Egypte: découverte de la tombe d'une reine pharaonique

Des archéologues tchèques ont découvert en Egypte la tombe d'une reine jusqu'alors inconnue, "Khant Kaous III", épouse d'un pharaon de la Ve dynastie qui régna il y a quelque 4.500 ans, a annoncé dimanche le ministère égyptien des Antiquités.

"Pour la première fois, nous découvrons le nom de cette reine qui était jusqu'alors inconnue avant la découverte de sa tombe," a affirmé le ministre des Antiquités Mamdouh al-Damaty dans un communiqué, cité par l'AFP.

La tombe a été mise au jour au sud-ouest du Caire, sur le site d'Abou Sir, qui comprend plusieurs pyramides de pharaons de la Ve dynastie, qui régna sur la Haute Egypte quelque 2.500 ans avant Jésus-Christ.

La tombe daterait du milieu de la Ve dynastie (2494-2345 av.JC), selon un responsable du ministère.
La tombe a été découverte sur le site du complexe funéraire de Néferefrê, pharaon de la Ve dynastie, a indiqué le directeur de la mission archéologique tchèque, Miroslav Barta, précisant que "cela laisse à penser que la reine était la femme de Néferefrê."

Les archéologues y ont trouvé des ustensiles de la vie quotidienne, 24 en calcaires et quatre autres en cuivre, ainsi que des inscriptions murales faites par les ouvriers de la tombe, comprenant notamment le nom et les titres de la reine, selon le communiqué.
 http://french.ruvr.ru/news/2015_01_04/Egypte-decouverte-de-la-tombe-dune-reine-pharaonique-9716/
4/1/15
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• La tombe d'une reine pharaonique découverte en Egypte ...

Romania discovers biggest oil gas deposit in 30 years

Romania discovered a new deposit of crude oil and natural gas, which may be the biggest discovery of its kind in the past 30 years in the south, a Romanian oil company announced Wednesday.

According to OMV Petrom, a subsidiary of the Austrian group OMV, the deposit was discovered at a depth of 2,500 meters in the south of Buzau County.

The estimates obtained from the production tests indicate a potential production per well of 1,200-2,100 boe per day.

The discovery has been made under the onshore exploration partnership signed in 2010 by OMV Petrom and Hunt Oil Company of Romania, the company said, adding that the exploration investment led to this discovery amounts to 5 million euros (6.25 million US dollars).

OMV Petrom is the largest producer of oil and gas in southeastern Europe, with an annual production of crude oil and natural gas of 66 million boe.
 Sources: Xinhua- globaltimes.cn
17/12/14
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• New oil and gas field discovered in Buzău County. Probably the largest in the last 30 years in Muntenia ...

OMV Petrom in partnership with Hunt Oil Romania found a new oil and gas field in the south of Buzău County. According to a press release, the field was discovered in Perimeter VIII Urziceni Est by drilling the exploration well Padina Nord 1, at a depth of over 2,500 meters at approx. 7 – 12 km away from mature fields, in production for more than 50 years. Estimates from production tests indicate a potential production per well of 1,200 – 2,100 boe per day from two geological layers. The exploration investments that led to this discovery by OMV Petrom and Hunt Oil amount to EUR 5 million.

“It is potentially the largest discovery in the past 30 years, in the Muntenia region. This year, we have made the largest exploration investments since privatization. It is important to continue exploration activities, as 90 percent of fields we are operating are mature ones and reached their production peak years ago. Currently, we supply about 40 percent of Romania’s oil and gas demand”, said Gabriel Selischi, member of OMV Petrom Executive Board, responsible for Exploration and Production.

In the coming period, the two companies will continue testing operations to determine the production potential of the discovery and will be acquiring seismic data in the region to build on this early success. The discovery was made within the onshore exploration partnership closed in 2010 by OMV Petrom and Hunt Oil. The partnership targets the exploration of two onshore perimeters: I Adjud and VIII Urziceni Est, the operator being Hunt Oil.
http://www.romaniajournal.ro/new-oil-and-gas-field-in-buzau-county-probably-the-largest-in-the-last-30-years-in-muntenia/
17/12/14

Australian researcher discovers first artwork by early human

An Australian researcher has discovered what is believed to be the first artwork ever created by a human ancestor.
The simple zigzag pattern found on a fossilized shell from the Indonesian island of Java has been dated to at least 430,000 years - 300,000 years older than other markings made by modern humans or Neanderthals, the journal Nature reported on Thursday.

Dr Stephen Munro from the Australian National University said the age and location of the shell suggests the pattern was carved by an even earlier human ancestor known as Homo erectus.

"It rewrites human history," he said. "I guess this brings them (Homo erectus) a little bit closer to us because we can identify with deliberately-made markings."

The landmark find originated in 2007, when Munro took digital photographs of the shells and later, after close examination, discovered one of them had a geometrical pattern engraved on it.

"This type of engraving in the archaeological record doesn't show up anywhere else in the world until about 130,000 years ago," he said.

Munro also said the discovery points to the theory that early humans lived by the sea and ate shellfish rather living on grasslands and hunting game.
 (Xinhua)
4/12/14

Greece unearths two sculpted female figures in major discovery / Συνέχιση ανασκαφικών εργασιών στον Τύμβο Καστά στην Αμφίπολη

Photo: yppo.gr

Archaeologists have unearthed two sculpted female figures, known as Caryatids, as they slowly make their way into an ancient tomb recently discovered in Greece's northeast, the country's culture ministry said....

They mark a significant new finding in the tomb on the Amphipolis site, about 100 km from Greece's second-biggest city Thessaloniki, which archaeologists have hailed as a major discovery from the era of Alexander the Great.


The figures made of Greek marble were unearthed on Saturday, the ministry said in a statement. The Caryatids, with thick curls covering their shoulders, support an inner entrance into the tomb and feature the same sculpting technique used for the heads and wings of two sphinxes found guarding the main entrance of the tomb in August, according to the statement.
"The structure of the second entrance with the Caryatids is an important finding, which supports the view that it is a prominent monument of great importance," the Culture Ministry said.
The face of one of the Caryatids is missing, while both figures have one hand outstretched in a symbolic move to push away anyone who would try to violate the tomb.
Archaeologists have said that the Amphipolis site appeared to be the largest ancient tomb to have been discovered in Greece.
Excavations, which began in 2012, have not yet determined who was buried in the tomb but culture ministry officials have said that the monument appeared to belong to a prominent Macedonian from the 300-325 B.C. era.
 http://www.buenosairesherald.com/article/169138/greece-unearths-two-sculpted-female-figures-in-major-discovery
7/9/14
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• Συνέχιση ανασκαφικών εργασιών στον Τύμβο Καστά στην Αμφίπολη-Υπουργείο Πολιτισμού και Αθλητισμού (Δελτίo Τύπου)

.....Το Σάββατο 6 Σεπτεμβρίου, η αφαίρεση του χώματος μπροστά από το επιστύλιο, επέτρεψε την σοβαρή ενίσχυση της υποστύλωσης του θραυσμένου τμήματος του, με κατακόρυφες σωληνωτές δοκούς, σε ξύλινη επαφή. 

Με την αφαίρεση των αμμωδών χωμάτων, στο χώρο μπροστά από τον δεύτερο διαφραγματικό τοίχο, αποκαλύφθηκαν κάτω από το μαρμάρινο επιστύλιο, ανάμεσα στις, επίσης, μαρμάρινες παραστάδες, δύο εξαιρετικής τέχνης καρυάτιδες , από θασίτικο μάρμαρο (φωτο 6) συμφυείς με πεσσό, διατομής 0,20Χ0,60 μ. 

Το πρόσωπο της δυτικής καρυάτιδας σώζεται σχεδόν ακέραιο,(φωτο 7,8 ), ενώ από την ανατολική λείπει.(φωτο 9). Οι καρυάτιδες έχουν πλούσιους βοστρύχους, που καλύπτουν τους ώμους τους, φέρουν ενώτια, και φορούν χειριδωτό χιτώνα. Το δεξί χέρι της μιας και το αριστερό της άλλης ήταν προτεταμμένα, ώστε με την κίνηση τους να αποτρέπουν συμβολικά εκείνους οι οποίοι θα επιχειρούσαν την είσοδο στον τάφο και ήταν ένθετα. Ακολουθείται, δηλαδή, η ίδια τεχνική, όπως στις κεφαλές και στα φτερά των Σφιγγών. Οι μορφές, επί των οποίων σώζονται ίχνη κόκκινου και μπλε χρώματος, παραπέμπουν στον τύπο της Κόρης. Ανάμεσα στα αμμώδη χώματα βρέθηκαν θραύσματα των γλυπτών, όπως τμήμα παλάμης και μικρότερα θραύσματα από τα δάκτυλα τους. Η διάταξη της δεύτερης εισόδου με τις καρυάτιδες αποτελεί σημαντικό εύρημα, το οποίο συνηγορεί στην άποψη ότι πρόκειται για εξέχον μνημείο, ιδιαίτερης σπουδαιότητας. 

Μπροστά από τις καρυάτιδες, και από το ύψος της μέσης τους και κάτω, αποκαλύπτεται τοίχος σφράγισης από πωρόλιθους σε όλο το πλάτος των 4,5μ. ( φωτο 10, 11) Πρόκειται για δεύτερο τοίχο σφράγισης που ακολουθεί την ίδια τεχνική, όπως και στην πρόσοψη του ταφικού μνημείου. Είναι ένα ακόμη χαρακτηριστικό της προσπάθειας των κατασκευαστών για την αποτροπή εισόδου στο μνημείο...............................http://www.yppo.gr/2/g22.jsp?obj_id=58312
7/9/14
 

New snake species found at Mt. Qomolangma known in the West as Mount Everest

Chinese scientists have discovered a new species of brownish pit viper in the largest scientific study since the 1970s on wildlife at Mount Qomolangma, known in the West as Mount Everest.

A genetic analysis revealed Protobothrops Himalayanus, which was first spotted at Jilong Valley in southern Tibet Autonomous Region in 2012, to be a new snake species, Hu Huijian, co-chief of the research team, told Xinhua on Thursday.

The new species was named in honor of its home, the Himalayas, said Hu.

The discovery, published in "Asian Herpetological Research," an international authoritative academic journal, is more evidence of Tibet's biodiversity, he added.

Currently, there are 12 valid species in the genus Protobothrops, of which seven are known to inhabit China and many of them prefer mountain areas at high elevations.
Source: Xinhua
17/4/14
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