Neolithic Roadway, Possibly a Ritual Site, Discovered in England

[Judi Lynn]

Archaeologists also found the skull of an extinct ox that is 2,000 years older than the trackway

By Brigit Katz
SMITHSONIAN.COM
JULY 2, 2018 8:00AM

When archaeologists arrived on the scene of an unassuming field in Suffolk, England, they didn’t expect to find much in the way of significant archaeological relics. They had been hired by the energy company ScottishPower to make sure that the area was clear of artifacts before beginning a planned construction project. But “[the field] didn’t really point to much being there,” Claire Halley of Wardell Armstrong, the company that oversaw the dig, tells Rory Smith of CNN. “It didn’t register as a site of great potential.”

As they dug into the field, archaeologists hit upon what appeared to be a wooden walkway, which they initially believed was built during the medieval period. But radiocarbon dating of the wood revealed that the construction was, in fact, a Neolithic trackway that dates to approximately 2300 B.C.

Around 100 feet of the timber walkway and a host of other intriguing artifacts were unearthed during the excavation, according to Maev Kennedy of the Guardian. Archaeologists found wooden posts that seemed to mark the route of the trackway, which seemed to lead up to a platform, Kennedy writes. Along the trackway were white pebbles not commonly seen in the area, indicating that they were transported there deliberately. The team also discovered the hulking skull of an aurochs, an extinct wild ox, which had been cut in a way that suggests it sat atop a pole or was used as a headdress. The skull was already 2,000 years old when the trackway was built, so it likely held profound significance to the people who brought it to the area.

These artifacts offer compelling evidence to suggest that the trackway was a ritual site. Neolithic peoples “weren’t living here,” Vinny Monahan, one of the archaeologists involved in the excavation, tells Kennedy. “[T]hey made this place deliberately and they were coming here because it was important to them.”

More:
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/neolithic-trackway-possibly-ritual-site-discovered-england-180969493/?utm_source=smithsoniandaily&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=07/02/2018%20Daily%20Newsletter&spMailingID=34969487&spUserID=NzE1OTY3OTQ2MjAwS0&spJobID=1320211723&spReportId=MTMyMDIxMTcyMwS2

[left-of-center2012]

1. Very interesting

Speaking of old 'trackways', a PBS show about a year ago on Stonehenge constructed about 3100 BC
told of a roadway there from what would become Scotland,
and estimated about a thousand people made an annual pilgrimage by foot to Stonehenge each year from "Scotland'.

So the 'old folks' were a lot more mobile than we may think.

[Judi Lynn]

2. That would be a considerable hike, for sure! Thanks for the info. n/t