One of the oldest buildings ever discovered in Britain has been unearthed in Wiltshire. A burial chamber which is over 5,000 years old was found by archaeologists.
It was discovered in a field of crops near Salisbury Plain and the site marks the spot where Neolithic folk were laid to rest.
It isn’t glamorous work, but the students and researchers are hoping to find clues which will tell us more about our ancestors who left this world with little trace. They are confident their discoveries will reveal lots of information about their lifestyle.
Longbarrows were the way to place to be buried 5,000 years ago – the most famous at West Kennet was made of stone. This latest discovery may be even older.
The archaeologist, Dr Jim Leary, said the burial site was discovered by examining an aerial photograph.
We had seen these aerial photographs of the crop marks. We’d seen that it had been ploughed for centuries and centuries. We assumed for the large part the remains had gone.
We never in our wildest dreams thought that we would find the rectangular building within it, the mortar enclosure itself.
– DR JIM LEARY, ARCHAEOLOGIST
Neolithic people may have been a little disappointed at their resting place’s 21st century name – the area’s know as Catsbrain. But if the measuring, scraping and digging pays off we may soon know more about our mysterious ancestors.