19 DECEMBRE 2017 NEWS: Cambridge - Chengcheng - Istanbul - Hamadan - Jersey - Le Mans -
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ROYAUME UNI – 
Cambridge - Relics from a coffee shop described as an “18th century Starbucks” have been discovered in a disused cellar at Cambridge University. Clapham’s operated in the mid-to-late 1700s on a site that is now owned by St John’s College, and the discovery of more than 500 artefacts has shed light on what it was like. The 500 artefacts include drinking vessels for tea, coffee and chocolate, serving dishes, clay pipes, animal and fish bones, and an impressive haul of 38 teapots. Researchers said customers undoubtedly drank coffee, but ale, wine and food ranging from pastry-based snacks to substantial meals involving meat and seafood were also available. The discovery of 18 jelly glasses, alongside a quantity of feet bones from immature cattle, led researchers to conclude that calf’s foot jelly, a popular dish of that era, might well have been a house speciality. Clapham’s was owned by a couple, William and Jane Clapham, who ran it from the 1740s until the 1770s. It was popular with students and townspeople alike. Researchers believe that the cellar where the artefacts were found was filled with items towards the end of the 1770s, when Jane, by then a widow, retired and her business changed hands.
CHINE - Chengcheng - A batch of 2,700-year-old cultural relics have been discovered by Chinese archaeologists in northwest Chinas Shaanxi Province. Kilns, tiles and a 500-meter ancient wall, along with a total of 19 tombs were found during the excavation of a historical site in Chengcheng County, according to Sun Zhanwei, researcher at the Shaanxi Provincial Institute of Archaeology. Scores of finely-carved funerary objects, including weapons, jade and stoneware were unearthed, which were confirmed to date back to the Spring and Autumn period (770- 476 BC), state-run Xinhua news agency reported today. Archaeologists believe the site, covering an area of over 100,000 square meters, belonged to an aristocrat.
TURQUIE – 
Istanbul - The metro excavation site located in Istanbul's Beşiktaş district, where 3,500-year-old cairn-type sepulchers were discovered, is most likely home to an ancient settlement, the head of Istanbul's Archaeological Museums said Monday. Excavation teams had discovered 35 ancient "kurgan-type" graves during construction works as part of an extension to Istanbul's metro line. Kurgans are a type of burial place usually characterized by earth and stones heaped over a burial chamber. They were characteristic of Bronze Age peoples, and have been found from the Altai Mountains to the Caucasus, Ukraine, Romania and Bulgaria. Kurgans were used in the Ukrainian and Russian steppes, and their use spread with migration into eastern, central, and northern Europe in the 3rd millennium B.Cs Aerial footage of the area shows that teams are simultaneously carrying out excavations for the metro on the one side and archaeological work on the area where the tombs were discovered. Istanbul Archaeology Museum Director Zeynep Kızıltan told Ihlas News Agency that they believe there had been a settlement near the tombs but they are still trying to figure out the exact location. She noted that they will continue excavations in an area covering about 1,000 meters. The cairn-type sepulchers date back to the Early Bronze Age, she said, adding that the discovery was groundbreaking as artifacts preceding the Byzantine Empire hadn't been found near Beşiktaş before.
IRAN – 
Hamadan - Archaeologists have discovered the remnants of the body of a 10-year-old child dating back to 2,800 years ago in the central province of Hamadan. Head of the Archaeological Excavation Department of Hamadan Province Mohammad Sha’bani said this is the oldest body unearthed in the province. “The body belongs to a 10-year-old child,” he was quoted as saying in a Farsi report by IRNA. According to Sha’bani, archaeologists have also unearthed another corpse, and will continue investigating into the new discovery. “The newly discovered bodies lack any historical belongings,” Sha’bani said, adding during their search operations, the archaeologists have uncovered a column base dating back to an ancient age – possibly Seleucid era – and an oil crack. Hamadan has been home to one of the oldest civilisations in the world. The remains of an ancient city were unearthed by archaeologists in Hamadan province about five months ago. The series of underground subterranean tunnels dating back more than 2,000 years were discovered near Samen. The tunnels connect 25 rooms that served as houses around the time Jesus Christ would have lived. Back in October, Iranian archaeologists started investigating two ancient skeletons of a man and a woman discovered in Hamadan. The skeletons were discovered while municipality workers were working on a project to renew water networks. During the digging process, they found two stone boxes similar to coffins.
http://ifpnews.com/exclusive/remnants-ancient-human-unearthed-central-iran/
ROYAUME UNI – 
Jersey – A rare spiral ring dating back to the Iron Age has been found by a metal detectorist in a field in St Martin. The Société Jersiaise’s Archaeology Section have now dated it to between 200 BC and 200 AD. Rosalind Le Quesne, assistant archaeologist at the Société, said that despite its chunky appearance they believe it was made for a woman because of its narrow circumference. It is the first time such a ring has been found in Jersey. A small number have been found in England.
https://jerseyeveningpost.com/news/2017/12/17/rare-iron-age-ring-uncovered/
FRANCE – 
Le Mans - Le chantier de fouilles des jardins de la cathédrale est considéré comme l’un des plus importants actuellement menés en France. Situé en plein cœur de la ville, dans un secteur au passé chargé, il ne cesse de livrer de nouvelles informations aux archéologues de l’Inrap qui l’explorent. Ceux-ci viennent d’identifier les vestiges d’une chapelle dépendant du palais de l’évêque (rasé au XIXe siècle) jusqu’à présent totalement inconnue. Si, sur le terrain, la découverte n’est pas extrêmement spectaculaire, elle vient enrichir la connaissance d’un site complexe qui retrouve peu à peu la mémoire. Autre élément d’importance : un site d’inhumation commence à se dessiner au pied de la tour d’angle romaine qui a probablement, à un moment de son histoire, servi de chapelle. La grande majorité des squelettes retrouvés sur le site l’ont été dans ce secteur. Certains datent du haut Moyen Âge mais tous ne sont pas de la même époque. Plusieurs générations sont représentées.