09 - 10 AVRIL 2011 NEWS - Alghat - Haripur - Chatham Islands - Tuckasegee - St Fagans -
- 09 - 10 AVRIL
- ARABIE SAOUDITE – 
Alghat - Archaeologists of Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities have excavated a site and discovered a number of archaeological pieces dating back to the Stone Age in Alghat, Riyadh province. “The antiquities prove that there were intense human activities in the area in ages before history,” the SCTA said - Archaeologists have also located rock engravings and drawings in the area- the engravings belonging to Thamudites were found northeast of Alghat and on the west bank of Wadi Markh. They also found models of animals such as horses, camels, ibex and ostrich in the area. Rock drawings have been located in a hill between Um Shadad and Wadi Markh, east of old Majmaa-Alghat Road. The antiquities found in the area date back to the Stone Age and are more than 80,000 years old-
http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article351658.ece
- PAKISTAN – Haripur - The federal government has asked the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government to take over charge of 19 archaeological Buddhist sites that are in the territorial jurisdiction of district Haripur- From the Buddhist city of Taxila, the famous and frequently visited sites that the KP government will be taking control of include Jandial Stupa, Jinan Wali Dheri, Badal Pur Stupa, Buddhist Monastery of 300 BC commonly known as Julian University, Mound Pind Ghakhra, Tofkian Stupa, Mirpur Mound, Sirsukh, Piplian archaeological site, Lalchcuk Stupa, Chiti archaeological site, Bhirmound and some others. The rest of the archaeological sites are situated in Abbottabad, Mansehra, Balakot, Kohistan, Swabi, Mardan, Bannu and D.I. Khan.
http://www.dawn.com/2011/04/10/kp-to-take-over-91-archaeological-sites.html
- NOUVELLE- ZELANDE - 
Chatham Islands - The imminent loss of the internationally-acclaimed Moriori-carved trees on the Chatham Islands National Historic Reserve constitutes a "national conservation crisis" which needs urgent attention, says new University of Otago research. These living carved trees are a novel Polynesian art form, and in their current number and condition, represent the most intact, extant world example of this indigenous site type- Consequently, the imminent loss of most if not all of the kopi trees on the main reserve informally known as Hapupu, which is managed by the Department of Conservation (DOC), represents “a national archaeological crisis”. The trees and their carvings are thought to be hundreds of years old. The researchers came to their conclusion during a month long visit to the islands in February, during which time they assessed the rate-of-loss of the trees and their human figure carvings since a collaborative DOC-led, University of Otago project to secure three-dimensional scanned images of the carvings a year before. Hapupu is one of only two national historic reserves so-designated in New Zealand. When recordings of tree numbers first began in 1964, there was an estimated 200-plus carved trees at the Hapupu reserve in that year. When recordings were made in 1998, only 82 were left. Of the 63 carved tree trunks located and recorded at the reserve in 2010, 26 were dead. Now, one year on, a further seven trees have died, and the overall rate of loss is accelerating. Only two of the carved trees still have a full and healthy canopy.
http://www.physorg.com/news/2011-04-crisis-historic-trees-die.htm
- USA – 
Tuckasegee - Vickie Stephens isn't surprised that a team of archaeologists excavating along the highway a few hundred yards from her store found pieces of pottery dating to more than 2,000 years ago.“You can find them even digging in the garden around here,” said Stephens, who grew up about two miles from the T. Walter Middleton Bridge on N.C. 107 in Jackson County. Evidence of ancient settlements — including burial sites — halted construction of a new, wider bridge over the Tuckasegee River. Archaeologists started their work in early March and have until the end of April to learn as much as they can about the people who once lived here- So far, they found three house patterns by unearthing post holes. The places where ancient posts once stood leave dark stains in the soil. The stains can be detected after the top layer of soil is removed. The trench the archaeologists are working in is about 5 feet deep and 700 feet long, ranging from 40 feet wide to about 65 feet wide. They used a track hoe and small bulldozers to clear the top layer of ground, and now they are using small trowels to unearth the artifacts. They will study the samples to determine what people were eating at the time and use them to get a better fix on how old the settlements are through radio-carbon dating. Artifacts, such as pottery pieces and arrowheads, will be studied by an expert at nearby Western Carolina University. About seven other experts will study everything from the type of pollen found in the dirt to the types of minerals in the pottery to determine whether they were made with local clay or brought to the area from other places through trade. Tippett said most of the evidence points to a Middle Woodland and Connestee phase occupation nearly 2,000 years ago, though at least one find shows settlement around the late Archaic period about 9,000 years ago.- There's also evidence of Cherokee pottery closer to the surface-
- ROYAUME-UNI – St Fagans - Visitors to St Fagans National History Museum will be transported to the Middle Ages after a medieval organ was created from scratch.The organ is based on a few surviving medieval organ parts and has been built using traditional materials and manufacturing techniques and using cutting edge research and creative archaeology. It will be housed at the St Teilo's Church, and will play authentic music from the era. Professor John Harper, who is leading the research at Bangor University's School of Music, said: "The organ is attempting to recreate the type of instrument known to have been used around 1520, the period that St Teilo's itself has been decorated and furnished to represent."