4,000-Year-Old Stonehenge Of The Netherlands Reveals Its Secrets

[Judi Lynn]

2. 4,500-year-old 'Stonehenge' sanctuary discovered in the Netherlands

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By Laura Geggel published 23 June 2023

Archaeologists have discovered a 4,500-year-old sanctuary in the Netherlands that marks the solstices and equinoxes, and was also used as a burial ground.



We see an illustration of a shaman in the background on a earthen mound holding up their hands. There are wooden poles with animal skulls making a path to the foreground.
An artist's interpretation of the sanctuary's layout for rituals in what is now the Netherlands. (Image credit: Illustration by Alexander Van de Bunt; Municipality of Tiel)


Archaeologists in the Netherlands have unearthed a 4,500-year-old sanctuary whose earthen mounds align with the sun on solstices and equinoxes. And, just like Stonehenge, the sanctuary was also used for burials and rituals.

People were buried at the sanctuary over a period of 800 years, according to a translated statement from the Municipality of Tiel, where the remnants of mounds, ditches, a flat burial field and a farm were discovered.

The largest of the three mounds holds the remains of men, women and many children who died between about 2500 B.C. and 1200 B.C., the researchers said. Excavators also discovered ancient burials surrounding the sanctuary, making the entire site about 9.4 acres (3.8 hectares), larger than seven American football fields. More than 80 individuals were unearthed at the site; some were buried, and others were cremated, according to the statement, which noted that "these deceased must have played an important role in the rituals."



The excavation site with the large burial mound highlighted with a virtual grass overlay. (Image credit: Municipality of Tiel)

Although the sanctuary doesn't have stone boulders like Stonehenge does, it appears that the largest burial mound served as a calendar that helped people mark the sun's movements, the researchers said in a translated statement. For instance, precious artifacts, such as a bronze spearhead, were buried where the sun's rays hit the ground through an opening at the sanctuary.

More:
https://www.livescience.com/archaeology/4500-year-old-stonehenge-sanctuary-discovered-in-the-netherlands