Archaeologists digging in a field in Lincolnshire, England, have discovered a 1,300-year-old hermitage that may have been built on the site of an even older stone circle.
The archaeological team found evidence of a massive stone circle dating from the Neolithic or Early Bronze Age; after the site was abandoned, its interior was reoccupied around the seventh century. By the 12th century, the Abbot of Crowland built a hall and church complex on the original site, which still stands today. Stonehenge is an oval or circular earthwork that dates back to the Neolithic or Early Bronze Age. according to english heritagethe main feature of Stonehenge is the bank structure surrounding the internal ditch, making the central area the focal point of Stonehenge.
The remains of the medieval monastery in Crowland, considered a retreat by locals GuthrakA religious hermit of noble birth who died in 714. According to the team, local tradition also links the site to Guthrak’s sister Perga, who was herself a revered hermit after her death.Their research describes Stonehenge structures and evidence of occupation of the site before the 12th century publish Published today in the Journal of Field Archeology.
Duncan Wright, an archaeologist at Newcastle University and lead author of the study, said: “We know that many prehistoric monuments were reused by the Anglo-Saxons, but finding stone formations occupied in this way, especially The previously unknown stone formations are indeed quite rare.” University of Thesis release.
Carbon dating of a rotten wooden pillar at the site revealed that the earthen boulder was dated to between 1502 BC and 1323 BC. The team found that by the early Middle Bronze Age, most of the dug trenches that made up Stonehenge had been filled in. Until the 12th century – when the surrounding marshlands were drained – the site, located on a peninsula, “was likely considered the sacred core of the community,” the team writes in their paper.
They added that the site “provides an exceptional case study of an evolving sacred landscape from a profound temporal perspective, ultimately redeveloped by Anglo-Norman monasteries to derive legitimacy from their illustrious saintly ancestors”.
This isn’t entirely surprising. Places of some ritual importance often retain this importance even as they change shape. In 2021, another research team found Stonehenge may have originally been a completely different Stonehenge.
Excavations at Anchor Church Field have uncovered pottery, two bone combs and glass fragments of thin-walled drinking vessels, which the team say are typical of the seventh to ninth centuries and associated with high-status activities. Similar glass has been found in ecclesiastical sites such as Glastonbury Abbey, but in the more recent cases they may have come from funerary settings, the team said.
One of two bone combs found at the scene.
“It is clear that even in later years Anker Church Field was still regarded as a special place worthy of worship,” University of Sheffield archaeologist Hugh Wilmot said in the same press release. “Ancient Slack and Perga were very important figures in the history of early Christianity in England, so it is very exciting that we have been able to date this obviously historic site.”
The team also discovered a 3-foot-wide (1-meter) stone pit in front of the site’s hall and church, which was thought to have been a well when it was discovered in the 19th century. But the team concluded that the pit was too shallow to be a well, and that it even sat above the area’s historic water table. Therefore, they concluded that this could be the backdrop for a flag or commemorative cross in front of a religious site.
While this work does not prove a link between this ancient site and Ancient Thrac and Perga, it is clear that Crowland was an area of sacred importance to the people of Lincolnshire for thousands of years, even in Before Christianity arrived in the area – in fact, long before Christianity began.
more: New research suggests Stonehenge was originally a completely different Stonehenge