Stonehenge Baby Discovered With Britain’s Earliest Toy?
posted in Archaeology |
An engraved animal model found buried next to a prehistoric toddler at Stonehenge may stand for Britain’s first known toy, researchers opine.
The only one of its kind chalk relic is of a pig or hedgehog , considered to be around 2,000 years old; it was unearthed last September close to the famous stone monument of England’s Salisbury.
This Bronze Age carved animal model was made as a plaything or in remembrance of a stillborn baby or an infant who died very young, the archaeologist believes.
The finding was made during a project of the Stonehenge Riverside, a 7-year archaeological exploration of this Stonehenge area. The project is also backed by the National Geographic Society.
The burial was exposed during the excavation of an antique palisade.
Proofs of toys during the period of British history are exceedingly limited.
The infant’s grave, uncertainly dated between 800 B.C - 20 B.C., also includes a ceramic vessel, which might have contained foodstuff intended meant for the child’s crossing to his afterlife according to the team.
The dig of the post also exposed the corpse of another infant along with the carcass of a goat or sheep.
A mound of pebbles placed over the head of the animal, point to a sacrificial burial.
It is possible that the 2 infants are human sacrifices, than likely to have died naturally. However, there was also a high incidence of child mortality at that time so natural death can not be ruled out completely.
At present, archeologists are fighting over what the animal is — a pig or a hedgehog.