16 JANVIER 2017 NEWS: Haojing - Ta Prohm - St Augustine - Naroa - Timna - Sunjiagang - Ierapetra -
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CHINE – 
Haojing - Archaeologists recently discovered a large amount of carbonized wheat grains at a site in northwest China's Shaanxi province. The site is at Haojing, one of the two capitals of the Western Zhou Dynasty (c. 11th century-771 B.C.). The grains found has been dated at 2800 years old. West Asia and Afghanistan are generally believed to be where the use of wheat originated. In Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and Gansu province, archaeologists have also found wheat grains at ancient sites, but in small amounts. The discovery of such a large amount proves that wheat had been in wide use, and planted around Haojing since at least the middle of the Western Zhou Dynasty. Previous discoveries had proven that ancient people had begun planting wheat in the northern part of China during the Han Dynasty (202 B.C.-220 A.D.).
http://english.cri.cn/12394/2017/01/15/2743s949788.htm
CAMBODGE – 
Ta Prohm - The place shot to fame after being featured in Hollywood actress Angelina Jolie’s starrer Tomb Raider. The temple dating back to 12th century is said to be dedicated to the Hindu deity Brahma and is part of the Angkor Wat temple complex. The third phase of the project has been launched .
USA – St Augustine - It’s likely not many drivers or even pedestrians who use Charlotte Street in downtown St. Augustine really know what they’re walking or driving on. “Starting right about here and going over to here, we found the remains of four individuals,” said Carl Halbirt, city archaeologist. Halbirt said the remains buried underneath Charlotte Street near King Street could date back to the 1500s. “The possibility exists that some of the original settlers here in St. Augustine who came with Menéndez in 1562 are buried in this location,” Halbirt said. Before roads and buildings were constructed, the first documented parish church, “Nuestra Señora de los Remedios,” stood in that location. Round caps on the ground on Aviles Street signify where one of the church’s original walls stood back in 1572. “I think this is probably just as significant as the Castillo de San Marcos because it represents the earliest colonial history of the downtown area,” Halbirt said. The excavation will begin Tuesday.
INDE – Naroa - Villagers of Naroa in Bicholim have stumbled upon remnants of a Jain temple belonging to the Goa Kadamba period. A pedestal of one of the stone sculptures has a one-line inscription in Nagari corresponding to 1150 AD, when Shivchitta Permadideva of the Kadamba dynasty was ruling Goa. Prakash Bhate, Sadanand Chodankar and Satyavan Chodankar were clearing wild vegetation at Kharut near Deulwada when they discovered the remains of the Jain temple. Sadanand Mahadev Chodankar, 73, told TOI, "Almost 20 small and big pieces of the old temple are lying neglected in the area we call Jainkot. Our forefathers told us that this temple existed before the Saptakoteshwar temple and the lake in front of the Sidhdeshwar temple known as Sagar Tali was associated with the Jain temple. Laxmi Narayan of the Gurjar community temple and Jain Tirthankar of the ruined temple are regarded as brothers." Chodankar said, "The ruins are mostly of the ceiling, doors, and lintels of the old Jain temple. These pieces of stone bear carvings with floral designs and symbols related with Jainism. This temple, the well and Sagar Tali once belonged to traders residing in Narve, originally from Gujarat." During the 17th century, when the Mughal army was in Bicholim town to wage a battle with the Maratha ruler Sambhaji they might have destroyed the Jain temple.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/goa/naroa-villagers-discover-ruins-of-pre-kadamba-era-jain-temple/articleshow/56530193.cms
ISRAEL – 
Timna Valley - Archaeologists in the Negev are unraveling the history of a military complex which dates from the time of King David and King Solomon, Fox News reported. The gatehouse complex, located in the Timna Valley in Southern Israel, was unearthed in 2014 and dates to the 10th century B.C.E. Recent analysis of the ancient site's excavatede donkey stables have helped archaeologists unravel what life was like there approximately 3,000 years ago. Animal bones and dung are well-preserved in the desert climate. "When we uncovered the stables, the material was so well preserved and ‘fresh’ that we could not believe it is 3,000 years old,” Erez Ben-Yosef of Tel Aviv University’s Institute of Archaeology, one of the excavation leaders, told FoxNews.com. "Only when the dates came back from the lab were we reassured that indeed these were the remains of stables and other artifacts from the time of David and Solomon.” Examination of the animal remains determined that they were fed with hay and the remains of grapes which would have been brought from the Mediterranean coast, hundreds of miles away. The animals at the fort were also used to aid in copper production. The fort was designed to defend ancient Israel against invasion, according to a report in the The Journal of Archaeological Science. It contained a sophisticated defense system and trade links. “The evidence demonstrates long-distance connections with the Mediterranean region,” Ben-Yosef said.
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/223238
CHINE – 
Sunjiagang - 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://www.china.org.cn/arts/2017-01/12/content_40086800.htm
GRECE – 
Ierapetra - A priceless archaeological treasure surfaced following the recent downpours that fell in Ierapetra, Crete. According to the first estimate of the archaeologist curator of Lasithiou Prefecture Chrysa Sophianou, the sculpture depicts a Roman lady of around 3rd AD, it is incredibly beautiful and has great artistic value and might have decorated a mansion or a Roman tomb of that period.