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<< Other Photo Pages >> Blick Mead - Ancient Village or Settlement in England in Wiltshire

Submitted by davidmorgan on Friday, 30 October 2015  Page Views: 12408

Multi-periodSite Name: Blick Mead
Country: England County: Wiltshire Type: Ancient Village or Settlement
Nearest Town: Amesbury
Map Ref: SU1487242013
Latitude: 51.177162N  Longitude: 1.788632W
Condition:
5Perfect
4Almost Perfect
3Reasonable but with some damage
2Ruined but still recognisable as an ancient site
1Pretty much destroyed, possibly visible as crop marks
0No data.
-1Completely destroyed
1 Ambience:
5Superb
4Good
3Ordinary
2Not Good
1Awful
0No data.
3 Access:
5Can be driven to, probably with disabled access
4Short walk on a footpath
3Requiring a bit more of a walk
2A long walk
1In the middle of nowhere, a nightmare to find
0No data.
no data Accuracy:
5co-ordinates taken by GPS or official recorded co-ordinates
4co-ordinates scaled from a detailed map
3co-ordinates scaled from a bad map
2co-ordinates of the nearest village
1co-ordinates of the nearest town
0no data
4

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Blick Mead
Blick Mead submitted by dodomad : The prehistoric 'eco-home' was built in the hollow left by a fallen tree, much like the one shown above [ie it's not this actual tree! - MegP Ed]. David Jacques (pictured) found evidence the tree throw, as these hollows are called, had been inhabited by humans with signs of a hearth, and a post-hole suggesting it had been turned into a home Photo credit: University of Buckingham (Vote or comment on this photo)
Mesolithic Settlement in Wiltshire. Some archeologists think this area, a mile from Stonehenge, could be key to the beginnings of people living in Britain because evidence of occupancy has been found to be continuous from 7600 BC to 4246 BC, 3000 years encompassing the time when Britain became an island.

Teeth belonging to aurochs - huge creatures even larger than bulls - as well as burnt charcoal found at the dig indicate Stone Age man feasted on the creatures. Evidence they also feasted on salmon, trout and hazlenuts has been dug up.

David Jacques, who has been running digs at the site for a decade, said: “This is a key site for where Britain began. It is the only continuously occupied Mesolithic site in Western Europe. Something at Blick Mead kept attracting generations back to the site, the cradle of Stonehenge. These people are adapting to nature in a really sophisticated and intuitive way, in contrast to our Government in the 21st century who are expecting nature and our history to adapt to our needs to build a tunnel through this precious countryside.”

For more on the excavations at this site see the comments on our Vespasian's Camp page.

Note: Newly discovered Mesolithic house in a tree throw, under threat from proposed Stonehenge tunnel [not this actual tree!]
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Blick Mead
Blick Mead submitted by dodomad : A 9ft-wide (2.7 metre) bowl-shaped hollow left by a fallen tree (pictured) is claimed to be Britain's first 'ecohome', using earth packed into the roots to provide insulated walls. Archaeologists discovered the remains of the 6,300 year old dwelling, with a hearth and stones used to line the walls, at Blick Mead, Wiltshire Image credit: University of Buckingham (Vote or comment on this photo)

Do not use the above information on other web sites or publications without permission of the contributor.

Nearby Images from Geograph Britain and Ireland:
SU1442 : Stonehenge World Heritage Site Sign by N Chadwick
by N Chadwick
©2017(licence)
SU1442 : Stonehenge World Heritage Site Sign, A303 by N Chadwick
by N Chadwick
©2015(licence)
SU1442 : Down the hill towards the Amesbury roundabout by John Firth
by John Firth
©2014(licence)
SU1442 : Wiltshire : The A303 by Lewis Clarke
by Lewis Clarke
©2018(licence)
SU1442 : A303 heading west by Robin Webster
by Robin Webster
©2019(licence)

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Nearby sites listing. In the following links * = Image available
 399m SW 225° Vespasian's Camp* Hillfort (SU14594173)
 678m SE 145° Amesbury History Centre* Museum (SU1526841462)
 766m W 263° Amesbury 38 Bowl Barrow* Round Barrow(s) (SU14114192)
 929m SW 226° Bluestonehenge* Stone Circle (SU14204137)
 958m E 95° Ratfyn Barrow* Round Barrow(s) (SU15834194)
 1.2km WNW 284° The King Barrows Ridge* Barrow Cemetery (SU137423)
 1.3km N 10° Durrington 68 Timber Circle (SU151433)
 1.4km N 351° Cuckoo Stone (Wiltshire)* Standing Stone (Menhir) (SU1466443353)
 1.4km N 8° Woodhenge (Wiltshire)* Henge (SU15054338)
 1.4km W 278° New King Barrows* Barrow Cemetery (SU13454222)
 1.5km WSW 244° King Barrow (Amesbury)* Barrow Cemetery (SU13554137)
 1.5km WNW 302° Old King Barrows* Barrow Cemetery (SU13604280)
 1.5km WSW 254° Coneybury Henge* Henge (SU134416)
 1.7km N 10° Durrington Walls South Circle* Timber Circle (SU1515043641)
 1.7km NW 316° Amesbury Cursus (E)* Cursus (SU137432)
 1.7km W 271° Amesbury 39 Bowl Barrow* Round Barrow(s) (SU13154204)
 1.7km N 5° Durrington Walls* Henge (SU15014375)
 1.8km NE 55° Watergate Long Barrow* Long Barrow (SU1635643051)
 1.9km SSW 197° Amesbury Down Bowl Barrows Barrow Cemetery (SU14314020)
 2.3km WNW 286° The Avenue* Ancient Trackway (SU12694262)
 2.5km W 274° Stonehenge Bowl Barrow* Round Barrow(s) (SU12424217)
 2.5km NNW 342° Larkhill Causewayed Enclosure* Causewayed Enclosure (SU14084440)
 2.6km S 181° Amesbury Down Triple Bell Barrow Round Barrow(s) (SU14833944)
 2.6km W 275° Heel Stone* Standing Stone (Menhir) (SU1229142244)
 2.6km W 274° Stonehenge.* Stone Circle (SU1224742194)
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"Blick Mead" | Login/Create an Account | 8 News and Comments
  
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Article on the discoveries at Blick Mead near Stonehenge in Current Archaeology by Andy B on Friday, 09 March 2018
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David Jacques and colleagues have published a new article on their discoveries at Blick Mead near Stonehenge in Current Archaeology Issue 324. Click here to read the article.
https://reader.exacteditions.com/issues/55158/spread/19
[ Reply to This ]
    Re: Article on the discoveries at Blick Mead near Stonehenge in Current Archaeology by Anonymous on Friday, 11 September 2020
    I would love to visit this site as a keen amateur.how do I go about it? Do I need permission from the Abbey trustees?
    Cheers Ross
    [ Reply to This ]

Re: Concerns about possible damage to Blick Mead by Stonehenge road tunnel by Anonymous on Friday, 31 March 2017
It is appalling that ANY consideration is being given for a new road near Stonehenge. New archeological finds are being found ongoing and Stonehenge has much unanswered history. Why can't a bypass be built away from the area. Diane Hathway
[ Reply to This ]

Newly discovered Mesolithic house in tree throw under threat from Stonehenge tunnel by Andy B on Friday, 30 October 2015
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Stone Age “eco” home found at Stonehenge dig

The ground-breaking discovery of a Stone Age “eco” home – the oldest sign of settlement yet found in the Stonehenge landscape – could be under threat if controversial Government-backed plans for a tunnel go through the ancient site.

A planned 1.8 mile (2.9km) tunnel would run within 20 metres of the unparalleled archaeological find, and possibly obliterate other hidden secrets of our Stone Age forefathers, as yet unearthed.

The crucial find was made at an archaeological dig last week, run by the University of Buckingham’s Archaeology Project Director David Jacques and means that early British history could be rewritten because up to now it’s been assumed Mesolithic families lived a purely nomadic existence.

The discovery has been dubbed an “eco” house and is like nothing archaeologists have unearthed from Stonehenge before. Our green ancestors used the giant base – around 9 metres – of a large tree which had fallen to make into the wall of their house. The earthy wooden wall had been lined with flints and the huge, roughly 3 metre pit left by the tree being unearthed had been lined with cobbles by the resourceful people, using stones flung up by the roots of the tree, when it was felled. It then appears to have been roofed with animal skin and had a stone hearth close by. Other indications that our precursors were eco-friendly long before we ever imagined are the presence of a number of large stones placed near the building’s wall which may have been primitive “storage heaters” – warmed by a fire and placed close to where people slept instead of keeping a fire burning all night.

Along with its spring location, this made it a most desirable and environmentally sensitive place to have as a home.

Archeologists think this area, Blick Mead, a mile from Stonehenge, is key to the beginnings of people living in Britain because evidence of occupancy has been found to be continuous from 7600 BC to 4246 BC, an astonishing 3,000 years encompassing a time when Britain became an island. Whoever lived in the dwellings may have been the forefathers of those who built Stonehenge, experts believe.

Teeth belonging to aurochs – huge creatures even larger than bulls – as well as burnt charcoal found at the dig indicate Stone Age man feasted on the creatures. Evidence they also feasted on salmon, trout and hazlenuts has been dug up.

David Jacques, who has been running digs at the site for a decade, said: “This is a key site for where Britain began. It is the only continuously occupied Mesolithic site in Western Europe and we believe the “eco” home is the sort of place the first Brits lived in. Something at Blick Mead kept attracting generations back to the site, the cradle of Stonehenge. These people are adapting to nature in a really sophisticated and intuitive way, in contrast to our Government in the 21st century who are expecting nature and our history to adapt to our needs to build a tunnel through this precious countryside.”

Blick Mead was likely to have been chosen because of the presence of a constant temperature spring at a time when Britain was thawing after the Ice Age. By it a large variety of plants grew which Mesolithic families would have use for food, work and medicinal purposes – for example, pine as smokeless fuel, bark as a pain killer and watercress for vitamin D (good for pregnant women). The river Avon, adjacent to the site, would’ve been another attraction as a key transport route to this Mesolithic and future hub point.

Two years ago, Europe’s oldest cooked frog’s legs, 7,000 years old, were unearthed at the scene, proving the delicacy was English long before it was French.

Source: University of Buckingham
[ Reply to This ]

Re: Concerns about possible damage to Blick Mead by Stonehenge road tunnel by AngieLake on Friday, 30 October 2015
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Another link to this story: https://uk.news.yahoo.com/stone-age-eco-home-discovered-100651428.html
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Re:Archaeologists discover Mesolithic House at Blick Mead by AngieLake on Thursday, 29 October 2015
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Today's online article:

Is this the world's first ECO-HOME? Stone Age house built in the hollow of an uprooted tree discovered a mile from Stonehenge

Archaeologists claim the eco-home was built between 4336BC to 4246BC
It was discovered on the site of Brick Mead, in Amesbury, Wiltshire
Built into the hollow of an uprooted tree it used the soil clad roots as a wall
Animal skins may have been thrown over an awning to provide a roof


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3293845/Stone-Age-house-built-hollow-tree-discovered-near-Stonehenge.html#ixzz3pxX9JFA4

They couldn't even spell the site name correctly in the title, despite getting it right as a picture caption!:

A 9ft-wide (2.7 metre) bowel-shaped hollow left by a fallen tree (pictured) is claimed to be Britain's first 'ecohome', using earth packed into the roots to provide insulated walls. Archaeologists discovered the remains of the 6,300 year old dwelling, with a hearth and stones used to line the walls, at Blick Mead, Wiltshire

(Ha!ha!!! A 'bowel-shaped' hollow!!!!! It gets worse!!!)
[ Reply to This ]

Concerns about possible damage to Blick Mead by Stonehenge road tunnel by bat400 on Wednesday, 11 March 2015
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Archaeologists working on a site near Stonehenge say they have found an untouched 6,000-year-old encampment which "could rewrite British history".

David Jacques, from the University of Buckingham, made the discovery at Blick Mead in October, and said the carbon dating results had just been confirmed.

But he also raised concerns about possible damage to the site over plans to build a road tunnel past Stonehenge.

The Department of Transport said it would "consult before any building".

The Blick Mead site is about 1.5 miles (2.4km) from Stonehenge and archaeologists said "scientifically tested charcoal" dug up from the site had "revealed that it dated from around 4000 BC".

Flint found at Blick Mead The archaeologists found burnt flints, remains of animals and tools

David Jacques said the dig had also found "evidence of feasting" including burnt flints, tools and remains of giant cattle, known as aurochs, which were eaten by early hunter gatherers.

Mr Jacques said: "British pre-history may have to be rewritten. This is the latest dated Mesolithic encampment ever found in the UK.

"Blick Mead site connects the early hunter gatherer groups returning to Britain after the Ice Age to the Stonehenge area, all the way through to the Neolithic in the late 5th Millennium BC.

"But our only chance to find out about the earliest chapter of Britain's history could be wrecked if the tunnel goes ahead."

Blick Mead dig Archaeologists said the latest carbon date suggested it was continuously occupied between 7500-4000 BC

Andy Rhind-Tutt, a former mayor and current chairman of Amesbury Museum, which part-funded the dig, said the discovery could "provide what archaeologists have been searching for centuries - the answer to the story of the pre-history of Stonehenge."


Thanks to coldrum for the link. For more, see http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/.
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