A ‘stunning’ discovery at Dartmoor National Park may shed new light on life during the Bronze Age.
A 4,000-year-old burial chamber has been unearthed on an isolated moor in Devon’s Dartmoor National Park. The find, which could shed new light on life during the Bronze Age, is being hailed as a “stunning” revelation by experts.
The burial chamber, first spotted in May as it began to erode from the peat, was fully excavated in August. Measuring roughly 3.3 feet (1 meter) square, the tomb was sealed beneath three large granite stones.
Radiocarbon dating of charcoal within the tomb suggests it was used around 1800 B.C., placing it firmly within the Early Bronze Age.
Archaeologists, after carefully lifting the granite slabs, uncovered numerous well-preserved wooden fragments and an additional 12 inches (30 centimeters) of fill.
The entire tomb was then carefully transported to a laboratory, where a meticulous micro-excavation process is underway to uncover and analyze the grave’s full contents.
