Major Hereford archaeological find to be unveiled » Local Government » 24dash.com

A ribbon of fire-cracked stones carefully laid to form a surface and dating back to the same period as Stonehenge has been uncovered during the construction of a road in Herefordshire.

Archaeologists believe this major find may have no parallels in Europe, with the closest similar artefact being the 2,000-year-old serpent mounds of the Ohio river valley in America.

Dated as being constructed during the Early Bronze Age (2,000BC), it runs broadly at right angles (north to south) to the new Rotherwas access road, being constructed by Alfred McAlpine to the south of Hereford City and which prompted the archaeological dig which uncovered the find.

The “Rotherwas Ribbon” comprises a series of linked opposing curves created by laid surfaces of deliberately fire-cracked stones (stones which have shattered after being heated by fire then dropped into water) unearthed from a ridge half a kilometre away.

The ribbon-shaped feature is not flat, but is three dimensional as it appears to have been deliberately sculpted to undulate throughout the 60 metres of its length which have so far been uncovered.

“While the practice of laying stones in small level ‘pavements’ close to standing stones is known from sites in Pembrokeshire and elsewhere, the closest parallel anywhere we can think of to the long sculpted form of this monument is the ‘Great Serpent Mound’ of the Hopewellian phase – 200BC to 400AD - of the Middle Woodland period in Ohio, USA,” said Herefordshire County Archaeologist Dr Keith Ray.

“This is a very exciting find not just for Herefordshire, and not just for the UK, but, apparently so far unique in Europe - it has international significance,” he added.

“We’re not sure what it was precisely built for – we can only speculate that it may have been used in some kind of ritual or ceremonial activity.”

To ensure the “Rotherwas Ribbon” remains intact for future generations to explore, detailed plans have been drawn up to encase the find and preserve it within a protective structure beneath the new road,.

This work will begin early in July.

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