22-23 MARS 2014 NEWS Louxor - Marana - Bannockburn - Malte - Ecosse - Krak des Chevaliers -
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EGYPTE – 
Louxor Rive Ouest - Archaeologists have unveiled two colossal statues of Pharaoh Amenhotep III in Egypt's famed temple city of Luxor, adding to an existing pair of world-renowned tourist attractions. The two monoliths in red quartzite were raised at what European and Egyptian archaeologists said were their original sites in the funerary temple of the king, on the west bank of the Nile. The temple is already famous for its existing 3400-year-old Memnon colossi - twin statues of Amenhotep III whose reign archaeologists say marked the political and cultural zenith of ancient Egyptian civilisation. "The world until now knew two Memnon colossi, but from today it will know four colossi of Amenhotep III," said German-Armenian archaeologist Hourig Sourouzian, who heads the project to conserve the Amenhotep III temple. The existing two statues, both showing the pharaoh seated, are known across the globe. The two restored additions have weathered severe damage for centuries, Sourouzian said. "The statues had lain in pieces for centuries in the fields, damaged by destructive forces of nature like earthquake, and later by irrigation water, salt, encroachment and vandalism," she said on Sunday, as behind her excavators and local villagers washed pieces of artefacts and statues unearthed over the past months. "This beautiful temple still has enough for us to study and conserve." One of the "new" statues - its body weighing 250 tonnes - again depicts the pharaoh seated, hands resting on his knees. It is 11.5 metres tall, with a base 1.5 metres high and 3.6 metres wide. Archaeologists said with its now missing double crown, the original statue would have reached a height of 13.5 metres and weighed 450 tonnes. The king is depicted wearing a royal pleated kilt held at the waist by a large belt decorated with zigzag lines.
http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2014/03/24/two-more-colossal-pharaoh-statues-unveiled?
USA – Marana - A major ancient human settlement — including pit houses, the likely remnants of an irrigation canal and human burials possibly dating back 4,000 years — has been discovered under the site of a planned outlet center along Interstate 10 in Marana. Experts agree discovery is significant archaeologically — the settlement is likely from the Early Agricultural Period, which predates even the Hohokam culture that was in Southern and Central Arizona from 500 to about 1450 A.D. The find will add additional knowledge about agricultural practices that may be the oldest known in the United States, archaeologists say. So far, about 145 archaeological features, including six burials, have been found on the site, said a letter written last week by the State Historic Preservation Office. More investigation of the site, including some level of excavation, is almost certain. The remains make the site one of a half-dozen or so from that time discovered in this region since 1993. All are along or near the Santa Cruz River. Features found so far at the Marana site include 37 pit houses, the canal, 14 other architectural features, 87 features found outside the village’s settlement and the burials, said Walsh’s letter to the Corps, written last Monday. During excavation, “we think it likely that significantly more than 18 burials will be identified,” Walsh wrote. In an interview, Walsh said the site also likely includes roasting pits, trash pits and other houses. “We’re looking at some kind of community at some level,” he said, adding that while there are no certain dates, the canal could come from the period 2500 to 1500 B.C. Hohokam-era remains have also been found at this site, near the ground surface, officials said. The earlier remains were found about 12 to 13 feet below ground in late January and early February, said Gary Huckleberry, an independent geoarchaeological consultant working as a subcontractor for Paleo West, the developer’s archaeological consultant. “We hit several features, mainly pit features at some depth, at the edge of the Santa Cruz River floodplain,” Huckleberry said last week. The pit features “are probably associated with what we call the Early Agricultural Period.” He placed the period of these remains at 2000 B.C. to 200 A.D. He said the investigators only hit what appears to be the canal “in one trench.” The apparent canal had a U-shaped channel containing a layer of burnt charcoal, which he said is pretty common for these canals. Workers also recovered an aquatic bird bone from there. “Everything seems to suggest canal, but we want to get more confidence in it,” he said. This canal could be, but probably isn’t, older than the region’s earliest canals, dating to 1500 to 1000 B.C., said Huckleberry, who placed this canal’s age at 1000 B.C. to 1 A.D.
ROYAUME UNI – 
Bannockburn - Ancient coins from the rules of Henry III and Edward I and II, minted in London between the 13th and 14th centuries, could have been the spoils of battle swiped from the pockets of the defeated English army at Bannockburn, say archaeologists investigating 17 acres of land around Cambuskenneth Abbey. Working at one of the few places singled out in contemporary accounts of the Battle of Bannockburn, metal detectorists, geophysicists, historians and poets have been exploring the Abbey where Robert the Bruce kept his army’s baggage before the battle. Founded by David I in 1140 the site was originally known as the Abbey of St Mary of Stirling. One of the 36 coins discovered has been tentatively named as a silver Henry III coin, from between 1251 and 1272. A coin from the time of one of the Edwards, minted in London during the late 13th or early 14th century, could also have been in circulation when the battle took place in June 1314. Other highlights revealed by the project, which yielded more than 1,000 objects, include 44 musket balls, distorted and jarred by their still-visible impact against the northern and western walls of the Abbey Tower in a similar pattern to the scars visible on Stirling Castle or Linlithgow Palace. Experts date the ammunition to around 1650, speculating that they may have been used in skirmishes involving Oliver Cromwell, the 1651 assault on Stirling or simply for target practice.The foundations of the pre-17th century Forth, used by the Abbey to control access from the river, were found alongside carved stone details, floor tile fragments and pottery from the beginnings of the Abbey. The Abbey – named the “creek” or “field of Kenneth”, and seen as a key stronghold of Scottish identity – was the scene for several important parliaments during the rule of Robert I, including his initial sanctum, in November 1314, when the king disinherited all land-holding nobles who were not in attendance.
http://www.culture24.org.uk/history-and-heritage/archaeology/art473138
MALTE – 
- The oldest piece of literature in Maltese, Pietru Caxaru’s Il-Kantilena, has been nominated for inclusion in Unesco’s world heritage list. The aim of the list, the International Memory of the World Register, is to conserve documents of value, many of which got lost over time, Malta’s ambassador to Unesco, Mgr Joe Vella Gauci, told a news conference at the Archaeology Museum. It includes some 300 documents from 100 countries. The recognition of Il-Kantilena will kick off the process for elements of the Maltese language to be recognised as a Living World Heritage in the list of Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity. Il-Kantilena was written in medieval Maltese around 1450. It was found in 1966 by Godfrey Wettinger and Fr Mikiel Fsadni. The original document is at the Notarial Archives in Valletta.
VIDEO = http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZYuanofpVU#t=86
ECOSSE – 
- A “wreck map” showing 1,200 years of shipwrecks in Scotland has been published by researchers. The resulting data chronicles more famous shipwrecks such as the HMS York — classed as Arbroath’s biggest maritime disaster — along with lesser-known ones such as the Mary near Montrose in 1842, the Sarah in the Tay near Dundee in 1865 and the Kate Thompson off Crail in 1895. RCAHMS archaeology projects manager and maritime archaeology specialist George Geddes said: “As Scotland’s marine environment is undergoing its latest change, with the growth in offshore renewable energy and proposals for marine protected areas, we have collated a number of datasets in one place for the first time, to present marine heritage information in a more intuitive way.” Visit www.rcahms.gov.uk to see the map.
SYRIE – 
Krak des Chevaliers - Krak des Chevaliers, one of the most spectacular and well-preserved Crusaders’ castles known, has been taken over by the Syrian army, accordingt to Lebanese newspaper The Daily Star. As reported in the newspaper, the army’s invasion took place following battles with rebel forces. It is also stated that Al-Jadeed reporter Ramez al-Qadi, who is embedded with Syrian government forces, broadcasted live from a hill overlooking the fort, moments after it fall to troops loyal to Syrian President Bashar Assad. At least 11 rebels were killed and more than 45 wounded in a Syrian army ambush and ensuing gunbattle in Al-Hosn which takes its name from Qalaat Al-Hosn, Arabic for Krak de Chavaliers. The fort’s fall comes days after the Syrian army seized control of the strategic rebel-held town of Yabroud in the region of Qalamoun.
http://www.archaiologia.gr/en/blog/2014/03/21/krak-des-chevaliers-taken-over-by-syrian-army/