31 JUILLET 2017 NEWS: Louisbourg - Antiocheia Ad Cragum - Uzuncaburç - Sedgeford - Albany - Manda - Keezhadi - Xinzheng - Perperikon -
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CANADA – 
Louisbourg - The burial grounds at Rochefort Point at the Fortress of Louisbourg that are in danger of being washed to sea will be preserved thanks to bioarchaeologists. Parks Canada and the University of New Brunswick have partnered to exuviate, document and ultimately preserve the remains of settlers who died in the 18th century. The burial site has been in danger of coastal erosion for the last several years. Once the exuviation is finished on August 20, the remains of the individuals will be transported to UNB, where Dr. Scott and graduate students will examine them and use the knowledge gained to better understand life in Louisbourg in the 1700s. “A lot of times when we’re dealing with human remains like this, we’re dealing with every day people, and those are the folks that generally aren’t recorded in the historic records,” said Scott. “We can look at their bones and say something about their health or if they moved or traveled during their life-time or suffered from infectious diseases. With all of these various things we can paint a picture of what their individual lives were like and then we can use that for an overall idea of what was going on in Louisbourg.”
TURQUIE – 
Antiocheia Ad Cragum - Archaeological excavations in the ancient city of Antiocheia Ad Cragum in the southern province of Antalya’s Gazipaşa district have unearthed ceramic pottery pieces with the seal “ANT.” Located in the Güney neighborhood, the ancient city dates 2,000 years back to the Roman and Byzantine eras. Excavations have been carried out in the city under the leadership of Professor Michael Hoff from Nebraska University. He said they are now working on the restoration projects, adding, “We also unearthed the parliament building in the city. It will be completely excavated this year. Since it is a pretty big complex, works have been ongoing there for a few years and it will last a few more years. The ancient city is pretty big; it covers an area of some 30 hectares. This is why I guess excavations here will last more than 300 years with current technology. But we can see exciting discoveries every year.” Can said this year they concentrated on the big bath structure in the city, adding, “Along with the architectural findings related to the original structure of the bath, we are also working on ceramic kilns. They are very important to us because the cities that produced their own ceramics in the Mediterranean have created their own brand. The kilns, which are in very good condition, as well as the ceramic wastes and the seals on them, verify this fact. Generally, each city has its own seal. Here, a seal with the letters A, N and T was used. Of course, this is not the only city that used this seal because there are other cities with the name Antiocheia. But ceramic kilns and other findings that prove the production show us that this is the seal of this city.”
TURQUIE – 
Uzuncaburç - Archaeological excavations that have been initiated in the ancient city of Uzuncaburç in the southern province of Mersin’s Silifke district are expected to unearth important artifacts. Yılmazer added that the excavations started in the theater section and they plan to continue working on the monumental fountain in order to rearrange the entrance of the ancient site.
ROYAUME UNI – 
Sedgeford - The extraordinary archaeological findings in a Norfolk village hold some clues to how the Anglo-Saxons lived in the area. History enthusiasts have worked through sun, rain and storm this season for the 22nd Sedgeford Historical and Archaeological Research Project (SHARP). Since 1996, SHARP has uncovered an 8th century cemetery, dubbed Boneyard Field, and has excavated close to 400 human remains. Researchers believe the arable lands made the area suitable for human settlement - and further excavation of the fields could reveal more human bones. Layered in history dating as far back as 800BC, the volunteer archeologists have dug through 8ft of soil to find evidence of human life from the Iron Age and Roman period. Since beginning excavation of this area in 2013, they have uncovered large cereal processing ovens built nearly 1,300 years ago. The clay-lined ovens were marked with fingerprints, and further analysis found that some belonged to children as young as eight years old. Evidence of wheat, rye and barley may suggest the ovens were used for more than domestic purposes and to produce beer. Close to the ovens was evidence of burning, which Mr Jolleys said is a stack of grain which caught fire. The possibilities of how the fire began could explain how people lived in the area.“In the cemetery we found three well-built men who were victims of very serious axe trauma, and we have dated them back to somewhere between 750AD to 770AD.”
http://www.edp24.co.uk/news/sedgeford-dig-uncovers-the-lifestyle-of-anglo-saxon-norfolk-1-5124971
USA – Albany - Students and faculty in a state college's archaeology field school are excavating sites in an Albany neighborhood linked to the Underground Railroad. The dig being conducted on properties along Livingston Avenue in the city's Arbor Hill neighborhood has yielded shards of china, pieces of ceramics and a stem from a clay pipe with the maker's name on it. The project is focusing on African-American history and Albany's role in the 19th century abolitionist movement.
KENYA - Manda Island - A team consisting of archaeologists from the United States, China and Kenya has excavated skeletons of people determined to be with Chinese blood on Manda Island in Lamu County of Kenya. According to the team, the skeletons, altogether three of them, had front teeth that are exclusive for the East Asians and after DNA analysis, they concluded that the skeletons were associated with Chinese blood. The analysis estimated that one of skeletons might be determined to be at the same period as the time when Chinese navigator Zheng He travelled to East Africa in the 15th century. The other two are determined to be living in a period after the admiral's expeditionary voyages. Kusimba said these people might have come to East Africa through land trade routes or the Maritime Silk Road, adding that no belongings were found at their tombs. Other relics, including the ruins of an ancient town and Chinese beads and coins, were also excavated on the island by the team.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2017-07/29/c_136481481.htm
INDE – 
Keezhadi - The Archaeological Survey of India had sent two samples from Keezhadi to the USA for carbon dating, which revealed that they were between 2,160 and 2,230 years old. ASI’s Superintending Archaeologist K Amarnath Ramakrishna, who led the work on the excavations told The Hindu, “We can now say for sure that the samples were from the third century BC.” He added that the archaeologists found deposits up to 4.5 metres deep and the samples sent for carbon dating were from around two metres below in the site. Ramakrishna also said 72 potsherds with Tamil Brahmi script inscribed were found at Keezhadi. “Iyanan, Uthiran, Vendhan, Santhanavathi and Saathan were some of the Tamil names found.”
CHINE - Xinzheng - Archaeologists have found an ancient royal “limousine” in central China once owned by the Lord of Zheng State dating back to 2,400 years, after five months of excavation. The giant, extravagant chariot, which is 2.56 metres long and 1.66 metres wide, was equipped with rain and sun protection on the top and decorated with bronze and bone ornaments. It has more than 26 spokes in each wheel, which indicated the owner’s noble status. The “limousine” was excavated in a funerary pit in tomb of Lords of Zheng State, in Xinzheng City, a vassal state during the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 B.C) and the Warring States Period (475-221 B.C), state-run Xinhua news agency reported.“The ‘limousine’ was comfortable and spacious. People could stand, sit or lie in it. It was the best public vehicle used by lords of Zheng State and their wives,” Ma said. Archaeologists found four chariots in a pit, which all headed west, toward their founding capital. Ma said that the state was founded in Huaxian County of northwest China’s Shaanxi Province. They are cleaning the third chariot. Its left wheel was damaged by tomb robbers. “There are more horses than chariots in the pit. The excavation is expected to complete in September,” he said. The excavation of Zheng State tombs and the surrounding 20 hectares of land has already found 18 horse and chariot pits and more than 3,000 tombs.
BULGARIE – 
Perperikon - archaeological team working at the ancient sacred site of Perperikon in Bulgaria has discovered more than 80 tombs in a necropolis estimated to date from the 12th to the 14th centuries CE. The number of tombs found, in the southern section of Perperikon, is expected to increase to more than 100, an announcement about the July 2017 find said. Ovcharov said that in 2016, his archaeological dig team had uncovered 37 tombs, containing what he described as some very interesting finds, including earrings, other jewellery and beautiful ornaments. Referring to the new finds, Ovcharov said: “At this stage we have not opened the graves, this year we decided to photograph the necropolis in its entirety, and later, in August, we shall open them and see what their contents are”. The graves are close to the early Christian cathedral found at the Perperikon site in 2016, and this suggests that the people buried there were prominent people in the community. Ovcharov said that while he could not speak with absolute precision, the necropolises show that in mediaeval times, as is known from written sources, Perperikon had thousands of inhabitants.
