A structure 1,000 years older than Stonehenge has been found in the Czech Republic
Kyiv • UNN
A circular complex more than 6,500 years old and 230 meters in diameter has been discovered near Hleby. Its entrances are oriented toward the Sun and the Moon.
Archaeologists have discovered a monumental circular structure more than 6,500 years old near the Czech village of Chleby—approximately 1,000 years older than Stonehenge, reports UNN, citing Bild.
Details
According to media reports, the complex, about 230 meters in diameter, is located in the Central Bohemian Region and is among the oldest structures of its kind in Central Europe.
Nothing of the structure itself has survived above ground, but researchers found traces of a ditch more than two and a half meters deep and twelve entrances leading to the center. According to excavation leader Petr Krištuf, their arrangement was not accidental and was connected with observations of the movement of the Sun and Moon.
Some of the entrances are oriented toward the points where the Sun rises and sets during the summer and winter solstices, while others face the Moon’s extreme positions, which recur approximately every 18 years.
"We see the same principle along Stonehenge’s main axis. Now we can see that this structure was designed in a similar way," Krištuf said.
We add
The complex apparently also had religious significance. Inside the ditch, archaeologists found animal bones, including the skulls and horns of bulls, especially frequently near the entrances. Researchers assume that they may have been used to decorate the gates, while the bull itself served as a symbol of the strength and fertility of Europe’s first farming communities.