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INDE – Idaiyamadam - A ninth century Jain temple with sculptures and carved stone image of ‘Parshavanath’ has been discovered at Idaiyamadam in SP Pattinam, near Thondi, by the Ramanathapuram Archaeological and Historical Conservation Centre . It was found in a forest of ‘kaattu karuvai’ trees during a routine field visit. The temple has three composite parts – a sanctum sanctorum, mandapam and a flag post, all in ruins, said Mr. Rajaguru, a teacher at the SSAM Government Higher Secondary School, Thiruvadanai. The sculptures and the ‘Parshavanath’ image indicated that it was a ninth century structure. The Parshvanath carved out on stone on the wall with 27 cm by 17 cm frame was similar to one found in Pechipallam, near Keelakuyilkudi. This pointed to the temple possibly dating back to the ninth century, he says. Last year, Mr. Rajaguru and his team reported discovering ‘Sati temples’ in the district, which could have been built to worship women who committed ‘sati’ (self immolation) after the death of their husbands. Local people told Mr. Rajaguru’s team that they had seen an idol (Thirtankara) in the sanctum sanctorum of the 9th century temple, and that it had gone missing four years ago. The sanctum has a flat roof with no ‘vimana’, resembling the Pandya style of architecture. There was an image of Sidda Chakra, sculpted on the outside wall. Large images of fish and crab, carved opposite each other in the Mandapam indicated that the temple could have been dedicated to the fishing community. There are three small and six big images in the inner wall of the sanctum and the temple, which could have been built by the 18th Tirthankara Aranath during Pandya rule, he said. A few metres away from the temple, there are pillars in which two people are seen in a worshipping posture, umbrellas over their heads. These, Mr. Rajaguru said, possibly represent those who constructed the temple.
http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tamil-nadu/amateur-archaeologists-find-9th-century-jain-temple/article8867900.ece
USA – Aztalan - Now that the artifacts have been unearthed, the next phase of work — analyzing and trying to decipher what they mean — is under way.,In many respects, an archaeological dig at Aztalan State Park is the easy part; the analysis is much more difficult and far more time consuming. Schroeder said she had expected the latest dig to finish when the summer field study of one of the site’s residential area 1,000 years ago was scheduled to end, but the archaeological team stayed well into the next week due to some unexpected finds. “I thought we were on track to end this year’s project when we said it would, but we discovered a complex series of things at this site,” said Schroeder. “We found a mix of items layered in the soil that appears to confirm the growing hypothesis that Woodland and Mississippian cultures lived together at the site.” She added that the project also made several other discoveries at the site of the ancient city. “It clearly shows that the (fortified) walls didn’t segregate the site as we first expected and that the walls didn’t exist all at the time,” stated Schroeder. “By identifying uses of the site outside the walls, we’re finding new areas that were residential areas, and that, in turn, will force a re-evaluation of the site’s population estimates.” The current population estimates a range from 300 to 1,000 inhabitants. The fieldwork at Aztalan only is a part of UW-Madison’s current research project. Archaeologists currently use ground-penetrating radar to discover anomalies in the soil and this technique has been used successfully at Aztalan and other archaeological sites. Ancient Aztalan and its ruins were discovered by Timothy Johnson in 1835. Research of the Mississippian Culture town began in earnest in 1850 when Increase Lapham surveyed the site on behalf of the Smithsonian Institution.
http://www.dailyunion.com/news/article_e5cd3d90-4cf4-11e6-99c2-3725c4425e53.html
ROYAUME UNI – Tintagel - Cornish archaeologists are hoping to unearth the secrets of Tintagel Castle .A team from Cornwall Archaeological Unit (CAU), part of Cornwall Council, will be carrying out a new project over the summer to find out more about the historic site. The first phase of excavations, which will take place between 18th July and 2nd August, includes digging trenches in two previously unexcavated terrace areas of the island settlement. It is hoped research into these carefully chosen areas will reveal more about how the people of Tintagel lived in the Post-Roman period from 5th to 6th centuries AD. The terraces include buildings believed to date from this time. Geophysical surveys of the terraces earlier in the year have detected the walls and layers of these buried buildings, and have suggested variation in their size. The team hope the excavations will provide evidence for how and when the buildings were built, as well as what they may have been used for. Tintagel is one of Europe's most important archaeological sites. Previous excavations have uncovered thousands of pieces of pottery at Tintagel - with the vast majority dating from the 5th to 7th centuries and imported from the Mediterranean. The upcoming excavations may well add to this impressive collection, as the team of archaeologists will keep their trowels poised for pieces of pottery, stonework, and fragments of glass. The project will use cutting edge scientific techniques to delve deeper into Tintagel's past. Once the trenches are dug, samples of soil, ceramics, glass, iron, bone and molluscs will be collected and sent for analysis, and tiny samples of carbon will be used for accurate radiocarbon dating.
http://www.piratefm.co.uk/news/latest-news/2040048/archaeologists-hope-to-uncover-secrets-at-tintagel/
USA – Cherokee - An archaeological dig is underway where Cherokee's old elementary school used to stand. Before anything new can be built there, crews are working to uncover Cherokee artifacts and maybe even the remains of Cherokee people who lived there many years ago. So far, some house structures and posts are flagged. More will be identified as workers dig down deeper into the dirt. That's important "To educate not only Cherokee people, but people at large in the community," Brian Burgess, a tribal archaeologist, said. Artifacts collected will eventually be placed in a future storage facility to be built on the reservation. Work will continue through the summer.
http://wlos.com/news/local/archaeologists-dig-around-cherokees-old-elementary-school