12 SEPTEMBRE 2016 NEWS: Carnoustie - Bristol - Al Zubarah - Abel Beth Maacah - Viverone - Jelšava - Kurul -
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ROYAUME UNI – 
Carnoustie - A suspected Bronze Age sword with a gold hilt that may be up to 4,000-years-old has been uncovered on the site of a new community football pitch. Diggers moved into the site in Carnoustie, Angus, in Scotland after a collection of relics were unearthed while workmen began laying foundations for the new sports field. Earlier today experts from GUARD Archaeologists discovered what appears to be a sword with a gold hilt, or handle, dating back to the Bronze Age. 'It looks as though it could be two items. Possibly a spear point or a broken sword. At this stage it's hard to tell. 'We might never know until we get it back to the office and excavate it there. It's a rare find.' Famed for its golfing heritage the small Tayside town could now hold the key to how Scots lived as early as 2000BC. This is not the first time evidence for Bronze Age settlements have been found in Carnoustie, which is just north of Dundee in Scotland. Cropmarks found earlier this year indicate a Bronze Age settlement in the Craigmill area of Carnoustie.
ROYAUME UNI – 
Bristol - St George's on Brandon Hill is now one of the leading music venues in Bristol, but it was a church before that. Plans to extend the building mean that the archaeologists have been in this summer uncovering some of the secrets of St George's graveyard. The site was being used as a burial ground for the overspill from St Augustine's (Bristol Cathedral) as early as 1816, and it is the graves which are the main concern of the archaeologists. At the time of writing, they had uncovered 275 graves, but expect to find more before they finish. The period during which most St George's burials took place was short. Most of the graves probably date from the 1820s to the 1850s. Examination of the remains of those buried in the expensive vaults (lined with brick) compared to those in more ordinary graves might tell us a lot about the differences between rich and poor in terms of diet and overall health in early 19th century Clifton.
QATAR – 
Al Zubarah - Official meeting has been held to discuss the possibility of using modern technology in identifying the types of date seeds found at Al Zubarah archaeological site, a World Heritage Site. Al-Naimi gave a presentation on the archeological site at Al Zubarah town and the remains discovered there. The meeting discussed the possibility of analysing the DNA of the date seeds discovered at the archaeological site and to what extent they could be planted again in the same area. Al Zubarah town was established in the 1760s on the northern coast of Qatar. It was known as a destination for fishing and independent trade founded by merchants as key linking point between the east and the west in end of the 18th century and the beginning of the 19th century. It stretches 4km and hosts a number of archaeological sites including a fort. A large number of date presses found in the ancient town indicate that dates had a key economic importance during its prime.
http://www.gulf-times.com/story/512267/Date-seeds-found-at-Al-Zubarah-to-be-analysed
ISRAEL - Abel Beth Maacah - A stone seal dating back approximately 3,000 years was discovered by archaeologist Robert Mullins, Ph.D., professor of biblical studies at Azusa Pacific University, and his team during a summer dig at Abel Beth Maacah, a 35-acre tel in the northernmost border of present day Israel. The oval-shaped stone seal is engraved with a motif of three figures holding up their hands in what is understood to be a ritual dance scene. "Ritual symbolic behavior and cultural traditions are among the most elusive categories of ancient life for the archaeologist to fathom," said Mullins. "While the scene on the Abel Beth Maacah seal can be interpreted in different ways, it likely represents a dance, related perhaps to fertility, military victory, mourning, or divine protection. This seal is a small, yet meaningful artifact that helps us construct an understanding of this interesting and important biblical site." The seal serves as a chronological marker and hints that the population was Israelite in the 9th century BCE. This discovery could give credence to the biblical history of Israel's occupation of Abel Beth Maacah in the 8th-10th centuries BCE (2 Sam. 20:14–22), and the destruction of Abel Beth Maacah by the Aramean King Ben Hadad in the 9th century BCE (1 Kings 15:20).
http://www.benzinga.com/pressreleases/16/09/p8442826/israel-dig-unearths-ancient-seal
ITALIE – 
Viverone - An international team of archaeologists led by the University of Bradford is looking to uncover the secrets of a mysterious underwater Bronze Age site. The team is taking part in the first underwater excavation of an important World Heritage Site – a prehistoric settlement at Lake Viverone, Italy, that used to be one of the most vibrant trading centres for bronze artefacts in the area. Similar swords to those of Viverone have been found as far afield as Germany, the Netherlands and Britain, although the villagers did not trade their metal products with their nearest neighbours. The team hopes to understand the reasons behind this and, through isotopic analysis of artefacts made at Viverone, pin down where the village sourced its raw materials. Viverone was discovered in the 1970s, but the new project will be the first time it has been excavated and scientifically analysed in a systematic way.The wooden piles on which the settlement was built around 3,500 years ago are still visible beneath the water. An underwater Remote Operated Vehicle will map the site and create a detailed plan with soil samples analysed to understand the climatic conditions and how these changed before, during and after the occupation. Underwater archaeologists will dive into the lake to dig exploratory trenches at two locations within the village, to see what information lies beneath the surface.
SLOVAQUIE – 
Jelšava - A walled up stone lion was found by reconstruction workers in the Coburg manor house in Jelšava, Revúca Region. The statue is placed high in the wall, just under the roof of the building and its possible origin is currently under investigation, Viera Kozárová, coordinator of the monument restoration, informed the TASR newswire. “We’re guessing that it comes from the Renaissance period and maybe even older,” Kozárová explained to TASR, addingthat its shape is also similar to the Romanesque style. The statue was used in the Baroque facade later than the original, possibly coming from a redevelopement of the original manor house or from the structure of the so called "royal house", according to the coordinator. Kozárová also added that the lion could have been a decorative element of the railing, brick stove or other architectural part of the structure in the past.
http://spectator.sme.sk/c/20259641/unusual-artifact-found-in-manor-wall.html
TURQUIE – 
Kurul - estimated 2,100-year-old rare marble statue of Cybele, the mother goddess of Anatolia, has been unearthed in excavations in northwestern Ordu province located on the Black Sea coast. The historic sculpture of Cybele sitting on her throne weighed a whopping 200 kilograms and was about 110 centimeters tall. The statue is also the first marble statue found in Turkey in its original place. The ancient artifact was unearthed in excavations launched by a team of 25 archeologists led by the head of the Department of Archeology in Gazi University, Prof. Dr. Süleyman Yücel Şenyurt, in the 2,300-year-old Kurul Kalesi, or the Council Fortress. "We are continuing our work non-stop. Two days ago we found an extraordinary artifact. According to our research, the statue remained intact after the walls of the entrance of the fortress of Kurul collapsed during an invasion by Roman soldiers. This statue has also shown us that the fortress of Kurul in Ordu was a very important settlement [in ancient times]," Prof. Şenyurt said.
