Photograph by Thomas Bresson
Archaeologists have discovered what has been described as possibly the “world’s oldest calendar” in a field in Aberdeenshire, Scotland.
Recent analysis of a pit site at Warren Field near Crathes Castle shows that the 12 pits that were excavated appear to mimic the phases of the lunar cycle over a year.
This Mesolithic monument is believed to date back to 10,000 years ago and the hunter-gatherer societies that roamed the area at the time, which puts the development of the calendar about 5,000 years earlier than the time measuring objects created in Mesopotamia that were believed to be the first of their kind.
Researchers from the University of Birmingham led by Vince Gaffney also found that the calendar aligns to the Midwinter sunrise, which would have allowed the early people a way to maintain the relationship between the solar and lunar cycles.
The site was first discovered when researchers from by the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland noticed unusual crop markings were noticed on an aerial survey.
The research has been published in the journal Internet Archaeology.
1 Comment
Author of this article should read Michael Tellinger’s books on South Africa and then he would know of the oldest calendar found to date… called Adam’s calendar. Try Youtube and watch a video by him.