Archeologists found a stone age relic that might be the oldest man-made one that surpasses ancient wonders like the Pyramid of Giza or enigmatic Stonehenge in England. They discovered the structure near Prague, a neolithic structure called a roundel, which is mostly unknown.
Older Than the Pyramids
The true purpose of this circular structure, which may have served a nearby farming community nearly 7,000 years ago during the late Neolithic, or New Stone Age, is unknown; report Science Alert.
Dimensions of the roundel are 180 feet in diameter, which is as big as the Leaning Tower of Pisa, noted Radio Prague International.
According to Jaroslav Řídký, he added that those who built the roundel are a mystery, though it is part of the Stroked Pottery culture existing between 4900 and 4400 BCE. An expert on such ancient relics, he informed Live Science.
The IAP's Miroslav Kraus, who is in charge of the roundel excavation in the Vinoř neighborhood, claimed that learning more about the structure might help them figure out what it was used for. It was in the 1980s when scientists came across the neolithic structure, as workers on a construction site were placing gas and waterlines.
Although the recent excavations have allowed the whole structure to be seen now, they've discovered pot shards, animal bones, and stone tools lying in the ditch.
How Old Is the Vinoř Roundel?
Using the organics found in the stone age relic might show how old the structure is, maybe made earlier than other ancient wonders; it also links it to a nearby neolithic community.
The study author says that in the Bohemian territory of the Czech Republic, the individuals who produced the Stroked Pottery ware have been famed for establishing other roundels.
These sedentary farmers lived in the north of the Czech Republic, between Poland and east Germany, in long, large, rectangular houses. There is room for 20 to 30 people inside.
Additionally, roundels were erected by diverse communities across central Europe as understanding how to build them traversed the boundaries of numerous archaeological cultures.
Before archaeological research included aerial and drone imaging access, these circular stone remnants were somewhat hidden and waiting to be found. There is strong evidence from studies of ancient relics that these roundels are the most archaic neolithic structure in Europe.
These roundels, which can be seen from above as a series of round ditches with gaps, served as the building's entrances. Poles are lined up in the interior of the ancient structure, with gaps filled with plastered mud.
The circle earthworks are spread in central Europe and date back two or three centuries. They were built in the later part of the late Neolithic when they were, but for reasons that have not been answered yet by scholars.
One of the earliest roundels was discovered in Germany in 1991, which lay in the time frame of the Stroked Pottery culture.
The Goseck Circle is 246 feet across and has a double wooden palisade and three entrances. These roundels had doorways that pointed to the sunrise and sunset in the winter or summer solstice, which was thought to be a calendar, per AnthroSource.
A stone age relic called a roundel might prove to exist earlier than ancient wonders like the pyramids and the henges.