20/12/2019 NEWS
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GRECE– 
Athènes - An intriguing claim was recently published in the American Journal of Archaeology and the Dutch version of the National Geographic magazine in regard to Greece’s iconic temple of the Parthenon. According to a Dutch researcher who published this theory, the temple of the Parthenon, the ultimate symbol of the nation of Greece, was actually never called ”Parthenon” in ancient Greece. Utrecht University archaeologist Janric van Rookhuijzen claims that the building was known in ancient Greek times as the ”Hekatompedon” rather than the ”Parthenon.” ”Hekatompedon” was the name Greeks used to refer to temples which had a length of a hundred feet, since the name derives its etymology from the Greek words for ”a hundred” (hekaton) and foot (pous). Van Rookhuijzen also claims that there was indeed a Parthenon temple on the Acropolis, but it was a different, smaller one than the structure which has survived from ancient times. The Dutch archaeologist claims that this original temple must have taken its name from the Caryatids, who were ”parthenes” (virgins) in the temple of the Erechthium, just to the side of the Parthenon. Thus, his rationale is that since that was the temple where the ”parthenes” were placed, the Erechthium must have been the temple named after them, bearing the name ”Parthenon.” Of course, there is the wider belief that the Parthenon was named after the goddess Athena, who was also referred to as a virgin (Parthenos) by the ancient Greeks.
SUEDE – 
Stockholm - The find has been described as an important link between older and newer methods of shipbuilding, as well as a crossover between a transport ship and a warship. A shipwreck from the late 16th century discovered in a Stockholm yard has turned out to be a naval cargo vessel capable of bearing up to 20 guns. The large 30-metre shipwreck was first discovered during the summer by Arkeologikonsult, Sweden's oldest archaeological company. Based on the analysis of the annual rings in the timer, it was dated back to the 1590s, immediately after the Spanish Armada failed to conquer England. Based on the provenance and dates of the timber as well as the size and construction of the ship, it was concluded that it is one of the crown's ships built in Hälsingland. The Samson is the only known alternative. Large swaths of Stockholm were underwater long into the modern era and were not drained until the middle of the 18th century. The ship was likely abandoned on the shore, only to be filled with debris and garbage from the local area. “The ship is a unique example of a hybrid ship during a break between the older shipbuilding art and the new one that would emerge shortly after the Samson. Details show that they were inspired by larger warships such as the Mars and the Elefanten (“Elephant”), but we have never seen this on wrecks found here in Stockholm. It is also a link between the bigger warships and vessels that we are not very familiar with. Really exciting find”, marine archaeologist Jim Hansson from VRAK, the Museum of Wrecks, said. The ship was built out of pine and had a total length of over 30 meters. The Samson was commissioned by Duke Karl in 1598 and manufactured by Anders Pedersson in Enånger. However, a pine ship had a rather short life, and the Samson disappeared from the archives after 1607.
ISRAEL – 
Tel Hreiz - Ehud Galili is an underwater archaeologist at the University of Haifa. He says one submerged village, called Tel Hreiz, sits just a few meters under the water. The community was populated some 7,000 years ago. There, the archaeologists have found pottery and flint, human skeletons, the remains of deer, cows, pigs and dogs, and hundreds of olive pits—probably the remains of olive oil production. And the researchers also found a 300-feet stretch of huge boulders—a wall. After ruling out other possible uses for the wall—like defense against enemies, or corralling animals—the scientists determined that the formation was actually an ancient seawall, the oldest known example in the world. The results are in the journal PLOS ONE. [Ehud Galili et al, A submerged 7000-year-old village and seawall demonstrate earliest known coastal defence against sea-level rise] The boulders that kept the waters of the Mediterranean from flooding the village came from riverbeds at least a few kilometers away. And the researchers say that it would have taken multiple people—or strong beasts of burden—to move them into place. Suggesting that constructing the wall was a well-organized community effort. But eventually, the sea beat the barrier. "Little by little sea level continued to rise and then it became no longer effective. At some point the cost of continuing to struggle with the sea was too high economically and they made a decision to abandon the village."
https://www.scientificamerican.com/podcast/episode/ancient-seawall-found-submerged/
EGYPTE – 
Kom Al-Hettan - During excavations carried out at the Funerary Temple of king Amenhotep III, an Egyptian-German archaeological mission led by Horig Sourouzian unearthed a large part of a granodiorite colossus of a standing falcon-headed god Horus. Sourouzian said the statue is missing the legs, and the arms are broken, but the head and torso are very well preserved. The 1.85-metres-tall statue depicts the ancient Egyptian deity Horus wearing the divine pleated kilt held around the waist with a horizontally pleated belt. The back pillar of the statue is unsubscribed. The statue was found among the ruins of the hypostyle hall of the Funerary Temple of Amenhotep III, also known as the Temple of Millions of Years, at Kom Al-Hettan, Luxor’s West Bank. The mission also uncovered the lower part of a seated goddess and the head of a god, both in granodiorite. The god is wearing a tripartite wig, and a wide collar adorns his chest.
ISRAEL – 
Beit Shemesh - A 3,100-year-old temple uncovered near Beit Shemesh may hold a link to the Ark of the Covenant, archaeologists have said. The archaeological site at a tel on the outskirts of Beit Shemesh, 20km west of Jerusalem, which has been under excavation since 2012 has now recently yielded a fascinating discovery: a stone table, which echoes Biblical narratives of a slab on which the Ark of the Covenant is said to have been placed. The table has been found within a structure thought to be a temple thanks to its construction - the building was a perfect square, with walls 8.5m long, whose corners aligned with the cardinal points - and because it contained two large concave stones with gutters which may have been used for libation offerings, as well as a vast array of pottery and animal bones, indicative of ritual activity. “There is a lot of evidence that this was indeed a temple,” Prof. Shlomo Bunimovitz of Tel Aviv University told Haaretz. “When you look at the structure and its content, it’s very clear that this not a standard domestic space but something special.” The table structure, a huge dolmen-like rock slab resting upon two smaller rocks, posed more of a challenge. The find is significant because it ties in with the time frame of the 'large stone' the Ark of the Covenant was said to have been placed upon when brought to Beit Shemesh after being returned by the Philistines, as recounted in the book of Samuel.