3,600-Foot, 5,000-Year-Old Neolithic Monument Unearthed on Coast of Scotland

A vast Neolithic structure was reportedly discovered in Scotland. It was massive and believed to be among the earliest monumental structures.

Neolithic Structure Found in Scotland

On a rocky island off the coast of Scotland, a huge Neolithic construction that may be over 5,000 years old has been found. This summer's excavations on the Isle of Arran turned up what is assumed to be a full "cursus," according to the researchers.

These Neolithic monuments, which resemble ditches or trenches, were discovered in Great Britain and Ireland between 4100 and 2500 B.C. An interdisciplinary team located The structure near Drumadoon, a region in the southwest of the island.

The monument is enormous, with a length and width of roughly 3,600 and 164 feet, respectively. These monuments were some of the first significant ones erected in the area.

One or more rectangular enclosures make up these monuments. They are believed to have been built for ritualistic and social gathering reasons.

A sizable bank of stone, soil, and turf surrounds the enclosure to define the cursus found on Arran.

According to researchers, it is the most comprehensive example of a cursus that has been discovered in Britain, giving them a unique and intriguing chance.

The cursus is located in an area with other ancient artifacts, including signs of farming. Ancient field boundaries and round cottages were previously discovered nearby; at least some of these structures may have existed at the same time as the cursus.

According to Kenny Brophy, senior lecturer in archaeology at the University of Glasgow and co-director of the cursus excavations, over the past 30 years, he has had the good fortune to participate in excavating several cursus monuments. Still, the recent one is by far the most significant. The thought that the monument has survived holds tremendous promise for illuminating early Neolithic farming and social structure. It is quite uncommon to stand on a nearly complete cursus bank because the locations are virtually all flattened by agriculture.

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More About the Neolithic Period

The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is distinguished by the start of a fixed human way of existence. People learned to grow plants and domesticate animals instead of only relying on hunting and gathering for sustenance. The development of increasingly advanced stone tools, which were helpful for farming and herding animals, coincided with it. This time frame in China spanned from approximately 7000 BCE to 1700 BCE. Chinese culture is thought to have begun along the Yellow River and then extended to other regions.

Recent archaeological data, however, points to the simultaneous development of many diverse cultures along waterways throughout China. The Yellow River in the north and the Yangzi River in the south were nearby, as were coastal regions. They are typically named after the location where contemporary archaeologists uncovered the first cultural artifacts.

No one in the Neolithic period wrote. However, they left a lot of evidence behind because they lived in settled communities, including the bases of their homes, graveyards, tools, and crafts.