Tuesday, January 30, 2007

Big Stonehenge news Stonehenge builders' houses found
Archaeologists say they have found a huge ancient settlement used by the people who built Stonehenge.

Excavations at Durrington Walls, near the legendary Salisbury Plain monument, uncovered remains of ancient houses.

People seem to have occupied the sites seasonally, using them for ritual feasting and funeral ceremonies.

. . .

The dwellings date back to 2,600-2,500 BC, the same period that Stonehenge was built.


They determined seasonality provisionally by pig teeth, which gave ages of 9 months for the porcines, assuming birth in spring. But this depends on an accurate dating of Stonehenge to this period as well, as they note in the article. Still, there's so much to analyze it should keep people busy for decades.

More here, too.