Crop Circles reveal Discovery

[Ursus]

Given away by strange, crop circle-like formations seen from the air, a huge prehistoric ceremonial complex discovered in southern England has taken archaeologists by surprise.

 

A thousand years older than nearby Stonehenge, the site includes the remains of wooden temples and two massive, 6,000-year-old tombs that are among "Britain's first architecture," according to archaeologist Helen Wickstead, leader of the Damerham Archaeology Project.

 

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/20...op-circles.html

[Melvadius]

Given away by strange, crop circle-like formations seen from the air, a huge prehistoric ceremonial complex discovered in southern England has taken archaeologists by surprise.

 

A thousand years older than nearby Stonehenge, the site includes the remains of wooden temples and two massive, 6,000-year-old tombs that are among "Britain's first architecture," according to archaeologist Helen Wickstead, leader of the Damerham Archaeology Project.

 

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/20...op-circles.html

 

I worried when I read this National Geographic article referring to the well know archaeological phenomena of 'cropmarks' as 'crop circles' with several other 'descriptions' used in the article equally cringe worthy, so did some research.

 

I quickly found that rather than being a 'new' story the cropmarks were discovered in 2003 and the Damerham Archaeology Project has its own website which quotes from their 2007 report:

 

'Cranborne Chase is one of the most famous later prehistoric landscapes in Europe. Yet new discoveries continue to come to light in this well known area, extending knowledge of prehistory in exciting new directions. In 2003 aerial survey by Martyn Barber revealed an extraordinary complex of cropmarks close to the Chase at Damerham in the far west of Hampshire. The cropmarks focus on a circular enclosure (57m dia.) defined by a substantial ditch 5m across. Surrounding and to the south east of the enclosure are at least 26 ring ditches and barrows. Among these are two sets of conjoined ring ditches - one set containing circular post settings. An oval ditch nearby suggests the remains of a Neolithic oval barrow or mortuary enclosure. At the south east edge of the complex is a long mound (78m long) flanked by two ditches, to the north a prehistoric field system. Many of these sites seem likely to prove Neolithic or Bronze Age in date...'

 

Continued at the following website with (in my view) rather better aerial photographs and supporting material than National Geographic could come up with:

 

http://www.damerhamarchaeology.org/project_outline.html

Edited June 16, 2009 by Melvadius