Timber Circle

Timber Circles (English for wood circles; better post circles) are a group of monuments of the late Neolithic and early Bronze Age. They consist of upright posts in the ground, form one or more concentric circles. Some plants are called henge, although Henges are actually stone circles, with canals. Shapes and sizes of Timber Circles vary greatly. The circles can also eccentric ( Bleasdale Timber Circle ) lie. Occasionally, wood and stone are combined. Post circuits are often part of a broader architecture and within other monument types (eg Timber Circles in Henges, as Stanton Drew in Somerset ). Post reductions may as stone circles, with their wooden counterpart seem to represent them as avenues as a double series to a circuit lead ( Mount Pleasant in Dorset, The Sanctuary in Wiltshire ), while for example the Southern Circle of Durrington Walls ( Wiltshire ) this does not have.

Dissemination

Timber Circles have rarely survived as original monument structures because of the biodegradability of the wood. They are usually only through archaeological excavations known, or because they have been detected by aerial view. They are found mostly in England and Wales, but also in Ireland ( Knowth Timber Circle ) and Northern Ireland ( Timber Circle of Ballygawley ). Among the few Timber Circles that are reasonably obtain, one designated as Seahenge alluding to Stonehenge reference to the Norfolk coast.

Description

The post holes often contain the cairns that have held the post upright. It is estimated that one third of the post ( tree trunk ) stuck in the ground and two -thirds were visible above ground. From the depth of the hole is closed on the previously visible height of the post. The science is just beginning to understand what relationship the wood circles are the monuments of the late Neolithic period. Probably many have also been isolated in other Neolithic landscapes. Where the Timber Circles are next Henges, standing stones and stone circles, there are a variety of interpretations. One of the most difficult aspects is the chronological assignment.

In addition to the round specimens in the British Isles there are some already discovered D- or horseshoe- shaped mullions settlements, their equivalents (eg Achavanich ) also exist in stone. Wooden posts Horseshoe found, for example:

• In the Henge of Lugg, County Dublin in Ireland,
• In the Henge of Arminghall in Norfolk in England,
• In the stone circle I Machrie Moor on the Isle of Arran in Scotland.

Dating

It is very difficult to date the Timber Circles. Often little material remains in the post holes. A proof can be found in " weathering cones " in the post holes. These cones were probably made by the decay of the post. Leave a v -shaped indentation in the then material such as ceramic or flint has accumulated. However, it is also conceivable that these insertions occurred later in the hole or have been attached for stabilization. Some researchers assume that people went to the monument, as the posts were rotten and deliberately brought in material in the cone of the post holes on religious grounds.

Irish Timber Circles

The 2006 took place until 2007 excavation of the Timber Circle of Ballygawley in County Tyrone in Northern Ireland yielded datable wood finds. According to the radiocarbon method was determined that the circles in the middle of the 3rd millennium BC were created and some parts were even older.

The archaeologists found two concentric rings post, which apparently replaced an older pit row. There was a porch on that side, where probably was the access. The outer circle of wood was probably provided with wattle, or there was in the interstices of a sort of palisade, so that the inner circle was invisible.

In Newgrange were similar in Knowth, found in younger two excavations Timber Circles near the main hill. The eastern consisted of five concentric pit rows. The outer ring contained wooden posts. The next ring had a Tonauskleidung and was used to burn animal remains. The three inner rings pit was excavated to accommodate the remains of animal sacrifices. Inside the circle of post holes were with ceramic and flint discounts found. The western district consisted of concentric rows of post-holes and pits, which formed a circle of 20 meters diameter.