archaeologist have discovered 25 magnanimous pits disperse around the English countryside in what has become a across the nation important prehistorical uncovering .
The pits were come upon in Linmere , Bedfordshire , during two digs that took place in 2019 and 2021 , respectively . consort to radiocarbon geological dating , these queer lineament were created between 8,500 and 7,700 year ago – squarely in the lateMesolithicperiod ( between 9,000 and 6,000 days ago ) .
This was a comparatively “ dark ” period in British history as there are few surviving cue connect to routine life at the time . Evidence is limited to flint tools and episodic butchered brute stay . This has made it difficult for investigator to institute a comprehensive and textured report of life history inMesolithic Britain .
Three of the excavated pits in alignment in Linmere, Bedfordshire.Image credit: © MOLA
The “ Linmere pit ” as they are being called , are all rounded with very exorbitant sides . They tend to be up to 5 meter ( 16 feet ) all-inclusive and about 1.85 metre ( 6 foot ) deep , though some of them have flared bottoms , meaning they are wide at the Qaeda . create them would have taken a lot of effort . Interestingly , the Hell come along to be laid out in multiple straight lines that extend up to 500 meters ( 1,640 feet ) in length .
Other Mesolithic pit have been found in different conjunction in Britain , but these pits are unusual as they seem to cluster around former flow channel .
“ The Linmere Mesolithic pits are a very exciting discovery ” , Professor Joshua Pollard , an expert from Southampton University , tell in astatement . “ While we get it on of other big and enigmatical cavity fag by hunting watch - gatherers from elsewhere in Britain , including at Stonehenge [ which has near - contemporaneouspitsof its own ] , the Linmere pits are coin because of their act and the broad area they extend . ”
Some of the pit incorporate animal pearl , which are important beginning of info about contemporary biography . The bones belong to several species , include martens , cervid , wild boar , andaurochs , a violent species of cows . The aurochs ’ bone not only showed evidence that people ate them , but they were also the independent source of the radiocarbon dating psychoanalysis that revealed the pits ’ old age .
According to Yvonne Wolframm - Murray , Project Officer at the Museum of London Archaeology ( MOLA ) ( which made the finding along with Albion Archaeology ) , “ It ’s been amazing for the whole squad to figure out on such a significant Mesolithic site . It really evidence how significant carbon 14 date is alongside playing field work , as without it we would n’t have realised the implication of our discovery . ”
Why these pits were created is still obscure , but the investigator declare oneself several possible reasons , though some are more believable than others .
One theory is that they may have been used to salt away nutrient , but this seems less likely . Thepeopleof Mesolithic Britain were nomadichunter - collector , so create these pits – which was not an leisurely job – does not gibe well with what we know . Alternatively , the pits alinement , the sentence it would have taken to dig them , and their positioning by urine may direct to some sorting of spiritual consumption . It is possible that the holes mark some important berth in the landscape .
Ongoing work will essay whether the pits are aline with any heavenly result , such as thesolstice . Moreover , the archaeologists are still examining the creature bones and the environmental sample distribution from the site to learn more about the landscape at the time . They have already describe evidence of oak , hazel , and pine in the area and have turned their attention to tiny pieces of pollen that have been excavate .
