05 SEPTEMBRE 2017 NEWS: Calshot - Giresun - Swaledale - Nunalleq - Jerusalem - Boulogne -
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ROYAUME UNI – 
Calshot - Fay Fraser and her daughter Iona were paddling at Calshot when they found what appeared to be the remains of a dugout canoe and a longboat – both of which had been exposed by the exceptionally low tide. An MAT spokesman said: “Fay led the way but to their dismay the canoe had been removed. The beach was scoured but nothing was found. Undeterred, they shifted their attention to the longboat. “They waited until the tide dropped low enough to reveal lines of posts pushing up through the water. “The structure proved not to be a longboat but something much more significant – a trackway that could be up to 5,000 years old.” The spokesman said the path first emerged in 2015 after winter storms stripped away the shingle that had covered and protected the ancient route.
TURQUIE – 
Giresun - Ancient life and traditions on the Giresun Island are being examined in archaeological excavations carried out in a monastery complex on the Black Sea island, reputed as a significant religious center in the Byzantine era. The Giresun Island is famous for myths like the Argonauts (a band of Greek heroes), including Hercules, who came to the island to find the Golden Fleece under the leadership of Jason. Excavations there were initiated in 2011 and have been continuing since then. In the first week of the works that have been continuing in the fields of the biggest structures of the island, a church, tower and monastery, ruins of some structures and six tombs, buried with Byzantine burial traditions, were unearthed. Speaking to state-run Anadolu Agency, academic consultant for the excavations and a member of Celal Bayar University’s history of arts department, Gazanfer İltar, said they found several artifacts even though they just started digging the field. He said among the most important findings of this year are the pieces of frescoes in yellow, red and green colors, which are supposed to be pieces of the church.“We have never found pieces of frescoes in previous excavations. We also found mosaic pieces that we think belong to a palace under the church. Also, we found traces of foundations of some structures,” he said. İltar said the excavation field has many tombs but most of them were destroyed because of their proximity to the surface. “Because of illegal excavations on the island, the field was unfortunately destroyed. Especially the mosaics of the palace under the church are torn to pieces. The first anthropological examinations in the tombs showed that the skeletons here belong to men who died in their 30s,” said İltar. He said the tombs that were covered with roof tiles were done with Byzantine burial traditions.“A coin was put on the toe in some tombs and several scallops were left in the tomb. The excavations are very important because they shed light on the history of the island since the 3rd century B.C.”He said the island was surrounded with walls in the past, adding that almost all of the walls collapsed throughout history and the ruins of the church, tower, monastery, chapel, cistern and lots of large storage containers, called pithos, have remained. “The ruins of the narthex of the church will be completely unearthed. It is very important to reveal the lifestyle practiced in the island,” he added. İltar said that for the first time this year, they unearthed many frescoes pieces. “Another important finding is the mosaic pieces. We think that they are from the palace, which was in its place before the church. A green-glazed bowl from the historical Zeuksippos family group is the most important finding among them all. The bowl from the first half of the 13th century is the only example that was unearthed in the most east of the Black Sea region and it can be completed. Works to make the imitation of this bowl are ongoing,” he added. İltar said most of the findings are from the 13th century
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/daily-life-examined-in-byzantine-religious-center-.aspx?pageID=238&nid=117505&NewsCatID=375
ROYAUME UNI – 
Swaledale - An appeal for help to explore a Romano-British site in Swaledale was met with such support that over 25 diggers a day turned up to lend a hand. They were able to excavate a 400 metre square section of the site near Fremington during a successful 17-day project in July. “Day seven of the dig confirmed to us that the site was regionally important when a beautiful piece of worked stone was found. Philip Bastow from the Swaledale and Arkengarthdale Archaeology Group (SWAAG) said :“We believe it to be a Roman cosmetic palette; a lady or her maid would have used this to mix and apply facial cosmetics. The edge of the piece was chamfered around the edge, perfectly smooth on one side and small enough to sit comfortably in the hand.“The palette is only one of several high-status items we found. They are all being professionally examined before we can say anything further.” Philip described the site, saying that there was a roundhouse that faced east, with its back to the prevailing winds and weather. The door entrance has a stone sill that has been skilfully chiselled to form a rebate and drip groove, and to-date is without parallel in the country. A large area of flagged yard, laid upon older cobbling, has been uncovered to the south of the roundhouse. He said: “The quality of the civil engineering on such a rural site is extraordinary, it shows that the site was progressively improved and developed during its occupation. I am sure that it has more secrets to show us.”
http://www.richmondshiretoday.co.uk/roman-cosmetic-palette-discovered-swaledale-dig/
ALASKA – 
Nunalleq : For nearly a decade, archaeological crews from around the world have dug into an ancient site near the Bering Sea village of Quinhagak. This year, they thought they'd wrap it up. Maybe they'd excavate another 12 inches down to reach the bottom of the main dwelling. Then they'd cover and sandbag the site to protect it from eroding away as permafrost thaws. "It wasn't just a mop-up," said Rick Knecht, lead archaeologist at the Quinhagak dig, called Nunalleq, or "old village." "The site was about twice as deep as we thought. It had a whole another house underneath." The lower dwelling is even older than the first and holds thousands of objects dating back hundreds of years, including rare, intact masks and figurines, tools and spears, bowls and knives. Many are wooden, preserved by ice that is now melting. So the dig will go on, even as the effort turns to an ambitious, unusual and, for some, nerve-wracking plan to place the collection of archaeological finds right in the village of Quinhagak. The materials are considered the oldest and best-preserved Yup'ik artifacts ever recovered. Wooden artifacts are preserved through soaking in a chemical solution that replaces water with a binding agent. Then they are slowly dried. Damage occurs from invasion of moisture and rapid changes in temperature, which shouldn't happen in the building. Finds from the newly unearthed dwelling haven't yet been dated, but its location indicates it is older than the one above, from the 1600s, Knecht said. Three generations passed through the upper house over some 75 years. The new finds may be from the 1400s, recovering a bigger slice of Yup'ik history for scientists — and locals.
ISRAEL – 
Jerusalem - A collection of dozens of sealings, from the end of the first Beis Hamikdash era, recently unearthed during excavations by the Israel Antiquities Authority in the City of David near the Old City of Yerushalayim, sheds light on official bureaucratic correspondence and the people behind it in Yerushalayim of old.
http://hamodia.com/2017/09/04/excavations-city-david-uncover-seals-first-beis-hamikdash-era/
FRANCE – 
Boulogne - Même s’il subsistait quelques doutes, le responsable d’un groupe de plongée spécialisé dans les épaves, lié à la Fédération départementale de sports sous-marins, pensait avoir retrouvé sur la plage de Boulogne les vestiges d’un chantier naval napoléonien installé contre la falaise. En l’occurrence, 15 plots de construction faits de bois et de pierre de Marquise plantés dans le sable, censés bloquer les bateaux en construction. L’hypothèse était aussi soutenue par les responsables locaux d’études napoléoniennes et par le président de l’association du fort de la Crèche. Un tableau de Maurice Orange, accroché dans la mairie de Wimereux, représentant un chantier de marine sous Napoléon 1er au moment où il voulait envahir l’Angleterre, semblait entériner cette piste. Alain Richard attendait confiant sa validation définitive via des analyses scientifiques confiées à la DRASSM (*), un service archéologique lié au ministère de la culture. Les résultats viennent de tomber. Les fragments d’un des pieux prélevé sur la plage ont livré leurs secrets. D’après l’étude dendrochronologique (analyse des cernes du bois), l’arbre dont est issu le bois aurait en fait été coupé entre 1881 et 1885… Donc bien après le séjour de Napoléon 1er à Boulogne. Pour la petite histoire, l’étude révèle aussi que le bois provient d’un pin à crochets de 40 ans récolté dans le sud-ouest de la France… Passée sa déception, Alain Richard a déjà passé au crible plusieurs nouvelles hypothèses pouvant expliquer la présence des 15 plots. Prolongation du perré de Boulogne vers Wimereux à la fin du XIXe, épis de protection pour parer au désensablement de la plage (1899), projet de construction d’une route à flanc de falaise avec 4 épis (1900), tramway entre Boulogne et la Pointe aux Oies… Aucune de ces pistes ne s’est avérée crédible. Les recherches continuent.