Kent’s ‘Stonehenge’ Discovered: ‘Sacred’ Path That Leads To A Neolithic Circular Ditch Discovered In Sittingbourne b4in.org/e7EL A ‘sacred’ path that may have led to a 6,000-year-old henge has been discovered on a building site in Kent. The ceremonial gathering place in Iwade measures 98ft (30 metres) in diameter and is formed of a pair of ring ditches. Evidence suggests the outer ditch may have originated in the Neolithic period, and been later transformed in the Bronze Age into a funerary monument, with the addition of the inner ring. The discovery was made by Dr Paul Wilkinson and his team from Swat Archaeology. It is part of a larger, ongoing investigation on the site, ahead of development by Persimmon Homes at Iwade Meadows just to the west of Sittingbourne in Kent. The rings are positioned on the north-west slope above the Ridham Fleet stream that runs through the centre of the site. The outer ring has an entrance facing north-east, which suggests it may have originated as a henge-type monument, similar to Stonehenge. The inner ring appears to have been built later, and is an unbroken circuit. The researchers claim this may be associated with a Bronze Age burial mound, known as a barrow, although no bodies have been found. A second smaller monument lies close to the larger rings, and experts believe it may have been a secondary barrow, also dating to the Bronze Age. While the monuments may have fallen out of use for their primary function by the middle Bronze Age, Swat archaeology believe they would have still been significant landscape features. More b4in.org/e7EL
Posted on: Sat, 16 Aug 2014 02:15:28 +0000
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