Sacred Burial Ground in England Dates Back 4,000 Years

News May 23, 2017

(Sarah Hart)
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Shropshire Church Burial Grounds
(Sarah Hart)

SHROPSHIRE, ENGLAND—A sacred burial site recently unearthed in Shrewsbury is more than 4,000 years old, according to a report from BBC News. The site, where researchers from Baskerville Archaeological Services have found evidence of use in every era since the Neolithic, may be the oldest-known continuously used sacred ground in England. Radiocarbon dating of a wooden post uncovered in the dig indicated that it was put in the ground around 2033 B.C. Also discovered were garment pins, as well as a calf, a pig, and a dog that died while giving birth. The church that currently stands at the site was purchased by the Greek Orthodox Church from the Church of England in 1994. “The dates have shocked us all,” said lead archaeologist Janey Green. “It appears the current Medieval church is built over the site of an ancient pagan burial ground that's been in use from the late Neolithic period through the Bronze Age, Iron Age, Roman, Anglo-Saxon and through to today.” For more, go to “Letter from England: The Scientist’s Garden.”

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