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PEROU – Farfán - In northern Peru, José Cruzado Bardales of Guadalupe, near Cajamarca, has destroyed one of these threatened archaeological sites that Peru holds dear in its history. According to Bardales, he has owned the property since 1989 after the Land Freedom Unit granted him a certificate of possession. The monumental area, known as Farfán, stretched five acres in the town, Ciudad de Dios, in the district of Guadalupe in Pacasmayo, La Libertad. According to El Comercio, Bardales began working on the property Feb. 8 as he built and inserted beams and wires into the southern section of the archaeological site. He used heavy machinery to remove and plow the debris over the land.
http://www.peruthisweek.com/news-man-levels-archaeological-site-and-builds-fence-105309
IRAN – Teheran - Mahsa Vahabi accidentally discovered the 7,000-year-old female skeleton in Molavi Street. Vahabi found the skeleton in November 2014, while Esmaeili Jelodar had announced in January 2015 that Water and Wastewater Company's diggings led to the discovery of a skeleton belonging to 5th Millennium BCE. Jelodar, who is director of the archeological research project in the south of Tehran Bazaar, said the latest unique discovery dates human settlement in Tehran to 7,000 years. According to veteran archeologist, Mirabedin Kaboli, the heated structure on top of the burial site of the skeleton indicates that the region was a settlement where people lived and cooked. He said the burial site of the skeleton is seven kilometers off Cheshmeh Ali. Since there were sites and villages around Cheshmeh Ali Hill, it is not improbable that the skeleton's burial site could also be a settlement. Farshid Mosaddeqi, a professor of Research Center of ICHHTO, said, "The discovery of the skeleton about four meters lower than the ground level indicates a prehistoric burial. The form and direction of burial, along with the identified vessels, could be compared with burials conducted in Cheshmeh Ali Hills in Rey and during the second period at Sialk Hill in Kashan.” Hamed Vahdati-Nasab, an associate professor of Tarbiat Modarres University, said studies on the skeleton discovered in Molavi Street indicate that the woman was between 35 and 40 years old. Vahdati-Nasab, who is also an anthropologist, said, "A 35-year-old person 7,000 years ago differs from a person of a similar age in contemporary era. Given the average age and lifespan of people at that time, she is considered an old woman. This is while, today a 35-year-old woman is considered a young person." The female skeleton was found four meters below earth. The burial site has been fenced.
http://www.iran-daily.com/News/112104.html
ROYAUME UNI – Dudley - Archaeologists have been drafted in to work on part of Tower Street, which had been occupied for hundreds of years, before the 225-space car park is built. Two trenches have already been dug out and there is a further three planned, which will show evidence of medieval street lay-outs and buildings. Dr George Nash, from SLR Consultants, who is heading up the dig, added: “We have dug down about 2.5 metres and have exposed a period of history spanning around 800 years. The dig has uncovered some pieces of 12th century pottery. "More importantly it has highlighted what we already knew about the wonderful hidden town layout under Dudley, which is one of the best in the country for mediaeval towns.”
http://www.kidderminstershuttle.co.uk/news/regional/west_midlands/11805601._/
MOYEN ORIENT /AFRIQUE DU NORD - - Endangered Archaeology, launched by researchers at Oxford and Leicester universities, will record the archaeological heritage of sites across the Middle East and North Africa using satellite and aerial photography. The areas being studied are some of the most significant in the world in terms of its archaeological remains. The team says there could be as many as 3.5 million sites, many of which are under immediate threat. However, they are under threat from human activities, with the massive and sustained population explosion, agricultural development and war all having an impact on their conservation. The team will record and monitor the sites using tools such as Google Earth to record the remains, which includes tombs, settlements, forts, towns, cities and farming systems going back thousands of years. Principal investigator Professor Andrew Wilson, said: "The project will provide tools and strategies for the future conservation and management of threatened heritage, both individual sites and entire archaeological landscapes. "This region contains the world's richest concentration of significant archaeological remains spanning prehistory, the Persian, Greek, Roman, and Islamic empires."
http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/endangered-archaeology-project-launched-map-ancient-sites-middle-east-before-they-are-destroyed-1488864
ROYAUME UNI – Angleterre - England’s Immigrants 1330-1550, a fully-searchable database containing over 64,000 names of people known to have migrated to England during the period of the Hundred Years’ War and the Black Death, the Wars of the Roses and the Reformation. The information within this database has been drawn from a variety of published and un-published records – taxation assessments, letters of denization and protection, and a variety of other licences and grants – and offers a valuable resource for anyone interested in the origins, destinations, occupations and identities of the people who chose to make England their home during this turbulent period.
http://www.englandsimmigrants.com/
IRLANDE – Sligo - Fears have been expressed for the security of the three Spanish Armada shipwrecks off the coast of Co Sligo, following the discovery of two separate remnants, apparently washed up on Streedagh beach by recent storms. The National Museum and the heritage office at Sligo County Council were notified yesterday about the finds, which follow the discovery last year of part of a 20ft rudder from one of the vessels on the beach. About 1,100 sailors died when three Spanish galleons were wrecked in violent storms off Streedagh in 1588. An interpretative centre is planned for the nearby village of Grange but there have been calls for the vessels to be excavated and housed in a purpose built local museum. Mr Gilroy said it was possible that scheduled low tides this weekend may expose more wreckage. “These have been buried off Streedagh for nearly 430 years. It is lucky they were not carried out by the tide,” he said. He said that at the request of the county council he was placing the two pieces of wood, one found on Thursday by a member of the GADA, and the other yesterday, in salt water at an undisclosed location to ensure they are properly preserved pending a visit next week by experts from the National Museum. “One piece is 13 feet long and the other about 16 feet long and they are well preserved oak. They both look like they came from the rib of a boat”, he said. Thee three wrecks are located about 60 meters from the low tide mark in 15 meters of water. “This is a protected site but we worry that these boats are being moved by storms. They have thrown up more in the last two years than in the previous 40,” said Mr Gilroy. He said that there was a fully intact gun carriage and a number of cannons which were taken from the city walls in Palermo, on the vessels at Streedagh. The Streedagh wrecks were rediscovered in 1985 by a team of divers led by Dr Colin Martin who had who had led previous explorations of Spanish Armada shipwrecks.
http://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/storm-washes-armada-wreckage-on-to-sligo-beach-1.2111677