'Witchcraft' Island Reveals Evidence of Stone Age Rituals

[icymist]

A Stone Age site where cave rituals may have been performed some 9,000 years ago has been discovered on Blå Jungfrun, an island off the east coast of Sweden. The island has long been associated with tales of witchcraft, curses and supernatural powers.

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How far back these beliefs and stories go is unknown. "The time depth of these stories is shrouded in mist but could be considerable," the archaeologists say.

The team began archaeological fieldwork on the island in the spring of 2014. "The results are astonishing and reveal extensive human activities on the island in the Mesolithic Stone Age," the archaeologists wrote.

People who travelled to the island may have practiced various rituals inside the two caves, archaeologists say. One cave contains what may be an altar where offerings could have been made to deities. Meanwhile another cave has an area that could have been used like a "theater" or "stage."

http://www.livescience.com/52257-stone-age-rituals-on-witchcraft-island.html