12 FEVRIER 2016 NEWS: Foulum - Illinois - Turpan - Portsmouth -

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DANEMARK –  Foulum  - A hoard of 700 year-old coins has been found by a group of metal detectors in a Jutland field being excavated by archaeologists, the Viborg Museum announced on Wednesday. Coins dating back to a tumultuous period of civil war in Denmark were found in a field south of Foulum and are being put on display at the Viborg Museum. The museum said that three members of the Central Jutland Detector Society (Midtjysk Detektorforening) discovered the mediaeval coins, which are thought to have been hidden during the first half of the 1300s, a period of internal unrest in Denmark which culminated in a temporary end of royal rule. The instability of the era is said to be reflected in the poor quality minting and low silver content of the coins. The metal detector search was carried out on the field near the town of Foulum during the final stage of a wider excavation of an Iron Age building at the site. But with a 1,000-year age difference between the building and the coins, an explanation of how the treasure came to the area remains clouded by mystery.

http://www.thelocal.dk/20160210/700-year-old-danish-civil-war-coins-found-by-metal-detector

USA –  Illinois - When a team of archaeologists began a routine review of the site marked for potential construction plans on Interstate 70, one of the last things they expected was to find a city untouched for a millennium. The Illinois State Archaeological Survey at the University discovered of 1,000-year-old city and uncovered artifacts dating back to an ancient Native American settlement. The prehistoric city that was excavated is one part of an urbanized area that belonged to the Cahokia civilization. According to Joe Galloy, research coordinator for the American Bottom Field Station, the area encompassed by the Cahokia mounds – stretching from East St. Louis to Collinsville – would have been bigger than England at that time. According to Brennan, approximately between six to eight thousand features were uncovered. As the team expanded the site search, they discovered that the site is the second largest Native American settlement in North America. “One of the most important things was simply to show that there were intact archaeological deposits below St. Louis,” Brennan said. Many artifacts were uncovered, but one in particular stood out to the archaeologists: a figurine of a woman kneeling and holding a shell cup that had survived a catastrophic fire.

http://www.dailyillini.com/article/2016/02/university-archaeologists-uncover-ancient-settlement

CHINE – Turpan - Dumplings, indispensable at lunar new year dinners in north China were already served 1,700 years ago in China's far west. According to an archaeologist from the Museum of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, the three dumplings unearthed in the region's Turpan area were determined to have been made during the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties (220-589). Archaeologists also found two complete dumplings made during the Tang Dynasty (618-907) in Turpan. The dumplings were 5 centimeters long, 1.5 cm wide and resembled the new moon in shape. Further research revealed the dumpling wrappers were made from wheat flour and the stuffing was meat. Archaeologists said the findings show the eating habits, which used to be prevalent in China's central plains, had spread to the west at a very early time. Even in today's China, many believe eating dumplings will bring fortune, because the food resembles "yuan bao," a boat-shaped gold ingot that was used as currency in the past.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2016-02/11/c_135090473.htm?

ROYAUME UNI –  Portsmouth - An iron cannon has been unearthed during work to prepare HMNB Portsmouth for the arrival of the Queen Elizabeth Class carriers. Speaking on behalf of Wessex Archaeology, Andrea Hamel, Senior Marine Archaeologist said: We have already recovered a number of anchors, a quantity of modern glass and a range of ceramics during the dredging but cannons are particularly exciting finds because they could indicate the presence of a previously unrecorded shipwreck. However in this case, the cannon appears to be an isolated discovery. More investigation into the cannon will be needed to determine its significance, but hopefully ongoing research will provide a date-range for the cannon and possible provenance.

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/portsmouth-dredge-preparations-unearth-historic-cannon?