DORSET, ENGLAND—The Guardian reports that a Neolithic polissoir, or polishing stone, has been identified in the Valley of Stones nature reserve in England’s West Country by Jim Rylatt and Anne Teather of Past Participate CIC, a non-profit company that educates people about local heritage. The boulder, which has a smooth, shiny dip worn down over time through honing stone tools, rests in its original location and had been hidden by decade’s growth of vegetation. “There are more imposing stones here but this one ticked the boxes for them,” Rylatt said of the Neolithic inhabitants of the region. “They must have spent many hundreds, thousands of hours polishing here.” People traveling along the nearby ancient trackway may have stopped at the site to process animal carcasses and skins, Teather added. Excavations will be conducted in the area to look for any other traces of the area’s Neolithic inhabitants. To read about the largest assemblage of worked rock crystal, which was uncovered in England, go to “Neolithic Crystal Age.”
