11 JUILLET 2017 NEWS: Mernda - Bolzano - Guwahati - Mitchell - Castellane - Chine - Bavay -
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AUSTRALIE – 
Mernda - Remains of a mid-19th century pub, which is potentially one of the “oldest buildings outside of Melbourne”, have been uncovered at Mernda. Archaeologists have been digging at Plenty Gorge Park in the hope of discovering the location of the Old Bridge Inn, which was built in the 1840s.Heritage Victoria principal archaeologist Jeremy Smith said the team started the dig in mid-June in an open paddock near the bank of the Plenty River, south of Bridge Inn Road, that they suspected was the site of the inn.But they weren’t certain they were digging in the right place. They have since uncovered bluestone walls and hearth of the inn, as well as thousands of artefacts such as pottery, decorative figurines, jewellery, animal bones and glasses.The pub is considered to be the first European site in the area, marking the beginning of the Mernda, Morang and Doreen areas.
http://www.starweekly.com.au/news/remains-of-merndas-old-bridge-inn-uncovered/
ITALIE – 
Bolzano - New research has shown that a copper axe carried by a Neolithic hunter known as Ötzi the Iceman came from southern Tuscany. The find has surprised experts because hundreds of miles separate Tuscany from the Alpine pass where the mummified body of Ötzi was discovered 25 years ago. It is known that copper was mined in the Alps so it is a mystery why the Iceman’s blade should have come from so far away. Nor do scientists know whether the copper was acquired as a raw ingot, which then had to be fashioned into an axe, or as a ready-made blade. The hunter-gatherer, nicknamed Ötzi after the Otztal mountains where he was found, died 5,300 years ago on what is now the border between Italy and Austria.Radiocarbon dating of the axe’s wooden shaft shows that it dates from the early Copper Age, meaning that it was crafted in the 4th millennium BC. That was confirmed by chemical and isotope analysis of the copper blade, carried out in collaboration with Berne University. “The results prove unequivocally that the metal in Ötzi’s copper blade came from Tuscan deposits,” the museum said in a statement. “Copper from southern Tuscany can be distinguished from that of all other deposits within Europe and the Mediterranean region on account of the unique lead-isotope variation within its lead content.” The discovery “throws new light on the socio-economic connections between humans in the Copper Age,” the museum said. The results confirmed “extensive links between the Neolithic civilisations in central Italy and those to the north of the Apennines, extending to the populations of the southern arc of the Alps where the Iceman was found.”
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/07/07/copper-axe-owned-neolithic-hunter-otzi iceman-came-way-tuscany/
INDE – 
Guwahati – The ancient wall that runs through the Narakasur Hills of the city, indicating the presence of a well-designed system to protect the city from intruders in the days of yore. Significantly, these hills are named after Narakasur, a pre-historic king of the city, which was then known as Pragjyotishpur. Dr Phukan initially came to know about the presence of such ruins on the hills from the late Prabhat Malla Baruah, a popular resident of the Uzanbazar Naojan locality till the other day and brother of noted poet the late Ajit Baruah.
http://www.assamtribune.com/scripts/detailsnew.asp?id=jul0717/city051
USA – 
Mitchell - One day frozen in time. That's how an official at Mitchell's Prehistoric Indian Village described the site's latest finding. This week, students from Augustana University in Sioux Falls and the University of Exeter in England uncovered six bison scapula hoes, a bone scraper and an unknown stone tool. Similar tools have been found at the site before, but never so many in one cluster. The location of these items is what stood out to Cindy Gregg, executive director of the site, as they were found inside a lodge that burned to the ground approximately 1,000 years ago. "These were probably leaning up against the lodge wall or perhaps just laid down on the ground, and when the lodge wall collapsed into the lodge, of course they were damaged, but they were also preserved forever," Gregg said. The tools were found nearby another collection of fire-cracked stone tools discovered four years ago. At the time, archaeologists believed the fire was an unplanned event, and Gregg said the new discovery confirms the theory. The Indian Village often finds tools and other items discarded in trash pits, while lodges are commonly empty, but the most recent find gives archaeologists the chance to learn more about everyday life in the village. "This find is not unlike those found at sites like Pompeii, where artifacts are preserved just as they were originally placed by the person or persons using them," said Adrien Hannus, lead archaeologist at the site, in a written statement.
FRANCE – 
Castellane - Des fouilles archéologiques ont eu lieu dans le site de Petra Castellana, qui est l'emplacement de l'ancien village de Castellane. Elles viennent compléter les sondages réalisés en 2016. Ainsi, une équipe de bénévoles intervient pendant trois semaines pour balayer, nettoyer, faire des photographies et des relevés précis. C'est une vraie opportunité pour la commune qui pourra avoir une connaissance approfondie de son histoire et de son patrimoine bâti car ce site fortifié n'a pas encore livré tous ses secrets.
CHINE - Une découverte extraordinaire pour les anthropologues ! Un corps vieux de plus de 2300 ans a été retrouvé en Chine. Les conditions particulières de la région ont permis une conservation exceptionnelle de sa peau. L'âge de l'homme juste avant sa mort est estimé à 40 ans et mesurait 1m62.
VIDEO - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-vVUvy57nIk
FRANCE – 
Bavay – Les archéologues ont repris l’exploration de la basilique romaine découverte sur le Forum antique en 2014. Avant la fin du mois, ils espèrent déterminer la fonction de l’abside du bâtiment et mettre au jour le sol en marbre découvert lors de sondages en 1995. Depuis trois ans, au mois de juillet, la basilique romaine du Forum antique de la cité de Bagacum se dévoile un peu plus au grand jour. Depuis lundi, ils sont dix de l’université de Lille (de licence 2 à master 2) à creuser, trier, répertorier… tout ce qu’ils trouvent au niveau de l’abside, la partie saillante demi-circulaire qui se trouvait au fond de la basilique. « On voudrait déterminer les différentes fonctions de cette abside, aux Ier et IIe siècles après Jésus-Christ », explique Patrice Herbin, responsable du service archéologie au Département. L’an dernier, un soubassement en pierres calcaires bleues avait été découvert au centre du mur d’abside qui, semble-t-il, aurait accueilli une statue monumentale à l’effigie de l’empereur Auguste. L’hypothèse d’un aedes Augusti – petit temple dédié à l’empereur Auguste – est donc avancée. Autre hypothèse : l’espace serait une curia, c’est-à-dire le lieu dans lequel le « conseil municipal » romain se réunissait. Quoi qu’il en soit, l’équipe de fouilles souhaite dégager une partie du sol de l’abside afin de mettre au jour un pavage en marbre (opus sectile). « Ce sol en marbre a été aperçu lors de sondages réalisés en 1995, avant que les fouilles ne soient arrêtées », précise Patrice Herbin. Enfin, du côté nord de l’abside, les murs d’une pièce reliée à la basilique par une porte avait été exhumés. Une fouille approfondie de cette salle est prévue cet été.