02 – 03 AVRIL 2011 NEWS - Tripunithura - Kichakbadhsthal - Ahom - Lutterbach -

 - 02 – 03  AVRIL

 - INDE   Tripunithura -  A few years ago, nearly 21 ancient structures in Tripunithura were  declared protected monuments by the Archaeology Department. The list includes some palaces, the Oottupura Malika, the western gateway of Sree Poornathrayeesha temple, an ancient structure at Nadamel St Mary’s church and the Puthen bungalow, which was already in a bad state after it was attached to the RLV College of Music and Fine Arts. Four years after the official declaration of the monuments being “protected,” nothing has been done for preserving the ancient structures like Oottupura Malika, which is in the possession of some Government departments. It is an attractive building  with a spacious nadumuttam (central courtyard) and a two-storeyed structure with spacious rooms. “Its typical Kerala architecture is a huge attraction and I tried to get it converted into an art gallery of the Kerala Lalita Kala Akademi,” said T A Sathyapal, secretary of the Akademi. But the Oottupura Malika is trapped in a legal battle between various departments regarding its ownership. “So the Akademi is yet to make use of this beautiful structure,” Sathyapal  said - The western gateway of Sree Poornathrayeesha temple is yet another architectural wonder. The structure itself is moulded with a unique mix of lime, jaggery and other building material. The first floor has six wooden pillars with carvings of Lord Ganesha and other Gods.

http://expressbuzz.com/cities/kochi/history-rusts-in-tripunithura/262359.html

 - NEPAL – Kichakbadhsthal -  The ruins of two thousand-year-old buildings have been found in Kichakbadhsthal, a historic place in Jhapa district in course of excavation. The remains of walls of building made of bricks measuring 36 centimeters long, 26 centimeters wide and 5 centimeters thick have been unearthed.  They were excavated from one meter under the surface. An earthen lamp and an urn have been also found at the excavation site. According to Uddav Acharya, chief officer at the Department of Archeology, the archeological remains found in the area bear a resemblance to those of buildings constructed during the period of Sunga and Kupan some two thousand years ago. The condition of remains shows the buildings were collapsed by the strong earthquake. According to Sismic, a French organization studying about earthquake, the buildings might have been collapsed by the earthquake took place in the fifth century. The first excavation in the area was conducted in 2058/059 BS. 
http://www.mastinepal.com/showthread.php?t=17402#ixzz1ITM9bDQA 

 - INDE – Ahom- The State Directorate of Archaeology has expressed serious resentment over the State Fisheries Department’s bid to turn the historic Jaysagar tank into a fishery and its banks into a site for locating its training centres. In a communication to the Fisheries Department, the Directorate of Archaeology has stated that the historic character of the Ahom-era Jaysagar tank should be restored to it by the Department revoking its decisions for using the tank as a fishery as well as setting up fisheries training centres on the banks of the centuries-old tank. It needs mention here that Jaysagar is one of those special type of tanks dug out by the Ahom rulers with raised banks. These tanks are further supported by ditch called khowai or parikha on four sides. On banks of the tank the temples of Vishnu, Shiva and Devi are erected in east-west alignment. These temples are the representation of the second phase of the architectural development under the Ahom Swargadeo (king) Rudra Singha.  On the western bank of the tank, the brick-built Devi temple was erected. The best example of the Ahom architecture of the second phase is found in the form of the Keshavanarayana or the Vishnu temple. The Jaysagar tank is the largest Ahom-era tank. Because of its large size, it is called sagar. It is significant that the upper limit of the water level of these tanks remain up to the brink of these water bodies throughout the year. The Ahom hydrologists applied an indigenous method, called nagabondha, had set up a mechanism to keep intact the flow of water in these water bodies all over the year. It is also important to note that the Ghanashyam House, an important terracotta architecture of the Ahom era, is located on the western bank of the Jaysagar tank.

http://www.assamtribune.com/scripts/detailsnew.asp?id=apr0211/at096

 - FRANCE – Lutterbach - Les fouilles entreprises sur le chantier de la future prison départementale ont permis de mettre à jour les vestiges d'un camp romain ainsi que des armes germaines vraisemblablement contemporaines de la bataille de l'Ochsenfeld. « C'est une découverte archéologique majeure qui va peut-être nous permettre de localiser avec précision l'emplacement de la bataille de l'Ochsenfeld » . Petit retour en arrière. « À partir de — 72 av. J.-C. les Suèves, venus des régions du Neckar et du Main ont commencé à franchir le Rhin et à coloniser le nord-est de la Gaule. On estime à environ 120 000 le nombre de Germains qui s’étaient installés sur ce qui est aujourd’hui l’Alsace. Les tribus gauloise, les Séquanes et surtout les Eduens, sont alors allées solliciter l’aide de Rome. Jules César, consul des Gaules, voyant dans l’extension territoriale des Germains un risque pour la Gaule cisalpine, est venu affronter les armées d’Arioviste ». Ce fut une bataille colossale : 70 000 Germains d’un côté, 40 000 Romains répartis en six légions de l’autre. Les historiens estiment à plusieurs dizaines de milliers le nombre de soldats, mais aussi de femmes et d’enfants germains, qui laissèrent leur vie dans la plaine d’Alsace. Sur le site de Lutterbach, les vestiges de l’enceinte d’un camp romain ont été dégagés. Banal, direz-vous, sauf que le site livre aussi des traces certaines de bataille… et que des fragments d’armes, de fibules et de casques germains y ont été authentifiés, corroborant l’hypothèse des chercheurs. Plus troublant encore, les archéologues ont mis à jour des ossements humains enchevêtrés qui pourraient être l’une des fosses dans laquelle les légions romaines victorieuses ont entassé les corps de leurs adversaires après qu’Arioviste eut reflué sur la rive orientale du Rhin. « Jusqu’à présent, les historiens situaient le champ de bataille de l’Ochsenfeld entre Cernay (où un lieu-dit porte ce nom, NDLR) et Mulhouse. Un camp romain avait déjà été mis à jour en 1970 à Aspach, mais personne ne savait où se trouvait précisément le lieu de la bataille », relève J.-C. Lutz. Reste que cette découverte, si elle se confirme, pourrait bien remettre en cause le projet de prison départementale, ou du moins en reporter la construction. Pas question pour les historiens de travailler à la va-vite sur un site exceptionnel qui marqua la fin de l’extension germaine en Gaule, site qu’évoque Jules César dans La guerre des Gaules et qui s’annonce très riche. « Nous en avons à peine exploité 2 % », souligne J.-C. Lutz. Et puis l’Ochsenfeld est en lien direct avec la fondation de la ville de Mulhouse ! La légende veut en effet qu’un guerrier germain blessé ait été recueilli après la bataille par la fille d’un meunier, et qu’ensemble ils fondèrent Mulhausen.

http://www.alsacelibertaire.com/?p=2445