Brownian Motion Posted January 30, 2007 Report Share Posted January 30, 2007 The New York Times Printer Friendly Format Sponsored By January 30, 2007 Remains of Village Found Near Stonehenge By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Filed at 11:31 a.m. ET WASHINGTON (AP) -- Archaeologists have uncovered what may have been a village for workers or festival-goers near the mysterious stone circle Stonehenge in England. The village was located at Durrington Walls, about two miles from Stonehenge, and is also the location of a wooden version of the stone circle. Eight houses have been excavated and the researchers believe there were at least 25 of them, archaeologist Mike Parker Pearson said Tuesday at a briefing held by the National Geographic Society. The village was carbon dated to about 2600 B.C., about the same time Stonehenge was built. The Great Pyramid in Egypt was built at about the same time, said Parker Pearson of Sheffield University. The small wooden houses had a central hearth, he said, and are almost identical to stone houses built at about the same time in the Orkney Islands. The researchers speculated that Durrington Walls was a place for the living and Stonehenge -- where several cremated remains have been found -- was a cemetery and memorial. Both are connected to the Avon River by paths they called avenues. Parker Pearson said remains of stone tools, animal bones, arrowheads and other artifacts were uncovered in the village. Remains of pigs indicated they were about nine months old when killed, which would mark a midwinter festival, he said. Parker Pearson said Stonehenge was oriented to face the midsummer sunrise and midwinter sunset, while the wooden circle at Durrington Walls faced the midwinter sunrise and midsummer sunset. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Dolan Posted January 30, 2007 Report Share Posted January 30, 2007 Always with the digging. Why can't people just leave shit alone? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7/4 Posted January 30, 2007 Report Share Posted January 30, 2007 I'd rather just chill out and dig shit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sidewinder Posted January 30, 2007 Report Share Posted January 30, 2007 Major find - looks like the largest neolithic settlement ever found in the UK. Very innocuous spot, if it is next to the 'Woodhenge'. These days the whole of Salisbuty Plain is wind-swept and barren but 5,000 years ago with the milder climate it must have been an Eden. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jazzmoose Posted January 30, 2007 Report Share Posted January 30, 2007 Just think of it as a prehistoric Branson for Brits... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brownian Motion Posted January 30, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 30, 2007 Here is a more detailed account: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/30/science/...artner=homepage Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuck Nessa Posted January 31, 2007 Report Share Posted January 31, 2007 Did they find the fireman and the indian? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Son-of-a-Weizen Posted January 31, 2007 Report Share Posted January 31, 2007 (edited) Was there a can of Bud down there with a born on date? ...with all those preservatives, you could probably still drink it. Edited January 31, 2007 by Son-of-a-Weizen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bertrand Posted January 31, 2007 Report Share Posted January 31, 2007 (edited) Was everything the same scale as Stonehenge, i.e. 12"? Bertrand. Edited January 31, 2007 by bertrand Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aggie87 Posted January 31, 2007 Report Share Posted January 31, 2007 Was everything the same scale as Stonehenge, i.e. 12"? Bertrand. I bet it was Spinal Tap sized. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catesta Posted January 31, 2007 Report Share Posted January 31, 2007 Did they find the fireman and the indian? Nah, just the construction worker. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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