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USA – Charleston - The H.L. Hunley, the first combat submarine to sink an enemy ship, also instantly killed its own eight-man crew with the powerful explosive torpedo it carried, according to new research from a Duke University Ph.D. in biomedical engineering. The Hunley’s first and last combat mission occurred during the Civil War on Feb. 17, 1864, when it sank a 1,200-ton Union warship, the USS Housatonic, outside Charleston Harbor, South Carolina. The Hunley delivered a blast from 135 pounds of black powder below the waterline at the stern of the Housatonic, sinking the Union ship in less than five minutes. Housatonic lost five seamen, but came to rest upright in 30 feet of water, which allowed the remaining crew to be rescued after climbing the rigging and deploying lifeboats. The fate of the crew of the 40-foot Hunley, however, remained a mystery until 1995, when the submarine was discovered about 300 meters away from the Housatonic’s resting place. Raised in 2000, the submarine is currently undergoing study and conservation in Charleston by a team of Clemson University scientists. Initially, the discovery of the submarine only seemed to deepen the mystery. The crewmen’s skeletons were found still at their stations along a hand-crank that drove the cigar-shaped craft. They suffered no broken bones, the bilge pumps hadn’t been used and the air hatches were closed. Except for a hole in one conning tower and a small window that may have been broken, the sub was remarkably intact. Speculation about their deaths has included suffocation and drowning. But after an exhaustive three-year Duke study that involved repeatedly setting blasts near a scale model, shooting authentic weapons at historically accurate iron plate and doing a lot of math on human respiration and the transmission of blast energy, researcher Rachel Lance, a 2016 Ph.D. graduate of Duke Engineering, says it was a powerful shockwave from the Hunley’s weapon that killed the crew.
https://today.duke.edu/2017/08/confederate-submarine-crew-killed-their-own-weapon
ITALIE – Rome - Two Roman sarcophagi in marble, one of which is decorated in bas-relief, were discovered in the area around Rome's Stadio Olimpico stadium during a preventative archaeological dig at a construction site of public utility ACEA, according to the city's special superintendency. The finds were most likely burials of children from a well-off Roman family. "At first analysis, they could be from between the 3rd and 4th century A.D., but dating can only be confirmed after a thorough examination," the special superintendency said. The tombs were found at a depth of about 2.5 metres on the northwest slope of Monte Mario, behind the stadium's north curve, during work to place utility service pipes underground. The dig is being led by Dr. Marina Piranomonte with archaeologist Alice Ceazzi, restoration expert Andrea Venier, anthropologist Giordana Amicucci and topographer Alessandro Del Brusco. The finds were removed and brought to the special superintendency's workshops in Rome for analysis, study, and restoration in the coming months.
http://www.ansamed.info/ansamed/en/news/sections/culture/2017/08/23/roman-sarcophagi-discovered-near-stadio-olimpico_0cfc2685-5f14-4a4c-a136-22ac9ff1f5d6.html?idPhoto=1
EGYPTE – Bei’r Al-Shaghala - An Egyptian archaeological mission uncovered five Roman tombs in the archaeological site named Bei’r Al-Shaghala in Dakhla oasis, announced by the Ministry of Antiquities. Head of the Ancient Egyptian Antiquities Sector Ayma Ashmawi explains the structure of the discovered tombs. “The first one has an entrance that leads to a rectangular hall with two burial chambers; the second tomb has a domed ceiling and its entrance leads to a burial chamber, while the third one is a pyramid shaped tomb which the mission has yet succeeded to uncover its upper part. The fourth and fifth tombs are sharing one entrance and each tomb has a burial chamber with a domed ceiling,” according to Ashmawi. Gamal Al-Semestawi, General Director of Antiquities of Middle Egypt said that a number of artifacts were found in the tombs. Among the remains are a funerary mask bearing a human face and painted in yellow, a set of pottery vessels of different shapes and sizes, and tow ostraca, one of which contains hieroglyphic text while the second bears text written in Hieratic. Director General of the Dakhla Oasis and the head of the mission Magdi Ibrahim said the mission has discovered eight Roman tombs in a good conservation condition with a similar architectural design. Al-Shaghala area is located to the west of Mout city almost 3 km away from Dakhla Oasis, one of the seven oases of Egypt’s Western Desert, in the middle of three other archaeological sites.
https://egyptianstreets.com/2017/08/24/an-egyptian-archaeological-mission-discovers-five-roman-tombs-in-dakhla-oasis/
IRLANDE – Dublin - A number of burials have been uncovered by archaeologists at Swords Castle in Dublin. A group named Digging History has been examining the area since earlier this week . While members were digging around the castle they discovered the remains of at least three burials. Christine Baker, Fingal’s community archaeologist, said: “It is not the first time that burials have been uncovered at Swords Castle; however, the depth, just a few inches below the ground surface, is surprising. “We know from previous works that an 11th-century burial ground was here before Swords Castle was built.” Ms Baker said the team previously found isolated human bones, “but to find burials that haven’t been totally removed by the old orchard or subsequent works so close to the surface is very unusual”. The burials have been disturbed by tree roots and, given their position and condition, will not survive reburial. “By excavating, analysing and scientifically dating these remains we will be able to find out more about the people who were buried here and when they were buried,” she said.
https://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/burials-uncovered-at-swords-castle-dig-1.3196904
PEROU – Huaca Bellavista - Archaeologists discovered 16 ancient tombs belonging to Chinese immigrants at Huaca Bellavista in Lima's eastern district of Santa Anita. The skeletons date back to more than 100 years ago, according to Huaca Bellavista restoration project spokespersons. The find included 16 sets of bodily remains, five of which were placed in 1.8-meter-long black coffins of trapezoidal shape, said Roxana Gomez, the person in charge of the intervention. One of the coffins contained a pipe that lied next to a 5-cm-diameter brown porcelain container and a white saddlebag. The remaining 11 individuals were buried directly into the ground. Their bodies were wearing personal clothes such as shirts, jackets and different folded fabrics. Plus, they were covered by a thick brown fabric and a vegetable fiber cloth. The restoration project found out the top of the archaeological site used to be a cemetery used by Asian immigrants. The newcomers arrived to work on arable lands at Hacienda Zavala ranch in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Gomez explained the Chinese were not allowed to be buried in regular cemeteries at that time, since they were not catholic.
http://www.andina.com.pe/Ingles/noticia-peru-chinese-skeletons-found-in-lima-archaeological-site-679681.aspx