18 AOÛT 2017 NEWS: Umm Qais - Kythira - Voden - Caithness - Domuztepe - Arles - Meunet Planches -
INSTITUT SUPERIEUR D'ANTHROPOLOGIE
INSTITUTE OF ANTHROPOLOGY
ONLINE COURSES / COURS A DISTANCE
FALL TERM : OCTOBER 2017
REGISTER NOW
JORDANIE – 
Umm Qais - A “first-of-its-kind” Hellenistic temple in the Levant region has been discovered in Umm Qais, an archaeologist said on Monday. An archaeological excavation team from Yarmouk University has recently discovered a Hellenistic temple and network of water tunnels, Atef Sheyyab, president of the archaeology department at the university told the Jordan Times. The temple dates from the Hellenistic era (332 BC to 63 BC) and was later reused during the Roman, Byzantine and Islamic eras, Sheyyab said. The temple, built following the Greek architectural design of “Distyle in Antis”, consists of a pronaos (the inner area of the portico of a Greek or Roman temple), a podium and a naos, the holy chamber of the temple, he explained. At the temple, the team has found a number of Ionic-order columns that once supported the structure’s roof, Sheyyab added. The team has taken pottery samples to examine in order to identify the exact date of the temple. The experts will also use them to prepare a blueprint showing the temple’s layout at the time, according to Sheyab. The team has also discovered a network of water tunnels at the centre of the ancient town, which are separated from the external tunnel that was discovered decades ago in the area, the professor said. The network consists of a number of Hellenistic wells and Roman tunnels, he noted, adding that the tunnels lead to a hot bath inside the town. In addition to Jerash and Amman, Gadara (now Umm Qais) and Pella (Tabaqit Fahl) were once Decapolis cities — a league of 10 ancient Greek cities in eastern Palestine that was formed after the Roman conquest of Palestine in 63 BC which also included Philadelphia (modern Amman) and Damascus, according to Encyclopaedia Britannica — and each has particularities. Perched on a scenic hilltop overlooking the Jordan Valley and the Sea of Galilee, Umm Qais, some 125km north of Amman, boasts impressive ancient remains, such as the black basalt theatre, the basilica and adjacent courtyard strewn with intricately carved black sarcophagi. Other remains include the colonnaded main street and a side street lined with shops, an underground mausoleum, two baths, a nymphaeum (fountain), a city gate and the faint outlines of what used to be a massive hippodrome (stadium for chariot races), according to the Jordan Tourism Board website.
http://www.jordantimes.com/news/local/first-its-kind%E2%80%99-hellenistic-temple-discovered-umm-qais
GRECE – 
Kythira - Chess pawns, combs and a toothbrush are some of the new findings brought to light by the underwater excavation of the wreck of the ship “Mentor” that sank off the island of Kythira in 1802. The excavation that continues for the fifth year by the Greek Ephorate of Old Antiquities, was conducted from July 8 to 27. Among other findings are pieces of furniture, coins and other personal possessions of the crew. Also pieces of a pulley, ropes and other metal objects from one of the ship’s masts. The ship, which was carrying antiquities plundered from the Parthenon by British diplomat Lord Elgin, was bound for England via Malta but sank at the entrance of the port of Avlemona southwest Kythera. In earlier excavations several objects were recovered from those that the 10 male crew would have used, including different types of cookware, glass, ceramic and porcelain, bottles, decorative items, which were apparently at the officers’ accommodation, coins of the period, two weapons like pistols, the decoration of a butt shot, bullets of different calibers three, stone lighters for arms, a small cannon shell, and navigation equipment, a small compass hand with gold chain and a compass on board. Among the most significant items recovered were two ancient silver coins and a bronze coin, discovered between the ballast stones. The results of this research are particularly interesting and encouraging, because this ship was intrinsically linked with the Parthenon sculptures removed by Lord Elgin’s team in Athens, and the objects recovered from the wreck are indicators of the welfare of seafarer merchant ships in a turbulent historical period of the Eastern Mediterranean.
http://greece.greekreporter.com/2017/08/15/items-recovered-from-wreck-of-elgins-ship-off-kythira/
BULGARIE - 
Voden - The archaeological excavations at the Voden fortress in Asenovgrad continue, archaeologist Dr Zdravka Korkutova told FOCUS Radio – Plovdiv. A clearer picture of the results can be expected in a few days. The finds so far indicate that the fortress was permanently populated from Late Antiquity until the 14th century. Archaeologists have found an arrow, two decorative metal plates and fine ceramics from the Early Byzantine and Medieval Ages. The excavations began on August 1 and will continue until the end of the month.
ROYAUME UNI – 
Caithness - Brochs, circular stone towers dating from the Iron Age, were constructed to provide shelter in both times of war and peace. The impressive structures comprised a double wall of stone, thicker towards the base and tied with cross slabs at various heights to provide stability as well as internal galleries. Now researchers and archaeologists have teamed up to begin the first phase of the Caithness Broch Festival, a year-long programme of heritage projects for 2017 and 2018. There are more broch sites in Caithness than anywhere else in Scotland but there have been few recent explorations of stone towers in the county. The community project began this week at Bruan Broch, near Lybster, and continues at Thing’s Va Broch, near Thurso, on August 17 and 18.
TURQUIE – 
Domuztepe - Excavations in the Domuztepe Mound in the southern province of Kahramanmaraş, considered to be the biggest settlement in the era since the usage of the term “Near East,” have unearthed vessels depicting “tree of life” motifs. The mound is located close to the Kelibişler neighborhood in the Pazarcık district. Led by Hacettepe University Archaeology Department academic Dr. Halil Tekin the excavations started in 2013. Speaking to Anadolu Agency, Tekin said the most interesting thing about the potteries found in the Domuztepe Mound is that they have a tree motif, known as the “tree of life” in ancient Near East archaeology, with cumulative motifs. “The origin of this tree, which has become used as a Christmas tree in the Christian world throughout time, is here, namely in Mesopotamia. The earliest known example of it is in Domuztepe,” Tekin said, in regards to the importance of the tree of life motifs. He said they had seen figures of pine trees on some vases and potteries in Domuztepe and that it is very interesting and important “since it is not an ordinary tree. It is related to a faith system, a burial tradition,” he added. Tekin said they would have more detailed information about it in the coming days which would be announced.“We are talking about the period of the 7000s B.C. They are very ancient times. The oldest known example of this tree’s culture or belief system is in Domuztepe. We believe it expanded from Domuztepe in various ways. The oldest example is here. It expanded to the south, to Basra and then became the most important factor in Sumerian civilization. There is also a similar tree in the Acadians, which is known as the ‘eya tree’ in Hittite documents in the 3000s B.C. The pine tree symbolizes life because it is a tree that never dies. The one we have found here is a tree with thorny leaves. This is why we believe it is a symbol of life,” Tekin said.According to Tekin’s research relating to the Christian world, there is no trace of this tree before 1504.
FRANCE – 
Arles - Il y a d'abord eu cet enduit mural de chaux d'un rouge intense se dégageant sous le pinceau des archéologues, puis cet oeil maquillé d'une rare expression, et, enfin, une fresque entière... Mis au jour en 2014 sur le site de la Verrerie à Arles, ce trésor pictural de l'ancienne colonie romaine apparaît aux yeux des spécialistes, tels que le conservateur régional de l'archéologie Xavier Delestre, comme une découverte scientifique majeure, qui plus est dans un quartier insoupçonné désormais assimilé au Beverly Hills de l'antique Arelate. Des décors semblables à ceux qui ont été exhumés là sont visibles dans la Villa des Mystères, à Pompéi, et dans moins d'une douzaine de sites en Italie. Mais rien de tel en France, excepté quelques fragments découverts à Narbonne. Le site a été fouillé pour la première fois en 1983. Il avait alors révélé de somptueuses mosaïques, notamment celles d'Aïon et de Méduse exposées depuis au musée départemental de l'Arles antique. La seconde campagne de fouilles conduite par le service archéologie du musée, a démarré en avril 2015 après qu'un nettoyage eut révélé la présence d'un ensemble de « domi » de standing sur cette rive droite du Rhône, quand la ville tirait les fruits de son soutien à César dans sa guerre contre Pompée. Le décor comprend des colonnes peintes imitant le marbre, entre lesquelles sont représentés onze personnages. On devine ici les sabots d'un dieu Pan, là un cortège satyrique de Bacchus et un torse féminin, là encore une joueuse de harpe au visage éclatant de beauté. La musicienne est peinte sur un fond vermillon, un pigment tiré de minerais du sud de l'Espagne réservé alors aux plus riches. Elle pare un mur de 1,20 mètre, resté droit pendant deux mille ans, dans ce qui était probablement une chambre à coucher. En la découvrant, Julien Boislève, expert en peintures murales antiques, « toichographologue » à l'Institut national de recherches archéologiques préventives, s'est dit « stupéfait » devant ce rarissime décor du deuxième style pompéien, daté, en Gaule, entre 70 et 120 avant J.-C. On est là au summum de l'opulence, au coeur de la demeure d'un personnage important, issu de l'élite dirigeante de la cité, qui a fait exécuter ces peintures « mégalographiques » (à l'échelle trois quarts) par un atelier d'artistes talentueux venus spécialement d'Italie. L'ensemble des fresques a été déposé et mis en caisse. « Voici venu le temps de l'exploitation des données », s'impatiente Julien Boislève. Il va d'abord falloir brosser et laver un à un des milliers de fragments de mortier, puis reconstituer le puzzle et le restaurer pour le présenter au public. Près de 600 caisses de prélèvements ont été remplies et 400 de plus le seront une fois la campagne de fouilles achevée dans un an. « Nous en avons pour dix ans de travail », souligne le chercheur.
FRANCE – 
Meunet-Planches - La réalité est tout autre pour Nadine Dieudonné-Glad, professeur d'archéologie antique à l'Université de Poitiers, et les cinq étudiants qui l'accompagnent, sur le chantier de fouilles de Meunet-Planches. Là, au milieu d'un champ, entre des tas de terre et deux averses, Alice Grelier, Héléna Haderer, Solène Lacroix, Djimet Guemona et Théo Blanchet se relaient, tous les jours, de 8 h à 18 h, pour examiner d'anciens fours gaulois figés à 30 cm de profondeur, dans le sol calcaire, sous l'argile et le chaume. La dernière découverte du site du lieu-dit « Les Iles », bien connu des archéologues locaux depuis des dizaines d'années, et qui n'en finit pas de révéler les secrets des Bituriges, le peuple gaulois qui occupait le Berry dans l'Antiquité, connu pour son habilité à travailler le fer. « En me baladant dans les alentours de la ferme de la fin de l'époque gauloise (IIe et Ier siècles avant J.C.) mise à jour par Olivier Buchsenschutz, j'ai découvert des scories de métal aggloméré qui laissaient penser qu'on pourrait trouver d'autres traces d'activité dans le secteur, raconte Nadine Dieudonné-Glad. La prospection magnétique à laquelle nous avons ensuite procédé a en effet permis d'identifier des anomalies qui correspondaient à l'emplacement de dix fours bien plus anciens, datant du VIe, Vesiècle avant notre ère. » Arrivés sur place le 31 juillet, la professeur et les cinq étudiants ont entamé une véritable course contre la montre autour de ces pierres noirâtres : « Nous avons quatre semaines pour découvrir un maximum d'éléments, en sachant qu'il nous a déjà fallus une semaine entière rien que pour nettoyer et préparer le site ! »
Les fouilles à proprement parler ont ainsi commencé lundi dernier.