A prehistoric sanctuary discovered near Chelby in the Czech Republic is one of Central Europe’s oldest monuments, according to research shared earlier this summer from the University of West Bohemia (UWB).
The site has been dated to be over 6,500 years old, making it 1,000 years older than Stonehenge.
The circular enclosure measures to 230 meters in diameter, featuring an over 2.5 meters deep ditch and twelve irregularly spaced entrances.
"Circular enclosures are completely unknown in our region for this period, which already makes the site exceptional,” explained Petr Krišt of UWB’s Archaeology Department who is leading the research.
“But when we began to analyze the positioning of the entrances in detail, it became clear that their arrangement was not random,” he said. “Their geometry creates a system that made it possible to observe the most significant moments of the solar and lunar cycles.”
While similar to Stonehenge in function, Czech site is older
Archaeologists have found two main observation points at the Czech structure, connecting the sunrise at the summer solstice with sunset at the winter solstice in one, while the other is set in elation with the moon’s extreme positions on the horizon during its approximately 18-year cycle.
A similar arrangement can be seen at Stonehenge.
However, according to the research team’s latest findings, the Czech structure is significantly older than the famed British site.
“For prehistoric farming communities, the connection between sunrise and the summer solstice symbolized a beginning, while sunset and the winter solstice represented an ending,” stated Krištuf. “The same principle can be seen along Stonehenge’s main axis. We can now see that the sanctuary at Chleby was designed similarly, more than a thousand years earlier.”
Krištuf explained that the millennium older date came from radiocarbon dating of materials found at Chelby.
“We assume that they may originally have decorated monumental gateways leading into the enclosure,” added archaeologist Jan Turek, who is involved in the research on behalf of Charles University. “The cult of the bull was an important religious symbol among the first farming communities and is known from many parts of prehistoric Europe.”
Remains of Bronze Age burials also found at site
Previous excavations at the site uncovered the remains of approximately 18 people in the ditch, later identified as a Bronze Age Únětice culture burial. Current research, however, indicates that the site's role later changed.
“While Stonehenge experienced repeated periods of renewed use and is still associated, for example, with Celtic druids, the first results from Chleby suggest the opposite development,” noted Krištuf. “By the Iron Age, the monument appears to have definitively lost its original significance. The ditch was gradually filled in, and an ordinary settlement was established on the site of the former sanctuary.”
The research will from now focus on analyzing soil from the site to aid in the understanding of how it was used during different eras, explained Jan Fišer of the University of Hradec Králové, who is also participating in the research.
“In addition to artifacts and the remains of the dead, people leave chemical traces in the soil. These can help us understand how this exceptional site was used during different periods of prehistory,” said Fišer.
The research is part of the international Long-term Land Use Dynamics within the Areas of Prehistoric Ritual Places project. It is being carried out in cooperation with the University of West Bohemia in Pilsen, Charles University and the University of Hradec Králové.