai. Sans être totalement négatifs, ils ne devraient pas conduire à des fouilles plus approfondies. “Nous avons trouvé quelques fonds de fosses-silos qui servaient au Moyen-Âge à conserver la nourriture, indique Catherine Bellon, responsable de l’opération. Mais contrairement aux fosses que nous avions mises au jour au niveau de la rue Jules-Ferry, il n’en reste que le fond. Tout le reste a été arasé au moment de la construction du parking, nous n’avons trouvé aucun objet. Sur le plan archéologique c’est pauvre. Cela prouve néanmoins que l’occupation humaine du village allait jusqu’au niveau de l’actuel boulevard Ambroise-Croizat.”
http://www.expressions-venissieux.fr/actualites/parking-bertcroizat-fouilles-infructueuses-les-travaux-devraient-pouvoir-commencer-17849/