Current Archaeology has an article with pictures of the recent excavation at Stonehenge, and reports a surprising find:
However the most surprising discoveries so far have been Roman. In a small pit containing a small bluestone in the corner of the trench, itself cut into the main socket of one of the uprights, they found a Roman coin. Even more alarming, was the excavation of the large pit in the centre of the excavation, where right near the bottom they found a very small piece of what was indubitably Roman pottery. Was there a major reordering of the site in the Roman period? As Geoffrey Wainwright said, their small trench looked like an urban excavation, there were so many intercutting pits.
My historical knowledge is lacking here. Could this be accounted for by the fact that the Romans were kind enough to bring "civilisation" to those uncivilised folk who didn't shave their faces or use money, and the Druids still were quite a part of the culture for some time after the Roman ways were introduced? Or would the timeline not match up on that?
ReplyDeleteFascinating.
ReplyDeleteI had read that stonehenge had been rebuilt fairly recently but had no idea the Romans may have done the same.