20 JUILLET 2017 NEWS: Karkamış - Xiongnu - Southampton - Campos de Urnas - Aix-en-Provence - Bourogne - Beijing -
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TURQUIE – 
Karkamış - Affter seven years of excavations in dangerous conditions near Turkey’s border with Syria, a team of archaeologists discovered an unexpected find — a 4,000-year-old pot decorated with the world’s first known smiley face. The team, led by Nicolo Marchetti, an archeology professor at the University of Bologna in Italy, uncovered a variety of Hittite-era objects in Turkey’s Gaziantep province’s Karkamış (Karkemish) district. “We have found a variety of cubes and urns. The most interesting of them is a pot dating back to 1700 BCE that features an image of a ‘smile’ on it,” The smiley face was found by restorers, who reassembled the white, large-bellied pot with a small handle. “The pot was used for drinking sherbet [sweet drink]. Most probably, [this depicts] the oldest smile of the world,” Marchetti said. This archaeological site, Karkamış, was the location of the biblical Battle of Carchemish. Fought in circa 605 BCE between the joint forces of Egypt and Assyria against Babylonia and its allies Medes, Persia and Scythia, the battle is mentioned in Jeremiah 46:2. While there is some debate over whether the Hittites in Anatolia are the same group described in the Bible, Karkamış, where the smiley pot was found, was definitely one of the key Hittite cities back in 2,000 BCE, according to Marchetti.
http://www.timesofisrael.com/historys-oldest-smile-found-on-4000-year-old-pot-in-turkey/
MONGOLIE - Xiongnu - The first ever archaeology collaboration between Henan Province, central China, and Mongolia, will break ground on July 21 as the Chinese team left for Mongolia Wednesday. Archaeologists from both countries will cooperate on surveys, mapping, excavation and research of a Xiongnu cemetery in Arhangay Province. The site has more than 400-known tombs. Previous digs over the past 10 years have unearthed a chariot believed to have been given to the Xiongnu by China during the Han Dynasty (202 BC - 220 AD), as well as some ironware and pottery typical of the Han style. "The Xiongnu had close political and economic connection with the Han Dynasty," said Zhou Ligang, head of the Henan archaeological team. The Xiongnu were an alliance of nomadic tribes who are also known as the Hun. Emerging around the end of the third century B.C., they were to have a huge impact on Chinese and world history. During the Han Dynasty, the Xiongnu and China clashed several times. Zhou said that previously excavated relics needed to be classified and restored, and the other tomb groups needed further observation and analysis.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2017-07/19/c_136456132.htm
ROYAUME UNI – 
Southampton - A timber fishing trap exposed on the Hampshire coast dates back to Saxon times, it has been confirmed. The weir, built as a permanent wooden structure to catch fish as the tide ebbed, was found by chance on the shore of Southampton Water in 2005. Radiocarbon dating has shown it was built in the 8th or 9th centuries. Experts from Exeter University said the results were "thrilling" and provided new insights into the process of coastal erosion in the area.The 70m-long (500ft) structure was found by chance close to the Fawley oil refinery by archaeology students more than 10 years ago. Tests showed the structure was built between 680AD and 896AD. Marine archaeologist Dr John Cooper said the discovery has allowed historians to map changes to the shoreline over 1,000 years as it was covered by advancing saltmarsh which later retreated, gradually exposing the structure over the past century."It has highlighted the level of erosion in Southampton Water over the last few decades. There are factors like sea level rise and dredging carried out but it shows how dynamic coastal change is." He said the wooden structures, once exposed are vulnerable to shipworm and are likely to continue erode away. Some of the posts and wickerwork have already vanished since the initial find in 2005.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hampshire-40635975
ESPAGNE – 
Campos de Urnas - Archaeologists discovered a cemetery site they believe dates back to 1000 BC. Diggers at the site in Sena, in the northern Spanish province of Huesca, Aragon region, made the find during a campaign to investigate the area. The discovery was made in a small part of an expansive site called the Campos de Urnas. Rare ceramic artefacts were found that experts say can only originate from that specific area. Two urns and a lid were discovered in the graveyard, which would have been used in rituals.They belong to the Bronze and Iron Ages and give a glimpse into how funeral burials were carried out in those days. Head archaeologist Hugo Chauton explained that people had begun to cremate the dead instead of burying them. They then placed the ashes in small urns in a hole in the ground. The huge Campos de Urnas site is located between Aragon, La Rioja, Navarra and Catalonia. Campos de Urnas is a huge burial site known for its extensive graveyards and spans across Europe. Other artefacts to have been found across the sites include bronze weapons, various containers and even carts. Bronze contraptions with wheels to carry passengers were uncovered in Hart an der Alz, Lower Bavaria, Germany.
http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/830541/Graveyard-remains-Sena-Spain-archeologists-cemetery-site
FRANCE – 
Aix-en-Provence - Depuis septembre dernier, le projet de réhabilitation des trois places – Madeleine, Prêcheurs et Verdun - occupe une partie du centre-ville aixois. En amont des travaux, qui commenceront en fin d’année, des fouilles archéologiques préventives ont lieu. Dernière trouvaille : les vestiges du Palais des Comtes d’Aix-en-Provence, au niveau de l’actuel palais de justice. Plus exactement, ce sont les sous-sols et les voiries alentours de ce palais qui sont mises au jour. L’ancien bâtiment, d’une envergure colossale, symbolise une large partie de l’histoire de la ville. Les textes attestent qu’il a été construit aux alentours de 1227, en prenant ses fondations sur deux tours romaines. Puis, il a été en permanence remanié, retravaillé, agrandi. Une transformation majeure sera faite sous les ordres du Roi René à la fin des années 1440 : une aile est ajoutée, les remparts vers l’Est sont éloignés et la première place d’Aix est créé, entre le Palais comtal et l’église de la Madeleine. Et en 1786, le Palais est détruit. « On doit faire un travail de décryptage des différentes couches, des différents matériaux», avec le but de « trouver les niveaux romains » explique Nùria Nin, responsable de la direction de l’archéologie à la Ville. « Le Palais est symbolique, car il a représenté les fonctions majeures de la ville : une porte d’entrée, une fonction de sécurité, une fonction judiciaire et de pouvoir ». Les objets et les ossements d’animaux ou d’humains trouvés seront mis à l’étude, et le chantier recouvert.
http://www.go-met.com/aix-palais-comtes-se-revele/
FRANCE – 
Bourogne - À Bourogne, des fouilles sont menées depuis quinze ans. Les pierres ne trompent pas. Les débris de céramique non plus. « Ils sont précieux : ce sont nos meilleurs indicateurs de datation ». Une broche du Xe siècle, encore sertie, vient d’être trouvée. Riche. C’est l’adjectif employé par cet expert pour résumer le site de Bourogne. Il reprend les grandes étapes découvertes ici, chronologiquement, sur un chantier de 0,6 hectare. « Nous avions déjà du néolithique final (haches, pierres polies, silex taillés, vers -3 000 avant J.-C.). Le néolithique est confirmé. Nous retrouvons des traces d’occupation de la colline, qui ont glissé sur le versant ». Il cite notamment « une rare occupation du début Tène (second Âge du fer), -500 avant J.-C. ».Des traces étranges d’habitat sont apparues (sous la maison qui vient d’être construite). « Elles sont très particulières : nous avons trouvé dans deux fosses identiques les carcasses de deux porcelets placés tête-bêche, dont quelques os avaient été prélevés ». L’archéologue évoque un rituel religieux au sens large, « sans raison connue ».Les traces, après les relevés et numérotations habituelles (plans, descriptions, photographies) ont été envoyées à Besançon pour étude. « Nous avons aussi des traces agraires antiques : une clôture, datée du début du Ier siècle, liée à la villa qui se trouve près de l’église ». On sait que cette villa, pas encore mise au jour, a été édifiée dès le Ier siècle, et est restée occupée jusqu’au IVe ou Ve siècle. Y trouvera-t-on des mosaïques ? « Oui : en 1840, lorsque le clocher s’est effondré, des mosaïques ont été signalées ». Les archéologues ont trouvé des traces du IVe siècle, des VIe et VIIe siècles, du Xe au XIIe siècle. La nouveauté de la semaine concerne les XIIIe et XIVe siècle. « Ces murs épais témoignent d’un probable premier château ». Il est situé juste avant celui que nous connaissons, édifié au XVIe siècle. Bourogne, c’est confirmé, abritait « une élite ».
CHINE – 
Beijing - Archaeologists recently found Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) Emperor Jiaqing's inscriptions on a large stone at Ruyuan Garden, the best preserved garden site at the Yuanmingyuan ruins. What surprised archaeologists most was that below the inscriptions, two seals were also found, with one featuring an imperial jade seal. Zhang Zhonghua, head from Beijing Municipal Institute of Cultural Relics, said that it was certain that the inscriptions on the tablet were from Emperor Jiaqing. As the stone tablet is too large to move, some of the inscriptions are buried underground and beyond recognition. According to historical records, the emperor typically took a boat to get to the Ruyuan Garden. The largest-scale excavation work at the Yuanmingyuan ruins started in 2013 and will continue until 2020. So far, explorations in 22 scenic spots have been completed and over 50,000 pieces of relics have been discovered. The archaeological work of Yuanmingyuan began in 1996, and 50,000 square meters of the garden have been studied in detail thus far. While the whole garden covers an area of 2.4 million square meters, with more than 100 scenic spots. Yuanmingyuan, also known as the Old Summer Palace, is located on the west side of Beijing and was originally a large imperial garden in the Qing Dynasty. It was ruined by English and French troops after massive looting in 1860.
http://www.china.org.cn/arts/2017-07/18/content_41236787.htm