Latest news with #SidselWahlin
The Independent
27-02-2025
- Science
- The Independent
‘Woodhenge' unearthed in Denmark likely linked to UK's Stonehenge
Archaeologists have found evidence of a 4,000-year-old wooden circular structure in Denmark that may have been linked to the UK's iconic Stonehenge. They uncovered ancient pieces of wood spaced about 30 metres apart in a circle in the Danish town of Aars. The structure was built around 2000BC, the researchers told AFP news agency. The 'once-in-a-lifetime' find 'points to a strong connection with the British henge world', Vesthimmerland Museum conservationist Sidsel Wahlin said. Such henges functioned as ritual centres for ancient communities in Europe that worshipped the sun and conducted rituals related to agriculture. They largely consist of a ring-shaped bank on the outside and a circular structure on the inside. Henges made either of giant stone slabs or wood have been discovered in Britain, Ireland, many parts of continental Europe, and even Russia. Some of the building material was brought from miles away. The Stonehenge in Salisbury Plain, UK, for instance, was built over months using rocks from all over the country in a project that united people. Recent studies of the iconic monument's central stone suggest that it most likely came from Scotland, challenging previous notions that most of its slabs came from Wales. The latest find in Denmark points to a shared belief system across Europe during this time 4,000 years ago, researchers said. Previous studies have shown that Europe underwent a substantial demographic change during this period. For instance, recent research suggests the Stonehenge was built to unify ancient Britons after a wave of migrants with ancestry in central Europe and the Steppes moved into the British Isles. Archaeologists suspect similar henge structures may have been built in other places to unite the early farming communities. At the Denmark site, researchers are now looking for other buried artefacts like flint arrowheads and daggers to better understand the people who built the 'woodhenge'. This could help understand the connection the ancient people of the region had with other Bell Beaker cultures across Europe.
Khaleej Times
26-02-2025
- Science
- Khaleej Times
Archeologists find Stonehenge-like circle in Denmark
Danish archeologists have uncovered a 4,000-year-old circle of wooden piles that they say could be linked to Britain's world-renowned Stonehenge. The 45 neolithic-era wooden pieces, in a circle with a diameter of about 30 metres (100 feet), were found during work on a housing estate in the northwestern town of Aars. The piles are about two metres apart. "It is a once in a lifetime find," Sidsel Wahlin, conservationist at the town's Vesthimmerland museum, said in an email to AFP. The circle "points to a strong connection with the British henge world," she added. The two circles of stones at Stonehenge in southern England are believed to have been erected between 3100 BC and 1600 BC. The Danish archeologists are now trying to find if there is an inner circle at the Aars site. Wahlin said that some timber circles, considered part of worshipping of the sun, have been found on the Danish island of Bornholm. She added that the circle in Aars was "the first one of this larger type that we can properly investigate". Archeologists first found an early Bronze Age (1700-1500 BC) settlement at the building site that included a chieftains grave and a bronze sword, Wahlin said. "When I and my colleague opened a new section of the excavation the expected house and some fence quickly turned out to be the entrance area of a very well planned, slightly oval structure," she added. The wooden circle is estimated to date from about 2000 BC but Wahlin said the team had started detailed work on Monday to definitively identify its age and function. The archeologists are now looking for "ritual deposits" such as flint arrowheads and daggers as part of a major sampling exercise at the site. Wahlin said the next searches would seek to find if there were links between the region and other peoples, such as those who built Stonehenge. She said the influence of other regions could be seen in the pottery and graves that had been found.
