Andy B
Joined:
13-02-2001
Messages: 12308
from Surrey, UK
 OFF-Line
|  Posted 03-05-2024 at 11:02
A trio of interlocking enclosures, the structure may date to the time of the Bell Beaker culture, but experts are unsure of its exact age and purpose
A newly discovered structure in France could be thousands of years old—and its odd shape is one of a kind, archaeologists say.
Researchers from the French National Institute for Preventive Archaeological Research (INRAP) unearthed the monument while excavating a prehistoric site in the eastern commune of Marliens. According to a statement, the site’s anthropological history spans the Neolithic era to the First Iron Age.
From above, the structure resembles a wonky, incomplete bowtie, outlined in lines of raised, shaped earth. Its middle is a complete circle, measuring 36 feet across. Horseshoe-shaped lines protrude from either side of the circle. One of these enclosures is complete—measuring 26 feet across—while the other is dashed and gapped.
“This type of monument seems unprecedented,” notes INRAP in the statement. “As of now, it has been impossible to make a comparison.”
More:
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/this-neolithic-monument-found-in-france-has-no-equal-180984254/
See also
https://www.livescience.com/archaeology/unprecedented-discovery-of-mysterious-circular-monument-near-2-necropolises-found-in-france
and the original press release in French:
https://www.inrap.fr/un-secteur-funeraire-protohistorique-marliens-cote-d-or-17934
With thanks to Ewen for the link.
 Profile
 Email
 Reply
|
