Posted on 10/07/2005 2:46:04 PM PDT by blam
Walker discovers 5,000-year-old log path on moor
Find to shed new light on Neolithic man
Emma Dunlop
FOR 5,000 years one of the world's oldest ever footpaths has remained a hidden secret, locked deep beneath the earth in South Yorkshire.
That was until walker Mick Oliver quite literally stumbled across it while one day traipsing across Hatfield Moor, near Doncaster, shortly after it was re-opened to walkers in October last year.
"I looked down and I could see a straight line. I thought, that's unusual, maybe it's a bog oak – a fossilised tree – so I'll go and have a look," said the retired town and country planning officer.
"But when I got there I could see seven parallel poles of pine lined up on the floor. This was most unusual. I knew what I was looking at was old.
"I could see axe marks on the wood and evidence that they had been tapered. Given their position in the peat, I pretty soon concluded they were old, possibly even Bronze Age.
"I looked to see how deep they were buried and worked out they may be some 2,500 years old. I never realised just how old they were until later."
But still not convinced about what he was seeing, Mr Oliver, 65, of Wadworth, Doncaster, sat down beside the logs and began eating his packed lunch.
He said: "I kept thinking, what if I am wrong? I am going to look very foolish here.
"But after my sandwiches I thought, stuff it. This discovery is too important, so I went to Doncaster Museum to report my find."
Without realising it, he had discovered one of the oldest tracks of its kind ever seen in the world. It dates back to the Neolithic period and only two other pathways on the continent are thought to date back earlier – one in Holland and the other in Germany.
And now its very discovery could shed new light on the history of Neolithic man as the pathway yields more and more clues day by day to the dozens of archaeologists now poring over its every detail.
"I just can't believe I was the one to discover it," said Mr Oliver, who works closely with conservationists on the moors.
"It is such a fantastic find and one I shall never forget."
Archaeologists think it may have been built in a forlorn attempt to stave off the effects of climate change 5,000 years ago.
Analysis of the soil and pollen samples suggest the roadway was constructed because the ground was becoming increasingly waterlogged.
This could have been due to the onset of warmer and wetter weather, as until then the landscape had been characterised by woodland and heath, but raising water levels killed the trees and the mire began to form. But once it was enveloped by the bog, there is no evidence showing repairs or modifications, suggesting it was simply abandoned.
Radiocarbon dating suggests it was probably built before Stonehenge, at some point between 2,900 and 2,500BC, and the search has begun to find where the trackway leads. The pine track stretches over 50m (164ft) of so-called "corduroy track", where logs are laid together to form a roadway. At its widest, it is 4m (13ft) across. But even more significantly is the discovery of a platform at the end of the track.
Archaeologist Dr Henry Chapman, site manager, said: "This is utterly amazing and the only one of its kind in the world.
"A find like this could rewrite the history of Neolithic man as we know it. This platform could have been used for a number of reasons. We believe it is too big for a vantage point for hunting, but it could be religiously significant – as a place for offerings to the gods. Or, even more symbolically, it could have been a place where the dead were laid out."
Once the excavation is complete, the trackway will be backfilled with earth again, as this is the best way to preserve the timbers.
06 October 2005
GGG Ping.
DENNIS: I told you. We're an anarcho-syndicalist commune. We
take it in turns to act as a sort of executive officer for the
week.
ARTHUR: Yes.
DENNIS: But all the decisions of that officer have to be ratified
at a special biweekly meeting.
ARTHUR: Yes, I see.
DENNIS: By a simple majority in the case of purely internal
affairs,--
ARTHUR: Be quiet!
DENNIS: --but by a two-thirds majority in the case of more--
ARTHUR: Be quiet! I order you to be quiet!
WOMAN: Order, eh -- who does he think he is?
ARTHUR: I am your king!
WOMAN: Well, I didn't vote for you.
ARTHUR: You don't vote for kings.
WOMAN: Well, 'ow did you become king then?
Perhaps if we built a large wooden badger...
Interesting. Thx for posting it.
Maybe they were building a bridge to the 21st (BC) century?
Global warming is caused by too many fireplaces during ski season at Park City, UT. It's also caused by the sun. :)-
As I understand it, they didn't need a raft. It was a continuous land mass. (Until they caused global warming, that is.)
No, No, it is all the cellphones irradiating the atmosphere. Think about it, all these microwave towers everywhere.
A corduroy road leading to a platform in a bog.
Hey, I found some 7,000 year old wood in Florida.
That's pretty good pine to last 5000 years in a Bog.
How about this: One hundred sixty nine, 8,000 year old people were found in a bog in Florida.
Ninety of them had completely intact brains.
The other 79 of them voted for Buchanan...
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