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Ichingcarpenter

(36,988 posts)
Sat Apr 20, 2013, 10:54 AM Apr 2013

Stonehenge 5,000 Years Older Than Thought

Excavation near Stonehenge found evidence of a settlement dating back to 7,500 BC, revealing the site was occupied some 5,000 years earlier than previously thought.

Working at Vespasian’s Camp in Amesbury, Wiltshire, less than a mile from the megalithic stones, a team led by archaeologist David Jacques of the Open University unearthed material which contradicted the general belief that no people settled there until as late as 2,500 BC.

Indeed, carbon dating of the material revealed the existence of a semi-permanent settlement which was occupied from 7,500 to 4,700 BC. The dating showed that people were present during every millennium in between.



The team has “found the community who put the first monument up at Stonehenge,” archaeologist Josh Pollard from Southampton University and the Stonehenge Riverside Project, told the BBC.

The researchers believe that the people who settled at Vespasian’s Camp also built the first monument at Stonehenge — large wooden posts erected between the 9th and 7th millennia BC.

The findings, to be broadcast in a documentary on BBC One, shows that Stonehenge wasn’t just abandoned by Mesolithic humans and occupied by Neolithic people thousands of years later. On the contrary, it represents a place where one culture mingled with the other.



http://news.discovery.com/history/archaeology/stonehenge-settled-5000-years-earlier-than-thought-13041.htm#mkcpgn=rssnws1

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Stonehenge 5,000 Years Older Than Thought (Original Post) Ichingcarpenter Apr 2013 OP
k and r--thank you for posting this. niyad Apr 2013 #1
TAG leftyohiolib Apr 2013 #2
I hope PBS picks up on that and shows it in this former colony. alfredo Apr 2013 #3
obviously a civilization who wouldn't heed Noah's warning ;) Schema Thing Apr 2013 #4
But... the Earth is only 6000 years old! jmondine Apr 2013 #5
Pre wrestling isn't "fake" Prophet 451 Apr 2013 #10
some fans are so into it tiny elvis Apr 2013 #19
I've always thought GaYellowDawg Apr 2013 #20
I'm perfectly find with call it performance art. nt Javaman Apr 2013 #35
Apparently Stonehenge was built by atheists. caseymoz Apr 2013 #15
thanx for posting! Botany Apr 2013 #6
You forgot to show skepticscott Apr 2013 #8
It was aliens jberryhill Apr 2013 #17
The aliens are using his hair as a radio frequency brain control device. Merlot Apr 2013 #23
That would explain a lot jberryhill Apr 2013 #24
I need to steal that for Facebook. nt awoke_in_2003 Apr 2013 #31
...or Fred Flintstone........ lastlib Apr 2013 #33
Good Job Ichingcarpenter Apr 2013 #32
1000 years short of the Biblical "creation" of our earth!! Amazing!! hue Apr 2013 #7
Stonehenge evolved over time. Grew and mans knowledge grew. Interesting. geckosfeet Apr 2013 #9
Fascinating discovery Prophet 451 Apr 2013 #11
Fundies are not going to like this. AllyCat Apr 2013 #12
I was lucky enough to visit Stonehenge before they fenced it off Siwsan Apr 2013 #13
they had to fence it off ..... Botany Apr 2013 #25
I know it was an unfortunate necessity. Bits and pieces have been "disappearing" for ages Siwsan Apr 2013 #26
When I was there you could walk around the outer ring ..... Botany Apr 2013 #29
This was already known, and the date was older even. Coyotl Apr 2013 #14
Forgotten history Enoki33 Apr 2013 #16
So Interesting colsohlibgal Apr 2013 #18
Ancient stories are lost at a tremendous rate even today. hunter Apr 2013 #21
It was aliens! AnnieBW Apr 2013 #22
Is it Stonehenge itself or just the site? sakabatou Apr 2013 #27
It's a site a mile from Stonehenge - the Discovery headline is rather misleading muriel_volestrangler Apr 2013 #28
Ah. sakabatou Apr 2013 #30
Doggerland was falling into the sea at this time Ichingcarpenter Apr 2013 #34
really? wet.hen88 Apr 2013 #36

jmondine

(1,649 posts)
5. But... the Earth is only 6000 years old!
Sat Apr 20, 2013, 11:47 AM
Apr 2013

Next you'll be telling me that the world isn't flat, and that pro-wrestling is fake.

Prophet 451

(9,796 posts)
10. Pre wrestling isn't "fake"
Sat Apr 20, 2013, 12:32 PM
Apr 2013

Pro wrestling is a work where two highly trained athletes cooperate to perform for (hopefully) your entertainment. It is a pre-determined show, it would be fair to describe it as "rigged" or "pre-determined" or "performance art" even. But there's nothing "fake" about the deteriorating cartilage in my knees or the numerous concussions I've suffered.

tiny elvis

(979 posts)
19. some fans are so into it
Sat Apr 20, 2013, 02:01 PM
Apr 2013

two guys in the past had to tell me, 'i know it's not real'
because i misunderstood their enthusiasm for it
that is why people think of it as fakery

GaYellowDawg

(4,443 posts)
20. I've always thought
Sat Apr 20, 2013, 02:43 PM
Apr 2013

that given all of the falls, etc., that the real athleticism of professional wrestlers was reflected in the (surprisingly) low level of serious injuries.

caseymoz

(5,763 posts)
15. Apparently Stonehenge was built by atheists.
Sat Apr 20, 2013, 01:15 PM
Apr 2013

And they probably weren't too impressed when God created the world.

Merlot

(9,696 posts)
23. The aliens are using his hair as a radio frequency brain control device.
Sat Apr 20, 2013, 04:51 PM
Apr 2013

You gotta love the alien guy...he's so enthusiastic.

 

jberryhill

(62,444 posts)
24. That would explain a lot
Sat Apr 20, 2013, 04:54 PM
Apr 2013

"What if people's brains could be remotely controlled? Would aliens use this technology to make people come up with crazy theories? And, if they did, would there be evidence of it today? Some researchers believe they have..."

Siwsan

(26,177 posts)
13. I was lucky enough to visit Stonehenge before they fenced it off
Sat Apr 20, 2013, 01:00 PM
Apr 2013

We were able to wander through the entire monument. It really is the most amazing place I've ever visited. By my second visit, the barriers were up. It's still impressive, but disappointing to be held back. I understand why they had to put them up, but it does take away some of the magic.

Siwsan

(26,177 posts)
26. I know it was an unfortunate necessity. Bits and pieces have been "disappearing" for ages
Sat Apr 20, 2013, 05:54 PM
Apr 2013

I do feel so very fortunate to have been able to stand in the middle of the circle. It was an amazing experience.

Botany

(70,291 posts)
29. When I was there you could walk around the outer ring .....
Sat Apr 20, 2013, 08:18 PM
Apr 2013

Last edited Sat Apr 20, 2013, 11:39 PM - Edit history (1)

..... my brother (scientist) almost got the shit kicked out of him there .... he told me
.... correctly .... that stonehenge was a calender and on the longest and shortest
days of the year you look @ the headstone @ sunrise or sunset and you can tell
exactly what day of the solar (annual) calender you are on ..... well big guy standing
next to us looks over and says "well who says that?" ...... before I can stop him my
brother tells him that Paleo-astronomers have checked out that theory w/computers
and sky charts and that is why the builders of Stonehenge built it ...... big guy is
looking very fucking pissed ....... I pulled my brother away and told the big guy
"please excuse us we have to be going" ...... my brother asked me why I got him out of there
...... I told him that some people believe that stonehenge is a UFO landing spot and
that you were pissing into his cheerios.

 

Coyotl

(15,262 posts)
14. This was already known, and the date was older even.
Sat Apr 20, 2013, 01:00 PM
Apr 2013

This is good additional evidence, of course, even if their title is hyperbolic. I think this excitement is about having an actual settlement instead of just the evidence at Stonehenge proper.

Check this: http://jqjacobs.net/archaeology/stonehenge/stonehenge_pi.html

Enoki33

(1,584 posts)
16. Forgotten history
Sat Apr 20, 2013, 01:22 PM
Apr 2013

Every so often new discoveries are made that turns accepted archeology on it's head and reminds us that researchers such as Graham Hancock have been saying that there is today a huge amount of evidence that supports the idea that mankind is a species with amnesia, and that there is a forgotten history is being ignored by mainstream scholars. Gobekli Tepe is one example. Really fascinating stuff.

colsohlibgal

(5,275 posts)
18. So Interesting
Sat Apr 20, 2013, 01:51 PM
Apr 2013

As Mulder's poster says, the truth is out there, whatever and wherever it is. There is so much here and elsewhere we don't yet know or have wrong to some extent.

Hopefully this will show up soon on BBC America.

hunter

(38,264 posts)
21. Ancient stories are lost at a tremendous rate even today.
Sat Apr 20, 2013, 02:51 PM
Apr 2013

A characteristic of modern humans is story telling. These stories define much of our thought and culture. Without the written word a story is lost when the last story teller stops telling it. Even written stories are not especially durable. People claim the internet never forgets, but stories fade there too.

Of those stories that remain, or the stories represented by the archaeological artifacts a culture leaves behind, most have origins rooted in times "prehistoric" to the current date of attribution.

Something happened at Stonehenge a long time ago, before the stones were raised, before the large wooden posts were erected, that is the actual wellspring of a story long lost and maybe actively suppressed by subsequent cultures.

It could be anything -- psychoactive mushrooms, meteors, a prophet, charlatan, a Tardis, or yes, even aliens (some speculations much less likely than others.) The archeology itself is a story too.

Thanks for posting this.

muriel_volestrangler

(101,155 posts)
28. It's a site a mile from Stonehenge - the Discovery headline is rather misleading
Sat Apr 20, 2013, 08:01 PM
Apr 2013
The archaeological dig, a mile from the stones, has revealed that people have occupied the area since 7,500BC.
...
The site, which contains a natural spring, is the nearest source of fresh water to Stonehenge.
...
Over the past seven years, the site has yielded the earliest semi-permanent settlement in the Stonehenge area from 7,500 to 4,700BC.

And carbon dating of material found at the site show people were there during every millennium in between.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-wiltshire-22183130


I actually had the programme on last night in the background (I live not far away from it - about 25 miles - and it was a local programme) and didn't actually pick up this was what they were saying. They weren't really making a big thing of it. It's interesting, if you're heavily into archaeology, but they did already know southern England was inhabited at that time. This just puts a settlement in the Stonehenge area.

Ichingcarpenter

(36,988 posts)
34. Doggerland was falling into the sea at this time
Mon Apr 22, 2013, 05:52 AM
Apr 2013

Doggerland is a name given by archaeologists and geologists to a former landmass in the southern North Sea that connected the island of Great Britain to mainland Europe during and after the last Ice Age, surviving until about 6,500 or 6,200 BCE and then gradually being flooded by rising sea levels.

Geological surveys have suggested that Doggerland was a large area of dry land that stretched from Britain's east coast across to the present coast of the Netherlands and the western coasts of Germany and Denmark.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doggerland


wet.hen88

(64 posts)
36. really?
Sun Apr 28, 2013, 10:42 AM
Apr 2013

That's fascinating...am always interested in theorized reconstruction of land masses. Doggerland is pretty ez to see andunderstand. With now-rising sea levels, wonder what will happen elsewhere? Probably some geographers have already looked at this question, and plotted...where would I find THAT info?!

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