11 JANVIER 2011

 - 12 JANVIER

 - CHINE – Chengdu - An ancient burial site with a total of 17 tombs was unearthed in Qilong Village, Huayang Town of Chengdu City, capital of southwest China's Sichuan Province. The ancient tombs include two timber-chambered tombs dating back to Western Han dynasty (206 BC-24 AD), nine brick tombs dating back to the Eastern Han dynasty (25AD-220AD) and six brick tombs dating back to the Song dynasty (960-1279).

         http://www.kaogu.cn/en/detail.asp?ProductID=2650

 - USA – Cleveland - A University of Tennessee archaeologist says there are many hidden prehistory, artifact-rich places in the Chattanooga region. Some of those deliberately are hidden to protect them from vandals, said Lynn Sullivan, curator of the Frank H. McClung Museum in Knoxville. Others simply are unknown to anyone. Sullivan, a native Clevelander, specializes in the Mississippian period of prehistory and artifacts uncovered in the 1930s at the beginning of the Tennessee Valley Authority. Those artifacts are kept at the McClung Museum, mostly undisplayed but available for study. When site preparation began on a new Cleveland subdivision about a decade ago, evidence from a village dating to about 1200 A.D. was revealed, she said. That's why any large land disturbance requires an archaeology study, including current projects such as the Cleveland airport site, Sullivan said.

       http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2011/jan/11/areas-prehistory-period-in-spotlight/?local

ROYAUME-UNI  -   Edinburgh - Excavations for the new Tattoo stands on Edinburgh Castle esplanade have revealed the remains of a boundary wall dating back to the 17th Century. CFA Archaeology will now look at the surrounding area to gain a clearer understanding of what it was part of. A trench dug for one of more than 100 concrete pad foundations for the new stands revealed the remains of a wall around 1m (3.3ft) wide. Peter Yeoman, Historic Scotland's head of cultural resources, said the approach to the castle before the 1700s was very different. "It was far steeper and narrower with the castle dominating the skyline," Mr Yeoman said."The spur we found last year stretched about two thirds of the way down the esplanade and this wall is beyond that. "There are early plans which we think show the newly discovered boundary wall beside the old approach to the castle."Thanks to these excavations our knowledge of the construction of the esplanade is much better informed, really bringing home just how steep an incline it would have been and how majestic the castle would have appeared rising up from the rock face."The esplanade was formed in 1753 to create a parade ground for the military. As part of the process, large amounts of levelling was deposited on the area immediately in front of the castle, covering up earlier buildings.The site of the wall has now been refilled as the excavations continue in other areas of the esplanade.

        http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-12162217

 - CHINE –Sanxingdui -  Le site archéologique de Sanxingdui, littéralement "le tertre des trois étoiles" se situe dans la province du Sichuan, au sud-ouest de la Chine. Pour la première fois, les objets qui y ont été découverts seront exposés au public, dans la ville de Suzhou. Des statues de bronze, des masques, autant d'objets qui devraient attirer les passionnés d'archéologie. Datant pourtant de plus de trois mille ans, ces reliques sont dans un état de conservation surprenant.  Zhu Zhangyi, archéologue, mentionne que "Plusieurs merveilleux objets ont été déterrés sur ce site. La plupart d'entre eux sont uniques en Chine comme à l'étranger. C'est le cas de ce masque et de cette baguette en or par exemple.Il semblerait qu'ils aient des liens avec les cultures d'Asie de l'ouest, mais cela reste encore un mystère." Un autre point d'interrogation subsiste : pourquoi aucun outil n'a été retrouvé sur place ? Pour l'instant, les spéculations vont bon train. Les 98 objets archéologiques dont 74 d'importance nationale seront visibles durant trois mois au Musée de Suzhou.

           http://french.peopledaily.com.cn/Sci-Edu/7256867.html