19 JUIN 2017 NEWS: Harlaa - Moscou - Cannon Beach - Jerusalem - Tiscapa -

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ETHIOPIE –  Harlaa - A forgotten city thought to date back as far as the 10th century AD has been uncovered by a team of archaeologists in eastern Ethiopia. The archaeologists also uncovered a 12th Century mosque which is similar to those found in Tanzania and Somaliland. "This discovery revolutionises our understanding of trade in an archaeologically neglected part of Ethiopia. What we have found shows this area was the centre of trade in that region," lead archaeologist Professor Timothy Insoll from the University of Exeter said. The team also found jewellery and other artefacts from Madagascar, the Maldives, Yemen and China. Harlaa was a "rich, cosmopolitan" centre for jewellery making, Prof Insoll said. "Residents of Harlaa were a mixed community of foreigners and local people who traded with others in the Red Sea, Indian Ocean and possibly as far away as the Arabian Gulf," he said. A statement from the team says the remains of some of the 300 people buried in the cemetery are being analysed to find out what their diet consisted of. Further excavations are expected to be conducted next year. Coptic Christianity was introduced from Egypt and was adopted as the religion of the Kingdom of Aksum in 333 AD. The Ethiopian church maintains that the Old Testament figure of the Queen of Sheba travelled from Aksum in northern Ethiopia to visit King Solomon in Jerusalem. Islam arrived in Ethiopia in the 7th Century as early Muslim disciples fled persecution in Mecca. The main seat of Islamic learning in Ethiopia was Harar, which is located near Harlaa. Harar is said to be among the holiest Islamic cities and has 82 mosques, including three dating from the 10th Century, and 102 shrines, according to Unesco.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-40301959

RUSSIE –  Moscou - A silicic cutter and a scraper were found in Moscow during an urban renovation project believed to date back around 7,000–9,000 years, which makes them some of the city’s oldest artifacts to date.The silicic cutter discovered on Sretenka Street is a tool with a sharpened edge. The well-preserved cutter belongs to the Neolithic era (5th-3rd millennium BC); it was one of the most common tools at the time, used by ancient people to treat bones, skin, horns and certain types of stone. Another artifact of the Stone Age was uncovered at Pokrovsky Boulevard. It is a fragment of the scraper, which belongs to an even more ancient period, the Mesolithic era (7thmillennium BC). The scraper was made of an elongated stone plate with a sharp blade at the end. Ancient people could use it to scrub animal skins from the inside so that they become thinner and softer. The two ancient discoveries have something in common: archaeologists found them in a much younger cultural layer, which relates to the 16th-17th centuries AD. Experts suggest that the artifacts were most likely moved from the deeper cultural layers by accident, during excavation works carried out in the city some 400-500 years ago.

https://sputniknews.com/environment/201706161054703098-oldest-artifacts-moscow/

USA –  Cannon Beach - What at first glance looks like one of the many logs that line Cannon Beach may be an uncovered keel of a boat from a possible shipwreck. The wood object, which measures about 18 feet long and several hundred pounds, was found Wednesday afternoon on the beach close to the Taft Street access by Jeffrey Smith of Portland. Looking for a place to rest after walking with his wife, he noticed rusty square nails, notches and square cutouts in the log and decided to call the Cannon Beach History Center and Museum. Christopher Dewey from the Maritime Archaeological Society to help identify the object. “Looking at the parts makes me think it could be from the mid-1800s, but I’m not an expert,” Trucke said. “In general shipwrecks are pretty common on the coast, but if it were actually that old it would be a rare situation.”

http://www.dailyastorian.com/Local_News/20170615/possible-shipwreck-debris-uncovered-in-cannon-beach

ISRAEL –  Jerusalem - A stone tower that guarded a precious water supply for the ancient city of Jerusalem isn't quite as old as previously thought, according to new results from an extremely precise dating technique. The tower at Gihon Spring, a water source downhill from ancient Jerusalem, wasn't built in 1700 B.C., as archaeologists previously thought, but rather almost 1,000 years later, they found. Researchers made the unexpected finding after excavations around the tower showed that its base was not built in bedrock. During the excavation, Boaretto and her colleagues found several clearly defined layers. Further investigations of these strata revealed the remains of charcoal, seeds and bones — organic matter that could be radiocarbon dated.

https://www.livescience.com/59519-ancient-stone-tower-younger-than-thought.html

NICARAGUA –  Tiscapa - Nicaraguan specialists have discovered an archaeological site in the town of Tiscapa, close to the National Baseball Stadium. According to the Nicaraguan Institute of Culture (INC), the discovery seemed to belong to an indigenous cemetery, given the experts have so far unearthed over 30 funeral urns. The INC Archaeology Director, Ivania Miranda, reported that the urns date back from 800 to 1350 AD, so some of them may be more than a millennium old.

http://www.plenglish.com/index.php?o=rn&id=14323&SEO=nicaraguan-experts-discover-archaeological-site