Crusader winery found under house in Israel

The winery is unusual in having two treading floors

RABEI KHAMISY

A huge winery dating back to the Crusades has been found under a house in Mi'ilya in northern Israel.

The townspeople have been working together to shore up the ruins of the 12th century King's Castle that dominates their Galilee skyline under the guidance of local archaeologist Rabei Khamisy, the Haaretz newspaper reports.

But a businesswoman who runs a filling station in the popular tourist destination asked for a parallel dig under her own property, and that's where Dr Khamisy uncovered what could be the largest wine factory the Crusaders ever built during their presence in the Levant.

"The Byzantines had much larger wineries, but the Crusaders had nothing comparable as far as we know," he told Haaretz.

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See the latest discoveries made at Auckland Castle dig site

ARCHAEOLOGICAL finds have opened a window into the lives of some of the country’s most powerful men, from the food they ate to where they went to the toilet.

Centuries ago the Prince Bishops of Durham were considered second only to the king, with the authority to raise an army and mint their own coins.

Now, students and archaeologists from Durham University have uncovered more about their lifestyle in a dig at one of their most important homes Auckland Castle, in Bishop Auckland.

Working alongside staff and volunteers from The Auckland Project charity, which owns the castle, they excavated to the north of St Peter’s Chapel, which previously served as the Castle’s Great Hall.

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Fragments of 12th century Polotsk princely residence unearthed in Belarus Read full text at: https://eng.belta.by/society/view/fragments-of-12th-century-polotsk-princely-residence-unearthed-in-belarus-123220-2019/ If you use BelTA’s materials, you must credit us with a hyperlink to eng.belta.by.

USHACHI DISTRICT, 8 August (BelTA) - Archaeologists and volunteers have unearthed fragments of a countryside residence of Polotsk princes dating back to the 12th century on the shores of Lake Cherstvyaty in Ushachi District, BelTA has learned.

The archaeological expedition started three weeks ago and already found the fragments of a countryside residence of Polotsk princes dating back to the 12th century. Some time ago historian Vasily Voronin suggested a hypothesis that the lands and courtyards of the Polotsk voivode of the 16th century could be a princely legacy of the earlier periods. “We have just found evidence that there was princely ancestral property. We found an exact location but similar buildings are in other locations in this area,” said Ph.D. in History Marat Klimov, a senior researcher at the Institute of History of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus.

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Medieval artefacts found under Reading housing development

The tiles kilns were unearthed at what is thought to have been a medieval tile production site

TVASS

A string of medieval artefacts found beneath a housing development suggest it used to be a tile production site, experts have said.

Two tile kilns similar to the terracotta ones on the floor of Reading Abbey were among the artefacts found at the site on Silver Street in Reading.

Thames Valley Archaeological Services (TVASS) also found a nearby pit where it is believed clay was extracted for the tile factory.

It described the discovery as "rare".

Project co-ordinator Tim Dawson said the tile kilns, estimated to be from AD1250-1500, were the "stars of the site" as they indicated there used to be a tile manufacturing site linked to Reading Abbey.

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13th Century Pont des Trous Bridge Demolished: Archaeological Vandalism or Economic Progression?

Angry Belgians and a minister of that countries federal government have voiced their distain towards politicians and counselors who ordered the dismantling of Tournai’s gothic “Bridge of Holes” so that larger boats can sail and spend on the Scheldt river.

In 1968, a sinking 19th century granite London bridge, designed by John Rennie to replace a medieval predecessor, was sold to American oil tycoon Robert P McCulloch for $2,460,000. This Londonist article explains how the landmark was dismantled and shipped over the Atlantic to Lake Havasu in Arizona, where it still stands today. In this instance it was argued that the bridge was ‘going to collapse anyway, so why not be saved an American’? But where this sort of thing goes wrong is when an ancient bridge is dismantled to increase profits and income, and this is what’s just happened in Belgium.

Built between 1281 and 1304, the Pont des Trous is one of three existing 13th-century military bridges left anywhere in the world, and it is unquestionably one of the most prestigious vestiges of the medieval military architecture in Belgium. It was part of the second wall of the city and defended the course of the Scheldt river along the town and its name comes from a local loch that was called Les Trous, or the holes.

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