Archaeological investigations in a prehistoric burial of flagstones reveal it. It is the oldest circular enclosure known in Great Britain. It would be, nothing less than the Stonehenge precursor.
The monument, located near Dorchester, is about 3200 years. C. It was learned by a radiocarbon analysis of the findings discovered there, including human remains, red deer and coal mantles. The findings were published in Antiquity.
Radiocarbon
«Flagstones is an unusual monument. It is a perfectly circular enclosure with pits, with burials and cremations associated with it ». Dr. Susan Greaney, from the Department of Archeology and History of Exeter says in a statement. «In some aspects, it resembles previous monuments, which we call enclosures with footwear. In others, it looks a bit like things after we call henges. But we didn’t know where they were among this type of monuments. The revised chronology places it in a period prior to the one we expected ».
Flagstones was discovered in the 1980s during the construction of the Dorchester Circunvalación. It is formed by a circular ditch of 100 m in diameter and wells that intersect, probably a embankment. Today, half of the site is under the ring. The rest is under Max Gate, Thomas Hardy’s old house, now bequeathed to the National Trust. Flagstones is a scheduled monument with findings and archives of excavations preserved in the Dorset Museum.
At least four burials placed in the wells of the enclosure were found. There were three other partial cremations of adults in other places. Radiocarbon dates with archaeological information were combined. This revealed that early neolithic activity, including the excavation of phosses, took place around 3650 a. C.
Funeral model
After an interval of many centuries, the circular enclosure with a pit was created around 3200 a. C. burials were placed immediately afterwards. Interestingly, a posterior burial of a young adult man under a large Sarsen stone in the center of the enclosure occurred around 1000 years after its initial use.
“Flagstones is Stonehenge’s precursor,” confirm the researchers. Flagstones also reveals connections with other important sites, including Londygái Huge A in Gwynedd, Wales, and even places in Ireland, as suggested by artifacts and funeral practices. The findings highlight the interconnection of the Neolithic communities in Great Britain and beyond.
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