An undisturbed 6,000-year-old encampment, which was likely home to the forefathers of Stonehenge, has been discovered.
Carbon dating last week established the ‘first proof’ of a settlement at Blick Mead in Wiltshire, which predates the famous monument nearby.
A spokesman for the project told MailOnline: ‘It’s the first proof of people living there earlier, and indicates that Stonehenge could have been planned for years.'
They believe that further excavation of the site, which has so far revealed evidence of a permanent structure and burned animal bones, could help experts unravel why the mysterious stone circle was built.
Archaeologists at the University of Buckingham, led by David Jacques, found the ancient site last October, which is around one-and-a-half miles (2.4km) from Stonehenge.
‘It’s the first indication of a settlement, not just people passing through and dropping tools,’ the spokesman said.
Is this the home of Stonehenge's forefathers? 6,000-year-old settlement at Blick Mead 'could rewrite British history'
Carbon dating established ‘first proof’ of Blick Mead settlement in Wiltshire
Excavation revealed proof of permanent structure and animal bones
Site indicates Stonehenge could have been planned by settlers for years
Further inspection of the site could ‘rewrite British history,’ experts say
By Sarah Griffiths for MailOnline
22 December 2014
Daily Mail
An undisturbed 6,000-year-old encampment, which was likely home to the forefathers of Stonehenge, has been discovered.
Carbon dating last week established the ‘first proof’ of a settlement at Blick Mead in Wiltshire, which predates the famous monument nearby.
A spokesman for the project told MailOnline: ‘It’s the first proof of people living there earlier, and indicates that Stonehenge could have been planned for years.'
Carbon dating last week established the ‘first proof’ of a settlement at Blick Mead in Wiltshire, which predates Stonehenge, thought to be constructed in 2600 BC
They believe that further excavation of the site, which has so far revealed evidence of a permanent structure and burned animal bones, could help experts unravel why the mysterious stone circle was built.
Archaeologists at the University of Buckingham, led by David Jacques, found the ancient site last October, which is around one-and-a-half miles (2.4km) from Stonehenge.
‘It’s the first indication of a settlement, not just people passing through and dropping tools,’ the spokesman said.
Dr Jacques said that further inspection of the site could ‘rewrite British history’.
Archaeologists at the University of Buckingham, led by David Jacques, found the ancient site last October, which is around one-and-a-half miles from Stonehenge (pictured)
Experts tested charcoal that was dug up from the site, to reveal that it dates from 4,000 BC. They also uncovered many tools (pictured left) and bone fragments (right)
Previous research has revealed that Ancient Britons from far and wide were drawn to Stonehenge to see the area’s pink flint and the River Avon acted as an ‘A-Road’ carrying people to a nearby settlement at Blick Mead (marked on the map) where feasts and tour guides were available even before the monument was built
Experts tested charcoal that was dug up from the site, to reveal that it dates from 4,000 BC.
The dig has also unearthed evidence of structures as well as proof of feasting, such as burnt flints and remains of giant bulls – aurochs – eaten by early hunter gatherers, as well as tools.
‘This is the latest dated Mesolithic encampment ever found in the UK,’ he said.
‘Blick Mead site connects the early hunter gatherer groups returning to Britain after the Ice Age to the Stonehenge area, all the way through to the Neolithic in the late fifth Millennium BC.
However, the team is concerned that it could be damaged because of plans to build an underground tunnel past Stonehenge.
A 1.8 mile (2.9 km) tunnel is part of a £2 billion plan to make the nearby A303 a dual carriageway.
‘Was Stonehenge built in part as a monument to the ancestors from the deepest part of Britain’s past?’ Dr Jacques asked.
‘Blick Mead could explain what archaeologists have been searching for for centuries – an answer to the story of Stonehenge's past. But our only chance to find out about the earliest chapter of Britain’s history could be wrecked if the tunnel goes ahead.’
The dig has also unearthed evidence of structures as well as proof of feasting, such as burnt flints and remains of giant bulls (pictured) – aurochs – eaten by early hunter gatherers, as well as tools
The Department of Transport said it would ‘consult before any building’.
Andy Rhind-Tutt, chairman of the Amesbury Museum and Heritage Trust, said: ‘Traffic congestion to one of the country’s most visited attractions will not be solved by a tunnel with one exit lane – the current tailback can extend five miles and can take two hours to get through. Any tunnel would need to be motorway standard, and even with four lanes there would still be tailbacks.
‘Concerns have been raised about the water table. Due to the chalkland landscape the tunnel would effectively become a dam, which would change the water course, causing problems.
‘Kilometres of chalk would have to be extracted. Air conditioning, water pumps, lighting and maintenance costs would be colossal.
'A much more practical solution would be to reroute the A303 supporting South Wiltshire as well as the West Country.’
A previous dig at the site, led by the University of Buckingham, revealed Amesbury is the longest continually-occupied place in the country and that burnt frogs’ legs from 7,000 years ago were a delicacy here long before the French took a liking to them.
The highest density of Mesolithic burnt flints and tools anywhere in the UK was found in one small area at the site in a previous dig.
A natural spring at Blick Mead would have been the attraction for both people and animals.
The combination of a water of a constant temperature and a rare algae also produced the only colour-changing stones, which change from brown to pink, found at any archaeological site in the country.
Professor Tim Darvill, of Bournemouth University described the findings as ‘The most important discovery at Stonehenge in over 60 years.’
The University of Buckingham has launched a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) to enable students to explore some of the reasons why archaeologosts think Stonehenge was built, theories of those who built it and cultural responses to it.
More than 1,000 people have already signed up to the MOOC, which will also enable students to evaluate responses to Stonehenge in art, literature, music, architecture and culture.
WERE OUR ANCESTORS MORE CORDON BLEU THAN WE THINK?
In October, archaeologists discovered fragments of an 8,000 year-old charred toad leg one mile away from Stonehenge in Wiltshire, hinting that the English were feasting on frogs' legs 8,000 years before the French.
The remains which were found alongside fish bones at the site are the earliest evidence of a cooked toad or frog anywhere in the world, scientists say.
Archaeologists unearthed the leg alongside small fish vertebrate bones of trout or salmon as well as burnt aurochs' bones (the predecessors of cows) at the Blick Mead dig site near Amesbury.
David Jacques, senior research fellow in archaeology at the University of Buckingham, said: 'It would appear that thousands of years ago people were eating a Heston Blumenthal-style menu on this site, one-and-a-quarter miles from Stonehenge, consisting of toads' legs, aurochs, wild boar and red deer with hazelnuts for main, another course of salmon and trout and finishing off with blackberries.
'This is significant for our understanding of the way people were living around 5,000 years before the building of Stonehenge and it begs the question - where are the frogs now?'
STONEHENGE WAS THE 'LONDON OF THE MESOLITHIC': RIVER AVON ACTED LIKE AN 'A-ROAD FOR ANCIENT LOG BOATS, EXPERT CLAIMS
Ancient Britons from far and wide were drawn to Stonehenge to see the area’s pink flint and the River Avon acted as an ‘A-Road’ carrying people to a nearby settlement at Blick Mead where feasts and tour guides were available even before the monument was built, one archaeologist claimed in May.
It is thought that there was an established community in the area before the monument was built and that people travelled to the settlement in log boats.
Carbon dating of bones from giant bulls and boars discarded at Vespsian’s Camp, Blick Mead - a settlement around a mile from the monument - prove that Amesbury is the oldest settlement in Britain and has been continually occupied since 8,820BC.
Historic: The dig in Amesbury, which took place in October and was funded by the University of Buckingham, also unearthed the largest haul of worked flints from the Mesolithic period
Archaeologists think that the communities that built the monument lived and worked in the area for around 3,000 years and that Stonehenge was built as part of an established settlement, rather than a monument in an empty landscape.
They have also ruled out the possibility of the monument being built by European immigrants and think the giant stones were placed by indigenous hunters and homemakers.
The team found that Mesolithic cultures cleared land around Blick Mead between 7,500 and 4,600BC, which they had thought was an activity previously thought to be a part of the ‘farming package’ brought in by Neolithic immigrants from the continent in the 5th millennium BC.
Dr Jacques said: The area was clearly a hub point for people to come to from many miles away, and in many ways was a forerunner for what later went on at Stonehenge itself. The first monuments at Stonehenge were built by these people.
‘In effect, Blick Mead was the very first Stonehenge Visitor Centre, up and running in the 8th millennium BC.
The River Avon would have been the A-Road – people would have come down on their log boats.
‘They would have had the equivalent of tour guides and there would have been feasting.’
The Greyhound Inn in Amesbury. Amesbury is the oldest settlement in Britain, having been continually occupied since 8,820BC
Amesbury is awash with history
Read more: 6,000-year-old encampment*at Blick Mead 'could rewrite British history' | Daily Mail Online
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook
Carbon dating last week established the ‘first proof’ of a settlement at Blick Mead in Wiltshire, which predates the famous monument nearby.
A spokesman for the project told MailOnline: ‘It’s the first proof of people living there earlier, and indicates that Stonehenge could have been planned for years.'
They believe that further excavation of the site, which has so far revealed evidence of a permanent structure and burned animal bones, could help experts unravel why the mysterious stone circle was built.
Archaeologists at the University of Buckingham, led by David Jacques, found the ancient site last October, which is around one-and-a-half miles (2.4km) from Stonehenge.
‘It’s the first indication of a settlement, not just people passing through and dropping tools,’ the spokesman said.
Is this the home of Stonehenge's forefathers? 6,000-year-old settlement at Blick Mead 'could rewrite British history'
Carbon dating established ‘first proof’ of Blick Mead settlement in Wiltshire
Excavation revealed proof of permanent structure and animal bones
Site indicates Stonehenge could have been planned by settlers for years
Further inspection of the site could ‘rewrite British history,’ experts say
By Sarah Griffiths for MailOnline
22 December 2014
Daily Mail
An undisturbed 6,000-year-old encampment, which was likely home to the forefathers of Stonehenge, has been discovered.
Carbon dating last week established the ‘first proof’ of a settlement at Blick Mead in Wiltshire, which predates the famous monument nearby.
A spokesman for the project told MailOnline: ‘It’s the first proof of people living there earlier, and indicates that Stonehenge could have been planned for years.'
Carbon dating last week established the ‘first proof’ of a settlement at Blick Mead in Wiltshire, which predates Stonehenge, thought to be constructed in 2600 BC
They believe that further excavation of the site, which has so far revealed evidence of a permanent structure and burned animal bones, could help experts unravel why the mysterious stone circle was built.
Archaeologists at the University of Buckingham, led by David Jacques, found the ancient site last October, which is around one-and-a-half miles (2.4km) from Stonehenge.
‘It’s the first indication of a settlement, not just people passing through and dropping tools,’ the spokesman said.
Dr Jacques said that further inspection of the site could ‘rewrite British history’.
Archaeologists at the University of Buckingham, led by David Jacques, found the ancient site last October, which is around one-and-a-half miles from Stonehenge (pictured)
Experts tested charcoal that was dug up from the site, to reveal that it dates from 4,000 BC. They also uncovered many tools (pictured left) and bone fragments (right)
Previous research has revealed that Ancient Britons from far and wide were drawn to Stonehenge to see the area’s pink flint and the River Avon acted as an ‘A-Road’ carrying people to a nearby settlement at Blick Mead (marked on the map) where feasts and tour guides were available even before the monument was built
Experts tested charcoal that was dug up from the site, to reveal that it dates from 4,000 BC.
The dig has also unearthed evidence of structures as well as proof of feasting, such as burnt flints and remains of giant bulls – aurochs – eaten by early hunter gatherers, as well as tools.
‘This is the latest dated Mesolithic encampment ever found in the UK,’ he said.
‘Blick Mead site connects the early hunter gatherer groups returning to Britain after the Ice Age to the Stonehenge area, all the way through to the Neolithic in the late fifth Millennium BC.
However, the team is concerned that it could be damaged because of plans to build an underground tunnel past Stonehenge.
A 1.8 mile (2.9 km) tunnel is part of a £2 billion plan to make the nearby A303 a dual carriageway.
‘Was Stonehenge built in part as a monument to the ancestors from the deepest part of Britain’s past?’ Dr Jacques asked.
‘Blick Mead could explain what archaeologists have been searching for for centuries – an answer to the story of Stonehenge's past. But our only chance to find out about the earliest chapter of Britain’s history could be wrecked if the tunnel goes ahead.’
The dig has also unearthed evidence of structures as well as proof of feasting, such as burnt flints and remains of giant bulls (pictured) – aurochs – eaten by early hunter gatherers, as well as tools
The Department of Transport said it would ‘consult before any building’.
Andy Rhind-Tutt, chairman of the Amesbury Museum and Heritage Trust, said: ‘Traffic congestion to one of the country’s most visited attractions will not be solved by a tunnel with one exit lane – the current tailback can extend five miles and can take two hours to get through. Any tunnel would need to be motorway standard, and even with four lanes there would still be tailbacks.
‘Concerns have been raised about the water table. Due to the chalkland landscape the tunnel would effectively become a dam, which would change the water course, causing problems.
‘Kilometres of chalk would have to be extracted. Air conditioning, water pumps, lighting and maintenance costs would be colossal.
'A much more practical solution would be to reroute the A303 supporting South Wiltshire as well as the West Country.’
A previous dig at the site, led by the University of Buckingham, revealed Amesbury is the longest continually-occupied place in the country and that burnt frogs’ legs from 7,000 years ago were a delicacy here long before the French took a liking to them.
The highest density of Mesolithic burnt flints and tools anywhere in the UK was found in one small area at the site in a previous dig.
A natural spring at Blick Mead would have been the attraction for both people and animals.
The combination of a water of a constant temperature and a rare algae also produced the only colour-changing stones, which change from brown to pink, found at any archaeological site in the country.
Professor Tim Darvill, of Bournemouth University described the findings as ‘The most important discovery at Stonehenge in over 60 years.’
The University of Buckingham has launched a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) to enable students to explore some of the reasons why archaeologosts think Stonehenge was built, theories of those who built it and cultural responses to it.
More than 1,000 people have already signed up to the MOOC, which will also enable students to evaluate responses to Stonehenge in art, literature, music, architecture and culture.
WERE OUR ANCESTORS MORE CORDON BLEU THAN WE THINK?
In October, archaeologists discovered fragments of an 8,000 year-old charred toad leg one mile away from Stonehenge in Wiltshire, hinting that the English were feasting on frogs' legs 8,000 years before the French.
The remains which were found alongside fish bones at the site are the earliest evidence of a cooked toad or frog anywhere in the world, scientists say.
Archaeologists unearthed the leg alongside small fish vertebrate bones of trout or salmon as well as burnt aurochs' bones (the predecessors of cows) at the Blick Mead dig site near Amesbury.
David Jacques, senior research fellow in archaeology at the University of Buckingham, said: 'It would appear that thousands of years ago people were eating a Heston Blumenthal-style menu on this site, one-and-a-quarter miles from Stonehenge, consisting of toads' legs, aurochs, wild boar and red deer with hazelnuts for main, another course of salmon and trout and finishing off with blackberries.
'This is significant for our understanding of the way people were living around 5,000 years before the building of Stonehenge and it begs the question - where are the frogs now?'
STONEHENGE WAS THE 'LONDON OF THE MESOLITHIC': RIVER AVON ACTED LIKE AN 'A-ROAD FOR ANCIENT LOG BOATS, EXPERT CLAIMS
Ancient Britons from far and wide were drawn to Stonehenge to see the area’s pink flint and the River Avon acted as an ‘A-Road’ carrying people to a nearby settlement at Blick Mead where feasts and tour guides were available even before the monument was built, one archaeologist claimed in May.
It is thought that there was an established community in the area before the monument was built and that people travelled to the settlement in log boats.
Carbon dating of bones from giant bulls and boars discarded at Vespsian’s Camp, Blick Mead - a settlement around a mile from the monument - prove that Amesbury is the oldest settlement in Britain and has been continually occupied since 8,820BC.
Historic: The dig in Amesbury, which took place in October and was funded by the University of Buckingham, also unearthed the largest haul of worked flints from the Mesolithic period
Archaeologists think that the communities that built the monument lived and worked in the area for around 3,000 years and that Stonehenge was built as part of an established settlement, rather than a monument in an empty landscape.
They have also ruled out the possibility of the monument being built by European immigrants and think the giant stones were placed by indigenous hunters and homemakers.
The team found that Mesolithic cultures cleared land around Blick Mead between 7,500 and 4,600BC, which they had thought was an activity previously thought to be a part of the ‘farming package’ brought in by Neolithic immigrants from the continent in the 5th millennium BC.
Dr Jacques said: The area was clearly a hub point for people to come to from many miles away, and in many ways was a forerunner for what later went on at Stonehenge itself. The first monuments at Stonehenge were built by these people.
‘In effect, Blick Mead was the very first Stonehenge Visitor Centre, up and running in the 8th millennium BC.
The River Avon would have been the A-Road – people would have come down on their log boats.
‘They would have had the equivalent of tour guides and there would have been feasting.’
The Greyhound Inn in Amesbury. Amesbury is the oldest settlement in Britain, having been continually occupied since 8,820BC
Amesbury is awash with history
Read more: 6,000-year-old encampment*at Blick Mead 'could rewrite British history' | Daily Mail Online
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook
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