24 AVRIL 2022 NEWS
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GRECE - Philippi - The oldest wine in Europe was discovered recently in ancient Philippi of northern Greece, the Department of History and Archaeology of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki announced.The University presented research that indicates that the production and drinking of wine in Europe originates from prehistoric Greece. Thousands of ancient grape seeds and pomace were found in ancient Philippi house whose contents were preserved in a fire that occurred in 4300 B.C.. The research began with the use of archeological flotation, an archaeobotanical sampling technique where an archaeological deposit is placed in a flotation tank with water that dissolves the deposit until fragments of plants and other material float to the top.
https://greekreporter.com/2022/04/17/oldest-wine-europe-ancient-greece/
CHINE – 
- The oldest known evidence referring to a “celestial aurora event” from a section of the famous Bamboo Annals Chinese text dated to the 10th century BC has been researched by scientists from Nagoya University in Japan, located. The Bamboo Annals are a chronicle of ancient China from the earliest “legendary times” (c. 2400 BC) right up till their composition around 299 BC. The findings of the new Chinese celestial aurora study have been published in the journal Advances in Space Research .
https://www.ancient-origins.net/news-history-archaeology/celestial-aurora-0016652
ISRAEL – 
Rat skeletons found on the ancient wreck of a cargo ship that sunk off the coast of Israel are providing valuable new historical insights, according to researchers from the University of Haifa. Skeletons of dead rats on the ship labeled the Ma'gan Mikhael B, dated to between 648 and 740 C.E., have helped the team learn more about the life of the vessel that once sailed the Mediterranean. Speaking to Insider, Sierra Harding, a zooarchaeologist on the project, said the remains are the oldest and only direct evidence of a ship rat infestation on an ancient shipwreck in the Mediterranean. She explained some of the remains are of black rats, a species that traveled with traders to the Middle East from South Asia and India more than 2,000 years ago. However, using dental morphology, they discovered that other rats were "exotic to the area." Preliminary findings show that they could have originated from Tunisia or Corsica in the central Mediterranean. "If it's confirmed that some of these rats were actually from as far away as the central Mediterranean islands –what this really means is that there was a lot more communication, shipping, exchange, and trade happening during this period that is primarily depicted as just army and naval battles," she said.
BANGLADESH – 
Munshiganj - Archaeologists have found another stupa, a Buddhist commemorative monument housing sacred relics, at an archaeological site in Munshiganj's . The eight-sided structure, buried 14 feet underground, was discovered after almost six months of excavation at Nateshwar, An ancient Buddhist monastery, believed to be about 900 to 1200 years old, was unearthed there in 2013. Since then, the authorities have uncovered the ruins of roads, temples and other structures at different times.
INDE – 
Vadnagar - Archaeologists found 64 dice while carrying out excavation in the heritage city. The older ones were from the 4th to10th century, while the newer ones were from the 17th to 19th century. Made from materials such as ivory, terracotta, bone and stone, most of the dice found are either cube or cuboid, identified as pasa and sogtha respectively in Gujarati.
CROATIE – 
Stari Grad - A group of ancient Roman mosaics dating from the second century CE were hidden under the city streets of Stari Grad, on the idyllic Hvar Island in Croatia. The mosaic was found along Middle Street, a narrow, 65-foot-long cobblestone thoroughfare that runs through the ancient city center. “The mosaics are decorated with multicolor geometric and floral motifs and are of superior workmanship,” Vilma Matulić, a conservator at the museum, said in a statement shared with Hyperallergic. “We will have a better insight into the purpose of this luxurious building of the Roman Faria after the analysis and interpretation of archaeological finds and after merging all the plans of rooms with mosaic floors under surrounding houses, which were excavated in previous decades.”
https://hyperallergic.com/725267/roman-mosaics-hidden-under-croatian-streets/
POLOGNE – 
Wałbrzych - A hoard of medieval bracteate coins has been discovered near Wałbrzych in Lower Silesia, Poland. Archaeologists investigating the discovery have revealed that the coins were stored in a clay pot and date from around the first half of the 13th century AD. A closer study shows that the coins depict zoomorphic and human-like figures, in addition to elements of architecture and patterns. The coins are one sided and made from thin sheets of metal due to the limited availability of silver or gold. They originate from the mint workshops of Brandenburg, Saxony and Silesia, although their use was relatively short as the coins were usually called back regularly (about once or twice a year) to be exchanged for new coins.,In receiving three new coins for four old coins, the withheld 4th coin was called strike money and was often the only tax revenue of the coin mint-master. This system worked like a demurrage, with people often hoarding their coins because they lost their value.
https://www.heritagedaily.com/2022/04/bracteate-treasure-hoard-found-near-walbrzych/143376
ESTONIE – 
Tallin - A 700-year-old ship in extraordinarily good condition was found this week at a construction site in the Estonian capital Tallin on the shores of the Baltic Sea. The ship is believed to be a Hanseatic cog that belonged to the Hanseatic League - a medieval commercial and defensive confederation of merchant guilds and market towns in central and northern Europe. The ship was made up of oak logs about 24 meters long and sealed with animal hair and tar. Dendrochronological analysis (the study of the growth rings of trees in relation to time) found that the logs were from the year 1298.
https://www.jpost.com/archaeology/article-704809
FRANCE – 
Billy - Avant le réaménagement de la place de l’ancien marché de Billy, le service archéologique de l’Allier a sondé le sol du village médiéval. Et a mis au jour des trésors datant de l’époque gauloise. À Billy, plusieurs diagnostics archéologiques ont été menés. En 2012, au niveau de la basse-cour du château (XIIIe siècle), le fossé défensif et des vestiges de son ancienne porte ont été mis au jour. En 2017, 400 fragments de cuir du bas Moyen-âge (des rejets de cordonnerie) ont été découverts. Au niveau de la place de l’ancien marché, on pensait retrouver la troisième enceinte du château de Billy (la 1re étant le château et la 2e qui est la basse-cour avec la capitainerie), composé notamment par la porte Chabotin. Notre première surprise a été de trouver peu de vestiges bâtis. Les seuls que nous avons trouvés concernent les vestiges d’un bâtiment du XIXe siècle. Cette maison apparaissait sur les cadastres napoléoniens. Nous avons retrouvé des niveaux argileux correspondant à un ancien marais, et qui aurait pu être en relation avec l’Allier. Dans le niveau supérieur argileux, nous avons trouvé une dominance de céramique médiévale, indiquant une occupation autour de la forteresse et dans le bourg. Dans le niveau inférieur, nous avons trouvé une céramique bien plus ancienne. Elle date de l’époque gauloise. Elle a donc près de 3 000 ans. D’un point de vue archéologique, c’est une découverte exceptionnelle et inattendue, car, jusqu’à présent, il n’y avait aucun indice antérieur de la présence de l’Homme à Billy avant l’Antiquité. Ces céramiques viennent confirmer nos hypothèses comme quoi le rocher sur lequel est construit le château avait du être occupée depuis plusieurs millénaires. L’occupation gauloise de Billy devait être plus étendue que l’occupation médiévale. nous avons fait des découvertes inattendues près de la petite croix sur la place. On est d’abord tombé sur des niveaux calcaires peu profonds, à 1,20 m environ. Ensuite, à côté, le sédiment change complètement. On a trouvé des vestiges de la période médiévale et une sépulture, elle correspond au squelette d’un individu avec la tête orientée vers le Nord. Il est posé à plat ventre avec la tête et les épaules relevées. Ce personnage est accompagné de plusieurs objets métalliques. Trois objets en fer représentent une petite boule au niveau de ses omoplates. On ne sait pas à quoi elle correspond. On retrouve aussi un long objet entre ses jambes et un sur son côté droit. À ses pieds, on retrouve plusieurs clous qui correspondent à des clous de chaussures. On retrouve aussi d’autres petits clous au niveau de son bassin, qui pourraient représenter sa ceinture. Sur ses jambes, était posé un petit pot en céramique. Le dernier objet, se trouvant à ses pieds, est un petit dé à coudre en alliage cuivreux. Une fois que nous aurons rapporté les ossements et ces objets, nous pourrons identifier son sexe, sa fonction et son statut. Nous allons aussi étudier sa taphonomie, c’est-à-dire la manière dont le corps a été déposé et sa décomposition. En prélevant la terre dans le pot en céramique, nous saurons aussi s’il y a eu des offrandes. La position à plat ventre est très atypique également. Nous allons rechercher d’autres cas similaires pour comprendre. Ce qui est étonnant aussi pour la période médiévale, c’est que cet individu est seul, il n’y a aucun bâtiment religieux dans les environs, mis à part l’église actuelle à plusieurs centaines de mètres.