29 SEPTEMBRE 2020 NEWS
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IRAN – 
Anbardaran - An ancient stone ram was discovered during a seemingly unauthorized excavation in an old cemetery in Anbardaran village, Bostanabad county, northwestern East Azarbaijan province. Stone animals such as stone lions and stone rams were placed on top of the tombstones of brave and courageous people as a symbol of bravery and valor.
https://www.tehrantimes.com/news/452670/Ancient-stone-ram-discovered-in-northwestern-Iran
TURQUIE – 
Göktaş - Excavation is underway at a site in Souteastern Turkey where the remains of a 5th-century church were discovered in late 2019. The ruined church building, located in the village of Göktaş, features a 1,600-year-old floor mosaic that stretches from wall to wall. The base of the church is inscribed with nine lines of Estrangelo, or Ancient Syriac, script, Tarkan said. "The mosaics also show depictions of animals, geometric shapes and human figures, as well as scenes depicting people hunting," he said. "The months of April and June are also inscribed on the human figures.” Tarkan said the church, built in 396 A.D, contained names of the spiritual figures who contributed to its construction.
https://www.dailysabah.com/turkey/mosaics-in-ancient-church-in-southeastern-turkey-unearthed/news
TURQUIE – 
Hadrianopolis - With ongoing excavations over the last five years in the ancient city of Hadrianopolis in the Eskipazar district of Turkey’s northern Karabük province, it has been revealed that the history of the ancient city dates back 5,500 years, much earlier than previously thought. Excavations conducted to reveal the history buried under the ancient city, known as “Zeugma of the Black Sea,” started in 2003. Mosaics depicting animals such as horses, bulls, elephants, panthers, deer and peacocks have been unearthed in the ancient city, which covers an area of 12 square kilometers (4.6 square miles). Skeletons in a rock tomb at the site, ancient coins, bone hairpins, a unguentarium (tear bottle) and a tomb from the second century are among the other finds. Researchers have also discovered that the ancient city was home to at least 14 other structures, including two baths, two churches, one defense structure, rock tombs, one theater, one arched and domed structure, one monumental cult niche, fortifications, villas, other monumental buildings and some other cult areas. An early Roman building was discovered under the structure named "Church C" in the ancient city, an area where excavations began in 2017 and are still ongoing. After uncovering the other structure under "Church C," archaeologists were able to determine that the foundation of Hadrianopolis dates even further back than the previous estimate of the first century B.C. The publications so far said that the first founding phase of Hadrianopolis was 2,100 years ago, dating back to the first century B.C., corresponding to the Late Hellenistic period. This year's excavations have shown us that settlement in the city began in the Late Chalcolithic period, which points to about 5,500 years ago. We added 3,500 years of history to Hadrianopolis.” Explaining that they can support the claim with concrete evidence, the excavation head said the team has found offering pits and ceramics believed to belong to the Late Chalcolithic period in the area called the Southern Necropolis.
https://www.dailysabah.com/arts/zeugma-of-black-sea-3500-years-older-than-previously-thought/news
SUEDE - Solvesborg - Archaeologists on Thursday reported finding the remains of a dog from more than 8,400 years ago at a human burial site in southern Sweden. Museum project manager Carl Persson said “a sudden and violent increase of the sea level” flooded the area with mud that had helped preserve the burial site. An ongoing archaeological excavation has involved removing layers of sand and mud. The Swedish archaeologists said the dog was buried with a person, noting that survivors often leave valuable or sentimental objects with the dead. The area is believed to have been inhabited by hunters during the Stone Age .
https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory/sweden-bones-dog-found-stone-age-burial-site-73215315
IRLANDE – Dublin - The mysterious death of a child in the early Viking period has been uncovered by excavations near the original Dubh Linn, or black pool, that gave Dublin its name. The find was made during an excavation near Dublin Castle where in ancient times the River Poddle flowed into the Dubh Linn near the River Liffey. The skeleton, which was largely intact, was found just at the point before the river entered the pool and is thought to date from the 9th or 10th century. After it was excavated it was discovered to be that of a child aged between 10 and 12 years of age - most likely a boy - and is thought to have been wrapped in a shroud before being thrown into the river. The body was found with shoulders hunched together and an iron buckle or fastener was found with the body. Alan Hayden who was leading the dig said the fact that it was not given a proper burial and was dumped in this manner could suggest an act of violence. Further tests will be carried out to determine the date of death, gender and the ethnic origin of the person.
https://www.rte.ie/news/dublin/2020/0925/1167539-viking-body-dublin/
TURQUIE – Edirne - Archeologists in northwestern Turkey discovered a sun disk on a rock altar Friday in the ancient Thracian settlements. Engin Beksac, head of the art history department at Trakya University told Anadolu Agency that the Thracian rock altar, discovered in Edirne, dates to 3,500 years ago. Explaining the sun disk on the rock altar was used to observe the movements of the moon and the sun, Beksac said Thracians carried out works in astronomy. In his examination of the rock altar where the Thracians performed religious rituals and worship, he said: “The rock altar is a type of temple that hosts rituals and prayers held on anniversaries and specific times. We know that rituals are performed in these temples to get closer to the Mother Goddess.”
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/culture/archeologists-discover-sun-disk-in-nw-turkey/1986088
IRAN – 
Sarvabad - A team of Iranian archaeologists has discovered an ancient human skeleton with a spearhead beneath its ribs in a tomb chamber in a rural area, western Kordestan province. The skeleton is estimated to date back to the Parthian-era (247 BC – 224 CE). the survey was conducted near the construction site of a dam in Sarvabad county. The tomb chamber was found in one of the archaeological trenches in a rural landscape.“In the Parthian burial tradition, [giant] jars usually played the role of coffins, and in the discovered tomb, according to the Parthian culture, the body was placed inside two earthen jars… Below the ribs, the body appears to have belonged to a person who died of injuries,” Shokouh Khosravi, who led the project, explained.
TURQUIE – 
Euromos - The recently discovered artifacts include tile works, vessels and grave markings, causing excitement among the team of archaeologists working at the site. In an interview with Anadolu Agency (AA), Kızıl said the team was working on the tile works, thought to compose part of the graves unearthed in the necropolis area. He added that they were attempting to piece the items together to recreate the original tombs. "The finds could be dated across a period stretching from ancient to Byzantine times," he said. He also pointed out that the excavation team also uncovered some unique vessels and graves. "Laboratory studies constitute a major part of the work being conducted at the site," he said. "The artifacts we are currently working on include Roman and Byzantine-era tile tombs. Architectural elements like terracotta, which we think are interesting for this region, are extremely significant. We are evaluating them. In fact, all kinds of artifacts directly related to the city's history are being restored, with a lot of attention to detail."Kızıl said his team was working to re-erect the Temple of Zeus, nearly 90% of whose architectural elements have survived to date.
IRAN – 
Lorestan - A total of 192 archeological sites and human settlements, dating back to various epochs including the Stone Age, Copper Age, and Bronze Age and the Neolithic, have been identified during a recent archaeological survey in Lorestan province, western Iran. The sites were discovered in the mountainous regions of Miankooh situated in Pol-e Dokhtar county during a two-month survey . “Of the sites, over 40 ones are [human] settlements, which date back to the Lower Paleolithic (c. 3.3 Ma – 300 ka), the Middle Paleolithic (c. 300–50 ka); the Upper Paleolithic (c. 50–10 ka); the Epipalaeolithic (a period occurring between the Upper Paleolithic and Neolithic during the Stone Age); and the Neolithic (or the New Stone Age; 10,000–4,500 BC). And these significant discoveries demonstrate the region is of very high importance in terms of history and archaeology,” provincial tourism department quote Qasemi in a press release. Elsewhere in his remarks, the official noted that several tomb chambers and evidence on Achaemenid, Seleucid, Parthian, and Sassanid settlements and their ruined architectural vestiges came to light in the survey. The existence of the ruined administrative and defensive structures that particularly date back to the middle and the later Islamic eras as well as frequent roadside inns and caravanserais suggest this region had been strategically important for the central governments of the time, he explained. Lorestan, meaning the “Land of the Lurs”, was inhabited by Iranian Indo-European peoples, including the Medes, c. 1000 BC. Cimmerians and Scythians intermittently ruled the region from about 700 to 625 BC. The Luristan Bronzes noted for their eclectic array of Assyrian, Babylonian, and Iranian artistic motifs, date from this turbulent period. Lorestan was incorporated into the growing Achaemenid Empire in about 540 BC and successively was part of the Seleucid, Parthian, and Sassanid dynasties.
https://www.tehrantimes.com/news/452956/192-archaeological-sites-dating-from-Stone-Copper-and-Bronze