09 MAI 2012 NEWS: Sozopol - Magdalen Hill - Rome - Monbasa - Salem - Tirupati - Vauvert - Bressuire -
INSTITUT SUPERIEUR D'ANTHROPOLOGIE
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INSCRIPTION 2012 / Session III : Juillet 2012
REGISTRATION 2012 / Term III : July 2012
BULGARIE – 
Sozopol - Two divers, father and son, from Bulgaria's Black Sea city of Burgas, found in the waters near the historical town of Sozopol an utterly intriguing statue. The bronze statue, located at a depth of 2 meters, some 20 meters away from the shoreline, portrays an elderly woman in a sit-down position. It is 1.4-meter tall and believed to be modern, not ancient work. The statue is temporarily kept at the Sozopol museum until its origins are definitively established.
http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=139143
ROYAUME UNI - 
Magdalen Hill - Dr Phil Marter from the archaeology department at the University of Winchester has been excavating the former hospital site at Magdalen Hill for four years. “The project at Magdalen Hill represents the most extensive excavations of a medieval leprosy hospital and cemetery in the country," he said. “Out of almost 60 excavated burials, there is evidence of leprosy in 70 per cent of the cases. “Evidence suggests the leprosy patients were very well looked after, and were drawn from all levels of society. They included men, women, children and a baby and also an individual who had been buried with a scallop shell pilgrim badge suggesting that he had once made the arduous journey to Santiago de Compostela.”
http://www.christiantoday.com/article/pilgrim.to.britains.oldest.leprosy.hospital/29838.htm
ITALIE – Rome - More archaeology was done in Rome under the Fascists than at any time before or since. Major sites were excavated in all parts of the City. New museums were created. Many important finds were made. The aim of the archaeology was to increase the regime’s identification with ancient Rome. Mussolini liked to play the ‘new Caesar’ and ‘new Augustus’ against the background of ancient ruins. While the excavations were extensive, the quality of the work was often poor and much important information was lost. Since the fall of fascism, Mussolini’s archaeology has remained a source of controversy and of corrective action.
http://www.archaeological.org/events/8934
KENYA – 
Mombasa - The second round of the historical underwater ship excavation in a $3.6 million partnership project in the Coastal region of Kenya is set to commence in November with the arrival of Chinese archaeologists in the country. A 13-member delegation has been in the country since last month to conduct surveillance over the expected archaeological sites in Mombasa and Malindi-Mambrui/Ngomeni area, according to the National Museums of Kenya (NMK) Assistant Director of Coastal region Athman Hussein. The Mambrui wreck, according to Athman, is a local ship believed to be between 150-200 years old, while the Mombasa channel has two wreckages, both assumed to have been ships from the Portuguese which sunk in the 17th century and are near Fort Jesus. “The ship had begun being excavated in the 1980s but due to shortage of funds, the process was stopped, but now it’s back, with the assistance of the Chinese,” Athman added. “This time however, we shall not excavate in Lamu due to the fact that by that time, the tides will be high and thus the sea will be rough,” he said. In the first excavation in Lamu and Malindi, the archaeologists discovered important artefacts including porcelain and shillings, which helped explain the rich history that exists between Kenya and China.
http://www.capitalfm.co.ke/news/2012/05/chinese-archaeologists-to-begin-excavation-in-kenya/
USA – 
Salem - An industrial ghost from the city's transportation past was unearthed this week under the Salem commuter rail station. On the first day of an archaeological dig, a construction crew uncovered part of the Salem Roundhouse, a large structure that stood on this location a half-century ago. Even though radar had indicated a structure was buried underneath, there was no guarantee it would be the roundhouse, or engine house, Timms said. After a backhoe dug a hole more than 4 feet deep, workers spotted an old set of tracks and the outline of a stone and concrete foundation, which appears to be part of the roundhouse or an old locomotive turntable that was part of the structure. The roundhouse is a remnant from the steam locomotive days. It was a large brick building with a turntable in the center, surrounded by a dozen stalls where locomotives were repaired and stored at night. The locomotives were driven onto the turntable, which would rotate, allowing the trains to pull into a stall. The building had a coaling tower and water tank. At night, workers called "hostlers" fed the boilers to keep the steam engines running.
http://www.salemnews.com/local/x2089086979/Digging-up-the-past
INDE – 
Tirupati - The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is considering a proposal to recommend recognition of the famous Lord Venkateswara Temple in Tirupati as a monument of national importance in view of its archaeological, epigraphical and historical background and cultural significance.
http://www.thehindu.com/arts/history-and-culture/article3399934.ece
FRANCE – 
Vauvert - À l'issue des fouilles prescrites par la Drac Languedoc-Roussillon, ce ne sont pas une, mais trois époques bien distinctes, qui ont pu être étudiées et qui ont donné lieu à diverses découvertes. Tout d'abord, les plus anciennes ou les nomades du paléolithique supérieur (16 000 ans avant notre ère) ont laissé quantité de silex taillés (il en a été trouvé plus de 3000, ainsi que quelques lamelles à os permettant de relier cette production au magdalénien ancien). Puis des tribus sédentaires du néolithique (3000 avant notre ère), qui pratiquaient l'agriculture et l'élevage, ont laissé trace d'une quinzaine de structures creusées, dont deux ont été réutilisées pour abriter des inhumations. Enfin, au premier âge de fer (six siècles avant notre ère), c'est une importante fosse liée à l'occupation des hommes du premier âge de fer qui a été mise à jour.
FRANCE – 
Bressuire - Ce type de découvertes est de plus en plus courant, au gré des chantiers de nouveaux lotissements qui fleurissent ici ou là, mais c'est tout de même une première à Bressuire : alors que le lotisseur privé DTLC Promotion lançait les premiers coups de pioche pour ses futures quatorze parcelles (sur 2.300 m²) rue de Villabé du côté de Saint-Porchaire, des vestiges archéologiques carolingiens (IXe siècle) ont été mis au jour. Sur prescription de l'Etat, des fouilles préventives ont ainsi été lancées dès le mois d'avril par l'Inrap, elles s'achèveront vendredi. Elles permettront de dresser un état des lieux et un inventaire complets qui viendront enrichir les données que les spécialistes ont déjà. Puis ces découvertes disparaîtront sous les fondations des maisons neuves. « Sauf découverte très exceptionnelle, c'est toujours comme celà que ça se passe », a expliqué l'archéologue Laurent Villaverde, lundi, à l'occasion d'une journée portes ouvertes sur le site. Mais ici, point de regret : « Il n'y a pas de valorisation possible de ces vestiges ». Cependant, « nous nous attendions à trouver entre 70 et 80 faits archéologiques. Nous en sommes à plus de 300 ! On ne s'imaginait pas que ce village carolingien était aussi dense. C'est assez difficile à comprendre car il n'y a rien de tel dans la région de Bressuire où il n'y a encore que peu de choses de cette époque ». Traces de bâtiments, de silo, de fours, de meules, de poterie, de céramiques… tout laisse à penser qu'« il y avait ici un village modeste et rural où les habitants subvenaient à leurs propres besoins avec de l'artisanat, particulièrement une activité métallurgique, et l'agriculture ». Les diverses découvertes devraient ainsi permettre « de comprendre comment s'organisait ce village », en cette fin d'Empire romain.