Move over, Stonehenge: archaeologists just uncovered a new ancient structure in the Netherlands

Yeah yeah, Stonehenge, we’ve heard of it. There’s a new, extremely old and mysterious archaeological structure in town. And it’s right here in the Netherlands.

A 4,000-year-old sanctuary was found on the outskirts of the municipality of Tiel. Before Jesus Christ came and stole everyone’s thunder, people worshipped the sun — and this whole shrine was dedicated to it. 

Maybe these farmers weren’t so different from us. We worship the sun when winter starts to end. No one else? Just us?

A very old-fashioned clock

This structure functioned as a way to tell time. Now, this was before our attention spans lasted eight seconds, so the farmers’ way of telling time was less “It’s been 15 minutes since my last glass of water”, and more along the lines of “We are probably somewhere in December”.

“This solar calendar helped determine the seasons and plan the year. When will the migratory birds arrive, when will the lambs be born, and when is the first frost?”, Cristian van der Linde tells De Volkskrant. 

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How exactly did it work? The structure is about 20 metres in diameter, surrounded by a ditch with gaps corresponding to important positions of the sun.

On the important days of the year, such as the shortest, longest days, and “cross-quarter days”, the rising sun shone through the gaps to tell us which days they were.

A sanctuary drenched in mystery

On top of its time-telling purpose, this solar calendar was potentially used for all kinds of old-fashioned ceremonies.

The archaeologists found a woman’s head, cattle skulls, animal skeletons, and a spearhead, among other things.

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Archaeologists also found a graveyard with only women, one of whom was buried with a glass bead that came all the way from present-day Iraq, 5,000 kilometres away.

But it doesn’t stop there. Archaeologists also found an older grave, built in the exact place where all solar lines converge. This was probably someone important, but it’s unclear exactly who it was yet.

Of course, there are still many questions. Who is the woman with the bead? Where did the animal bones and bodies come from? Who was buried in the super special grave? What was the exact use of this structure?

And most importantly: don’t archaeologists find it uncomfortable to be surrounded by so many dead bodies?

Which find is most intriguing to you and why? Tell us in the comments!