AUSTRALIE – Drayton - USQ'S very own Time Team has begun archaeological excavations at Toowoomba's Royal Bulls Head Inn. The dig commenced this morning and will run until October 19 in an effort to investigate the rich history lying beneath the surface at the site. Professor Barker said the Royal Bulls Head Inn at Drayton is well known to locals as one of the oldest extant historic buildings in the Toowoomba region dating to 1847. "What is probably less well known is that originally the inn itself was surrounded by a suite of ancillary buildings," he said. "This included a secondary cottage, a butchers shop, stables as well as an earlier version of the hotel which was replaced by the present structure." A geophysical survey (using techniques such as ground penetrating radar) has already been undertaken to develop a better understanding of spatial aspects of the site, estimate levels of preservation across the property and help identify suitable locations for the dig.
INDE – Guwahati - The Kamrup Metro district administration, along with the Assam Tourism Development Corporation (ATDC), the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH), the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) and the State Archaeology Department, has taken up an ambitious project for the conservation and restoration of the historic Northbrook Gate here. Work on restoration of the landmark, also known as the Gateway of Assam, will begin from November 1 and is to be completed by March 2015. Technical support for the project will be provided by the Guwahati chapter of INTACH and the Directorate of Archaeology, ASI and INTACH will work together on the project to restore the famed structure, built on the banks of the Brahmaputra near Sukreswar Ghat to mark the arrival of Thomas George Baring, the then Viceroy of India, to Guwahati in 1874. Baring, also called First Earl of Northbrook, was the Viceroy between 1872 and 1876.
AFGHANISTAN – Zahak -The ancient city of Zahak is located 20km to the eastern part of central Bamyan province in Shashpol area and on triangle part of the ancient and historical “Silk Rout”. In a telephonic interview with the Kabul Times correspondent, Head of Bamyan Provincial Information and Culture Department, Kabir Dadras said that the strong buildings and walls built in the city indicate that it had been used as defense center and for monitoring and control of trade convoys passing through the route, the ancientness of the city goes to the 5th or 6th century or the Yaftali period. “The ancient and strong buildings which exist in the city reveal that it belong to 5th or 6th century in terms of their historical background,” Dadras said. “It indicates that in the past the buildings used to be as defense center and monitoring and controlling point on commercial and trade convoys passing through same rout.” Highlighting the pathetic conditions of the historical and ancient heritages in Zahak city, head of Bamyan provincial information and culture department said that majority of the ancient monuments in Zahak city are on edge of collapse which need rapid concentration.