30 JANVIER 2023 NEWS
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ITALIE – 
Rome - Archaeologists in Rome have made an exciting discovery while conducting excavation work to repair collapsed sewage pipes in Parco Scott, a part of the Appia Antica Archaeological Park. They stumbled upon a life-size marble statue of the demigod Hercules, believed to date back to the Roman imperial period – not exactly what you expect to find in an old sewer!
https://www.ancient-origins.net/news-history-archaeology/hercules-statue-0017859
IRAQ – 
Basra - The Department of Investigation and Excavations of the Iraqi State Board of Antiquities and Heritage (SBAH) announced the discovery of 756 artifacts in Basra governorate. The Department of Investigation and Excavations mentioned in a statement that the discovered artifacts are made of pottery, glazed pottery, pieces of copper, and others made of stone and ivory, in addition to silver coins dating back to Islamic times. The statement indicated that pieces bearing emblems and pictures of Sassanian kings, coins dating back to the Umayyad era bearing the year of minting, and other coins dating back to the Abbasid era were among the discoveries. Iraq includes six archaeological sites listed in the UNESCO’s World Heritage List. These sites are Erbil Citadel, Al-Hatra, Ashur, Samarra Archaeological City, Babylon and the Ahwar of Southern Iraq.
https://www.iraqinews.com/iraq/more-than-750-artifacts-discovered-in-basra/
ANGLETERRE – 
Harpole - A large garnet has been found at the centre of a "unique" silver cross uncovered by archaeologists at an ancient burial site. It is the latest discovery at Harpole, near Northampton, where a 1,300-year-old grave, thought to be of a woman of high status, has been uncovered. The cross has been recovered, but is still encased in earth. Last month, archaeologists revealed they had found a gold necklace dating back to 630-670 AD, the Anglo-Saxon period, which they described as the richest of its type ever uncovered in Britain.It consisted of at least 30 pendants and beads made of Roman coins, gold, garnets, glass and semi-precious stones. The burial also contained two decorated pots and a shallow copper dish. X-rays made of blocks of soil lifted from the grave revealed an elaborately decorated cross, featuring depictions of human faces cast in silver. The large and ornate piece has led Mola conservators to believe the woman may have been an early Christian leader.
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-northamptonshire-64428086
FRANCE – Gueux - Des vestiges d’habitat gaulois découverts par des archéologues à l’entrée de Gueux.
FRANCE – 
Balaruc-les-Bains - Un vaste édifice de près de 500 m², au cœur du centre monumental de la ville antique, a été mis à jour. "Construit à l’époque de l’empereur Auguste, ce bâtiment servait à accueillir les personnes fréquentant les grands thermes publics tout proches. Ces curistes de l’époque romaine pouvaient y être hébergés, se restaurer et se divertir, comme le révèlent les nombreux objets de la vie quotidienne retrouvés dans les différentes pièces" précise Guillaume Duperron. Un édifice doté d’éléments de confort assez exceptionnels à cette époque comme son alimentation en eau potable sous pression via une canalisation en plomb raccordée à l’aqueduc venant de la source d’Issanka. Mais pour les archéologues "c’est surtout sa décoration intérieure, très luxueuse, qui est remarquable". Avec au sol des incrustations de marbre, ainsi que de nombreux fragments d’enduits muraux peints formant des fresques très colorées, représentant parfois des scènes mythologiques. Autre découverte remarquable, les graffitis muraux avec des dessins représentant par exemple des combats de gladiateurs, mais aussi des textes en langue latine, ou très rarement en grec et en écriture cursive. Des écrits riches en informations sur différents aspects de la vie des Balarucois de l’Antiquité : économie, rapports sociaux, croyances… Autant d’éléments qui pour Guillaume Duperron "viennent confirmer que Balaruc était déjà, il y a 2 000 ans, un site thermal d’une grande importance, attirant de très nombreux visiteurs".
ANGLETERRE – 
Upton Lovell - Recent re-examination of grave goods found more than 200 years ago in an unusual early Bronze Age barrow near Upton Lovell, Wiltshire, has revealed that this assemblage could have comprised a goldworker’s ‘toolkit’. When William Cunnington initially excavated the grave, Upton Lovell G2a, in 1801, he found two inhumations under a 10m-wide circular mound. Records are incomplete, but it is believed that the first burial was an individual lying on their back at the bottom of a 1m-deep chalk-cut grave, while the second had been interred above the first in what was described as a ‘sitting posture’, perhaps indicating a crouched burial. The supine individual, considered the primary burial, had a vast array of grave goods, including 40 perforated bone points, nine modified stone cobbles, a stone grooved abrader, a copper-alloy awl, two broken battle-axes, two reworked battle-axes, one complete battle-axe, four polished flint axes, three perforated boars’ tusks, and four flint nodule ‘cups’. The artefacts were not fully assessed until the 1960s, when Stuart Piggott’s analysis greatly informed his idea of a Bronze Age ‘Wessex Culture’. He identified that some of the polished stones found in the grave had probably been used in metalworking, and suspected that the primary burial may have been that of a shaman or other prestigious person. Recently, however, a team from the University of Leicester (in collaboration with experts from the University of Southampton) have carried out a more in-depth analysis of the grave goods using modern scientific techniques. By using microwear analysis and SEM-EDS (scanning electron microscopy with linked energy dispersive spectra) on the surfaces of the stone and metal artefacts, the team was able to determine how each object was probably used, as well as identify traces of the materials that they had been used on. Confirming Piggott’s theory, the team found that the modified stone cobbles had been used with a percussive action – either as stationary anvils or hammers – and that some preserved traces of gold contemporary with their use. It also appears that a grooved abrader and polished stone may have been worked in a longitudinal motion to smooth items made of wood and metal, including bronze and gold, while a copper-alloy awl was found to have been used with a compressive force against an unknown material of medium hardness, possibly for producing decoration on gold sheets. These were not the only items that appear to have been used for goldworking. The team also found that the battle-axes in the assemblage were blunted and appear to have been repurposed as hammers, with the complete battle-axe (found on the buried individual’s chest) containing traces of gold alloy. The polished flint axes may have been used to crush dark red/brown pigments, while the flint nodule ‘cups’ all had signs of light stirring, perhaps from mixing ochres or resins to use for adhering and decorating gold. The team conclude that these stone and copper-alloy tools may have been used to work gold into sheets, decorating it, and applying it to other objects.
https://the-past.com/news/bronze-age-gold-working-toolkit-revealed/
INDE – 
Malyala - A huge Dwarapala sculpture was found in the paddy fields of Malyala village of Siddipet district. The sculpture carved out of granite stone measures 6 feet above the ground level and 3 feet below the ground level with a thickness of 9 inches. It is seen wearing an elongated kirita (crown) on the head, ornaments on the body, and holding gada and Suchi mudra in the original two hands and Sankhu and Chakra in the additional two hands. It is said to belong to a period slightly later than the Rastrakuta and early Kalyana Chalukyan period.
FRANCE- 
Valdeblore - Une "mini vallée des Merveilles" a été découverte à Valdeblore. Cette fois il ne s’agit pas de gravures mais de peintures rupestres. Tracées du bout du doigt par des hommes du néolithique... Il y a 4.000 ans! Il s’agit d’une découverte majeure: 120 peintures rupestres. Des motifs représentant des guerriers du néolithique et tracés du bout doigt par nos ancêtres il y a 4.000 ans.Les pigments utilisés ne présentent aucune trace de modernité. Il s’agit de Cargneule broyée, un agrégat rocheux qui constitue le socle de Valdeblore.C’est là, entre Tinée et Vésubie, que les fresques ont été découvertes. . Des motifs classiques du néolithique qui semblent témoigner de la violence de cette époque post-glaciaire. Le site de Valdeblore était sans doute un lieu de recueillement, un sanctuaire pour guerriers celto-ligures.
VIDEO = L'incroyable découverte d'un site préhistorique dans les Alpes-Maritimes - Nice-Matin (nicematin.com)
ISRAEL – 
Samara - A group of thieves was spotted by a trustee of the Samaria Regional Council during an antiquities tour of the Old Samaria National Park on Sunday. Security forces caught the thieves and discovered that they had uncovered thousand-year-old sarcophagi in their attempt to rob the site.
https://www.jpost.com/archaeology/article-729984
ANGLETERRE -Carlisle - Archaeology breakthrough as 2,000 year-old Roman bathers' gems found by Hadrian's Wall. The gems were set with vegetable glue and fell out of ring settings in a "hot and sweaty" bathhouse. Stunning carved Roman stones that were lost in an ancient pool have been discovered in Carlisle not too far from Hadrian’s Wall. Archaeologists found up to 30 semi-precious stones which were listed around 2,000 years ago. The artefacts are thought to have dropped out of their rings, with their glue most likely weakened in the steamy baths. They were then flushed into the drains when the pools and saunas got cleaned.
TURQUIE 
Ağrı-Patnos - The inscription on a bronze shield purchased by the Rezan Has Museum revealed the name of an unknown country. It is thought that the bronze shield belonging to the Urartian King Argişti was found within the borders of Ağrı-Patnos or Muş in eastern Turkey. Orhan Varol said they had identified the name of a previously unknown country on the bronze shield belonging to Argişti, one of the Urartian kings. Orhan Varol said that on the bronze shield belonging to Argişti, one of the Urartian kings and currently in Rezan Has Museum, the existence of a new country called Qarini, written with the KUR ideogram, which is the country sign, was detected. Orhan Varol, who stated that most of the Urartian inscriptions consisted of the military campaigns and victories of the kings inscribed on stone blocks such as andesite, basalt, and limestone, or on rocky areas, said, “We also get information about war and victory in Urartian war tools. It is understood that besides the use of Urartian shields on the battlefield, they could also function as a badge of victory for the kings. It is sometimes indicated on the shield that the conquered country or weapon of war was dedicated to the chief god. In the hands of the king or a great warrior, the shield, which plays an important role in winning the war, gains a symbolic meaning and value by being processed in cuneiform,” said. The shield is 40 centimeters wide. Apart from the inscription, there are dotted and curved stripes on the surface of the shield.
https://arkeonews.net/urartian-king-argishtis-shield-reveals-the-name-of-an-unknown-country/