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Heat wave prompts discovery of new henge

This popped up in my FB feed and I found it fascinating. I've been to Newgrange and another of the unexplored burial tombs in the area and thought this story was so very interesting. I did not know the buried architectural features changed how the water is in the soil.

"He said the bit of moisture left in the soil "lodges in the archaeological features a little bit more than it does in the surrounding soil and the crop that is growing out of the soil is greener in the archaeological features and drier outside of them"."

https://www.rte.ie/news/leinster/2018/0711/977969-newgrange/

I am not a huge fan of drones but I'm certainly OK with using them for this!

Sorry for the heat wave and the possible crop damage, though.

Posted by
3122 posts

Yes, I saw that news item yesterday and am fascinated! I put a link in another thread here in the Ireland forum. I'm imagining this newly discovered henge will not be open to visitors for some time, but the knowledgeable archaeologists who operate tours of Newgrange will likely have some insights to share.

Posted by
985 posts

Thanks for sharing! That’s really interesting.

Posted by
13905 posts

Oh, epltd, I did not see your link. Sorry about the repeated information.

Posted by
13905 posts

Oh Emma, that is a terrific link! Thanks so much.

I guess all the archeologists are running around GPS'ing these sites before the rain sets in.

Posted by
2252 posts

This is amazing! Thanks, Pam and Emma for the links.

Posted by
3747 posts

Very interesting, Pam!

Thanks for the links Pam and Emma!

Posted by
279 posts

The fascinating documentary Operation Stonehenge: What Lies Beneath talks about how they discovered the places where the missing standing stones in that henge had been placed. It had always been presumed that the circle had never been completed until that hot summer revealed the spots in the grass.

Posted by
3122 posts

No worries, Pam! Mine was rather buried, and the more the merrier as far as I'm concerned!