Stonehenge, the iconic prehistoric monument of England, has long been an enigma for archaeologists and historians. However, a recent study has revealed that It is not the oldest circular structure of its kind in Britain. A known Neolithic monument … as Flagstoneslocated in Dorset County, it is actually 200 years older than Stonehengewhich It raises the possibility that its creators have inspired him.
Radiocarbon dating “makes flagstones the oldest circular enclosure known in Great Britain,” said Susan Greaney, principal author of the study and professor of archeology at the University of Exeter.
Until recently, archaeologists believed that flagstones and the first phases of Stonehenge construction were contemporaries, both dated around 2900 a. C. However, these new radiocarbon dating tests have shown that Flagstones dates approximately 3200 a. C. Greaney and his team published their findings in the magazine Antiquity On March 6. “It could be that we should examine our Stonehenge dates and reconsider them,” Greaney told the press.
Flagstones was discovered in the 1980s during the construction of the Dorchester Circunvalación. The excavations revealed a huge circular pit of one hundred meters in diameter, composed of a series of interconnected graves. Inside, archaeologists found at least four sets of human remains: A cremated adult and three children buried on the site. They also found partially cremated remains of three other adults in different areas of the monument.
“With the new techniques to obtain precise dates by radiocarbon and advanced statistical methods, we can now establish more accurately when events such as the construction of monuments occurred,” said the expert.
Despite its importance, today Half of the monument is under the ringwhile the other half is under a historical residence administered by the National Trust, a beneficial organization of the United Kingdom dedicated to the conservation and protection of historical and natural places of interest. The artifacts discovered on the site are preserved in the Dorset Museum.
An intriguing finding
Its proximity to Stonehenge, just 60 kilometers to the southwest, along with its similar design, led archaeologists to believe that both structures were erected at the same time. However, Greaney’s recent doctoral research has allowed us to create a more detailed chronology of Neolithic monuments in the region.
To obtain more precise dates, the researchers analyzed human remains, red deer antlers, which were used in prehistory as tools for excavation and construction of megalithic monuments, and charcoal found on the site. The data obtained indicate that flagstones graves were excavated around 3650 a. C., but the complete circular structure was not formed until 3200 a. C., at which time the burials were made. One of the most intriguing findings is that of A young adult buried Under a large Sarsen stone in the center of the monument approximately 1,000 years after its original construction.
The study also sheds light on the evolution of monumental architecture in Neolithic Britain. “It is part of a predominantly rectangular or linear monuments transition, such as cursus monuments and long funeral tunnels, towards circular forms,” Greaney said.
Researchers suggest that Influence of funeral practices of Ireland He could have played a role in the development of flagstones, since at that time the Irish peoples buried their dead in circular passage tombs, a type of prehistoric funeral monument, characteristic of the Neolithic culture, which consists of a stone structure with a long and narrow passage that leads to a central funeral chamber, covered by a mound of earth or stones.
Replicated?
Although the new findings indicate that flagstones is older than Stonehenge, Greaney believes that it is necessary to reexamine the dates of the latter. “There are some bones of ‘preserved’ animals near the enclosure in Stonehenge, dating from around 3200 a. C. », he said. “It has been assumed that these deer bones and cattle skulls were preserved for some time before being deposited in the trench.” However, with the new flagstones dating, it is now possible to reconsider If Stonehenge had an earlier phase in which a site of interconnected graves was also built, which was then unified in the ditch continues around 2900 a. C.
The study concludes that flagstones builders adopted the extended practice of placing cremations in small circular monuments, but also innovated when creating a much larger structure with funeral art and artifacts that suggest long -range connections, especially with Ireland. «This new monument style served as an anchor in the development of the Dorchester complex and Its form could have been directly replicated in Stonehenge», Say the researchers.
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