4,000-year-old monument discovered in the Forest of Dean

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4,000-year-old monument discovered in the Forest of Dean

A 4,000-year-old ritual monument in the Forest of Dean

 

Just when you think that the Forest of Dean has no more surprises; you get another surprise. It has well been known that the Forest of Dean is a very special place, both culturally, historically and archaeologically.

A 4,000-year-old ritual monument has been discovered hidden in the Forest of Dean.

The Bronze Age ring cairn is made up of ten small standing stones on top of a raised bank in a woodland enclosure near Tidenham in Gloucestershire.

It is believed to be the only site of its type in the area, according to Jon Hoyle, an archaeologist working for the county council. He first spotted the ring when examining the results of a survey of the forest using an airborne laser scan in 2006.

The ring cairn is about 25m (80ft) in diameter and made up of a 5m-wide (16ft) rubble bank, with at least 10 white limestone standing stones, each no more than 1m (3ft) high, standing on top.

What makes this particular cairn so special is that, although common in other areas, this is the first to be discovered in the Gloucestershire area.

The Bronze Age

The Stone Age is considered to have begun about two million years ago and ended sometime after the end of the last ice age about ten thousand years ago. The Bronze Age in ancient China started around 1700 BCE. This is when men learned how to mine copper and tin to make bronze weapons.

Bronze Age Britain is an era of British history that spanned from c. 2500 until c. 800 BC. Lasting for approximately 1,700 years, it was preceded by the era of Neolithic Britain and was in turn followed by the period of Iron Age Britain.

 

You can see more of this story via the BBC

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