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CHINE – Zhengzhou - Archaeologists have unearthed a pyramid-shaped tomb under a construction site in central China, Daily Mail UK reports Residents are amazed after the unusual ancient burial site was discovered in Zhengzhou, Henan Province, with one calling it 'magical'. Further analysis is yet to be carried out to identify how old the tomb is, who the owner was and why it was built in this particular shape. The tomb was found near a motorway situated about 3,300 feet (1,000 metres) west of the Sinian Grove by the Yellow River, according to Huanqiu.com, an affiliation to People's Daily Online. The area used to be a village, but the it has apparently moved away to make way for a new residential compound. The pyramid-shaped tomb is one of the two tombs found inside a coffin chamber by staff from the Zhengzhou Cultural Relics Bureau. The other tomb is shaped like a half cylinder. The chamber, which is 98 feet (30 meters) long and 26 feet (eight meters) wide, was built in a west-east position with the entrance facing the east. It features a narrow aisle leading to a main dome next to the pyramid-shaped tomb. While the public are stunned by China's very own 'mini pyramid', experts said it's not uncommon to see circular-shaped tombs with a pointed roof in the region. According to Henan Cultural Relic Bureau, such tombs appeared after the Han Dynasty (206 BC-220 AD) and were often built with bricks.
http://www.gistreporter.co/2017/03/mystery-of-pyramid-of-china-see-strange.html
VIDEO - http://www.dailymail.co.uk/video/sciencetech/video-1429139/Archaeologists-discover-unusually-shaped-tombs-Chinese-village.html
USA – Philadelphia - Archaeologists racing to excavate what had been thought to be hundreds of bodies from an old cemetery unearthed during an Arch Street development project brought their effort to a successful conclusion Monday night, hours before freezing rain and snow pummeled the city. The team of forensic archaeologists and anthropologists working between Second and Third Streets, site of the old First Baptist Church burial ground, extracted about 70 coffins and more than 100 bodies, they said. In many places, coffins were stacked three and four deep below ground, the archaeologists said, originally leading to fears that as many as 300 coffins might have been overlooked in 1860 when the graveyard was moved to Mount Moriah Cemetery. But not all areas of the orphaned burial ground turned out to be so densely packed. “The excavation is just the tip of the iceberg,” said Anna Dhody, curator of the Mütter Museum and director of the Mütter Institute, who has been a leader on the archaeological dig. The old burial ground dates from about 1707, making it one of the first established in Philadelphia.
http://www.philly.com/philly/news/Archaeologists-beat-the-clock-and-the-storm-recovering-all-First-Baptist-coffins-.html
ROYAUME UNI – Kildavie - The Field School will consist of 2 weeks excavation at the abandoned settlement of Kildavie, possibly dating back to the Early Medieval period. The settlement was inhabited until the 18th century before being abandoned, with many villagers leaving Scotland for North America. Previous investigations have identified at least sixteen structures ranging from domestic dwellings to possible sites of cottage industry. The excavation aims to investigate the origins of the site, and to determine the function/use of the buildings.
https://www.archaeology.co.uk/digging/fieldwork/kildavie-excavation-2017.htm
ROYAUME UNI – Bamburgh - Bamburgh Castle has been occupied since at least the Iron Age and was one of the principal royal palaces of the early medieval kings of Northumbria. BRP has been undertaking excavation in the West Ward of the castle since 2000 and are currently exploring 8th century deposits associated with high status metal-working. We believe we are in the heart of a production site of arms and armour for the royal court and will be opening a new horizon this summer that promises more exciting finds. Bradford Kaims is located approximately 5 km west of Bamburgh. These excavations are focused upon a prehistoric lake system and have revealed a fascinating and diverse set of discoveries from Mesolithic to Bronze Age date. We are investigating this landscape using topographic survey, coring, test-pitting and open-area excavation. This year we are further investigating a burnt mound in Trench 6, which has proved in fact to be a complicated series of mounds, rather than a single event, and in our second area of excavation, work are continuing to investigate the area of a second burnt mound in Trench 9, also Neolithic in date, which shows signs of being associated with a sweat-lodge type structure.
https://www.archaeology.co.uk/digging/fieldwork/bamburgh-castle-and-bradford-kaims-excavations.htm
INDE – Samchana - Barely a fortnight after a 3,500-year-old skeleton was found buried in sand dunes at Samchana village in Rohtak district, several artefacts of the Harappan era have been recovered from the same village. The articles, including pottery items, terracotta cakes, bangles, beads and mushtikas, faience beads and bangles, jasper beads, agate beads and steatite beads were found in a surface exploration exercise carried out by a group of historian-archaeologists and researchers. “The items found from a mound at Samchana village during the exploration belong to the early, mature and late Harappan periods. We also found some articles of the early medieval era, including miniature pots, shell-beads, bangles, terracotta beads, stone balls, crystal beads and a small stone sculpture during the exercise,” said Prof Amar Singh, Education Consultant with the Department of History and Archaeology at Central University of Haryana, who led the research team.
http://www.tribuneindia.com/news/haryana/now-harappan-era-articles-found-in-rohtak-village/376969.html
FRANCE – Nantes - Nantes Métropole a décidé de réaménager les abords de l’église Saint-Nicolas. Des sondages effectués en 2015 avaient révélé le riche passé du site, habité depuis le Moyen-âge au moins. Des fouilles d’archéologie préventive ont donc été entreprises à l’occasion des travaux sur l’ensemble de la zone concernée, place Félix-Fournier et rue Affre. L’église Saint-Nicolas actuelle, typique du style néo-gothique, a été construite dans la deuxième moitié du 19e siècle. Elle occupe l’emplacement d’une église médiévale plus petite construite au 15e siècle (ou peut-être dès le 13e siècle). À la fin du Moyen-âge, ce quartier proche du port de Nantes était très animé, peuplé pour une part d’Espagnols et d’Irlandais attirés par la prospérité de la ville. Hélas, les fouilles actuelles ne permettront pas d’en savoir beaucoup plus sur cette époque : comme les travaux en cours ne sont destinés qu’à refaire la chaussée, les pelleteuses ne creusent pas très profond – sauf étroites exceptions pour le passage des réseaux. L’excavation a néanmoins fait apparaître le sol de plusieurs maisons autour d’une cour centrale équipée d’une latrine commune. On repère une cheminée, des pavements, un puits, des escaliers menant aux caves…
http://www.breizh-info.com/2017/03/12/64425/archeologie-a-nantes-fouilles-devant-saint-nicolas