2012 in archaeology

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The year 2012 in archaeology involved some significant events.

Explorations

• January - Discovery of a first-century farmhouse on the building site of the new stadium in the south of Marseille.^[1]

Excavations

• Excavation of working-class back-to-back houses from the Industrial Revolution period at Chapel Street in Salford, Greater Manchester, England.^[2]
• June 6 - Excavators from Museum of London Archaeology announce that they have uncovered the remains of the Elizabethan Curtain Theatre in Shoreditch.^[3][4]
• August 24 - The University of Leicester Archaeological Services and Leicester City Council, in association with the Richard III Society, announce that they have joined forces to begin a search for the site of Greyfriars, Leicester, burial place of King Richard III of England.^[5][6] On September 5 the excavators announce that they have identified the church.^[7][8] and on September 12 it is announced that a skeleton discovered during the search could have been that of Richard III,^[9] a supposition confirmed in 2013.^[10]
• October - Remains of substantial Mesolithic buildings are identified in Britain at Echline in Scotland,^[11] Lunt Meadows at Sefton, Merseyside^[12] and from new investigations at Starr Carr in North Yorkshire.^[13]
• December - Archaeologists complete excavation of a 900-seat Athenaeum from the time of the Emperor Hadrian in Rome discovered during work on a Metro line at Piazza Venezia.^[14]

Finds

• Discovery of a rock inscription confirming the existence of Iry-Hor, the earliest ruler of Egypt know by name.^[15]
• January
  • The use of maize in Peru as early as 4700 BCE is confirmed.^[16]
  • Evidence for early Mayan tobacco use is published.^[17]
  • Discovery that the Vikings grew barley in Greenland.^[18]
• February 17 - Alabaster colossus of pharaoh Amenhotep III is discovered.^[19]
• March - Discovery of an inscribed doorjamb at Karnak giving the hitherto unknown titulary of pharaoh Senakhtenre Ahmose.^[20]
• March - A 7th century grave near Cambridge in England provides an early example of the transition from pagan Anglo-Saxon to Christian burial practices.^[21]
• March 30 - In Georgia, archeologists report unearthing jars containing what they believe to be the world's oldest honey.^[22]
• May - The oldest Mayan astronomical calendar discovered so far, from the 9th century, is reported from Xultun.^[23]
• May 9 - Archaeologists announce discovery on The Burren in Ireland of evidence of settlement from 6000 BCE.^[24]
• June 25 - In the Channel Island of Jersey, the discovery of a hoard of an estimated 30,000 – 50,000 Roman and Celtic coins by metal detectorists is announced.^[25]
• July
  • Discovery of 15th century underwear at Lengberg Castle in Austria is confirmed.^[26][27]
  • The wreck of the polar expedition ship Terra Nova is discovered off Greenland by the Schmidt Ocean Institute’s research vessel Falkor.^[28][29]
• September - A beeswax filling is discovered in the cracked tooth of a Neolithic man in Slovenia.^[30]
• October - In Jersey, the Trinity Hoard of Bronze Age tools and weapons is discovered.^[31]
• November - 2,400-year-old golden treasure near the Thracian Tomb of Sveshtari, Bulgaria ^[32]
• December - Discovery near Canterbury, England, of a 1st-century Iron Age bronze helmet containing a bag of cremated human remains is announced.^[33][34]

Miscellaneous

• February - Completion of whole genome sequencing on Ötzi (d. c.3255 BCE) identifies his paternal DNA with Sardinia.^[35]
• July - Mausoleums and a mosque in Timbuktu (Mali) are deliberately attacked by rebels, a war crime for which Ahmad al-Mahdi in 2016 pleads guilty before the International Criminal Court.

Deaths

• 19 July: Brian Dobson, British archaeologist notable for work on Hadrian's Wall and the Roman Army

References

1. http://www.laprovence.com/article/actualites/2231432/marseille-une-ferme-du-ier-siecle-au-pied-du-velodrome.html
2. Nevell, Mike (2012-12-25). "Excavating Engels". archaeologyuos. Retrieved 2016-11-16.
3. "Remains of Shakespeare's Curtain Theatre discovered in Shoreditch" (Press release). Museum of London Archaeology. 2012-06-06. Retrieved 2012-07-12.
4. Kennedy, Maev (2012-06-05). "Shakespeare's Curtain theatre unearthed in east London". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 2012-07-12.
5. "Historic search for King Richard III begins in Leicester". University of Leicester. 2012-08-24. Retrieved 2013-02-04.
6. "Hunt for Richard III's remains under car park". ABC News (Australia). 2012-08-27. Retrieved 2013-02-04.
7. "Researchers find strong evidence for medieval church in Leicester where monarch was buried". University of Leicester. 2012-08-31. Retrieved 2013-02-04.
8. "Search for Richard III confirms that remains are the long-lost Church of the Grey Friars". University of Leicester. 2012-09-05. Retrieved 2013-02-04.
9. "Richard III dig: 'Strong evidence' bones are lost king". BBC News. 2012-09-12. Retrieved 2013-02-04.
10. "Richard III dig: DNA confirms bones are king". BBC News. 2013-02-04. Retrieved 2013-02-04.
11. "Scottish dig unearths '10,000-year-old home' at Echline". BBC News. 2012-10-18. Retrieved 2012-12-27.
12. "Significant archaeological discovery confirms Environment Agency habitat restoration work". Environment Agency. 2012-11-22. Retrieved 2012-12-27.
13. Conneller, Chantal; et al. (December 2012). "Substantial settlement in the European Early Mesolithic: new research at Star Carr". Antiquity. 86 (334): 1004–1020.
14. Kington, Tom (2012-12-26). "Hadrian's hall: archaeologists finish excavation of Roman arts centre". The Guardian. Retrieved 2012-12-30.
15. P. Tallet, D. Laisnay: Iry-Hor et Narmer au Sud-Sinaï (Ouadi 'Ameyra), un complément à la chronologie des expéditios minière égyptiene, in: BIFAO 112 (2012), 381-395, available online
16. "Study suggests ancient Peruvians 'ate popcorn'". BBC News. 19 January 2012. Retrieved 2012-12-27.
17. Zagorevski1, Dmitri V.; Loughmiller-Newman, Jennifer A. (January 2012). "The detection of nicotine in a Late Mayan period flask by gas chromatography and liquid chromatography mass spectrometry methods". Rapid Communications in Mass Spectrometry. 26 (4). doi:10.1002/rcm.5339. Retrieved 2012-12-27.
18. Hildebrandt, Sybille (2012-02-03). "Vikings grew barley in Greenland". ScienceNordic. Retrieved 2012-12-27.
19. "Armenian archeologist finds colossus of pharaoh Amenhotep III". News.am. 2012-02-17. Retrieved 2012-06-25.
20. Sébastien Biston-Moulin: Le roi Sénakht-en-Rê Ahmès de la XVIIe dynastie, ENiM 5, 2012, p. 61-71, available online.
21. "Anglo-Saxon Christian grave find near Cambridge 'extremely rare'". BBC News. 2012-02-16. Retrieved 2012-12-27.
22. Lomsadze, Giorgi (2012-03-30). "Report: Georgia Unearths the World's Oldest Honey". Eurasianet.org. Retrieved 2012-06-25.
23. "Maya art and calendar at Xultun stun archaeologists". BBC News. 2012-05-10. Retrieved 2012-12-27.
24. Hamilton, Andrew (2012-05-09). "6,000-year-old settlement poses tsunami mystery". Irish Examiner. Cork. Retrieved 2012-06-29.
25. "Roman and Celtic coin hoard worth up to £10m found in Jersey". BBC News. 2012-06-25. Retrieved 2012-06-25.
26. Basckin, Deborah (2012-07-30). "Underwear dating back to the 15th Century found in Austrian castle". BBC News. Retrieved 2012-12-27.
27. "Medieval lingerie from Lengberg Castle, East-Tyrol". Universität Innsbruck. 2012-07-23. Retrieved 2012-12-27.
28. "Polar Expedition Vessel S.S. Terra Nova Discovered". 2012-08-13. Retrieved 2013-02-04.
29. Rincon, Paul (2012-08-16). "Scott's wrecked ship Terra Nova found off Greenland". BBC News. Retrieved 2012-10-06.
30. Bernardini, Federico; et al. (2012-09-19). "Beeswax as Dental Filling on a Neolithic Human Tooth". PLOS ONE. 7 (9). doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0044904. Retrieved 2012-12-27.
31. "News, Weather & Information for the Channel Islands - Bronze Age axe heads discovered". channelonline.tv. Retrieved 2012-10-13.
32. http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2012/11/pictures/121109-thracian-gold-hoard-treasure-bulgaria-science/
33. "Iron Age bronze helmet found on Canterbury farmland". BBC News. 2012-12-04. Retrieved 2012-12-27.
34. "A Late Iron Age helmet found near Canterbury". Canterbury Archaeological Trust. 2012. Retrieved 2012-12-27.
35. Palmer, Jason (2012-02-28). "Oetzi the Iceman's nuclear genome gives new insights". BBC News. Retrieved 2012-12-27.