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'Brazilian Stonehenge' discovered
By Steve Kingstone
BBC News, Sao Paulo
Brazilian archaeologists have found an ancient stone
structure in a remote corner of the Amazon that may
cast new light on the region's past.
The site, thought to be an observatory or place of
worship, pre-dates European colonisation and is said
to suggest a sophisticated knowledge of astronomy.
Its appearance is being compared to the English site
of Stonehenge.
It was traditionally thought that before European
colonisation, the Amazon had no advanced societies.
Winter solstice
The archaeologists made the discovery in the state of Amapa, in the far north of Brazil.
A total of 127 large blocks of stone were found driven into the ground on top of a hill.
The layout suggests a temple or an observatory
Well preserved and each weighing several tons, the stones were arranged upright and evenly spaced.
It is not yet known when the structure was built, but fragments of indigenous pottery found at the site are thought to
be 2,000 years old.
What impressed researchers was the sophistication of the construction.
The stones appear to have been laid out to help pinpoint the winter solstice, when the sun is at its lowest in the sky.
It is thought the ancient people of the Amazon used the stars and phases of the moon to determine crop cycles.
Although the discovery at Amapa is being compared to Stonehenge, the ancient stone circle in southern England,
the English site is considerably older.
It is thought to have been erected some time between 3000 and 1600 BC.
Another report from AFP.. Notice the variation in
estimated time of construction.
As updates become available we will present them here. Frank Riccardi Director, Eyepod.Org
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'Amazon Stonehenge' Discovered in Brazil Eyepod believes we will be seeing many more of these wonders coming to light. More AIH to come, of that we are sure. |
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RIO DE JANEIRO (AFP) - Archaeologists discovered
a pre-colonial astrological observatory possibly 2,000
years old in the Amazon basin near French Guiana,
said a report.
"Only a society with a complex culture could have built
such a monument," archaeologist Mariana Petry Cabral,
of the Amapa Institute of Scientific and Technological
Research (IEPA), told O Globo newspaper.
The observatory was built of 127 blocks of granite each
three meters (10 feet) high and regularly placed in
circles in an open field, she said.
Cabral said the site resembles a temple which could
have been used as an observatory, because the
blocks are positioned to mark the winter solstice. In
December, the path of the sun allows rays to pass through a hole in one of the blocks, possibly to calculate
agricultural activity and religious rituals.
Its exact age has been difficult to determine, but based on ceramic fragments found nearby, archaeologists
estimate it between 500 and 2,000 years old.
The discovery is in Calcoene, 390 kilometers (240 miles) from Macapa, the capital of Amapa state, near Brazil's
border with French Guyana.
a pre-colonial astrological observatory possibly 2,000
years old in the Amazon basin near French Guiana,
said a report.
"Only a society with a complex culture could have built
such a monument," archaeologist Mariana Petry Cabral,
of the Amapa Institute of Scientific and Technological
Research (IEPA), told O Globo newspaper.
The observatory was built of 127 blocks of granite each
three meters (10 feet) high and regularly placed in
circles in an open field, she said.
Cabral said the site resembles a temple which could
have been used as an observatory, because the
blocks are positioned to mark the winter solstice. In
December, the path of the sun allows rays to pass through a hole in one of the blocks, possibly to calculate
agricultural activity and religious rituals.
Its exact age has been difficult to determine, but based on ceramic fragments found nearby, archaeologists
estimate it between 500 and 2,000 years old.
The discovery is in Calcoene, 390 kilometers (240 miles) from Macapa, the capital of Amapa state, near Brazil's
border with French Guyana.
The stones are well preserved and each weighs several tons
The layout suggests a temple or an observatory