DORSET, ENGLAND—New research has re-dated the Flagstones monument in Dorset to 3200 b.c., making it now the earliest known large circular enclosure in Britain, according to a statement released by the University of Exeter. First discovered during highway construction in the 1980s, the site features a ditch 330 feet in diameter that was made from intersecting pits and probably an earthwork bank. Within the enclosure pits archaeologists found at least four burials, of a cremated adult male and three children who had not been cremated. Now, advanced radiocarbon analysis of objects found at the site, including human remains, red deer antler, and charcoal, has indicated that the circular ditched enclosure is approximately two centuries older than previously thought. This makes it older than the early construction phases of Stonehenge, which had a similar look to Flagstones in its initial form. These findings suggest that Flagstones may have actually been the prototype for all later monuments, or perhaps the dating of Stonehenge also needs to be revisited. “The chronology of Flagstones is essential for understanding the changing sequence of ceremonial and funeral monuments in Britain,” said Susan Greaney of the University of Exeter. “The ‘sister’ monument to Flagstones is Stonehenge, whose first phase is almost identical, but it dates to around 2900 b.c. Could Stonehenge have been a copy of Flagstones? Or do these findings suggest our current dating of Stonehenge might need revision?” Read the original scholarly article about this research in Antiquity. To read about another famous feature of the Dorset landscape, go to "Man of the Moment."
