13 JANVIER 2017 NEWS: Talagunda - Londres - Changde - Nesles - Auch - Moisie - Haojing -
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INDE – 
Talagunda - The stone inscription (dated 370 CE) found at Talagunda near Shiralakoppa in the taluk during excavation by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) in 2013-14 is now said to be the earliest Kannada inscription. This is indeed something to cheer about for people of the district in general and of Shikaripur taluk in particular. The Halmidi inscription - dated between 450 CE and 500 CE - was earlier believed to be the oldest-known Kannada inscription. A review of Indian Archaeology-2013-14, published by the Director General of ASI in 2016, said the inscription found in the North side balustrade of the Pranaveshwara temple, in all probability, dates back to 370 CE. It is a seven-line slanted Brahmi script written left to right. The use of Kannada script along with Sanskrit makes it a dual-language inscription. The inscription records gifts of land to a boatman namely Vaji Naga, who belonged to the Boygara family, by a certain Halami of Pulindage. Speaking to Deccan Herald, M Navin Kumar, president of the Shiralakoppa-based Kannada Research and Development Foundation, said there was a need to rewrite history books and mention that the Talagunda inscription was the oldest-known Kannada inscription and not Halmidi. “Keshava Sharma, an official who was part of the excavation team, had predicted that it could be older than Halmidi inscription. But there was no official communication then. Now, I am told that it has been officially declared as the earliest Kannada inscription.” The trial excavation was carried out in 2013 under the direction of M Nambirajan of the ASI at the temple complex. Two sets of copper plates of the Kakatiya period and 13 gold coins of Ganga period were also found during the trial excavation. An undated, fragmented and worn-out inscription was found on the left side balustrade (Simhakatanjana) of the temple during the second excavation. The Archaeological Survey of India has reportedly directed Bengaluru circle officials to carry on excavation at Talagunda Shikaripur taluk for another five years.
http://www.deccanherald.com/content/591046/kannada-inscription-talagunda-may-replace.html
ROYAUME UNI - 
Londres - Thousands of Victorian jam jars and pickle pots have been discovered beneath a former nightclub during the building of Crossrail, it has emerged. The Museum of London Archaeology (MOLA) found more than 13,000 pots in an old vault at the site of the new Elizabeth line station in Tottenham Court Road. The space beneath the old Astoria nightclub had been used as a dumping ground by Crosse & Blackwell, which had a large factory on the site until 1921. MOLA said the find was "remarkable". The items, including bottles of Mushroom Catsup, Piccalilli pots and and jars for jam and marmalade, were found in a large cistern beneath the former warehouse.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-38586525
CHINE - Changde - Pottery figurines have been unearthed in central China's Hunan Province, local archaeologists said Wednesday. Among the pieces found in the Sunjiagang relic site of Changde City was a human-shaped figure that was about 4,000 years old. The statue is about the size of an adult's palm, and its face is well-preserved. Some pottery birds were found in the Tanglin relic site about 50 kilometers away. "These figurines were used in sacrificial rituals," said Wang Liangzhi, who headed the archaeological team. Guo Weimin, head of the Hunan provincial institute of cultural relics and archaeology, told Xinhua that the discovery is helpful for studying the prehistorical culture of central China. China is believed to have been ruled by emperors Yao, Shun and Yu about 4,000 years ago. They battled against the ethnic groups of central China.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2017-01/12/c_135974697.htm
FRANCE – 
Nesles - *Une fosse, attribuable au Néolithique moyen, a fourni 167 silex (production d’éclat dominante à partir de silex locaux, outillage sur éclat composé de grattoirs, de pièces à dos, d’une armature tranchante et de rares outils sur lame) associé à de la céramique ainsi qu’un fragment de meule en grés. *Une fosse a livré une cinquantaine de tessons attribuable à La Tène ancienne. Elle pourrait être un indice d’une occupation plus importante arasée non reconnue au diagnostic. *Dans l’angle sud-est du diagnostic, une occupation gallo-romaine (IIe-IIIe siècles) se développe essentiellement à l’est de l’emprise, zone où des vestiges antiques avaient été observés dans les années 1975. Elle est essentiellement matérialisée par un réseau orthonormé de fossés et une grande fosse rectangulaire de 5,60 x 3,70 m. Dans l’angle nord-ouest du diagnostic, une occupation gallo-romaine (IIe-IIIe siècles), qui se développe essentiellement hors emprise, est matérialisée par quelques tronçons de fossés.
FRANCE – Auch - Des sondages archéologiques en cours devant la cathédrale d'Auch ont permis une découverte inespérée : des restes d'habitation datant de l'Âge du Fer, soit -600 avant J.-C ; et 450 ans avant le premier peuplement connu du site.
http://www.ladepeche.fr/article/2017/01/11/2494457-les-origines-d-auch-reculent-de-plus-de-4-siecles.html
CANADA – 
Moisie - La tempête a permis de dévoiler les ruines des anciennes forges de Moisie, à l’est de Sept-Îles. En activité à la fin du 19e siècle, les forges transformaient le sable noir de la plage en lingot de fer. Le métal était ensuite exporté en Nouvelle-Angleterre. Selon Steve Dubreuil, une expertise archéologique devrait être effectuée pour avoir un meilleur aperçu des vestiges découverts et en apprendre davantage sur cet épisode méconnu de l’histoire septilienne. Après la fermeture abrupte des installations de la Moisie Iron Compagny en 1875, aucune image ni presque aucun artefact n’a été conservé.
CHINE – 
Haojing - A total of 12 bone lamellae of crocodile were discovered in the Ruins of Haojing, which was part of the capital of the Western Zhou Dynasty (1066-770 BCE), in Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, according to the news released on January 11th by Shaanxi Provincial Institute of Archaeology(SPIA). The excavation of the Ruins of Haojing, located in the northwest of Chang'an District of Xi'an, dated back to 1930s. In 2016, SPIA, for the first time, discovered 12 crocodile bone lamellae, reports CCTV. Bone lamellae is a thin plate-like structure, often one among many lamellae very close to one another, with open space between and commonly found in reptiles. Those bone lamellae found are puce, some are quadrate and some are round, with cellular holes on the surface. "Each bone lamella is as big as a mahjong tile, our archaeological experts thought they were crocodile bones at first sight." explains Yue Lianjian, researcher of SPIA. "The discovery provides important materials for the study of the ecological distribution of crocodiles in the Western Zhou Dynasty." Yue added. As a kind of cold blooded aquatic animal, crocodiles are one of the earliest and most primitive animals still in existence. "Besides a few of them living in the Temperate Zone, most crocodiles live in rivers, lakes or marsh in tropical or sub-tropical areas. Thus we predict that large water areas or lakes might have existed in the southeast of Haojing during the Western Zhou Dynasty." Yue pointed out. Also, experts have deduced that people might raise crocodiles during the Western Zhou Dynasty to make Tuogu, an ancient drum, with crocodile skin. Before, Tuogu made of crocodile skin was discovered as well, CCTV reported. Together with the crocodile bones, many other utensils were also discovered, like ancient pottery, stone and bronze implements, etc., as well as ten tombs, two pottery kilns and four wells.
