24 AOUT 2021 NEWS
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ROYAUME UNI – 
Cookham - The site of an 8th Century monastery that was believed to have been lost has been unearthed next to a church. The exact location of the monastery ruled by Queen Cynethryth - the widow of the powerful King Offa of Mercia - had long baffled historians. However, archaeologists said they have finally found it in the grounds of Holy Trinity Church in Cookham, Berkshire. It is hoped it will give a unique insight into one of the most prominent women of the early middle ages. Cynethryth, who it is believed died in 798 AD, is the only Anglo-Saxon queen known to have been depicted on a coin.Written records showed she became royal abbess of a monastery after the death of her husband, King Offa, who had ruled Mercia, one of the main Anglo-Saxon kingdoms. Remains of timber buildings that would have housed the inhabitants of the monastery were among the finds as the archaeologists made their breakthrough. They have also unearthed artefacts including food remains, pottery vessels used for cooking and eating, a delicate bronze bracelet and a dress pin, likely to have been worn by female members of the community.
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-berkshire-58258647
TURQUIE – 
Kırk Caves - The second period of archaeological excavations started in Kırk Caves, or literally “forty caves,” in the Pazarcık district of southern Kahramanmaraş province. The caves house monuments and rock tombs from the Roman period. Archaeologists found human skeletons beneath stones in the Kırk Caves, which were used as burial houses. Small bottles containing a liquid substance (possibly tears) were unearthed in some graves here. The rare rock tombs have a usage area of approximately 4-5 square meters. Featuring carved shelves and triangular prism-shaped small niches to put candles or kindlings on their walls, the tombs provide clues about the lifestyles of Roman nobility.
https://www.dailysabah.com/arts/excavations-start-in-southern-turkeys-kirk-caves/news
POLOGNE – 
Bogdaniec - Two Bronze Age hoards have been discovered in western Poland in the past six months. The first was discovered on January 12th by a man and his son taking a walk in their hometown of Bogdaniec. They spotted a bronze bracelet poking out of the soil on a slope and notified regional authorities. The subsequent archaeological inspection of the site revealed a rich deposit of bronze objects from the Lusatian culture (1300 – 400 B.C.). Found inside a broken vessel, the hoard consists of 220 bronze artifacts, among them six bracelets, five necklaces, round plates, a myriad rings and assorted mounts that are believed to have been part of a horse harness. The second hoard was found 30 miles to the south of Bogdaniec by a farmer. Archaeologists recovered three t and smaller associated metal objects from the Únětice culture which flourished in what are now Czech Republic, Slovakia, Germany and Poland between 2300 and 1800 B.C. Úněticean hoards, often found in funerary contexts, are characterized by metal objects, including axes, ingots, daggers, bracelets and spirals
http://www.thehistoryblog.com/archives/62055
ZIMBABWE – AFRIQUE DU SUD 
Mapungubwe - New research, published in the South African Journal of Science in July, has revealed, for the first time, how the emergence of two separate cultures came together to create Venda, as a language and as a culture, in the ancient state of Mapungubwe. Using pottery dating, cutting-edge carbon dating techniques, baobab tree rings and other methods, their research has revealed how the Venda culture was born out of two other cultures, probably when these cultures met at initiation schools.The Iron Age state of Mapungubwe straddles what we now call Zimbabwe and South Africa, about 75km north of Messina in Limpopo. Huffman and Woodborne have written that it was initially occupied by the descendants of modern-day Zimbabwe, Shona-speakers, and that Mapungubwe was abandoned around 1320AD. It was abandoned for a variety of reasons, including environmental factors like droughts. Unique pottery crafted by the Venda people combines both Icon pottery of the Sotho people, and the Khami pottery of the Kalanga, or Shona people, the researchers found.
https://mg.co.za/news/2021-08-22-pottery-dating-reveals-the-origins-of-venda/
ESPAGNE – 
Salamanque - Des archéologues espagnols ont découvert une amulette représentant une déesse égyptienne, en fouillant une maison à Salamanque. Le journal espagnol El Pais raconte que les fouilles ont eu lieu dans une maison qui était habitée 2 500 auparavant par un chef de village sur la colline de San Vicente. Cette maison était habitée durant l’âge de Fer, une période de l’Histoire qui s’étend de 800 avant notre ère à la fin du Ier siècle. La déesse en question est Hathor, fille de Rê et épouse d’Horus. Elle est la déesse, dans la mythologie égyptienne, du ciel, des femmes, de la fertilité et de l’amour. En plus de l’amulette, des perles de collier et « un morceau de bol, probablement égyptien » ont été retrouvés. Selon Inspain , d’autres objets religieux, venant probablement de Phénicie (l’actuel Liban) ont également été récupérés. Ces éléments font penser aux archéologues que la maison « était un lieu dans lequel il y avait une forte activité sociale », dans laquelle des banquets pouvaient être organisés et « où l’on apportait des objets exotiques », indique Juan Jesus Padilla, de l’université de Salamanque, à El Pais. Ce qui expliquerait la présence de ces objets. « L’une des hypothèses que nous envisageons est que la colline était bien mieux reliée que nous ne le pensions aux routes du fer et de l’étain, métaux très demandés à l’époque, et que les connaissances, les objets et les coutumes de la Méditerranée orientale arrivaient par ces voies » ajoute-t-il, appuyant la thèse d’importants réseaux commerciaux. « Il y avait déjà un flux commercial assez important avant que les grandes puissances de la Méditerranée n’envahissent la Péninsule », assure l’archéologue Carlos Macarro à La Gaceta . Selon les experts, La Vía de la Plata pourrait être l’une de ces chaussées ayant permis de relier ces régions.
Saint-Pierre et Miquelon – Anse à Henry - Les fouilles archéologiques de l'Anse à Henry ont repris à Saint-Pierre. Pour mémoire, les chercheurs franco-québecois avaient découvert il y a deux ans des traces d'une occupation d'une civilisation européenne. Après une interruption des recherches suite à la pandémie l'an dernier, les experts sont de retour dans l'Archipel pour procéder à de nouvelles fouilles. Ils ont d'ailleurs repéré des pierres situées sur un sentier donnant accès à l'Anse à Henry. Il y a un alignement de pierres très rectiligne et ici ça fait un coin donc c'est le coin du bâtiment qui continue sur 10 à 12 mètres en allant vers l'Ouest. Ils ont aussi découvert des fondations, celles d'une maison de pêcheurs. C'est sans doute des maisons assez modestes mais de style européen tel qu'on pourrait le faire dans un village de pêcheurs en Europe ou au 17ième et 18ième siècle. Les chercheurs canadiens et francais ont également retrouvé du moblier métallique comme des clous, de la brique, des éléments métalliques et plus étonnant encore des éclats de silex.
VIET NAM - Yen Bai - Experts from the museum of northern Yen Bai province have found a cultural relic site belonging to the Late Stone Age (pre-Hoa Binh Culture period) in Ngoi Sen village, Van Tien commune of Yen Bai city. Items found in the site are diverse, mostly made of river pebbles. They include turtle shell-shaped tools, single-edged and double-edged tools, and horizontal edge cutters that are dated back to about 9,000 to 10,000 years. Earlier, archaeologists also discovered findings with cultural values of the prehistoric period in Vietnam through an urgent archaeological excavation of Tuan Quan relic site in northern Yen Bai province, which confirms that the site is a particularly rare and precious relic belonging to the ate Stone Age and feudal periods. An archaeological report in early July 2021 also confirmed that Tuan Quan is an extremely precious relic site in the system of prehistoric archaeological sites in Vietnam, which plays a very important role in the exploration of the origin of Son Vi- Hoa Binh Culture in Vietnam and Southeast Asia./.
https://en.vietnamplus.vn/new-prehistoric-archaeological-site-discovered-in-yen-bai/206851.vnp
ROUMANIE – 
Cluj-Napoca - A Neolithic cemetery dating back 6,000 years has been unearthed in Transylvania. Excavations on the more than 10,000-square-foot area began in July and numerous graves were recently uncovered that still include the deceased's remains. Archaeologists found a number of bodies with vessels on their head or feet. A large pit was also found nearby that was used to store food, which eventually turned into a landfill where household waste was discarded. Along with the Neolithic settlement, the team also found remains of a Celtic civilization that lived on the same plot of land about 2,200 years ago.The Celts, who lived in these areas during the Dacian times - between 2,200 and 2,000 years ago - left traces of an incineration cemetery. Unlike the Stone Age inhabitants, the Celts burned the dead and buried them in urns, which were buried in the ground along with other offerings, such as goods made of iron.
TURQUIE – 
Aizanoi - “We unearthed a statue of Hygieia, known as the goddess of health and cleanliness, the daughter of Asclepius, the god of health in Greek and Roman mythology,” Gökhan Coşkun, who coordinates the dig in the ancient city of Aizanoi, told Anadolu Agency. “During past digs in Aizanoi, finds related to Hygieia were also found,” he said. “This situation makes us think that there may have been some construction and buildings related to the health cult in Aizanoi during the Roman era.” Coşkun added that the statue of Hygieia – related to the modern word “hygiene” – was unearthed inside the columned gallery on the south wing of the agora.
https://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/statue-of-greek-health-goddess-hygieia-unearthed-167210
