18 OCTOBRE 2017 NEWS: Harrat Khaybar - Ottawa - Suède - Southwark - Atalaya - Phaselis -
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ARABIE SAOUDITE – 
Harrat Khaybar - Almost 400 mysterious stone structures dating back thousands of years have been discovered in Saudi Arabia, with a few of these wall-like formations draping across old lava domes, archaeologists report. Many of the stone walls, which archaeologists call "gates" because they resemble field gates from above, were found in clusters in a region in west-central Saudi Arabia called Harrat Khaybar. The archaeologists involved in the research aren't sure of the purpose, or even the exact age, of these gates. The gates "are stone-built, the walls roughly made and low," David Kennedy, a professor at the University of Western Australia, wrote in a paper set to be published in the November issue of the journal Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy. The gates "appear to be the oldest man-made structures in the landscape," Kennedy noted, adding that "no obvious explanation of their purpose can be discerned." The smallest of the gates extends about 43 feet (13 meters), while the longest is 1,699 feet (518 m) long, or longer than an NFL football field. Many have multiple stone walls that, in some instances, form a rectangular design; some of the others, called "I" type gates, have only one stone wall with heaps of stone at each end. The kites, wheels and other types of stone structures were typically found to be built on top of these gate-like walls, suggesting that the gates predate these stone structures, Kennedy said. The remains of lava flows are also sometimes found on top of the gates, indicating that the gates are also older than some of the flows, Kennedy said.
https://www.livescience.com/60698-mysterious-stone-structures-discovered-saudi-arabia.html
CANADA – Ottawa - A scuba diver amateur discovered in a lake to the Ottawa river in a dugout of a high archaeological value is exceptional for the history of Canada. For the archaeologist Roland Tremblay, who is studying the object, it is ” an exceptional discovery “.It is a dugout canoe similar to that found in the lake Gour in 1986, which dates from the 15th century, that is to say, the period of contact between First Nations and the Europeans. The discoveries of canoes are very rare. There are only 11 in Quebec, and the one that discovered Mr. Caubel is the only one that has not been moved, so that remains in their archaeological context, explains Caroline Nantel, director general of the Musée québécois d’archéologie Pointe-du-Buisson.
https://sivertimes.com/archaeological-discovery-exceptional-under-water/74659
SUEDE – 
- An expert has disputed claims that Allah's name was embroidered into ancient Viking burial clothes - a discovery hailed as "staggering" when Swedish researchers announced their findings last week. After reexamining the cloth, archaeologist Annika Larsson of Uppsala University claimed the silk patterns which were originally thought to be ordinary Viking Age decoration, showed a geometric Kufic script. Media around the world including reported on the finding, but now a leading expert in mediaeval Islamic art and archaeology has disputed the claim and said the inscription contains "no Arabic at all." Stephennie Mulder, a professor from the University of Texas in Austin, said the error stems from a "serious problem of dating". She claims Kufic script did not occur until 500 years after the Viking age. "It’s a style called square Kufic, and it’s common in Iran, C. Asia on architecture after 15th century,". She said even if Kufic script did exist, the inscription embroidered into the textile still does not mean anything in Arabic.
ROYAUME UNI – 
Southwark - Archaeologists working in Southwark have uncovered a late Roman sarcophagus, whose contents are soon to be examined at the Museum of London’s archive. The excavation was carried out at Harper Road by Pre-Construct Archaeology (working on behalf of the archaeological consultancy CGMS, for Galliard Homes), in an area known as the Southern Cemetery. Lying south of the River Thames, on the opposite bank to the city of Londinium, this was a stretch of land just outside Roman Southwark, scattered with roadside burials and mausolea. The team’s discoveries here were initially associated more with the living than the dead, as they uncovered the surface of a significant Roman road running north-south through the site. This route had evidently been in use for some time, as the substantial ditches bordering it had been recut on multiple occasions. Its discovery – lying to the west of where the road through Southwark is thought to have run – is one of the most exciting aspects of the project, said Project Manager Tim Bradley of Pre-Construct Archaeology. This burial lay on the western side of the newly-discovered road, apparently associated with and cutting into a substantial Roman chalk wall, thought to be part of an earlier mausoleum. The stone coffin was quite plain, marked only by the chisels used in its construction, and measured almost 2.5m in length. Stylistically, it may be 3rd or 4th century in date, but later disturbance has taken out the surrounding soil layers that would normally be used to ascertain its age. The grave had been robbed, probably in the 18th century, leaving a great trench beside the sarcophagus and a crack in its lid from when the covering had been pried off. So far, the team do not know to what extent the coffin’s contents have been rifled, but the sarcophagus has now been taken to the Museum of London (via a crane and a truck; it weighs 2.5 tonnes) for careful examination by their conservators.
https://www.archaeology.co.uk/articles/roman-sarcophagus-found-southwark.htm
ESPAGNE – 
Atalaya - Treasure in the form of ancient Roman gold and silver coins has been found at a mining site in Huelva, southern Spain. The discovery is of “incalculable value and a milestone in the archaeology of this mining area,” according to the archaeologists from Atalaya Mining, the company operating the mining area where the coins were found. The discovery contains approximately 40 to 50 silver and gold coins dating to the late first century and early second century A.D., from the era of Roman emperors Nero, Trajan and Vespasian. Luis Iglesias, director of archaeology at Atalaya Mining, and Juan Aurelio Pérez Macías, professor at the University of Huelva, led the archaeological efforts at the site. The mining area has been “exploited since time immemorial and ... had a great splendor in Roman times,” according to a translation of the Spanish statement from the company.
https://www.coinworld.com/news/world-coins/2017/10/ancient-roman-coins-found-at-spanish-mining-site.all.html#
TURQUIE – 
Phaselis - Almost two meters of the ancient city of Phaselis have submerged in 2,000 years, indicated by studies carried out by geologists and geomorphologists in the area, Turkish archaeologists announced. Professor Murat Arslan speaking to local newspaper Hurriyet says that the submerging is a natural phenomenon. “The African continent puts pressure on the Asian plate. In some areas, it’s three-centimeters per year and in other areas, nine centimeters. Plate movements in the Mediterranean basin cause that area to collapse in some areas. As a result of the studies carried out by geologists and geomorphologists, we have identified that almost two meters of Phaselis have submerged over 2,000 years,” he noted. Phaselis, located in the southern province of Antalya’s Kemer district, was important for trade in ancient times as it had three ports. It is easy to see the wealth of the ancient city in the agoras, trade centers, bath houses and temples, expressed by ancient era writers throughout the Classic and Hellenistic periods and Roman history. The town was constructed by the Rhodians in 700 BC. Because of its location on an isthmus separating two harbours, it became the most important harbour city of eastern Lycia and an important centre of commerce between Greece, Asia, Egypt, and Phoenicia, although it did not belong to the Lycian League. It was captured by Persians after they conquered Asia Minor, and was later captured by Alexander the Great. After the death of Alexander, the city stayed in Egyptian hands from 209 BC to 197 BC, under the dynasty of Ptolemaios, and with the conclusion of the Apamea treaty, was handed over to the Kingdom of Rhodes, together with the other cities of Lycia. From 190 BC to 160 BC it remained under Rhodeian hegemony, but after 160 BC it was absorbed into the Lycian confederacy under Roman rule. Phaselis, like Olympos, was under constant threat from pirates during the 1st century BC, and the city was even taken over by the pirate Zekenites for a period until his defeat by the Romans. In 42 BC Brutus had the city linked to Rome while in the 3rd century AD, the harbor fell under the threat of pirates once again. Gradually it began to lose importance, suffering further losses at the hands of Arab ships, until it became totally impoverished in the 11th century.