19 AVRIL 2017 NEWS: Thornton Abbey - Hirbet Madras - Malaumkarta - Tiruvannamalai - Namur - Londres -
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ROYAUME UNI – 
Thornton Abbey - Archaeologists have uncovered the body of a medieval priest from an elaborate grave at Thornton Abbey near Ulceby. University of Sheffield archaeologists uncovered the rare find at the abbey, which was founded as a monastery in 1139 and went onto become one of the richest religious houses in England. The priest’s gravestone was discovered close to the altar of a former hospital chapel. Unusually for the period, it displayed an inscription of the deceased’s name, Richard de W’Peton and his date of death, 17 April 1317. The discovery was made by University of Sheffield PhD student Emma Hook, who found his skeletal remains surrounded by the decayed fragments of a wooden coffin. “After taking Richard’s skeleton back to the laboratory, despite poor preservation, we were able to establish Richard was around 35-45 years-old at the time of his death and that he had stood around 5ft 4ins tall,” she said. “Although he ended his days in the priesthood, there is also some suggestion that he might have had humbler origins in more worldly work; his bones show the marks of robust muscle attachments, indicating that strenuous physical labour had been a regular part of his life at some stage.“Nor had his childhood been easy; his teeth show distinctive lines known as dental enamel hypoplasia, indicating that his early years had been marked by a period of malnutrition or illness.” In order to further investigate Richard’s health, researchers in the Department of Archaeology produced a 3D scan of his skull. The model produced enables detailed features of the skull to be seen with much more ease than with the naked eye. This revealed a potentially violent episode in the priest’s past: a slight depression in the back of his skull shows evidence of an extremely well-healed blunt force trauma suffered many years before Richard’s death.
http://lincolnshiretoday.net/mag/medieval-priest-unearthed-thornton-abbey/
ISRAEL – 
Hirbet Madras - On a hilltop near Hirbet Madras in the Adullam Grove Nature Reserve lies an ancient Jewish pyramid. The rare pyramid is built of huge ashlar stones that were hewn in the vicinity. In ancient times it was easy to see the unique structure proudly overlooking the area from the top of the hill and today, the remains of the pyramid are hidden in vegetation. Archeologist Dr. Orit Peleg-Barkat of Hebrew University is studying the pyramid and describes the structure's size as rare and monumental. "The length of the base sides of the pyramid are 10 meters and the height is about 3 meters," said Dr. Peleg-Barkat. "The pyramid was built near a Jewish settlement from the time of the Second Temple and there is a high probability that it is a Jewish cemetery." While ancient peoples all over the world have built pyramids, what is the connection to Jews? According to archaeologist and Prof. Boaz Zissu of Bar-Ilan University, after the establishment of the empire of Alexander the Great, which conquered and unified the region geographically and culturally, Second Temple era Jews were influenced by the dominant Hellenistic culture. "Ancient Egyptian culture had an influence on the Hellenistic culture that ruled the Land of Israel, and Hellenistic culture in turn influenced the Jews living in its territory. The pyramid was built on the border between Jewish communities and Edomite communities and it is assumed that the Jews took the geometry of the pyramid rather than the religious ideas," said Prof. Zissu.In ancient Jewish sources, the monument above the burial cave is called "Nefesh," and it symbolizes the location of the cave. In Israel, there are other pyramids such as those in the Jerusalem area like the Tomb of Zechariah in the Kidron Valley. Despite the hypothesis that the structure is indeed a burial complex, Dr. Peleg-Barkat notes that the chances of the underground caves being excavated are low. This is due to an incident in the 1970s in which Ultra-Orthodox protestors destroyed findings they deemed "desecration of graves" of a previous Jewish burial ground.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4949880,00.html
PAPOUASIE - Malaumkarta - The Papua Center for Archaeology has discovered a prehistoric cave dwelling in the Malaumkarta Village, Makbon Sub-district, Sorong City, West Papua Province. "The local community named the cave as Kalabus Cave," Hari Suroto, an archaeologist of the Papua Center for Archaeology, stated during a telephonic conversation here on Sunday. Suroto said the cave is located 200 meters west of the Kalabu River. When it was discovered, the caves floor was covered by the droppings of swallows, while the mouth and yard of the cave were in dry condition. "Pottery and food remains, in the form of sea shells, were found on the floor of the caves mouth," he noted. Based on the artifacts discovered in the cave, it could be assessed that Kalabus Cave had served as a prehistoric dwelling, as the men who once inhabited the cave largely depended on natural resources in the vicinity. "The findings of food remains, in the form of sea shells, indicated that the men who once lived in the cave reached the coast in search of food," he revealed. The finding of pottery artifacts also indicated that food processing activities were more varied, which included boiling. "In addition, the pottery was used to store food or water," he noted.
INDE – 
Tiruvannamalai - An inscription, over 1,100 years old, was found at the Sri Arunachaleswarar temple in Tiruvannamalai. The inscription, according to archaeologists, is believed to be the second oldest found in the temple. The oldest inscription found in the temple dates back to 885 AD. It was recorded by the Archaeological department in 19th century, Raj Panneerselvam of the Foundation told TOI. This inscription dates back to 890 AD, he said, adding, "It was written during the 19th year of Aditya 1 Chola's (871 AD to 911 AD) reign. It is 1,125 years old. The archaeological department and temple administration should take necessary steps to preserve the inscription."
BELGIQUE – 
Namur - A Namur, les archéologues qui fouillent le chantier du Grognon utilisent un drone pour photographier et filmer chacune de leurs découvertes. Equipé d'une caméra ultra-performante, l'engin téléguidé permet d'enregistrer les données des scientifiques avec une précision et une facilité déconcertantes. Une méthode qui permet aussi de gagner un temps précieux dans un planning serré. Les nouvelles fouilles archéologiques du Grognon ont débuté cet hiver. En attendant les travaux de réaménagement du site, les archéologues remontent dans le passé en fouillant la terre par couches successives. Leur temps est compté, d'où l'intérêt du drone, explique Dominique Bosquet, archéologue: "Le drone nous permet de dresser le plan de ces vestiges de manière extrêmement précise est dans un temps record. Sinon, les techniques de relevé se font à la main avec des décamètres en dessinant sur du papier millimétré. Dans ce cas-ci, le drone prend une série de photos qui se recouvrent les unes les autres. Une fois mises dans un logiciel, elles permettent de reconstituer ce plan en coordonnées géographiques." Elise Delaunoy, archéologue au service public de Wallonie remarque que le drone fait non seulement des photos, mais donne aussi des indications sur les profondeurs. Et ainsi de faire, déjà des modèles en 3D.
ROYAUME UNI – 
Londres - The pathways of the “Peter Pan” gardens in front of Kensington Palace in London were designed to align with the rising sun during the summer and winter solstices, a researcher had found. The gardens in front of the palace, which encompass 265 acres (107 hectares) of land, gained literary fame in the early 20th century when author J.M. Barrie used the palace gardens in his short story "Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens," published as part of the book '"The Little White Bird" (Hodder & Stoughton, 1902). In the short story, Kensington Gardens is the home of Peter Pan, the boy who never grows up. In later tales, Peter Pan escapes to a place called Neverland. A statue of Peter Pan was erected in the gardens in 1912. "In the case of the Kensington Gardens, we [found] that one of the main avenues, radiating out from the circle around the pond, is oriented along the sunrise on the summer solstice," wrote Sparavigna in her paper. The gardens also have "another avenue [that] is oriented along the sunrise on the winter solstice." Sparavigna published a few diagrams that illustrate these solstice alignments.
http://www.livescience.com/58706-solstice-alignments-discovered-peter-pan-gardens.html