Traces of Neolithic Henge Exposed

News April 20, 2018

(Oxford Archaeology East)
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Cotton Henge Aerial
(Oxford Archaeology East)

 

RAUNDS, ENGLAND—BBC News reports that a Neolithic monument known as Cotton Henge, which was discovered through the use of aerial photography in the 1970s, has been completely exposed for study in advance of a construction project in Northamptonshire. The henge’s outer ditch measures about 330 feet in diameter, and although the henge never contained any standing stones, it did have associated external banks. Researchers led by archaeologist Liz Mordue of Northamptonshire County Council discovered a possible entranceway to the enclosure on the southern side of the outer ditch. It may have been closed as a way of marking the end of its use. No entrance has been found in the inner ditch. The structure is thought to have been part of a Neolithic ceremonial landscape on the floodplain of the River Nene. To read more about the British Isles during that period, go to "Neolithic Europe's Remote Heart."

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