21 MARS 2011 NEWS - Nurein - Midhurst - Binh Long - Durant - Ucupe - Towton - Qinghai -
- 21 MARS
- SOUDAN – Nurein - A major stronghold and a Mediaeval settlement have been discovered by Polish archeologists in Sudan at the start of a three year research project realized by the Prehistory Institute of Poznan University and the National Corporation for Antiquities and Museums of Sudan. The Hosh esh-Sheitan strongold, or Satan’s Court, is situated in the Nile valley. “There is no written mention of it and yet it is one of the biggest strongholds in this part of the Nile Valley”, says Polish archeologist Mariusz Drzewiecki. Another interesting find is a settlement on the Nurein hill. “It was a big agglomeration, judging by the number of houses – we found 70-80 of them, as well as the size of cemeteries at the foot of the hill”, Drzewiecki said. Members of the expedition said they received great help from the local authorities as well as the local residents. The joint Polish-Sudanese project was given extensive coverage by the media in that African country.
http://www.thenews.pl/international/artykul151684_polish-archeologists-in-major-find-in-sudan.html
- ROYAUME-UNI – Midhurst - An investigation is under way into the significance of an early bronze-age barrow which has been revealed on the edge of a sandpit near Midhurst. The large mound, dating back to around 2000 BC, is set to be toppled as more sand is extracted from the huge pit at Minsted, on land owned by All Souls College, Oxford. Preparatory works included improving the stability of the ground around and under the barrow, vegetation clearance, and enabling vehicle access. County archaeologist John Mills said the first stage had been to carry out a detailed topographical survey to record the location of the mound. “The second part has been a metal detector survey, at this stage only marking where any finds are showing up, some of which may then be further investigated.” The third stage, for which no start date has yet been set, is to dig some small-scale trenches to establish the exact size of the mound, reputed to be a substantial 32 metres in width, according to 1970s records. Mr Mills said some finds had been located by metal detection, but he cautioned: “They may be no more than old shotgun cartridges because they are near the surface. “There might be early bronze-age daggers and axes, but they would be in the middle of the mound.” More invasive work, including excavation of the finds, is programmed under the agreement between the county and the operator, before the barrow is lost to sand quarrying.
- VIET-NAM – Binh Long - Artefacts of Vietnamese people who lived at least 7000 years ago in the northern province of Thai Nguyen have been unearthed by Vietnamese archaeologists. The team from the Thai Nguyen Museum and Viet Nam Institute of Archaeology discovered more than 300 stone artefacts, such as knives and hoes, in a 100sq.m cave in Vo Nhai District. Snail shells and animal bones, believed to be food remains from the same era, were also found in the cave along with ceramic pieces of the metal era dating back 3,000 years. Oc Cave is in Binh Long Commune.
http://en.baomoi.com/Info/Ancient-Vietnameses-relics-found/11/123448.epi
- USA – Durant - The Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma (CNO) will be repatriating 124 of their ancestor’s remains this coming spring. This is a great success in more ways than one, and for more tribes than just the Choctaw Nation. The remains of ancestors are sacred to many Native American tribes, and the Choctaw Tribe is no exception. These 124 remains are believed to be around 500 years old, based on cultural material and records from the past, and hold great significance to members of several tribes from the Southeastern United States. The people of the Choctaw Nation have long believed that the deceased will become one with the earth. “It is a traditional Choctaw belief that when people die, their spirits take a journey to the Land of Souls, and part of that is their body going back into the ground,” explains Dr. Ian Thompson, Choctaw Tribal Archaeologist. These remains were taken from their place of burial decades ago during two separate excavations, one in the 1950s and the other in the 1960s.
- PEROU – 
Ucupe - New polychromatic murals depicting three personages adorned with feathered headdresses -among them a particularly majestic individual flanked by two staffs or banners- were found at the Ucupe Palace located in Lambayeque region. The discovery was made after a group of archaeologists resumed preservation and maintenance works at the archaeological complex located 39 kilometers (24 miles) from the city of Chiclayo.Finds were presented to the press by the director of Royal Tombs of Sipan Museum Walter Alva after their recent discovery.The finds are the latest in the series of discoveries over the past 28 years, adorned with feathers and a kind of false wings that remind us the image one of the Lambayeque golden jewels: The Tumi. “It’s unique for this type of mural in ancient Peru,” Alva said, noting another mural in which personages are shown amid a festive scene.
http://www.andina.com.pe/Ingles/Noticia.aspx?id=JAfQx+3eiLc=
- ROYAUME-UNI – 
Towton - It was one of the biggest and probably the bloodiest battle ever fought on British soil. Such was its ferocity almost 1 per cent of the English population was wiped out in a single day. Next week marks the 550th anniversary of the engagement that changed the course of the Wars of the Roses. It is estimated that between 50,000 and 80,000 soldiers took part in the battle in 1461 between the Houses of York and Lancaster for control of the English throne. An estimated 28,000 men are said to have lost their lives. But this bloody conflict is unlikely to remain forgotten for much longer. Archaeologists believe they will unearth what is likely to be Britain's largest mass grave this summer. Work is to begin in June, at a site 12 miles south of York between the villages of Saxton and Towton where the battle took place in snowy March weather. The locations of the graves were discovered by archaeologists using geophysical imagery and now, with funding in place, they are able to begin excavating. Experts believe these new sites – up to five in total – could yield the remains of several hundred men. Tim Sutherland, a battlefield archaeologist from the University of York, said: "We think there will be three or five very large grave pits at the site. These are the main mass graves found right in the middle of the battlefield. They are the big ones. Every time the field is ploughed we go to this exact spot and as soon as the rains wash the surface clear we start finding fragments of human remains."
- CHINE –Qinghai - Des experts viennent de retrouver de nombreux vestiges de la Grande Muraille sur le territoire de la Province du Qinghai, dans le Nord-Ouest de la Chine, après deux ans d'enquête sur le terrain. Parmi ces découvertes, une section de mur de 480 mètres de long, 51 tours d'alarme et 158 tours de passage, d'après Ren Xiaoyan, chercheur à l'Institut Archéologique du Qinghai. La construction d'un grand nombre de ces vestiges a commencé sous les dynasties Qin et Han, il y a plus de 2 000 ans, et s'est achevée sous la Dynastie Qing, qui s'est terminée en 1911. Certains de ces vestiges sont à présent difficilement identifiables du fait d'un effritement très prononcé, ont précisé les experts. La Province du Qinghai a découvert 360 km de la Grande Muraille, construits sous la Dynastie Ming (1368-1644) et la campagne de recherche d'autres vestiges de la Grande Muraille a débuté en 2009.