30 OCTOBRE 2012 NEWS: Low Hauxley - Sharjah - Wortley - Bicester - Leone - Malheur Forest -
INSTITUT SUPERIEUR D'ANTHROPOLOGIE
INSTITUTE OF ANTHROPOLOGY
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INSCRIPTION : Année Universitaire 2012/2013
REGISTRATION : Academic Year 2012 / 2013
ROYAUME UNI – 
Low Hauxley - Archaeologists excavating Low Hauxley site expect to find cremation urns, human remains and bronze age treasures. When 4,000 years ago the people living on a windy stretch of magnificent Northumbrian coastline looked for a place to bury their dead, they chose a beautiful spot - a low hillock of dry land above marshes and creeks, in sight of the sea but a kilometre safely inland. Now the sea is lapping at the ancient graves, and the Heritage Lottery Fund will on Tuesday announce a £300,000 grant to excavate the entire site at Low Hauxley, and rescue what remains of its ancient secrets. Every storm gnaws away more of the boulder clay cliff and beach walkers regularly spot bits of 4,000-year-old pottery and cremated bone, or the edges of stone cist burial pits, poking out of the cliff face. A bronze blade was recently found lying on the beach, presumed washed out of the cliff but too heavy to travel any further in the waves. Archaeologists believe at least half of the cemetery has already been destroyed by the sea, and the rest would inevitably follow – sooner rather than later as the nominal rate erosion, a metre a year, has been dramatically worse in the violent storms of recent winters. The excavation, scheduled to begin in April, will be particularly tricky because the site is also classified as a Site of Specific Scientific Interest (SSSI) for its rare plants and wildlife. The archaeologists, joined by local volunteers, will first remove the entire layer of vegetation and save it. They will remove several metres of sand and stone, then excavate a 20x30 metre site of all its archaeology, and finally put everything else back, only for the sea, inevitably, to sweep away all their careful work some day in the not too distant future.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2012/oct/30/northumberland-coast-excavation-ancient-secrets
UAE – Sharjah - As part of the on-going work on the "Heart of Sharjah" project, the largest heritage project in the UAE and Gulf region, Bank Street - the first modern commercial street in Sharjah constructed in the late 1970s - has been partially closed. One of the prime focuses of the work to be done in this area is a full archaeological excavation, being led by Prof Tatsuo Sasaki, Professor Emeritus at the Department of Archaeology, University of Kanazawa, Japan. The excavation is being coordinated between Shurooq, the Sharjah Ruler's Office, the Directorate of Heritage, and the Directorate of Antiquities and was commissioned after a non-intrusive ground radar survey of the area showed that extensive remains of the historic core of the city, including its souq lay underneath the tarmac of Bank Street. It is believed that the town dates back at least to the late 16th century, and the object of the work to be carried out between 1st November and May 2013 will be to identify the foundations from earlier periods in the town's history in an attempt to accurately date Sharjah's urban history in this location, as well as to ascertain how it has evolved over the centuries."
ROYAUME UNI – Wortley - Work is to start next week on a community archaeology project to investigate the site of what is believed to have been the most northerly tin mill in Great Britain. The project involves the remains of Tin Mill at Wortley next to the River Don, which opened in 1744 and which became disused by 1870. The site is close to Wortley Top and Low Forges, which are both scheduled ancient monuments. The tin mill is believed to have worked in conjunction with the two forges. It was operated by the ironmasters responsible for the forges. Hunshelf parish councillor Barry Tylee said it was expected the first stage of the exploration project would be completed by next March. He said it was believed that iron products from the Wortley forges were coated with tin at the Tin Mill. The former mill buildings were demolished during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The site has never been redeveloped and a number of visible features remain including stub walls, water management and other structures.
http://www.thestar.co.uk/news/local/history-of-tin-mill-to-be-probed-1-5074899
ROYAUME UNI – 
Bicester - A year ago archaeologists believed they had made an exciting discovery under a former block of flats about to be redeveloped. Wrapped in a lead sheet were bones believed to be the remains of Bicester’s Patron Saint, St Edburg, thought to have lived in the seventh century. But after specialist carbon dating it has been revealed the bones were not that of the saint but in fact “medieval fakes”. A “medieval fake” is when people moved the bones of saints or other important figures to other places of worship in the medieval period and replaced them with another skeleton. About 13 other skeletons were also found at the former Bryan House, in Chapel Street, and were believed to date back to the 14th century. John Moore, of Beckley-based John Moore Heritage Services, said the St Edburg find dated to the 13th century and confirmed it was a “medieval fake”.
SAMOA – Leone - Archaeologists excavate a prehistoric dwelling and retrieve ancient Polynesian stone tools before a building project, to repair damages by a recent tsunami, impacts the archaeological site. Directed by Dr. Joel Klenck, a team of archaeologists and volunteers excavated a prehistoric dwelling at Leone retrieving stone tools, pottery, and charred organic remains on the surface of an ancient floor. A series of nine one-meter square units were excavated to a depth of nearly two meters revealing a pavement-like surface comprising flat stones of coral, basalt, and sedimentary rock. The excavation comprised a salvage effort to preserve archaeological remains before the construction of a shoreline revetment, by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, at the village of Leone in Tutuila Island. The principal investigator, Klenck, remarks, “The site presented a rare opportunity to excavate a well-preserved prehistoric dwelling with many artifacts several feet below the surface of the ground.” The Leone site has broader application for prehistoric archaeology. Klenck states, “The Leone excavation enables archaeologists to compare how beach erosion and ordinary domestic processes affect the distribution and preservation of stone tools and flakes in a confined structure. We are analyzing the size and spread of the lithic artifacts so archaeologists from other sites with stone tools can compare their data to the factors that affected artifacts at the Leone site.” The archaeologist concludes, “It was excellent that the team was able to both preserve Samoan heritage and gather important data to assist wider archaeological research.”
http://www.i-newswire.com/archaeologists-discover-array-of/200816
USA – 
Malheur Forest - The Big Springs Excavation Project was located just above a seasonally wet meadow filled with blue camas and surrounded by towering Ponderosa pine trees. Camas is a root plant that was and continues to be important to native people in western North America. The location and artifacts previously recorded on the surface made Big Springs an ideal study area. Volunteers and staff began the process by digging through the layers of soil. The soils were placed into a bucket and then sifted through a quarter-inch or eighth-inch screen. The Big Springs test pits uncovered a large amount of debitage – waste flakes produced in making stone-age tools – mostly of obsidian. Tools found during the project included: an awl, projectile points (dart and arrow points), scrapers, and edge-modified flakes. In addition, the project turned up several hopper mortar bases; hopper mortars may have been used to process plant materials. Another rare find, the only one on the forest, was a paint pallet. The work continued layer by layer, a meticulous process with volunteers and staff making detailed notes on each level excavated. At the end of the week, staff archaeologists shared with the volunteers what their work at Big Springs may help tell us about the past: • A northern-side notched atlatl dart point found in a test pit suggests the site was occupied as early as 8,000 BP (before present). • A Rosegate arrow point found in another pit suggests the area was occupied as late as 650 BP. • The assortment of artifacts found demonstrates a wide range of activities occurred at the site.
