04 NOVEMBRE 2016 NEWS : Segovia - Limerick - Erquy - Buyeo -

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ESPAGNE –  Segovia - One of Spain’s most emblematic monuments is younger than was originally thought. New archeological studies have placed the construction date of the Segovia Aqueduct in the second century, between 112 and 116 AD. The traditional date attributed to this Roman World Heritage site was around 98 AD.  The new data about one of the most famous and best conserved aqueducts in the world were made public recently at a conference entitled Roman Cities from the Duero Valley, which was celebrated in Segovia last month. The project was presented by the director of the Segovia Museum, Santiago Martínez Caballero; UNED university lecturer Víctor Manuel Cabañero Martín; Castilla y León regional government archaeologist Luciano Municio; and Segovian archeologists Clara Martín García and José Miguel Labrador Vielve. The study is based on the analysis of archeological materials removed from an excavation carried out in 1998, at the location of the three pillars from the Roman construction located in the Plaza del Azoguejo – just where the aqueduct measures 29 meters high and for many its point of greatest splendor. The material that filled the foundations of these pillars includes ceramic materials created in workshops in La Rioja around the first third of the second century AD. What’s more, an ancient Roman coin minted between 112 and 116 was also recovered. According to Luciano Municio, the analysis leaves no recourse but to revise the long-standing evaluation of the age and history of the aqueduct, given that these foundations could only have been closed up around these dates.Previously, academic studies had pointed to the year 98 AD as the construction date of the aqueduct based on research carried out in the 1990s, above all due to a find in one of the arches: anchors that were once used to secure large bronze letters in place. The letters were long gone, although some of them had lasted until the 16th century.Historian and epigrapher Géza Alföldy, from the University of Heidelberg, had proposed a theory that the text was dedicated to the Roman emperor Trajan in the year 98 AD, a potential construction date that stood until this latest analysis.

http://elpais.com/elpais/2016/11/01/inenglish/1477997248_304960.html

IRLANDE –  Limerick - Archaeologists believe the oldest polished stone axe ever found in Europe was used, more than 9,000 years ago, as part of a funeral ritual in Limerick. A team from the University of York’s archaeology department have shed new light on the beliefs of early Mesolithic hunter-gatherers who made their home on the banks of the River Shannon at Hermitage. The site is the earliest recorded burial in Ireland and archaeologists, led by Dr Aimee Little, analysed cremated remains and artifacts given as grave offerings which were found there. They date from 7530BC-7320 BC. Unusually for such an early burial, the person’s body had been cremated first and then buried. The site also featured evidence of a grave-marker. It is likely a post would have marked the spot at which the cremated remains were buried long after the event itself. A highly polished stone adze, or axe, was interred with the remains and archaeologists believe it to be the earliest known discovered in Europe. They believe it was specifically made for the burial. Microscopic analysis of the adze’s surface demonstrated a short duration of use, indicating its purpose was for funerary rites. It was then intentionally blunted, probably as part of funerary rites which the researchers suggest may have been a ritual act symbolising the death of the individual. The team says the axe shows a rare and intimate glimpse of the complex funerary rituals taking place on the banks of the River Shannon during the Mesolithic era.The findings, published in Cambridge Archaeological Journal, mark Hermitage out as an important site for the early prehistory of north-west Europe.

https://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/ancient-axe-used-in-shannon-funeral-428708.html

FRANCE –  Erquy - Mercredi 12 octobre, le second chantier archéologique de l’Islet en est à son huitième et dernier jour. La dizaine de spécialistes venus de Marseille s’active autour d’une épave. « Il s’agit d’un navire de cabotage datant du premier tiers du XVIIIe siècle »,expliquent Olivia Hulot et Marine Jaouen, les archéologues responsables de l’opération. Mais dans quelques heures, la fouille sera totalement rebouchée, et l’épave à nouveau ensevelie. En saura-t-on davantage sur ce mystérieux navire enseveli sous le marais des Sables-d’Or ? S’il ne subsiste aujourd’hui de l’embarcation que sa colonne vertébrale, celle-ci est constituée d’éléments en excellent état de conservation. Avant de livrer à nouveau l’épave à la nature, l’équipe de la Drassm doit recueillir un maximum d’informations. Quelques objets, découverts autour de l’épave, ont été soigneusement collectés : un morceau de cordage, des tessons de céramique ou de grès de Normandie, les restes d’une chaussure, et… une demi-noix de coco. « Ce n’est pas si étonnant, argumente l’un des chercheurs. Les marins du XVIIIe siècle naviguaient déjà jusque dans les zones tropicales, les Antilles notamment ». S’il est peu probable que le modeste caboteur du Penthièvre ait traversé l’Atlantique vers les Caraïbes, ce genre d’embarcations pouvait en revanche facilement atteindre les côtes de l’Irlande, bien que sa vocation fût plutôt de rallier les havres côtiers locaux, notamment le port de Saint-Malo pour le transport de blé ou de bois.

http://www.lepenthievre.fr/2016/11/01/fouilles-mysterieuses-henri-dubois-decouvreur-de-la-2-epave/

COREE DU SUD –  Buyeo - Oldest tiles - Korean archaeologists have discovered pieces from two of Korea’s oldest chimi, a type of roof tile, on the site of the Wangheung Temple complex (also known as the Wangheungsa Temple) in Buyeo, South Chungcheong. The pieces found in Wangheung Temple (Historic Place No. 427) are believed to have been made around 577, the year the temple was constructed during the Baekje Dynasty (BC 18-660). One fragment was thought to have been the top of a tile on northern side of a building’s roof and the other the bottom of a matching tile on the southern side. Placed together, they match. A whole tile was 1.23 meters (4 feet) high.

http://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/article/Article.aspx?aid=3025751