05 NOVEMBRE 2018: Alamut -Atalanti - Mahasthangarh - Moradlu - Kyoto - Antiochia ad Cragum -

 

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IRAN2945538 Alamut - A team of Iranian archaeologists has recently discovered a water supply network, dating back to 795 years ago, used to supply water to the famed Alamut castle in Qazvin province. The system which contains a dam and its associated channels was once supplying water to the height of over 200 meters, ISNA reported on Saturday. Also known as the castle of the Assassins, the 12th-century structure is nested on top of a peak. It was once a shelter for the followers of Hasan-e Sabbah (1070–1124) who was a spiritual leader of an Islamic sect.

https://www.tehrantimes.com/news/429203/Centuries-old-water-supply-system-found-in-Alamut-castle

GRECEWire 5733834 1541276368 141 634x845 Wire 5733840 1541276380 539 634x844 Atalanti - Archeologists have been busy since mid-October, digging part of a field near the central Greek town of Atalanti, 150 kilometers (94 miles) northwest of Athens. The dig began after the farmer found the torso of an ancient kouros (young man) and immediately alerted the authorities. The ministry said Saturday that a total of four large fragments of life-size limestone statues of young men have been found, along with a triangular statue base. All include torsos, with the largest fragment including a head. Deeper down, seven graves with several unspecified findings have been unearthed, likely part of a larger cemetery.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/ap/article-6349967/More-ancient-statues-graves-unearthed-Greek-field.html

BANGLADESHJahajghata spot 2 Mahasthangarh - Archaeologists have discovered some Northern Black Polished Ware (NBPW) of Mauryan, Gupta and Pala dynasties along with other artefacts during their first excavation in Jahajghata area at Mahasthangarh archaeological site in Bogura. The team has also dug out some iron objects, ancient ring wells, and terracotta balls of the Pala era. The archaeological excavation started in Jahajghata and Boiragir Bhita on May 7, involving two teams. In Boiragir Bhita, archaeologists found a damaged brick wall which they believe is a part of a Hindu temple and belongs to the Pala dynasty. “We are excavating the Jahajghata area for the first time to reveal more history of Mahasthangarh, one of the most important archaeological sites in South Asia,” said Mazibur Rahman, one of the excavation team leaders, and assistant director of the Department of Archaeology (DoA), Mahasthangarh. “We have also found many bricks, potsherds and potteries which the last civilisation of Pundranagar had used,” said Sadek Uzzaman, assistant director of the Department of Archaeology, Paharpur. Archaeologists have discovered some Northern Black Polished Ware (NBPW) of Mauryan, Gupta and Pala dynasties along with other artefacts during their first excavation in Jahajghata area at Mahasthangarh archaeological site in Bogura. The team has also dug out some iron objects, ancient ring wells, and terracotta balls of the Pala era. The archaeological excavation started in Jahajghata and Boiragir Bhita on May 7, involving two teams. In Boiragir Bhita, archaeologists found a damaged brick wall which they believe is a part of a Hindu temple and belongs to the Pala dynasty. “We are excavating the Jahajghata area for the first time to reveal more history of Mahasthangarh, one of the most important archaeological sites in South Asia,” said Mazibur Rahman, one of the excavation team leaders, and assistant director of the Department of Archaeology (DoA), Mahasthangarh. “We have also found many bricks, potsherds and potteries which the last civilisation of Pundranagar had used,” said Sadek Uzzaman, assistant director of the Department of Archaeology, Paharpur. The excavation was paused on June 13. Meanwhile, another team started an excavation in Vasu Bihar, 8km west of Mahasthangarh, on October 13. Primarily, the archaeologists found two stupas of the 7th century, which were a part of the Buddhist civilisation, said DoA official Mazibur. The excavation will go on throughout November, he added.

https://www.thedailystar.net/city/news/artefacts-different-eras-dug-out-mahasthangarh-1655902

IRAN2945534 Moradlu - Archaeologist have detected new traces of prehistoric relics and petroglyphs around Meshginshahr County, northwest Iran. “Ancient relicts have been discovered in 10 new places, apart from rock arts or petroglyphs scattered in two villages of Moradlu District,” CHTN quoted Meshginshahr’s tourism chief as saying on Saturday. Imanali Imani said the abundance and variety of rock paintings and engravings in Meshginshahr area represent rare examples of the rocky motifs in Iran and [even] the world. “The discovered objects bear depictions of human beings in archery, cavalry in rhythmic and magical themes,” the official said. There are also petroglyphs that depict mountain goats, boat anchors, shooting and scenes of war, and scenes of deer hunting in individual and collective forms, he added. The rock art can be seen in some mountainous regions across Iran where roaming life and livestock farming are prevalent typically. The ancient animals, tools, and human activities depicted often help shed light on daily life in the distant past, though the images are frequently symbolic.

https://www.tehrantimes.com/news/429201/Prehistoric-relics-petroglyphs-discovered-in-northwest-Iran

JAPON Kyoto 2 Kyoto - Excavations at Kinkakuji temple (Golden Pavilion) confirmed that another would-be water feature was built south of its Kyokochi pond, likely in the mid-Muromachi Period (1338-1573), but never filled. The pond is believed to have been created in the late 14th century, the UNESCO World Heritage site in Kita Ward, also known as Rokuonji, announced Oct. 11. The Kyoto City Archaeological Research Institute surveyed the site between June 2016 and August 2018 and discovered that the pool would have had three islets and measured up to 76 meters east to west and 45 meters north to south. The pond was constructed around the same period as third Muromachi shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu (1358-1408) commissioned Kitayama-dono, the shogun’s residence that was later replaced by Kinkakuji. As foundation stones for a building were also unearthed northeast of the pond, the research institute estimates Yoshimitsu wanted to create a larger garden under the initial plan. No clay layer to prevent water leaking or mud was found on the bottom of the pond, indicating the pool has never been filled with water. The pond site is painted in “Kitayama Rokuonji Ezu” (Picture map of Kitayama Rokuonji), which was drawn in 1790 during the Edo Period (1603-1867), in a different color from that of Kyokochi, so the one in the painting almost certainly shows a waterless pond, according to the research institute. Yoshimitsu died of illness about 10 years after moving to Kitayama-dono. “The construction was likely suspended before supplying water to the pond, because Yoshimitsu died before its completion,” said Hisao Suzuki, an archaeology professor at Kyoto Sangyo University. As an absence of signs of water indicates construction of the pond was suspended before its completion, the finding provides important pointers to how the temple venue may have changed during the course of its centuries-long history. Located south of Kyokochi around the Golden Pavilion and stretching 115 meters east to west and 80 meters north to south, the former pond site is currently covered by a thicket. “Kitayama Rokuonji Ezu” describes the site as a pond, so it was known that there used to be another pool on the precincts. However, when and why the pond was developed remained unclear, earning it the nickname of a “mysterious pond site.”

http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201811030001.html

TURQUIETurkey latrine mosaic Antiochia ad Cragum - Figurative mosaics dating to the second century A.D. have been uncovered in a public toilet at the site of Antiochia ad Cragum, Located on Turkey's southern coast, Antiochia ad Cragum was an important Roman commercial center. Birol Can of Uşak University in Turkey said the public toilet was next to the city’s council house, and probably accommodated large crowds of men. The two images in the latrine’s flooring riff on well-known myths, explained Michael Hoff of the University of Nebraska. In one image, Narcissus is shown staring at his own phallus, rather than at the usual reflection of his face. The other image features Ganymede, who, according to tradition, was kidnapped by Zeus, who had taken the form of an eagle, and made to serve as a cupbearer to the gods. Ganymede is usually depicted in Roman art as a youth holding a stick and rolling a hoop as a toy. In the picture in the latrine, however, he is shown holding a sponge with tongs, perhaps for wiping down the facility. And Zeus, in the form of a heron, is shown sponging Ganymede. “You have to understand the myths to make it really come alive, but bathroom humor is kind of universal as it turns out,” Hoff concluded. 

https://www.livescience.com/64000-dirty-jokes-mosaics-discovered.html