#prehistoric

nowisthetime@pod.automat.click

The #Celestial #Landscape & Pathways of #Bodmin-Moor, #Cornwall | #CarolynKennett | #Megalithomania
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xj5v_5O3FvU

#Bodmin Moor in Cornwall is a rich #prehistoric #landscape. During the talk we visit a number of distinct ritual landscapes found on the moor and delve into their connectivity with the skyscape. These locations contain stone rows, circles, burial mounds and living spaces. Alongside the solar and lunar cycle the talk will explore connectivity to other astronomical features such as the Milky Way, before discussing more phenomological ideas. It will consider how distinct locations may work astronomically with neighbouring sites, before focusing on the possibilities of long distance astronomically linked pathways across the moor taking into account sightlines to significant hills and tors.

Carolyn Kennett is a is a writer, researcher and astronomer who lives in Cornwall. She researches ancient communities and how they made connections to their skyscapes. She is a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society, and her books include Sites of Prehistoric Bodmin Moor (2022), Uranus and Neptune (2022), Celestial Stone Circles of West Cornwall (2018) and Neptune: From Grand Discovery to World Revealed (2021). She is a communicator of all things astronomical and runs her own walking tours and outreach business Archaeoastronomy Cornwall, while being a director of Mayes Creative, who deliver arts, science and heritage projects throughout #Cornwall. https://archaeoastronomycornwall.comSee less

The Celestial Landscape & Pathways of Bodmin Moor, Cornwall | Carolyn Kennett | Megalithomania

amazing that new things are still being found
enter image description here
Some amazing Hurlers Stone Circles facts
There were originally over 70 stones in the circles, but now there are just 38 to see
Many of the stones in the Hurlers stone circles have been robbed over the centuries. Stone robbing was common by stonemasons and builders
The cows on Bodmin Moor have knocked some of them over as they use them as scratching posts!
The stones are made of granite which this area is famous for
There are markings that these stones were carved out and made smooth by ancient tools
Many of the missing stones are now represented by marker stones
The site is currently managed by English Heritage but this causes some controversy with Cornish heritage – signs have been stolen and destroyed in the past! So, it is also represented by the Cornish Heritage Trust.
https://thirdeyetraveller.com/the-hurlers-stone-circles-bodmin-moor/

ramnath@nerdpol.ch

#AngkorWat - #Ancient #Hydraulic #City Using Advanced #Technology
Universe Inside You

Jun 2, 2023

(Also, carvings in the temple shows nine planets of the #solar-system, centuries before the invention of telescopes, and carvings of #prehistoric #animals. )
"The Angkor Wat temple complex in Cambodia might be the most astonishing ancient site on earth. Covering an area of more than 400 acres, it is made up of something like 10 million stone blocks intricately carved and stacked into temples, terraces, and galleries. For comparison, Angkor Wat covers three times the area of Vatican City, and is made up of more than four times as many blocks as the Great Pyramid of Giza."

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=L6MaIbaSF0Q

psych@diasp.org

Warning: From the land of X. (Twitter, not porn)

A lovely combination of video and sound-track!

From a few million years before & after T-Rex and #dinosaurs.

#paleontology #fossils #carnivore #prehistoric

ramnath@nerdpol.ch

https://www.eaglenews.ph/anger-as-pre-historic-stones-destroyed-for-french-diy-store/

#wtf RENNES, #France (AFP) — Around 40 #standing #stones thought to have been erected by #prehistoric #humans 7,000 years ago have been #destroyed near a famed archaeological site in northwest France to make way for a DIY store, an angry local historian has revealed.

The stones in #Carnac were between 50-100 centimeters (20-40 inches) high and stood close to the main highly protected areas of one of Europe’s largest and most mysterious pre-historic tourist attractions.

“The site has been destroyed,” local archaeologist Christian Obeltz told AFP on Wednesday, having revealed the clearance of the land in the Ouest-France newspaper.

He believes 39 standing stones — known as menhirs — have been lost, estimating their age to be around 7,000 years based on carbon dating conducted on stones nearby in 2010.

The land was granted a building permit from the local mayor’s office in August last year and DIY chain Mr. Bricolage is currently building a new store there.

Mayor Olivier Lepick told AFP that he had “followed the law” and pointed to the “low archaeological value” of objects found during checks before the construction process began.

The land was not situated in a protected area and had been earmarked for commercial use, he added.

Carnac is famed for its vast fields of stone megaliths which stand in long lines close to the Atlantic coast in the windswept Brittany region.

There are around 3,000 of them on the two main protected areas which extend over more than six kilometers (four miles).

The stones are thought to have had a sacred and funereal function, although various theories exist.

ramnath@nerdpol.ch

enter image description here

#Stonehenge-Like #Structure Found Under #Lake #Michigan

Archaeologists found something much more fascinating than they got credit for when searching under the waters of Lake Michigan for shipwrecks: they uncovered a rock with a #prehistoric #carving of a #mastodon, as well as a collection of stones arranged in a Stonehenge-like manner.

Gazing into the water
In modern #archaeology, the use of remote sensing techniques is common: scientists regularly survey lakes and soil for hidden objects.

Archaeologists uncovered sunken boats and cars and even a Civil War-era pier at a depth of around 40 feet into Lake Michigan’s Grand Traverse Bay, using sonar techniques to search for shipwrecks, but among all these, they found this prehistoric surprise

olddog@diasp.org

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Giant 'sea dragon' surfaces in the Midlands in one of Britain's 'greatest ever' prehistoric finds

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2022/01/10/giant-deep-surfaces-midlands-one-britains-greatest-ever-prehistoric/

Giant 'sea dragon' surfaces in the Midlands in one of Britain's 'greatest ever' prehistoric finds

The 180 million-year-old ichthyosaur is the largest and most complete fossil of any marine reptile found in Britain
By Gurpreet Narwan, Consumer Affairs Editor 10 January 2022 • 6:00am
Ichthyosaur
The Ichthyosaur skeleton was found at Rutland Nature Reserve Credit: Anglian Water/PA

Scientists are celebrating one of the “greatest finds” in British palaeontological history after the skeleton of a 180 million-year-old sea dragon was discovered in Rutland.

Measuring 10 metres in length with a skull weighing approximately one tonne, the ichthyosaur is the largest and most complete fossil of any marine reptile found in Britain.

The discovery was made by Joe Davis, an employee of the Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust, during a routine draining of a lagoon island at Rutland Water in February 2021.

Ichthyosaurs were marine reptiles that lived in Britain 250 million years ago. They went extinct 90 million years ago.

The animal was characterised by its large teeth and eyes, and ranged in size from one to more than 25 metres. It was first identified in the 19th century by the palaeontologist Mary Anning.

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Ichthyosaur
An artist's impression of an ichthyosaur, which went extinct 90m years ago Credit: Anglian Water/PA

Dr Dean Lomax, a palaeontologist who has studied the species, said: “Despite the many ichthyosaur fossils found in Britain, it is remarkable to think that the Rutland ichthyosaur is the largest skeleton ever found in the UK. It is a truly unprecedented discovery and one of the greatest finds in British palaeontological history.

“Not only is it the largest ichthyosaur skeleton ever found in Britain, but it is also the most complete skeleton of a large prehistoric reptile ever discovered in the UK. And yes, that includes dinosaurs.”

When they first spotted the remains poking out of some clay, team members at Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust were unsure about their origins and suggested that they could simply be pipes. After speaking to Rutland council, experts from the University of Leicester were called and the ichthyosaur skeleton was identified.

The remains were dug out by a team of expert palaeontologists from around the UK in August and September. They worked in partnership with Anglian Water, Rutland County Council and the Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust.

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An aerial shot reveals the true scale of the beast
An aerial shot reveals the true scale of the beast

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The remains measured 10 metres in length with a skull weighing approximately one tonne Credit: Anglian Water/PA

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Team members at Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust thought the remains could simply be pipes when they were first discovered Credit: Anglian Water/PA

The skeleton was also surrounded by the remains of ammonites and belemnites, which may have been feasting on the animal's remains. Scientists said that the discovery could give them a better understanding of their ecosystems.

Although two incomplete and much smaller ichthyosaurs were found during the initial construction of Rutland Water in the 1970s, experts said that it was unusual to find a specimen of this kind in the Midlands. Remains are usually found across the Jurassic and Yorkshire coast.

“To put this find into context for the public; in the world of British palaeontology, the discovery is like finding a complete Tyrannosaurus rex out in the Badlands of America, only this Jurassic giant was found in a nature reserve in Rutland, of all places. It is a truly unprecedented discovery and one of the greatest finds in British palaeontological history,” Dr Lomax said.

Scientists are now securing funding to clean and repair the skeleton before it is put on display.

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The animal was characterised by its large teeth and eyes, and ranged in size from one to more than 25 metres Credit: Anglian Water/PA

Dr Mark Evans of the British Antarctic Survey said: “I’ve been studying the Jurassic fossil reptiles of Rutland and Leicestershire for over 20 years. When I first saw the initial exposure of the specimen with Joe Davis I could tell that it was the largest ichthyosaur known from either county. However, it was only after our exploratory dig that we realised that it was practically complete to the tip of the tail.”

He added: “It’s a highly significant discovery both nationally and internationally but also of huge importance to the people of Rutland and the surrounding area.”

Nigel Larkin, a specialist palaeontological conservator, said: “It’s not often you are responsible for safely lifting a very important but very fragile fossil weighing that much.

“It is a responsibility, but I love a challenge. It was a very complex operation to uncover, record, and collect this important specimen safely.”

The excavation of the remains will feature on BBC Two’s Digging For Britain on Tuesday at 8pm.

#Prehistoric #Nature #Ichthysaur #England #UK