25 - 26 OCTOBRE 2010
- 26 OCTOBRE :
- SUISSE : 
Martigny - Découvert en 1974, réenfoui en 1975, le tepidarium des thermes romains sis sous la rue du Forum va être remis en valeur. Archéologue cantonal, François Wiblé connaît particulièrement bien le dossier puisque c'est en 1974, date de la découverte des thermes romains de la rue du Forum, qu'il avait pris ses fonctions de responsable des fouilles de Martigny: «A l'époque, la rue n'existait encore pas. C'est lors de la construction des canalisations et des égouts pour cette nouvelle rue que ces thermes publics, datant des années 150 à 200 après J.-C., ont été découverts. Ils sont de grande taille et comprennent divers éléments comme le caldarium, le frigidarium, le tepidarium ou la salle de chauffe, éléments qui avaient alors été en bonne partie dégagés. Ce qui nous a permis de constater qu'un bassin du tepidarium - salle avec bassin d'eau tempérée - était en excellent état de conservation. En 1975, lors de la construction de la route, tout a été réenfoui. Puis, ce fut la découverte du temple indigène en 1976 ." L'idée est de construire un pavillon couvert sur le bassin romain, qui sera complètement dégagé, et de relier, par le biais d'une pièce d'eau, ce pavillon à la Fondation. Les précisions de François Wiblé: «Actuellement, nous construisons un mur de protection autour du tepidarium. Sa fonction est d'ôter l'humidité présente dans le terrain pour éviter que le gel ne cause des dommages irréversibles au bassin romain. Une fois le pavillon couvert installé, nous pourrons complètement dégager le bassin, qui demeurera visible pour les visiteurs, de même qu'une petite partie du tepidarium.» Les thermes s'étendant au-dessous de la rue du Forum, le projet prévoit l'aménagement d'une passerelle surplombant le site et faisant office de trottoir du côté du parking. Enfin, les murs qui demeureront enfouis seront marqués au sol sur la rue rénovée du Forum et en modeste élévation dans la parcelle voisine. L'inauguration de cette nouvelle attraction archéologique est prévue en automne 2011.
http://www.nouvelliste.ch/fr/news/valais/le-tepidarium-ressort-de-terre-9-231005
- JAPON : Nara - Two swords found under the Great Buddha of Todaiji temple in the Meiji era have been identified as sacred swords that had been missing for some 1,250 years since around 760 after Empress Komyo, the wife of Emperor Shomu who built the Buddha, dedicated them along with other items to the temple. The swords, decorated with gold, silver and lacquer, appear on the top of about 100 swords in the weapon list of the Kokka Chimpo Cho (the book of national treasures to Todaiji) kept at the Shosoin repository at the temple in the ancient capital of Nara, and can be considered important historical materials in the related research. The swords were discovered at the end of the Meiji Period (1868-1912) along with other items such as a silver pot near the pedestal on which the Great Buddha sits when three holes were created nearby for research purposes, and were designated together as national treasures in 1930. When maintenance workers recently took an X-ray photo of the swords, they found the inscriptions ‘‘Yoken’’ and ‘‘Inken’’ on the blades, which indicate the swords are highly likely those called ‘‘Yohoken’’ and ‘‘Inhoken’’ that the empress dedicated in 756 at a memorial service for the emperor who died earlier in the year. The swords were likely removed from the Shosoin treasure list at the request of the empress and buried in the location where they were found. The landmark discovery nonetheless led to a new mystery as to why Empress Komyo, who died in 760, bothered to remove them from the treasure list and buried them under the foot of the Great Buddha, experts say.
- FRANCE : Grotte Cosquer - Près de vingt ans après que sa découverte a été rendue publique - c'était en octobre 1991 -, la grotte Cosquer pourrait être finalement ouverte à la visite. De façon virtuelle s'entend. Depuis le début de l'année, le service régional de l'archéologie (SRA) a en effet conduit trois campagnes de mesures à l'intérieur de la cavité, avec du matériel capable de restituer le relief des parois et le détail des ornements avec une précision inframillimétrique. Avec ces données, deux entreprises spécialisées dans la réalité virtuelle et la valorisation du patrimoine travaillent, en ce moment, à la reconstitution de la grotte jusque dans ses moindres replis rocheux. Ce travail répondait à un triple objectif. D'abord, enregistrer, avec la plus grande précision possible, la topographie de la grotte et l'ensemble des peintures et gravures qui y ont été tracées entre - 29 000 et - 17000 ans avant notre ère. La seule façon de se prémunir contre une éventuelle et brutale disparition de la cavité, par écroulement ou remontée des eaux. Outre cet objectif de conservation, l'idée était aussi de permettre aux préhistoriens qui ne savent pas plonger de travailler sur les oeuvres dans des conditions très proches du réel. Et, enfin, permettre au grand public d'approcher au plus près la réalité de ce véritable musée d'art pariétal immergé.
http://www.laprovence.com/article/region/la-grotte-cosquer-bientot-ouverte-a-la-visite-virtuelle
- ROYAUME-UNI : 
Maghera - Archaeologists excavating the 5,000-year-old Tirnony Dolmen at Maghera, Northern Ireland say “the best find of the dig so far” – a Neolithic flint blade – suggests the ancient burial site is undisturbed. The Tirnony Dolmen – or portal tomb – is a single-chamber megalithic tomb, estimated to be about 5,000 to 6,000 years old. In April this year, the ancient tomb's massive capstone fell off, severely damaging one of the supporting stones. The 4.5cm long, 1cm wide knife blade made from translucent flint – in pristine condition – was discovered inside the tomb. There is no trace of the original handle, which has probably decayed. The knife is likely a grave gift, left with the person laid to rest at the dolmen about 5,500 years ago. Its presence indicates that – despite 19th century plumbing works near the ancient tomb – there's a good chance the burial itself is intact. The finding of this flint knife has given us reason to be optimistic about the tomb interior. Firstly its position sitting on top of a newly uncovered layer to the end of the disturbed upper soils and secondly it suggests that the tomb was not 'excavated' in the 18th or 19th centuries by antiquarians who frequently looted the artefacts but rarely recorded or published their work.
- SYRIE : 
Tall al-Shir - Excavation works by the Syrian-German archaeological mission working at the site of Tall al-Shir in Hama unveiled five archaeological layers from the Mamluk, Byzantine and Abbasid eras. Three of the uncovered layers date back to the Mamluk era while the fourth go back to the second half of the 11th century. The fifth layer was found to contain two separate walls for two different rooms built of large stone. It is expected that those walls date back to the period between the end of the Byzantine era and the beginning of the Abbasid era. Director of the mission Al-Bashkami said the excavations aimed at discovering the succession of archaeological levels and collecting information about human settlement patterns in the site. "So far, probing has started of the site based on the results of the georadar survey which revealed a street as part of the planning of a Roman city," al-Bashkami added, pointing out that the pottery fragments found in the area indicate a human activity during the Hellenistic and Roman periods. He said that the excavations done during the current season have helped unveil the time when the site was destroyed in the 11th century which can be initially associated with the major earthquakes which hit Shayzar town in 1157 and 1180.
- 25 OCTOBRE :
- U.S.A. / CANADA border - 
Forrest City - The discovery of what officials are calling an extensive Indian burial ground will delay construction on the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ interpretive and educational center. Archaeologists found preserved remains, stone tools and pottery that date back to the 1300s. "We're excavating the remains of a small sort of encampment maybe where a family stopped over for a couple of nights made some stone tools and what we're finding our those stone tools and chips from stone tool making," Dr. Cowie says the artifacts are from a period known as the Paleo-Indian period following the last Ice Age in North America. Her team found artifacts known as flakes, which are stone chippings or shavings that are the by-products of making spearheads or other stone tools. They also found some tools including a "graver" which is used to poke holes in bones or shells. "The materials that Native Americans used for stone tools are sort of distinctive. It's just not any sort of rock it's not granite typically, but it's stone that would break in a certain way that would allow spearheads to be made and other scraping tools," Cowie explained.
http://www.wcsh6.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=133433&catid=2
- U.S.A. : Rolling Fork - The discovery of what officials are calling an extensive Indian burial ground will delay construction on the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ interpretive and educational center. Archaeologists found preserved remains, stone tools and pottery that date back to the 1300s.
http://www.sunherald.com/2010/10/23/2578287/indian-burial-ground-discovered.html
- BULGARIE : 
Kroum - Bulgarian archaeologists unearthed a skeleton estimated at 8000 years old. The remains were found while land was being cleared for the construction of the Maritsa motorway, en route to Turkey, near the village of Kroum, municipality of Dimitrovgrad. Experts say that the skeleton, was from the Neolithic age, dates back to 6000 BCE, and belonged to a young boy, aged 10-15. Although the teeth are reportedly in "superb condition" the rest of the skeleton is in extremely brittle state and it "almost dissolves upon touch. According to the report, the boy was found buried in the foetal position.
http://www.sofiaecho.com/2010/10/25/981664_archeology-8000-year-old-skeleton-found-in-bulgaria
- TURQUIE : 
Marmaray Tunnel - Underwater cultural heritage is being damaged by urban resorts, industrial development and sport divers, according to a number of Turkish experts, who complained about the ineffectiveness of legal measures on the matter during a Monday meeting. During the Yenikapı excavation project, which has been continuing for five years, 35 shipwrecks dating back to Byzantium were discovered. What is unique about the excavation is the discovery of Byzantine galiots, or warships, researchers learned that technique applied was the opposite of what is currently used. In contemporary ship construction technology, the skeleton of the ship is first prepared and the outer coat is applied later. But, the Byzantine galiots were designed completely in reverse; nobody knew how a galiot was constructed before the discovery. Thanks to this discovery, academics focused on the ship construction of the period, including the time span between the sixth century A.D. and the 11th.
- ITALIE : 
Pompeii - The people of Pompeii who died when Vesuvius erupted nearly 2,000 years ago were killed by intense heat rather than suffocation, according to a new study. Thousands of the Roman city's inhabitants were caught in a firestorm in which they were exposed to temperatures of up to 600 C, a team of Italian scientists believe. The temperatures would have killed fleeing people in just 10 seconds, according to the volcanologists and anthropologists from Naples, the city overshadowed by the volcano. "Contrary to what was thought up until now, the victims didn't suffer a prolonged agony from suffocation, but rather died instantaneously from the exposure to high temperatures," the team wrote in a peer-reviewed science journal, PLoS ONE. "Our findings reveal that neither asphyxia nor impact force, but heat, caused the deaths." Red-hot clouds of gas and fine ash known as pyroclastic density currents flowed down the slopes of Vesuvius, engulfing Pompeii's frescoed villas, as well as its shops, public baths and brothels, where explicit erotic paintings and the customers' graffiti can still be seen. "Field and laboratory study of the eruption products and victims indicate that heat was the main cause of death of people previously supposed to have died by ash suffocation," the scientists said. "Our results show that exposure to at least 250 C hot surges at a distance of 10 kilometres from the vent was sufficient to cause instant death, even if people were sheltered within buildings." Vesuvius had been rumbling for days when it finally erupted in 79 AD. Although thousands of people had already fled Pompeii and nearby Herculaneum, many others were unable or unwilling to leave and perished in the heat.
http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Heat+brought+instant+death+Pompeii+Scientists/3721374/story.html
- U.S.A. : 
Jamestown - Archaeologist Bill Kelso and his team were digging this summer in a previously unexplored section of the fort at Jamestown, Va., the country's oldest permanent English colony, when they uncovered a series of deep holes. They believe the holes once anchored heavy, timber columns supporting the fort's first church, known to have been built in 1608 and the place where Pocahontas got married in 1614. The 60-foot-long walls and thatch roof are all gone now, but a row of graves was subsequently found in what would have been the church's chancel— an area near the altar where prominent Anglicans were traditionally buried. Pocahontas, a powerful chief's daughter, became acquainted with Captain Smith and the other colonists in 1607 and, Smith claimed, saved his life after he'd been taken prisoner by her father's men. Smith returned to England in 1609 and Pocahontas married settler John Rolfe; three years later, she died in England. Next spring, forensic anthropologists will exhume the row of chancel graves, which might contain the remains of the fort's first minister or Sir Ferdinando Wenman, a knight who arrived in 1610 to rally the fort's starving few and aid the colony's historic turnaround.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304023804575566090308300052.html