This ‘unusual’ stone circle may predate Stonehenge
Stonehenge gets some well-deserved attention when it comes to British archeology. Between its age, altar stone’s epic journey, and potential origin as a community building initiative, it has a storied history. However, another site in southwest England called Flagstones might be even older. New radiocarbon dating and human remains, red deer antlers, and charcoal found in the area puts this ancient stone circle near Dorchester at 3,200 BCE–roughly 300 years older than Stonehenge. The findings are detailed in a study published March 6 in the journal Antiquity and the team believes that the Flagsontes may have served as a prototype for later monuments. First discovered during highway construction in the county of Dorset during the 1980s, Flagstones was formed of a 328 feet (100 meter) diameter circular ditch of intersecting pits. Archaeologists have found at least four burials in the enclosure pit–three children who had not been cremated and one adult...