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| Stone Formation Archive 1992 |
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 Stone Formations news, views, gallery and archive brought to you by Weird Wiltshire Introduction Latest News News Archive Stonehenge Stonehenge Project Stonehenge 360 Avebury Saviours Stones Village Solstice Wayland Smithy Long Barrow Woodhenge Gallery Summer Solstice Gallery 2002 Summer Solstice Gallery 2004 Postcards Wallpaper Links  |
First published on September 24, 1992 AVEBURY archives TV fame tonight, but for its wooden circles rather than its stone ones. Cardiff University archaeologist Dr Alastair Whittle has discovered a huge wooden religious enclosure south of Avebury, near the West Kennet barrow. The site, the size of about six football pitches, also produced evidence of feasting and drinking. Dr Whittle began working in the area five years ago, starting with an aerial photograph of one field. He dated the new ceremonial circles to the late neolithic age, making it a contemporary of the Avebury stone circles and Silbury Hill. "It might be something defensive or something sacred. there's a possibility that the wooden stockades would have aided defence. "But my money would firmly be on at least part of the site having a sacred purpose." Dr Whittle will speak about his find at a lecturers' symposium on neolithic archaeology in Wiltshire at Devizes museum on October 17. The newly discovered wooden circles will be shown on the Channel 4 programme Down to Earth which is looking at stone age monuments in the south at 8pm. Back to 1992 index |
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