Archaeologists in Monmouthshire, Wales, believe they have found wood from a logboat dating back to the New Stone Age.
The discovery was made on a building site, where work has now been halted.
The pieces of wood have been dated to 3210BC and were found in an area that was once thought to be a lake caused by an Ice Age blockage in the Wye gorge.
Wood from a log boat older than the pyramids is found in Wales: 5,000-year-old timber is discovered under a building site
Five pieces of oak timber were found under a housing development
The prehistoric remains are believed to be from the New Stone Age
Researchers are appealing to the council to put an archaeological brief on other developments in the area, where there may be other remains
By Shivali Best For Mailonline
31 August 2016
Archaeologists in Monmouthshire, Wales, believe they have found wood from a logboat dating back to the New Stone Age.
The discovery was made on a building site, where work has now been halted.
The pieces of wood have been dated to 3210BC and were found in an area that was once thought to be a lake caused by an Ice Age blockage in the Wye gorge.
Archaeologists in Monmouthshire believe they have found wood from a logboat dating back to the New Stone Age
Steve Clarke, founder of Monmouth Archaeology, told Wales Online: 'As we had just discovered a rich Bronze Age settlement a few fields away we thought the remains would turn out to be Bronze Age.
'So it was a real surprise when the dates came back as being twice as old.'
Two years ago, and less than 1,500 metres away, boat-shaped channels were found in the clay at right angles to the lake.
These showed evidence of woodworking with flints, which archaeologists interpreted as prehistoric boat-building.
On the same estate, they also identified remains of a crannog – a building on stilts – which dates back to 2,917 BC.
Five pieces of timber were found on the site, all made of oak.
Builders in Monmouth were in for a shock when they discovered timbers on a site, believed to be from a 5,000-year-old log boat. Pictured is Steven Clarke, founder of Monmouth Archaeology, with the findings
Five pieces of timber were found on the building site in Monmouth, all made of oak
The largest of the timbers is thought to be the gunwale at the stern of the logboat, due to its oval-shaped open-ended hole which is 4.8cm wide, which would have been attached to a rope
Two of the pieces have worked features, which suggests that they were part of a 5,000-year-old logboat.
In 1978, a maritime archaeology expert wrote criteria under which the remains have to have at least two of six features to be considered part of a logboat.
The oak found in Monmouth meets four of the six, strongly suggesting it belonged to a boat.
The site in Monmouth lies on the shore of what was once a huge lake caused by an Ice Age blockage in the Wye gorge
The researchers are now appealing to the local council to put an archaeological brief on other developments in the area, where they believe there may be other Stone Age remains
The largest of the timbers is thought to be the gunwale at the stern of the logboat, due to its oval-shaped open-ended hole which is 4.8cm wide, and would have been attached to a rope.
The second worked timber is thought to be part of the hull of the boat, with a larger hole measuring 7.5cm.
The researchers are now appealing to the local council to put an archaeological brief on other developments in the area, where they believe there may be other Stone Age remains.
Work on the 470-house development was suspended temporarily to give archaeologists time to investigate the site
EARLIER FINDS IN THE AREA
How the Monmouth crannog would have looked
Two years ago, and less than 1500 metres away, boat-shaped channels were found in the clay at right angles to the lake.
These showed evidence of woodworking with flints, which archaeologists interpreted as prehistoric boat-building.
On the same estate, they also identified remains of a crannog – a building on stilts – which dates back to 2,917 BC.
The discovery was made on a building site, where work has now been halted.
The pieces of wood have been dated to 3210BC and were found in an area that was once thought to be a lake caused by an Ice Age blockage in the Wye gorge.
Wood from a log boat older than the pyramids is found in Wales: 5,000-year-old timber is discovered under a building site
Five pieces of oak timber were found under a housing development
The prehistoric remains are believed to be from the New Stone Age
Researchers are appealing to the council to put an archaeological brief on other developments in the area, where there may be other remains
By Shivali Best For Mailonline
31 August 2016
Archaeologists in Monmouthshire, Wales, believe they have found wood from a logboat dating back to the New Stone Age.
The discovery was made on a building site, where work has now been halted.
The pieces of wood have been dated to 3210BC and were found in an area that was once thought to be a lake caused by an Ice Age blockage in the Wye gorge.
Archaeologists in Monmouthshire believe they have found wood from a logboat dating back to the New Stone Age
Steve Clarke, founder of Monmouth Archaeology, told Wales Online: 'As we had just discovered a rich Bronze Age settlement a few fields away we thought the remains would turn out to be Bronze Age.
'So it was a real surprise when the dates came back as being twice as old.'
Two years ago, and less than 1,500 metres away, boat-shaped channels were found in the clay at right angles to the lake.
These showed evidence of woodworking with flints, which archaeologists interpreted as prehistoric boat-building.
On the same estate, they also identified remains of a crannog – a building on stilts – which dates back to 2,917 BC.
Five pieces of timber were found on the site, all made of oak.
Builders in Monmouth were in for a shock when they discovered timbers on a site, believed to be from a 5,000-year-old log boat. Pictured is Steven Clarke, founder of Monmouth Archaeology, with the findings
Five pieces of timber were found on the building site in Monmouth, all made of oak
The largest of the timbers is thought to be the gunwale at the stern of the logboat, due to its oval-shaped open-ended hole which is 4.8cm wide, which would have been attached to a rope
Two of the pieces have worked features, which suggests that they were part of a 5,000-year-old logboat.
In 1978, a maritime archaeology expert wrote criteria under which the remains have to have at least two of six features to be considered part of a logboat.
The oak found in Monmouth meets four of the six, strongly suggesting it belonged to a boat.
The site in Monmouth lies on the shore of what was once a huge lake caused by an Ice Age blockage in the Wye gorge
The researchers are now appealing to the local council to put an archaeological brief on other developments in the area, where they believe there may be other Stone Age remains
The largest of the timbers is thought to be the gunwale at the stern of the logboat, due to its oval-shaped open-ended hole which is 4.8cm wide, and would have been attached to a rope.
The second worked timber is thought to be part of the hull of the boat, with a larger hole measuring 7.5cm.
The researchers are now appealing to the local council to put an archaeological brief on other developments in the area, where they believe there may be other Stone Age remains.
Work on the 470-house development was suspended temporarily to give archaeologists time to investigate the site
EARLIER FINDS IN THE AREA
How the Monmouth crannog would have looked
Two years ago, and less than 1500 metres away, boat-shaped channels were found in the clay at right angles to the lake.
These showed evidence of woodworking with flints, which archaeologists interpreted as prehistoric boat-building.
On the same estate, they also identified remains of a crannog – a building on stilts – which dates back to 2,917 BC.
