20 AVRIL 2011 NEWS - Reims - Chengdu - Pozzuoli - Istanbul - Dong Ngac - Inverness - Yerevan -
- 20 AVRIL
- FRANCE – Reims - La première phase des recherches archéologiques a commencé, hier, sur le site du futur musée au Boulingrin. Pour retrouver les vestiges de la Porte Mars du Moyen âge et d'une maison romaine. Sous l'œil attentif des archéologues de Reims Métropole, avec précaution, le godet de la pelle hydraulique a déjà enlevé le macadam et commencé à gratter la terre sur le Boulingrin. « Nous voulons confirmer la phase diagnostic qui nous a permis notamment de mettre au jour, dans de toutes petites fenêtres, le tracé d'un système défensif du Bas Empire, des traces de décors d'une maison du Haut Empire et une partie de la porte Mars médiévale. Mais cette fois, on ouvre tout sur 2 500 m2 avec aussi quelques sondages plus profonds, jusqu'à 8 mètres peut-être, pour arriver au fond des fondations des murs. » Responsable du chantier, Régis Bontrond ne cache pas son impatience. « Nous travaillons sur une zone qui a été très peu réoccupée depuis longtemps et qui n'a pas été perturbée par des immeubles contemporains. On ne risque pas de trouver des caves mais par contre on espère retrouver (face au 76, boulevard Lundy NDLR) d'intéressants vestiges d'une maison romaine. »
- CHINE – Chengdu - Archeologists in Southwest China's Sichuan Province have found 17 ancient tombs in a community on the outskirts of Chengdu but are yet to confirm the occupants' identities. The tombs were unearthed in Huayang Community, Shuangliu County, early in February, said a statement from the Chengdu municipal institute of archeology Tuesday. Two of the tombs dated back to the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC-24 AD) and contained wood coffins. Nine tombs found were built of brick and stone during the Eastern Han Dynasty (24-220 AD), and the other six dated back to the Song Dynasty, about 1,000 years ago. Among the Song Dynasty tombs were two-chamber tombs, in which men were buried with wives or concubines. Archeologists also unearthed stoves, kitchen utensils, coins, and a group of terracotta dancers, servants, cooks and warriors from the tombs.
http://www.kaogu.cn/en/detail.asp?ProductID=2776
- ITALIE – Pozzuoli - Italian police near Naples discovered a 2,000-year-old Roman-era mausoleum buried under tons of illegally-dumped garbage. The mausoleum, which dates back to the second century AD, was found by police hidden beneath 58 tonnes of garbage in the coastal town Pozzuoli while they were impounding the site they say was used to illegally dispose of waste. Police used earth-moving equipment to dig through the garbage revealing the entrance to the mausoleum which was used to hide refuse. Marble beams and decorations came to light after trash was removed from the tunnel. The owner and user of the 1,700 square meter site are accused of breaking Italian environmental and archeological conservation laws
- TURQUIE – Istanbul - Historic sites along the route of an underwater tube tunnel line connecting İstanbul’s European and Asian sides will be protected under a new preservation scheme. As part of the İstanbul Strait Highway Transit Project, Turkey’s ATAŞ Company has prepared a special plan to ensure the preservation of historical artifacts on the European side from the Cankurtaran shoreline to Haydarpaşa. So as not to share the same fate as the Marmaray Project, which has see a delay of three-and-a-half years, experts have produced a detailed archeological and historical analysis of the line. Ground-penetrating radar was used to scan the tunnel route to ensure that no historical remnants remained. Geophysical surveys for archaeological mapping, especially in underpasses where excavation will be conducted and in areas containing cut-and-cover structures, were conducted in order to gain further information about likely archeological finds. Specialist in Byzantine architecture from Mimar Sinan University’s department of archaeology Associate Professor Haluk Çetinkaya and his team worked for close to six months along the tunnel’s route. Their report, which indicates that the Kazlıçeşme-Cankurtaran shoreline was sea until the 1950s, states that archeologists will oversee all excavations. The remaining sections of the 400-year-old sea walls, in Çatladıkapı, Kumkapı, Yenikapı and Davutpaşa, will also be preserved.
- VIET-NAM – Dong Ngac - An ancient well that was built with bricks, dating from the 9th or 10th century has been found in Dong Ngac Commune, Ha Noi. The well was discovered while the archaeologists were working on excavating two tombs that were built during the first century and the fourth-sixth century that were unearthed earlier this month. More than a week later, the archaeologists discovered 27 objects including pottery, iron nails, a broken copper bowl and a glass string. A pottery vase that is shaped like a rooster is considered to be the most valuable artefact that was discovered. Associate Prof Nguyen Lan Cuong, deputy secretary general of the Vietnamese Association of Archaeology, said the well is very deep. The researchers have so far gone 3.5m into the ground, but they have yet to reach the structure's bottom.
http://en.baomoi.com/Info/Medieval-well-unearthed-in-Ha-Noi/11/134271.epi
- ROYAUME-UNI – Inverness - Evidence of Bronze and Iron Age settlements have been found on the site of the proposed new Inverness Campus. The remains of timber-built roundhouses and crop marks have been recorded at East Beechwood. Archaeologists have also uncovered a flint flake and fragments of prehistoric pottery, including Neolithic grooved ware. In the report, archaeologists said there was "extensive evidence of prehistoric activities" at East Beechwood. They have recommended a strategy be produced on how to record the evidence and artefacts.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-13131884
- ARMENIE – 
Yerevan - Three jars dating back to the 16-17th centuries were discovered during construction of St. Anna spiritual complex on the territory adjacent to St. Mary church in the center of Yerevan. Director of the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography of the Armenian National Academy of Sciences, archaeologist Gagik Sargsyan told that the jars were found as fragments, but not in one piece. According to the archaeologist, the jars have no archaeological value, though they indicate that a cellar could be located on the church territory. Sargsyan added that the excavations will continue to define the importance of archaeological layers. Experts did not rule out the possibility of the discovery of more artifacts dating back to 17th century left in the ruins after the devastating earthquake in 1679.