11 MARS 2011 NEWS - Stonehenge - Bamiyan - Hampton - Château-Thierry - Poitiers - Vergina - Karvounaki - Northumberland -
- 11 MARS
- ROYAUME-UNI – Stonehenge - Modern laser scanning is being implemented to study Stonehenge and to search for hidden clues about how and why the ancient wonder was built. Researchers said they are surveying all visible sides of the standing and fallen stones. Some ancient carvings have been found in previous studies, including a famous Neolithic “dagger.” The work is expected to be completed by the end of March. The team is looking for ancient “rock art,” but also for more modern carvings, in a comprehensive study of the site. Sir Christopher Wren is believed to be one of many who left their mark at the site. Wren is the architect who designed London’s St. Paul’s Cathedral. His family had a home nearby the site, where he is known to have spent time, adding credibility to the claim of finding the name “Wren” in the stones. The new research is the most accurate digital model to date for the world famous monument, considered one of the Seven Wonders of the World. The survey is measuring details and irregularities in the stone surfaces to a resolution of 0.5 mm -- or 1/100 of an inch.
http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/2010052/stonehenge_being_scanned_with_lasers/
- AFGHANISTAN – 
Bamiyan - Afghanistan's historic Bamiyan Buddhas, destroyed by the Taliban 10 years ago, will not be reconstructed despite claims the 1,500-year-old statues could be repaired, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) said Thursday. The decision follows a two-day meeting of scientists, Afghan officials and donors in Paris last week. While the expert panel was split on the possibility of reconstruction, UNESCO has told the Afghan government it does not support a rebuild project, citing concerns over funding priorities and authenticity. The Bamiyan Buddhas, dating from the sixth century, were bombed in 2001 as part of the Taliban's campaign to rid Afghanistan of pre-Islamic structures. While much of the statues was reduced to dust, a group of German scientists, led by Professor Erwin Emmerling of the University of Munich, has said the smaller of the two could be restored. The scientists have spent years studying the Buddhas, by analysing the hundreds of exploded fragments currently stacked in warehouses in the Bamiyan Valley.
http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=54808
- USA - Hampton - Construction on Old Point National Bank’s new headquarters should get underway this summer after archaeologists preserve 2,000 artifacts uncovered during the excavation of the bank’s new home in downtown Hampton. Bottle and ceramics fragments have been found at the site on Queen Street along with such features as two eighteenth-century cellars, two wells and a refuse pit dating from the 1700s. The James River Institute traced structures on the site to the early 1700s, with subsequent owners including James Barron, the first commodore of the Virginia State Navy. A hotel was constructed on the site in 1894.
- FRANCE - Château-Thierry - Sébastien Ziegler, responsable de l'unité d'archéologie, a passionné un auditoire nombreux, en décrivant les fouilles préventives réalisées dans le quartier de la Madeleine. Le bilan est imposant : décapage de 2000 m2, 100 caisses de céramiques et ossements d'animaux, 1 000 sépultures fouillées… Les découvertes sont essentielles : il s'agit d'une nécropole carolingienne (entre 782 et 989) ; le quartier Saint-Crépin au IXe siècle n'était pas un faubourg du château, mais en était contemporain. On y apprend que la société de paysans y était économiquement pauvre, stressée et non exempte de violences.
http://www.lunion.presse.fr/article/autres-actus/societe-historique-lhistoire-de-la-ville-se-devoile
- FRANCE – 
Poitiers - Archéologues et historiens ne décolèrent pas . Des murs des anciennes arènes ont été saccagés à coup de pelleteuse .Dans le cadre du projet de rénovation du centre-ville (Coeur d'Agglo), des travaux sont entrepris sur les canalisations de gaz, rue des Arènes Romaines . Le nom même de la rue aurait dû alerter mais il n'en a rien été . Les services régionaux d'archéologie n'avaient pas été avertis du chantier . Et c'est par hasard que les dégâts ont été découverts et révélés par un défenseur du patrimoine de la ville . Des pans entiers des murs des arènes de l'ancienne ville gallo-romaine ont été très endommagés sans avoir pu être étudiés par les historiens alors que l'emplacement de l'édifice antique est connu .Aujourd'hui, le chantier est stoppé pour plusieurs jours et du côté de la ville de Poitiers, on veut mettre en place une procédure d'information plus stricte avec les entreprises pour éviter de telles erreurs -L'amphithéatre de Limonum ( c'était le nom de Poitiers à l'époque gallo-romaine) pouvait accueillir de 20 à 30 000 spectateurs , ces arènes construites au 1er siècle de notre ère comptaient parmi les plus importantes de Gaule alors que Limonum était la capitale de la province d'Aquitaine .L'amphithéatre a été détruit en 1857, il n'en reste plus aujourd'hui que quelques rares vestiges, rue Bourcani par exemple mais d'anciennes gravures nous donne la dimension du bâtiment romain .
- GRECE - Vergina : étude des deux nouvelles tombes découvertes en 2008 et 2009, celles d'un jeune homme et d'une fillette.
http://www.enet.gr/?i=news.el.texnes&id=258102
- GRECE - Karvounaki (près de Thessalonique) : deux fragments de céramique, du VIe av JC, comportant des graffiti en langue carienne sont à l'étude.
http://www.kathimerini.gr/4dcgi/_w_articles_kathremote_1_08/03/2011_381881
- ROYAUME-UNI – 
Northumberland Park - A dig this summer will aim to uncover the secrets of a 900-year-old hospital beneath a popular Victorian park on Tyneside. When Northumberland Park in North Shields was created in 1885, it is believed that the walls of St Leonard’s Hospital were still standing. Stone coffins and a 15th century grave slab from the medieval hospital have been on show in the park for many years. Now a community archaeology project will start with trial trenching in the summer to see what remains of the hospital. The hospital is documented in 1293 but is believed to pre-date 1120. It is thought that it was under the supervision of the monks of Tynemouth Priory, and also had links to St Bartholomew’s nunnery in Newcastle. The investigation will hope to discover if, as local folklore maintains, St Leonard’s was a leper hospital. Medieval hospitals helped the poor and the sick, buried the dead and gave hospitality to travellers. In 1885, a tiled floor was uncovered and reburied so hopefully that is still there. Human remains were also found and have been uncovered during park work over the years. These are believed to be from a cemetery attached to the hospital, with the last burial recorded in 1708
http://www.journallive.co.uk/north-east-news/todays-news/2011/03/11/digging-into-park-s-history-61634-28316211/#ixzz1GIRkVlTw