West Kennet Long Barrow
Posted on 11/27/2001 8:30:21 PM PST by blam
Archaeologists date tool discarded 4,500 years ago
Maev Kennedy, arts and heritage correspondent
Thursday November 22, 2001
The Guardian
A scrap of antler has proved that Silbury Hill, the largest man-made mound in Europe, was completed around 4,500 years ago.
The first scientific evidence for the date of one of the most puzzling of our ancient monuments is one of two antlers found at the summit of the 128ft hill. It was discovered as archaeologists agonised over how to fill a gaping hole which had threatened the collapse of the Wiltshire monument.
The fragments are the broken tips of the picks with which the monument was built, that were thrown into the top of the hill as the last gaps between the blocks of cut chalk were filled with rubble.
While the first phase of building at Silbury may be centuries older, the dating of the antler proves the structure was complete almost 1,000 years before the last arrangement of the boulders at Stonehenge.
The dating, by the Oxford University radiocarbon unit, yields a late Neolithic date of about 2490-2340BC, with 95% certainty of accuracy.(We have a tree ring event date at 2354BC)
Earlier attempts to date Silbury Hill were based on educated guesses of 2800-2000BC: its form is so unusual there is almost nothing to compare it with. "An archaeologist shouldn't say this, but it is the result we were hoping for," said Amanda Chadbury, English Heritage's ancient monuments inspector for the area.
Although the Roman coins and the scraps of medieval horse harness also found in the excavation looked more intriguing, it was the antlers which caused most excitement. They were the first organic finds from a previously undisturbed part of the mound.
Amateurs have been burrowing into the mound over centuries, the main cause of the huge shaft that opened up last winter.
The monument remains as enigmatic as ever. Its construction was estimated to have taken more than 3m working hours. Despite a legend concerning a king buried on his horse - the target of generations of treasure hunters - no evidence was found of that.
The question is still whether the monument was built before, after, or as part of the same project as nearby Avebury - where nothing giving such a reliable date has been found.
The hole in the mound has been closed with blocks of polystyrene and a layer of chalk, and a seismic study, due within weeks, will show if Silbury is still unstable and in danger.
West Kennet Long Barrow
Stukeley's 'great stone serpent'
Belas Knap Long Barrow Entrance
Great warranty. I don't know if it applies to antlers, though.:)
If the tool is a Sears Craftsman, they need to be reminded that it can be returned for a new one if it isn't working any more.
8')
And here I thought some druggie stole it for a fix.
Seriously blam, interesting article and follow-up articles.
Some things never change.
My exact thoughts when I saw the picture of the chamber. (Mystery Hill also).
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