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Archaeologists in England have discovered more than two dozen massive pits constellate the countryside in Bedfordshire , north of London .
carbon 14 dating of materials recollect from the prehistoric site revealed that the pear-shaped , steep - sided holes were make around 7,700 to 8,500 geezerhood ago during the Mesolithic , also known as the Middle Stone Age , accord to a instruction from the Museum of London Archaeology , which made the finding alongside Albion Archaeology , a U.K.-based archeological fellowship .
A reconstruction of the Linmere pits in England.
The finding , dub the Linmere infernal region , admit up to 25 holes that value up to 16 feet ( 5 meter ) wide and 6 feet ( 1.9 m ) thick and are laid out in straight lines up to 1,640 understructure ( 500 one thousand ) long .
The discovery is " incredibly pregnant " because there are few significant Mesolithic sites in the U.K. Most discoveries from this fourth dimension include only flint tools and casual butchered animal remains , get it difficult to realize the lifespan of the people who left these artifacts .
concern : 1000 of prehistoric pits discovered around Stonehenge
Three of the roughly 25 Mesolithic pits discovered north of London.
" While we know of other enceinte and enigmatical pits dug by hunter - gatherers from elsewhere in Britain , include at Stonehenge , [ the Linmere ] pits are come upon because of their number and the all-encompassing area they cover,“Josh Pollard , an archeologist and professor at the University of Southampton in England , said in the statement . Because the kettle of fish appear to be strategically put around what were once flow channels , researchers remember the pits may have been spiritually meaning and may have played a role in recording important celestial events , such as thesolstices , although grounds is still need to support this idea . Some of the Hell contained animal remains , including os from wisent ( Bos primigenius ) , an extinct coinage of cattle , and could have served as solid food store , the researchers hypothesized . Similar perdition werefound near Stonehenge last year .
Stone Age masses would have needed to adapt to a changing surround , the squad add . In Mesolithic times ( about 12,000 to 6,000 twelvemonth ago ) , the U.K. became isolated from mainland Europe as ice sheet draw back and sea levels grow .
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The archaeologists are currently studying whether all of the pit were grasp at the same time and analyzing pollen found at the situation , including oddment of oak , hazel and pine trees dating to the Mesolithic full stop .
" This work will reveal the environment these people lived in , and hopefully address the question ' what were these pits for?'“Yvonne Wolframm - Murray , a labor officer at the Museum of London Archaeology who was involved in the archeological jibe , said in the argument .
