The mound, about 20 meters in diameter, contained the remains of about 60 men, women and children. The sun’s rays entered directly through its openings
One “impressive find, unique in the Netherlands” unveiled today Wednesday archaeologists in Thiel: an “outdoor sanctuary” more than 4,000 years old, where the inhabitants of the area gathered at the time to make sacrifices and ceremonies. The archaeological site is the size of three football pitches and includes a mound that acted as a ‘solar calendar’ – hence the nickname ‘Dutch Stonehenge’.
The mound, about 20 meters in diameter, contained the remains of about 60 men, women and children. Through its openings the sun’s rays entered directly during the longest and shortest day of the year.
The excavation, the results of which were presented today, began in 2017 in Thiel, which is about 50 kilometers from Utrecht.
“What an impressive archaeological discovery! Archaeologists found one 4,000 year old sanctuary in an industrial area,” the municipality of Thiel wrote on its Facebook page. “It’s the first time that such a place is discovered in the Netherlands”, noted the municipality.
Studying the differences in the composition of the soil, the archaeologists identified a total of three burial mounds in this area, which is only a few kilometers from the bank of the river Vaal.
The openings around the larger mound were working like a solar calendar which “marked important moments such as feasts and harvest,” the archaeologists said.
“This hill is reminiscent of Stonehenge, the famous and mysterious prehistoric monument in England, where the same phenomenon occurs,” public broadcaster NOS reported.
The other two mounds are smaller in size. All three burials took place for almost 800 years.
Another impressive discovery by archaeologists was a glass bead (photo) found inside a tomb, and found to have come from Mesopotamia, in present-day Iraq. “This bead traveled 5,000 kilometers four millennia ago,” said team leader Christian van der Linde. “Glass was not made here, the bead was a surprising object for people because it was an unknown material,” added Stein Arnoldussen, of the University of Groningen. Scientists believe that the bead is proof that the inhabitants of the two regions had contact with each other already at that time.
Source :Skai
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