Excavations

• Start of 5 year project of large excavations at Birka
  Birka
  During the Viking Age, Birka , on the island of Björkö in Sweden, was an important trading center which handled goods from Scandinavia as well as Central and Eastern Europe and the Orient. Björkö is located in Lake Mälaren, 30 kilometers west of contemporary Stockholm, in the municipality of Ekerö...
  
  .
• Work begins at Leptiminus
  Leptiminus
  Leptiminus was an ancient port city in Tunisia that flourished under Roman rule in the time of the empire. Hannibal, following the second Punic War, disembarked here on his return from Italy. The growing town, now a textile production center, hosts several excavation sites currently under...
  
   by David Mattingly.
• Vijayanagara
  Vijayanagara
  Vijayanagara is in Bellary District, northern Karnataka. It is the name of the now-ruined capital city "which was regarded as the second Rome" that surrounds modern-day Hampi, of the historic Vijayanagara empire which extended over the southern part of India....
  
   research project begins.

Finds

• "Ossuary
  Ossuary
  An ossuary is a chest, building, well, or site made to serve as the final resting place of human skeletal remains. They are frequently used where burial space is scarce. A body is first buried in a temporary grave, then after some years the skeletal remains are removed and placed in an ossuary...
  
   of Caiaphas
  Caiaphas
  Joseph, son of Caiaphas, Hebrew יוסף בַּר קַיָּפָא or Yosef Bar Kayafa, commonly known simply as Caiaphas in the New Testament, was the Roman-appointed Jewish high priest who is said to have organized the plot to kill Jesus...
  
  " in Jerusalem.
• 1st Pool of Corsair
  Corsair
  Corsairs were privateers, authorized to conduct raids on shipping of a nation at war with France, on behalf of the French Crown. Seized vessels and cargo were sold at auction, with the corsair captain entitled to a portion of the proceeds...
  
   is found near Boston
  Boston
  Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
  
  . Preliminary evidence points to construction in the late 17th century.
• A road-building crew in Central China accidentally uncovers a Han Dynasty
  Han Dynasty
  The Han Dynasty was the second imperial dynasty of China, preceded by the Qin Dynasty and succeeded by the Three Kingdoms . It was founded by the rebel leader Liu Bang, known posthumously as Emperor Gaozu of Han. It was briefly interrupted by the Xin Dynasty of the former regent Wang Mang...
  
   vault, containing perhaps tens of thousands of terra-cotta figures.

Events

• November - British Government produces Planning Policy Guidance 16: Archaeology and Planning
  PPG 16
  Planning Policy Guidance 16: Archaeology and Planning commonly abbreviated as PPG 16, was a document produced by the British Government to advise local planning authorities on the treatment of archaeology within the planning process...
  
  to advise local authorities on the treatment of archaeology
  Archaeology
  Archaeology, or archeology , is the study of human society, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes...
  
  within the planning process. Site developers are required to contract with archaeological teams to have sites investigated in advance of development.