20 DECEMBRE 2020 NEWS
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CHINE - 
Shanxi - Photo fournie par l'Institut d'archéologie du Shanxi montrant une relique déterrée dans d'anciennes tombes qui datent d'environ 2 700 ans dans la province du Shanxi (nord de la Chine). Les vestiges culturels mis au jour sont composés de divers matériaux, notamment du cuivre, du jade, de la pierre, de la laque, de la poterie, de l'or, du bois de laque, du cuir et du bambou. A en juger par la forme et les artefacts des tombes, les sépultures du site funéraire de eibai'e appartenaient à des nobles du début de la période des Printemps et Automnes (770-476 avant J.-C).
http://french.peopledaily.com.cn/Culture/n3/2020/1215/c31358-9799465.html
DOGGERLAND – 
Around 8,150 years ago, a sudden shift in the seabed created the Storegga tsunami in the North Sea. With all known evidence pointing towards this event greatly affecting, but not completely inundating, Doggerland (the strip of land that once connected Britain to continental Europe – see CA 367), the search is now on for evidence of human occupation. While it is thought that there must have been significant Mesolithic groups living here during the period, without knowing just how populated the area was likely to be it cannot be determined how catastrophic the tsunami may have been. As part of the ‘Europe’s Lost Frontiers’ project, researchers from the University of Bradford have been analysing the evolution of Doggerland, tracing its gradual inundation. At the end of the last Ice Age, c.11,700 years ago, Doggerland probably stretched all the way from Yorkshire to Denmark, but by 9000 cal BC the North Sea had begun to flood in, creating an archipelago that predominately included ‘Dogger Island’ (an upland area in the northern reaches of Doggerland) and Dogger Bank off the eastern coast of Great Britain. By the time of the Storegga tsunami, this landmass had shrunk even more, greatly reducing the size of both areas to shallow sandbanks. Evidence for occupation of this region during the Mesolithic is scarce. Occasional chance finds of animal bones and artefacts have been dredged up by fishermen in the North Sea, most frequently in an area known as the Brown Bank off the coast of Belgium. But earlier this year, the most direct evidence for Doggerland’s occupation was discovered just off the coast of Norfolk: a man-made tool known as a hammerstone.
https://www.archaeology.co.uk/articles/news/searching-for-the-people-of-doggerland.htm
CHYPRE – 
Larnaca - A graveyard dating from the 12th century BC up to the Roman period was discovered in Larnaca during anti flooding works. The graveyard, with around 10 graves, was discovered on Petrakis Kyprianou Street located in the core of the necropolises of ancient Kition. Christofi told the Cyprus News Agency that on the specific street and also on its side streets, more than 60 tombs have been identified which date from the 12th century BC up to the Roman period, which were a rarity compared with the number of tombs from later periods. “These are tombs carved from the natural rock of the area and are of a rectangular floor plan,” she said. Access to the tombs, she said, was by stairs.
CHINE - Langfang - A large number of cultural artifacts dating back to as early as the late Warring States Period (475 B.C.-221 B.C.) was unearthed in north China's Hebei Province, according to local authorities on Thursday. Archaeologists carried out an evacuation project from July to November on the ruins of an ancient city located in what is currently Langfang City. They found a batch of artifacts believed to belong to a time from the late Warring States Period to the early Western Han Dynasty (206 B.C.-25 A.D.). The unearthed artifacts include ancient city walls, kilns, wells, tombs and pits, as well as pottery, bronze, and stone wares. The ruins of the Guangling ancient city, measuring 670 meters from east to west and 517 meters from north to south, were discovered during the construction of a highway. The north, east and west city walls were well preserved. The discovery will provide evidence of the layout and scale of ancient cities during the Han Dynasty, and have overturned the previous understanding that the Guangling city belonged to the Song Dynasty.
http://www.china.org.cn/arts/2020-12/18/content_77025263.htm
CHINE – 
Yuyao - The world's oldest rice paddies have been uncovered in China that experts say were farmed more than 6,000 years ago. The ancient checkboard patterned fields were found in the city of Yuyao, east China's Zhejiang Province and are said to cover about 222 acres – only one acre has been excavated thus far. Archaeologists said that the paddies had different forms across three prehistoric periods that spanned about 2,000 years, with the oldest dating back to around 4300 BC. The fields are flooded to supply water during the growing seasons and without modern technology, harvesting crops by hand is time consuming and grueling world. The findings showed that early humans dined on a variety of rice, instead of the two domesticated varieties, japonica and indica, we consume today. The ancient paddies were located outside the Hemudu Site, which revealed artifacts of a Neolithic culture that once flourished in China from 5500 BC to 3300 BC. '[The rice paddies found at] the Shi'ao Site in Yuyao, Zhejiang are large with organized patterns.' 'They can be traced back to the early Hemudu Culture. This is the largest and oldest large-scale ancient paddy field in the world.' The exposed areas reveal the paddies formation changed throughout three prehistoric periods that lasted about 2,000 years. The oldest, dating to around 4300 BC was constructed with mounds of soil around the edges of the fields. At the tail end of the Hemudu Culture, between 3700 BC to 3300 BC, the fields were designed with robust ridges that were used as roads. And the newer paddies were laid out in a checkerboard pattern that included roads and irrigation systems - this dates back to the Liangzhu Culture from 2900 BC to 2500 BC. The team also discovered rice glumes, cobs and weed seeds in the paddy soil that dates back to the Liangzhu Culture. 'We discovered five prehistoric human village sites in an area of one square kilometer around the rice fields,' Wang said.
PAYS BAS – 
Doggerland - Stone Age arrowheads made of human bones have been discovered in the Netherlands. According to a new report, ancient hunters were selective about which skeleton they scavenged and used the remains of dead tribesmen whose hunting prowess they hoped to invoke. Thousands of years ago, during a great glacier period, sea levels were considerably lower and the UK was connected to mainland Europe by a vast tract called Doggerland. Hundreds of barbed points made of bone washed ashore in the Netherlands that are believed to have been made and used in Doggerland more than 7,000 years ago. Archaeologists are certain the points were used in projectile weapons, probably arrows but possibly spears. An analysis of nine such points showed seven were made from deer antler and bone, but two were composed of human bone. An analysis of nine barbed bone points indicated they were made and used between 5300 and 7500 BC.
BULGARIE – 
Vidin - An unidentified medieval settlement has been discovered in northwestern Bulgaria by a team of researchers, led by Elena Vasileva of Bulgaria’s National Archaeological Institute with Museum, who were investigating the path of a road construction project. The settlement, dated to the Second Bulgarian Empire (A.D. 1185–1396), straddled the Voynishka River and had been built on top of an Early Bronze Age settlement. Vasileva and her team members have uncovered 23 pits, eight kilns, six dwellings, a grave, and a moat. No other medieval fortifications have been found. Horse, sheep, goat, and poultry bones have been recovered from the pits, she added. Hundreds of medieval coins, arrow tips, knives, chisels, awls, scrapers, loom weights, bits of copper vessels, pottery, rings, bracelets made of metal and glass, earrings, buckles, crosses, and medallions were also unearthed at the site.
VIET NAM – 
Nghi Xuan - An ancient tomb dating back 1,400 years has been unearthed in a field in the central province of Ha Tinh's Nghi Xuan District, archaeologists have announced. The arch-shaped tomb made of kilned bricks of different sizes was discovered at an irrigation construction site while workers were digging a canal through cultivation areas in Xuan Hong Commune last week. Initial research showed the relic is an ancient Han tomb built during the Chinese Sui-Tang Dynasty more than 1,400 years ago. The tomb was found 2m deep underground and measured 4m in length, 1m in width, and 1.2m in height. The bricks that were used to build the tomb were in the form of a square box or grapefruit section usually used for building arch-shaped architectures.
https://vietnamnet.vn/en/entertainment-sports/ancient-tomb-excavated-in-ha-tinh-696081.html
FRANCE – 
Soissons - La tombe d’un abbé de l’abbaye Saint-Médard a été exhumée, vraisemblablement celle d’Albéric de Braine, décédé le 3 mai 1206. Elle a été retrouvée intacte avec le bâton de sa crosse, ses habits finement brodés et ses chaussures. Le site avait déjà une valeur historique et patrimoniale forte. C’est à Saint-Médard qu’est née la dynastie carolingienne, où se réunissaient les évêques durant le haut Moyen-Âge.