04 AVRIL 2011 NEWS - Cebu - St Hilaire la Forêt - Belle-Isle - Brossac - Oxford - Sault Ste. Marie - Gujarat -
- 04 AVRIL
- PHI LIPPINES – Cebu - A team of archaeologists from the University of San Carlos (USC) and the National Museum unearthed ancient pottery they believed to be dated back to the Philippine Metal Age at the grounds of the parish church in San Remigio town, Cebu. In a press statement, the university said the expedition discovered the earthenware pottery in three burials off the grounds of the San Remigio Parish after 10 days of test excavations. the pottery's designs bore resemblance to other finds in the country that were dated in the Philippine Metal Age period, between A.D. 900 and 500 B.C. The team said this may mark the first time that a Metal Age site was uncovered in Cebu. Other significant finds include a large Philippine Melon shell (Melo diadema) crafted into some kind of scoop and plenty of red-slip pottery fragments. Another excavation unit on the municipal beach right across the church has also yielded a midden or trash full of broken pottery, shells and clay net sinkers. Prof. Bersales and Dr. Garong said they believe the site to have burials that at least date to about 1,000 to 2,000 years ago. But they cautioned that only radiocarbon dating of some bone samples in the United States may provide the absolute date for the site. They said the absence of Chinese and other Asian tradeware ceramics also helped provide a date much older than those found in Boljoon as well as Plaza Independencia. Bersales said the site appears unlooted and is certain to provide important information on the culture of Cebuanos before the arrival of Asian and Arab traders.
- FRANCE – 
St Hilaire la Forêt - Le Centre de la Préhistoire (Cairn) prépare la nouvelle saison. L'ouverture le 1 er avril offre au public de nouvelles découvertes, de nouvelles attractions et un regard toujours plus précis sur les activités humaines des sociétés préhistoriques. Pour l'heure, c'est un groupe d'étudiants de l'Ices, l'institut catholique d'études supérieures de la Roche-sur-Yon qui s'est glissé dans la peau des hommes et des femmes d'il y a 5 000 ans ; ils ont pour mission de construire un grenier à sel sur pilotis avec les seuls outils et matériaux disponibles à l'époque : des pierres taillées, des silex tranchants, du noisetier, du bois... Et le fait de travailler en situation préhistorique ce que la directrice du Cairn, Jessica Pilet, appelle « l'archéologie expérimentale », permet de faire des découvertes étonnantes : échanges économiques entre lointaines régions d'Europe, ateliers spécialisés de tannage des peaux ou de taille de silex, division des tâches... « On peut même déduire si l'artisan d'alors était droitier, si sa lame servait à couper des végétaux ou de la viande... etc. », explique Viriginie Cazacliu-Essirard, enseignante à l'Ices.
- CANADA – 
Belle-Isle - Le marais de Belle-Isle, un site archéologique acadien situé dans la vallée d'Annapolis, en Nouvelle-Écosse, sera de nouveau accessible aux chercheurs. Pendant plusieurs mois, le ministère des Ressources naturelles a refusé au Comité de préservation et de mise en valeur de Belle-Isle l'accès aux 91 acres de l'ancien village érigé dans le marais.Il est question de l'érection d'un monument à la mémoire de l'odyssée des familles souches acadiennes installées dans la région vers 1653. Des fouilles à l'endroit du village et du cimetière seront mises en chantier.
- FRANCE – 
Brossac - Sous la bâche protégeant la charpente du chevet de l'église Notre-Dame de Brossac, restaurée par l'entreprise «MCCC» de Fléac, une équipe barbezilienne des compagnons de Saint-Jacques s'affaire. «Cette semaine, nous attaquons le mur de l'abside où des blocs de grison sont à changer et où il faut suivre tout le jointement à la chaux. Les échafaudages sont déjà en place», explique le responsable d'équipe, Patrice Semren. À l'intérieur, la coupole qui surplombe le choeur a subi le décapage d'une grande partie du plâtre qui la recouvrait et des peintures sans doute vieilles de plusieurs siècles sont apparues, laissant deviner mystérieux dragons, visages et inscriptions latines. «La direction régionale de l'action culturelle (DRAC), doit venir ce mercredi pour donner son avis» confie le maire.
http://www.charentelibre.fr/2011/03/28/l-eglise-livre-des-secrets,1028123.php
- USA – Oxford - The remains of an American Indian reportedly have been found and reburied at an Oxford construction site where a professor recently discovered that an ancient Indian mound has been destroyed. Jacksonville State University professor of archaeology and anthropology Harry Holstein said the land in the vicinity of the sports complex construction contains remnants of an American Indian village and a temple mound that once was 30 feet tall. The 3-foot base of the mound was intact when he visited the site last summer, but had been flattened when he returned this week. City project manager Fred Denney said he had no knowledge of the discovery of Indian remains at the sports complex site. He said he did not know when a report to the city from the university archaeologists would be completed.
http://indiancountrynews.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=8425&Itemid=108
- CANADA - Sault Ste. Marie - Sault Ste. Marie's rich history has been studied by many. But it has also been examined by a Toronto-based consultant group which is preparing an archaeological site potential assessment for the city. The document will provide guidelines for city development in potential areas of historical importance and outline the history of that area. This is the first time such a study has been conducted in the city. In the past, an archaeological dig was conducted on the Gateway site but nothing of historical significance was found. With the downtown area already built up -- the land where it is believed early settlers settled along the shore of the St. Mary's River-- assessment of that area is limited. It's expected the document will help identify the city's history and culture in terms of its background and show how Sault Ste. Marie was formed.
http://www.saultstar.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=3057973
- INDE – 
– Gujarat - Scotland has sent a rescue team to India. Not to rescue survivors from another natural disaster, but to save a historic site from natural decay. Their mission? To engage in a pioneering new project to digitally record the Rani Ki Vav stepwell – the Queen’s Step Well. Dating from 1050, in pre-colonial times, this historic site has magnificent stepped terraces and around 400 sculptures of Hindu significance.Using digital and laser technology, the plan is to record and create exact digital models of the site for the first time – a method that heralds a new approach to conserving and maintaining areas of historical significance.