Defense, Miitary, and Geopolitical Forum
                                                     The Pub | The Field Mess | The Staff College | WAB Bookstore



Go Back   World Affairs Board > History of International Conflict > General History



Reply
 
LinkBack Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 10-10-2008, 07:31 AM   #1 (permalink)
Patron
 
Join Date: 05-02-05
Location: Britain
Posts: 183
Toy hedgehog is found in child's grave at Stonehenge

A toy hedgehog has been found in a child's grave at Stonehenge in Wiltshire.

The toy is around 3000 years old and was placed in the 3-year-old child's grave when they died as it was probably their favourite possession.


Prehistoric child is discovered buried with 'toy hedgehog' at Stonehenge

By Daily Mail Reporter
10th October 2008
Daily Mail

This toy hedgehog, found in a child's grave at Stonehenge, is proof of what we have always known - children have always loved to play.

The chalk figurine was probably a favourite possession of the three year old, and placed next to the child when they died in the late Bronze Age or early Iron Age, around 3,000 years ago.



Can you guess what it is yet? This carved toy hedgehog was found by archaeologists digging near Stonehenge




Archaeologists who discovered the grave, where the child was laying on his or her side, believe the toy - perhaps placed there by a doting father - is the earliest known depiction of a hedgehog in British history.

The diggers were working to the west of Stonehenge in what is known as the Palisade Ditch when they made the remarkable discovery last month in the top of the pit in which the child was buried.

Archaeologist Dennis Price said: 'It is not difficult to envisage the raw emotion and harrowing grief that would have accompanied the death of this child.

'Amid the aura of gloom that surrounds Stonehenge, it comes as a beam of light to find a child's toy lovingly placed with the tiny corpse to keep him or her company through eternity.

'I'm not aware of hedgehogs having any significance in pagan tradition so the discovery must rank as yet another unique and baffling aspect of one of the most famous and instantly recognisable prehistoric monuments on Earth. To my mind, the hedgehog possesses a real charm and an innocent beauty. '



Burial ground: The toy hedgehog was dug up here


Dr Joshua Pollard, of the Stonehenge Riverside Project, said: 'Representational art from this period is very rare and so far as I'm aware, if the identification is correct, it's the only known prehistoric depiction of a hedgehog from Britain.'

Fay Vass, of the British Hedgehog Preservation Society, said: 'We are very excited to hear about this find. It shows humans have taken hedgehogs to their hearts for a very long time.'

dailymail.co.uk
Blackleaf is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-30-2008, 15:51 PM   #2 (permalink)
Military Professional
 
Join Date: 04-30-08
Location: North Carolina
Posts: 780
Country:
Didn't know they had sonic the hedgehog that long ago.
Johnny W is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-30-2008, 17:09 PM   #3 (permalink)
Senior Contributor
 
Canmoore's Avatar
 
Join Date: 05-18-06
Location: Canada
Posts: 1,535
Country:
Quote:
Originally Posted by Johnny W View Post
Didn't know they had sonic the hedgehog that long ago.
Speaking of sonic the hedgehog.. Ill bet you never knew that one of the genes responsible for the growth of feathers on birds is named Sonic the Hedgehog!!!!
Canmoore is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-11-2008, 15:18 PM   #4 (permalink)
WAB Resident Historian
Senior Contributor
 
Kansas Bear's Avatar
 
Join Date: 07-01-06
Location: Tornado Alley
Posts: 1,629
Country:
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/n...henge-toy.html
Kansas Bear is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Share this thread with friends:



Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 
Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are On
Pingbacks are On
Refbacks are On


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Future of afghanistan raja khan The War on Terrorism 114 03-23-2009 06:09 AM
Greatest Turkish Empires AlpErTunga Ancient, Medieval & Early Modern Ages 177 01-12-2008 07:49 AM
WMD has been found Leader International Politics 3 05-02-2004 21:42 PM

Search Engine Optimization by vBSEO 3.3.0
All times are GMT -4. The time now is 08:03 AM.


Rochen is the business hosting sponsor of World Affairs Board and a provider of reseller web hosting and a specialist in joomla hosting services.
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.2
Copyright ©2000 - 2009, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.