- A prehistoric site with as many as 25 monumental pits has been discovered in Bedfordshire to the astonishment of archaeologists.
Found in Linmere, they date from the Mesolithic period, 12,000 to 6,000 years ago, a time from which few clues into the lives of our hunter-gatherer ancestors survive.
The pits could offer extraordinary new insights. They are in alignments and clustered around former stream channels, suggesting a spiritual significance.
Such is the scale of this site that it has more such pits in a single area than anywhere else in England and Wales, including Stonehenge. Radiocarbon dating revealed they are from 7,700 to 8,500 years ago.
Archaeologists from the Museum of London Archaeology (Mola), who are conducting the research, said: “This date makes the site incredibly significant because there are very few Mesolithic sites in the UK that are this substantial. Evidence from this period is often slim, only consisting of flint tools and occasional butchered animal remains.”
Hellbound and Down 