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BULGARIE – Archaeology varna slab inscription 2 604x272 Varna - A marble slab with a poetic inscription is the latest find from excavations by archaeologists at the 2nd Century CE thermal baths site in Bulgaria’s Black Sea city of Varna, Bulgarian National Television reported. Archaeologists regard the find as extremely valuable as the discovery of inscriptions from that time is rare. The thermae in Varna covered 7000 sq m and are the largest that have been found on the Balkan peninsula, and the largest ancient building discovered in Bulgaria so far. They remained in use until some time in the late third century CE.

https://sofiaglobe.com/2020/06/16/archaeology-marble-slab-with-poetic-inscription-found-at-bulgarias-varna-thermae/
ROYAUME UNI - 0 1 80jpeg Coleshill - An Iron Age funeral site has been uncovered on a stretch of the proposed HS2 line near Solihull. The forgotten graves, at least 2,000 years old, indicate that a settlement may have existed on the river bank site way back in history. Wessex Archaeology, which is excavating on behalf of HS2, found a cluster of several dozen "cremation graves" - from those placed on funeral pyres - at Coleshill. It's believed that the site dates from the Iron Age, the last phase of the prehistoric period, which was brought to an abrupt end for much of Europe by the Roman conquest. "[It] should offer some interesting ideas of what they do with their dead," she said."When I say they, it's probably going to be Iron Age people ... You have 43 cremation-related deposits." Cremation was a widespread ritual for ancient people, although the spread of Roman customs eventually saw the practice become more and more infrequent. Iron Age roundhouses had once stood there generations ago, with archaeologists trying to establish whether these structures would have been occupied all year round or just during certain periods.

https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-news/revealed-iron-age-settlement-lying-18445209

IRLANDE – 9mlkybnqj4qr2qdun3aq4c 650 80 Newgrange  - Ancient genetic material extracted from human bones buried in Ireland's famous Newgrange tomb come from a Neolithic man, likely a king, whose parents were probably brother and sister, according to new research. The discovery suggests Neolithic Ireland was ruled about 5,000 years ago by an elite dynasty that used incestuous marriage to distinguish themselves from ordinary society. In a study published Wednesday (June 17) in the journal Naturea team examined genetic material from 42 people buried at Neolithic sites in Ireland, dating from between 5,800 and 4,500 years ago, and two people from earlier Mesolithic burial sites dating from 6,100 to 6,700 years ago.. They found that an individual buried in the most ornate recess of the Newgrange passage tomb — one of the earliest Stone Age monuments in Europe — was an adult male whose parents could only be first-degree relatives. That means they were probably a brother and sister — or perhaps a parent and child, although that's extremely rare throughout history. While the ornate burial of the individual at Newgrange suggests the social acceptance of his parentage, genetic studies of other Neolithic burials in Ireland show no signs of such interbreeding.According to legend, an ancient king tried to build a high tower in a single day at nearby Dowth, about a mile from Newgrange, with the help of magic from his sister that stopped the sun in the sky. But the king broke the spell and started the sun moving again by committing incest with his sister; as such, the 11th-century Irish place-name for the passage tomb at Dowth is Fertae Chuile, which can be translated as "Hill of Sin" or "Hill of Incest," the researchers wrote.  The study of ancient Irish genomes also revealed that the man buried in the Newgrange passage tomb was distantly related to an individual buried in a Neolithic passage tomb at Carrowmore in County Sligo, more than 90 miles (140 kilometers) away in the west of Ireland. Individuals buried in the tombs were also more closely related to each other than to other members of the population, Cassidy said, while a chemical analysis of their bones also suggests they ate more meat than was usual at the time.

https://www.livescience.com/king-born-of-incest-ireland-newgrange-tomb.html

DANEMARK - Stevns Peninsula - Archaeologists excavating a settlement on the Stevns Peninsula in Denmark suggests they have discovered a toilet from the Viking Age. Archaeologists from the Museum Southeast Denmark were conducting a study for pit houses, when they found a hole feature that they have identified as a toilet, possibly the oldest ever found in Denmark and bringing new revelations into the toilet habits of Vikings living in the countryside on the Peninsula. A macrofossil and pollen analyses found mineralised seeds (caused by high levels of phosphate) and concentrations of fly pupae that indicates the sediments accumulated in the hole were human faeces. The pollen analyses also discovered insect-pollinated plants, often used for creating honey or mead for human consumption.

https://www.heritagedaily.com/2020/06/archaeologists-discover-viking-toilet-in-denmark/133795

ESTONIE – 788963h95b8t28 Sillamäe - A burial site discovered in the center of the eastern Estonian town of Sillamäe can provide important information about the living conditions and health of early-modern (16th to 18th centuries-ed.) people in Estonia.  About a dozen skeletons have now been found, and archaeologists are now excavating the burial site and documenting the skeletons.  According to archaeologist Martin Malve, the site may be an early modern cemetery. "I would suggest that local people were buried because we find men, women, and children. But we also have a double burial, where two men are buried in the one grave; it is possible that this was the result of plague, for example,

https://news.err.ee/1102856/skeletons-found-in-sillamae-conceal-important-information

FRANCE – Limoges - Les fouilles ont repris, le deux juin dernier. Neuf sites étaient déterminés, entre la rue haute Cité, la rue de la Cité et le boulevard du même nom. Six lieux ont déjà été explorés, il en reste donc trois. On a trouvé des vestiges de plusieurs murs, de plusieurs époques, allant du XII au XVèmes siècles. Maintenant que nous avons atteint le boulevard, ce lundi 15, on éspère trouver là des vestiges des fossés datant du XIIIème siècle, qui entourait alors la Cité. Ces fossés ont été comblés au XVIIIème, pour permettre le tracé des boulevards presque comme on les connaît aujourd'hui. Je pense que si l'on pouvait creuser plus sous les maisons, ce serait intéressant, mais cela ne va pas être possible. Mais déjà là, en coupant la rue, on trouve des strates qui nous laissent présager de bonnes choses. Je pense que vers les quatre mètres de profondeurs, on devrait pouvoir retrouver ces fossés. [Christophe Maniquet, archéologue à l'INRAP]

https://france3-regions.francetvinfo.fr/nouvelle-aquitaine/haute-vienne/limoges/fouilles-inrap-ont-repris-quartier-cite-limoges-1841876.html

FRANCE – Chaulnes Chaulnes - En 2011, un diagnostic, réalisé à l'emplacement d'un lotissement par E. Petit, avait permis de mettre au jour un établissement gallo-romain, étendu sur environ 8400 m². Il était matérialisé par un chemin excavé bordé de deux fossés et par un bâtiment rectangulaire sur fondations de craie édifié à proximité d'une probable cave. La céramique recueillie oriente vers une datation allant du milieu du Ier au début du IVe siècle. L'extension de ce lotissement, localisé au nord des parcelles diagnostiquées en 2011, a permis de suivre l'extension du site gallo-romain. Une occupation gallo-romaine (IIe -IIIe s.) est matérialisée par une vingtaine de structures (des tronçons de fossés, trous de poteaux, deux ou trois puits dont l'un avec sa margelle, un potentiel cellier et des fosses). De nombreux impacts et aménagements de la Première Guerre ont également été relevés. Source : rapport de diagnostic

https://www.associationciras.fr/2020/06/15/chaulnes-diagnostic-2-2-ha-p-y-groch-2019/

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