Prehistoric Chalk “Drum” Sculpture Found in England

YORKSHIRE, ENGLAND—The Guardian reports that a 5,000-year-old chalk sculpture known as the Burton Agnes drum has been found near a burial containing the remains of three children in east Yorkshire. Three nearly identical barrel-shaped chalk cylinders, known as the Folkton drums, were discovered about 15 miles away in North Yorkshire alongside a child’s remains in the nineteenth century. The objects may have been intended to protect the children. “The Folkton drums have long remained a mystery to experts for well over a century, but this new example finally begins to give us some answers,” said Neil Wilkin of the British Museum. “To my mind, the Burton Agnes drum is even more intricately carved and reflects connections between communities in Yorkshire, Stonehenge, Orkney, and Ireland,” he said. For more on the Folkton drums, go to "Epic Proportions."