Posted on 06/18/2023 6:26:16 AM PDT by SunkenCiv
Archaeologists have discovered a vast cemetery of Bronze Age burial mounds, thought to be up to 4,400 years old, ahead of a building development less than 10 miles (16 kilometers) from Stonehenge.
The cemetery includes more than 20 circular mounds, known as barrows, built between 2400 B.C. and 1500 B.C. on a chalk hillside near Harnham on the outskirts of Salisbury in southwest England.
Other than the site's proximity to Stonehenge, there's no evidence that the cemetery was connected with the famous monument. But the barrows were built around the same time as some of the central stages of Stonehenge, according to a statement from Cotswold Archaeology, a private firm conducting the excavations.
Many archaeologists now think Stonehenge, too, was mainly a burial ground...
The newfound barrows range in size, with the smallest measuring about 33 feet (10 meters) across and the largest spanning 165 feet (50 m). But most of the barrows are between 65 and 100 feet (20 and 30 m) across...
After arriving at the site in 2022, the archaeologists have now fully excavated five barrows in two areas. Four of the barrows had previously been identified, but the fifth was unknown, possibly because it had been covered by loose soil washed down from an uphill area.
One of the barrows was originally enclosed by an oval-shaped ditch that was replaced in prehistory with a nearly circular ditch. That suggests this barrow might have been built before the others, during the Neolithic period, which ended around 2400 B.C.; a mass grave near its center held the skeletal remains of adults and children, the statement said.
(Excerpt) Read more at livescience.com ...
and I’m guessing unless we find different it was dug with deer antlers. Impressive. 👍
The last antlers used in these projects, along with some of the broken bits, and found most of the time when anyone digs these old sites in chalk or other soft ground. Presumably the worn-out and broken ones go into the (outdoor) fire on a cold night.
Never thought of that. Hard life back then but they sure made the best of it creating amazing things. 👍
They didn’t have TV back then, or the internet. :^)
😆
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