I have always been fascinated with Stonehenge, and over the years have come to wonder why modern humans so denigrate our ancestors to suggest that they could not have built such structures with the tools at hand. We have become so accustomed to our modern conveniences that we can no longer conceive of functioning without them.
Amesbury dig ‘could explain’ Stonehenge history
12 October 2013A group of archaeologists is undertaking a major dig in Wiltshire, which it is hoped could explain why Stonehenge was built where it was.
The team, which consists of leading experts in the Mesolithic period, also hopes to confirm Amesbury as the oldest continuous settlement in the UK.
The term Mesolithic refers to specific groups of archaeological cultures defined as falling between the Palaeolithic and the Neolithic.
‘Something really special’
Andy Rhind-Tutt from Amesbury Museum said Amesbury pre-dated Stonehenge by as much 5,000 years, and could “go a long way” to explaining why Stonehenge is where it is.
“No-one would have built Stonehenge without there being something really special about the area.
“There must have been something there beforehand and Amesbury may well be it – [it could be] one of the greatest Mesolithic sites in the country.”
Mr Rhind-Tutt said the team would also be looking to “find evidence of settlement for 10,000 BC”.
“In previous excavations, they’ve found evidence of settlement up to 7,596 BC – a boar’s tusk – but we’re not at the bottom of the trench yet.
“Thatcham near Newbury [in Berkshire] is proving to be the oldest continuous settlement in the UK, but if Amesbury has older evidence this time, then it will be instead.
“At the moment, it is only 104 years short of being the oldest.”
Well-preserved remains of a Mesolithic settlement dating from 7,700 BC have previously been found at Thatcham, which is 41 miles (66km) from Amesbury.
The Amesbury dig will also be filmed and made into a documentary by the BBC, Smithsonian, CBC and others to be screened at a later date. The project it being led by Buckingham University.
In a related story from National Geographic, a nearby precursor to Stonehenge has also been recently unearthed, call it Woodhenge.
Stonehenge Had Neighboring, Wooden Twin—More to Come?
“It will completely change the way we think about the Stonehenge landscape.”James Owen in London
Published July 23, 2010
Britain’s Stonehenge once had a long-lost twin just a stone’s throw away from the prehistoric monument, archaeologists announced Thursday. (See pictures of the new Stonehenge discovery.
The discovery, made completely without digging, suggests that now solitary Stonehenge may have been surrounded by “satellite Stonehenges,” archaeologists say.
“This finding is remarkable,” said survey-team leader Vince Gaffney, an archaeologist the University of Birmingham in the U.K. “It will completely change the way we think about the landscape around Stonehenge.”
“If [the newfound henge] was there at the same time, it demonstrates there was massively more activity going on in the landscape adjacent to Stonehenge,” Gaffney said.
That isn’t to say Stonehenge was open to anybody, he added, “but we are saying there seems to be more activity inside that boundary.
“Stonehenge,” he added, “is one of the most studied monuments on Earth but this demonstrates that there is still much more to be found.”
Other Henges have been discovered over the years. As we unearth more, and other evidence of early habitation of the area the picture of Stonehenge’s construction and the life of its builders becomes more clear, and less likely to involve Ancient Aliens or Stone Age humans with high technology. At least we have yet to unearth a cache of mesolithic backhoes, cranes, forklifts and gas stations.
Dust and sand carried on the wind or by water is capable of doing this.
And yet for some reason we cannot conceive that humans as intelligent as we are (do not confuse intelligent with modern, or with our current amassed knowledge) can join together and organize themselves to do this.
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