On Wednesday, Dutch archaeological experts unveiled a ritualistic complex, estimated to be approximately 4,000 years old. This site, colloquially referred to by Dutch media as the “Stonehenge of the Netherlands,” features a burial tumulus ingeniously designed to function as a celestial timekeeper.
This burial mound, within which the remains of roughly 60 individuals of various ages and genders were discovered, was designed with specific apertures. Through these openings, solar rays would directly penetrate on the occasions of the winter solstice and summer solstice.
“An extraordinary archaeological revelation! Researchers have unearthed a 4,000-year-old sacred precinct situated on an industrial tract,” the municipality of Tiel announced via its Facebook platform.
“This constitutes the inaugural discovery of such a site within the Netherlands,” the statement further elaborated.
Excavation endeavors in the vicinity of this so-called “open-air sanctuary” commenced in 2017 within a modest village, located approximately 50 kilometers (31 miles) to the southeast of Utrecht. The findings were formally disseminated on Wednesday.
Through the meticulous examination of variations in clay composition and coloration, the scientific team identified three distinct burial mounds at the excavation locus, situated a few kilometers distant from the banks of the Waal River.
The principal mound, measuring approximately 20 meters (65 feet) in diameter, incorporates meticulously aligned passages engineered to serve the purpose of an astronomical calendar.
“This chronological device was utilized by the populace to ascertain critical junctures, encompassing periods for festivities and agricultural harvests,” the archaeologists specified.
“This elevated landform bore a resemblance to Stonehenge, the widely recognized enigmatic prehistoric edifice in Britain, where a comparable celestial phenomenon is observed,” reported NOS, the Dutch national broadcasting corporation.
Researchers also unearthed two supplementary, smaller mounds. The tripartite arrangement of these mounds served as deposition sites for approximately 800 years, according to the unearthed data.
A further remarkable artifact came to light: a solitary bead fashioned from glass, discovered nestled within a grave. Subsequent analytical procedures confirmed its provenance from Mesopotamia, corresponding to modern-day Iraq.
“This bead traversed an immense distance of approximately 5,000 kilometers, dating back four millennia,” stated the lead investigator, Cristian van der Linde.
“Given that glass was not manufactured locally, this bead would have represented an extraordinary artifact, as it was composed of an unfamiliar material to the people of that era,” commented Stijn Arnoldussen, a professor at the University of Groningen.
He further informed NOS that the Mesopotamian bead might have been in circulation for a considerable duration prior to its eventual consignment to the region encompassing Tiel, historically designated as the Betuwe in Dutch.
“Interchange of goods was already prevalent during that epoch. It is conceivable that the bead remained above ground for centuries before reaching Tiel, though this is not an absolute certainty,” Arnoldussen elaborated.
