A circular prehistoric monument built by early Welsh farmers for ritual performance has been found in Wales

A circular prehistoric monument built by some of the earliest farmers in Wales has been discovered by archaeologists near a series of pits containing pottery and flint used by Neolithic people around 5,000 years ago.

Experts say people would have used the monument, spanning seven metres in diameter and defined by a shallow, flat-bottomed ditch dug into underlying limestone rock, as a place of ritual performance in the Vale of Glamorgan.

“The site is providing a remarkable opportunity to gain access to a large amount of data across a spread of prehistoric time periods,” said Dr Neil Phillips, the Director of the archaeological group APAC Ltd.

“Such an opportunity rarely happens and the surviving archaeology is rarely appreciated before it disappears.”

Housing developers have pledged artefacts from the grounds to National Museum Wales, whose Principal Curator for Prehistory, Adam Gwilt, called the discovery “important new evidence” of the early farming communities in the region.
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Reference:

Culture24. 2016. “A circular prehistoric monument built by early Welsh farmers for ritual performance has been found in Wales”. Culture24. Posted: June 9, 2016. Available online: http://www.culture24.org.uk/history-and-heritage/archaeology/art556440-vale-glamorgan-circular-monument-ritual-farmers