Sweet Track
The
Sweet
Track The Sweet Track is a Neolithic causeway located in the Somerset Levels, England. It was discovered in 1970 and is believed to be Europe's oldest engineered roadway. Carbon dating has shown that the track was built between 3807 and 3806 BC, making it approximately 6,000 years old. The track was constructed using planks of oak and crossed the now-drained marsh between what were two islands at the time. It is named after its discoverer, Ray Sweet.
The Technology Used to Construct the Sweet Track
The Sweet Track was constructed using a number of different technologies, including wooden posts, stone blocks, and a wooden plank walkway.
The wooden posts were driven into the ground, creating a framework for the track. The posts were connected with wooden planks, creating a raised walkway. The planks of the walkway were held together with mortise and tenon joints, a traditional carpentry technique used to join two pieces of wood together.
The stone blocks were then used to create a more solid surface for the track. The blocks were cut from sarsen stones, a type of hard sandstone found in the area, and were laid in a herringbone pattern. This pattern provided additional stability and prevented the stones from shifting.
Finally, the entire track was covered with a layer of clay, which provided a smoother, more even surface. The clay was then sealed with a layer of lime, which further protected the track and allowed it to remain in perfect condition for thousands of years.
The Unique Features of the Sweet Track
The Sweet Track is an ancient trackway located in the Somerset Levels of Southwest England. It is believed to be the oldest known timber trackway in the world, estimated to have been constructed in 3807 BC. This ancient trackway is unique for its complex construction, which includes a variety of timber structures, boardwalks, and causeways.
The Sweet Track is composed of two parallel trackways that were constructed out of crossed oak planks and set into the peat of the boggy ground. The trackways were connected to one another by a system of causeways and boardwalks, which were constructed out of split logs and branches. The causeways and boardwalks were built in order to keep the trackways above the surface of the bog, allowing for easier travel.
The Sweet Track is also unique for its sophisticated engineering, which suggests a high level of technical sophistication for the time in which it was constructed. The trackways were built in a zigzag pattern, which allowed them to cross the boggy land without sinking into it. This pattern also helped to support the weight of the travelers who used the trackway. Additionally, the trackways featured drainage ditches on either side, which were used to allow water to drain away from the trackway and keep it from becoming boggy.
The Sweet Track is unique for its archaeological importance. It is the oldest known timber trackway in the world, and it has provided archaeologists with valuable insights into how people lived and traveled in prehistoric times.
Important archaeological Discoveries
Amesbury ArcherAmesbury Archer (or King of Stonehenge) is an early Bronze Age man, dating to around 2300 BC. His grave is of particular importance because of the rich valuables and the earliest gold objects ever found in England.
Otzi the Ice mummyOtzi the Iceman is well naturally preserved mummy of a man. The man who was been captured in Ice was believed to be over 53 centuries old (3300 BC).
Java ManJava man is an interesting discovery to note that the find was not a complete specimen, but consisted merely of a skullcap, a femur, and three teeth. Many scientists of the day even suggested that Dubois' Java Man might have been the so-called "
missing link
Kennewick ManKennewick Man is the name for the remains of a prehistoric man found on a bank of the Columbia River near Kennewick, Washington, on July 28, 1996. The Kennewick Man news story is one of the most significant archaeology stories of contemporary times.
Neanderthal ManNeandertal1 or Neanderthal was a species of genus Homo (Homo neanderthalensis) that inhabited Europe and parts of western Asia during the last ice age.
Peking ManPeking Man (sometimes now called Beijing Man), also called Sinanthropus pekinensis (currently Homo erectus pekinensis), is an example of Homo erectus.
Red lady of PavilandThe Red Lady of Paviland is a fairly complete Upper Paleolithic-era human male skeleton dyed in red ochre, discovered in 1823 by Rev. William Buckland in one of the Paviland limestone caves of the Gower Peninsula in south Wales, dating from c29,000.
Tollund ManThe Tollund man lived during the late 5th century BC and/or early 4th century BC, about 2,400 years . He was buried in a peat bog on the Jutland Peninsula in Denmark, a find known as a bog body.
Turkana BoyTurkana Boy, the designation given to fossil KNM-WT (Kenya National Museum-West Turkana), is a nearly complete skeleton of a 12-year-old hominid boy who died 1.6 million years ago.Turkana Boy is classified as either Homo erectus or Homo ergaster.
Dead Sea scrollsThe Dead Sea Scrolls are a collection of about 850 documents, including texts from the Hebrew Bible, which were discovered in eleven caves near Qumran, in a fortress northwest of the Dead Sea in Israel.
Narmer PaletteThe Narmer Palette, or Great Hierakonpolis Palette, is a significant Egyptian archeological find, dating from about 3200 BC, containing some of the earliest hieroglyphic inscriptions ever found, and depicting the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under Narmer.
Rosetta StoneRosetta Stone is a dark granite stone (often incorrectly identified as "basalt") which provided modern researchers with translations of ancient text in Egyptian demotic script, Greek, and Egyptian hieroglyphics.
Linear BLinear B is the script that was used for writing Mycenaean, an early form of the Greek language. It occurrs primarily on tablets dated from the 14th and 13th centuries BC.
Sweet trackThe Sweet Track is an ancient roadway in the Somerset Levels, England. As of the early 2000s, it is the oldest known engineered roadway in the world. An grand footpath that ran for almost 2km across the Somerset levels swamps.
Tautavel ManTautavel Man is an ancestor of Neanderthal man, was slightly different from his contemporaries living Asia and Africa. In the village of Tautavel is located in the South of France, one of the most ancient humans was found: the Tautavel Man.
Galilee BoatThe
Galilee Boat which is also referred as the "Jesus Boat" was found by local
Galilean inhabitants in January 1986. The boat was wrapped in a polyurethane shell and then immersed in a special tank of water to avoid quick disintegration.
Ekron InscriptionThe monumental
Ekron inscription is dated, statistically and historically, to the first half of the seventh century B.C.E. The five lines of the inscription are together with this in a slit open border.
Pontius PilateIt wasn't long back when a lot of scholars were quizzical the real survival of a Roman Governor with the name Pontius Pilate, the procurator who ordered
Jesus' crucifixion. In June 1961 close to Caesarea-on-the-Sea (Maritima) was unearthed this appealing limestone block.
Ossuary of CaiaphasIn 1990 ornately decorate limestone ossuary (bone depository) was found in Jerusalem's Peace Forest. In the ossuary were the bones of two babies, a adolescent child, a teenage boy, an adult woman, and a man about 60years of age.
Baruch BullaIn
biblical Israel, papyrus was the main form of writing substance. Once an authorized deed was written, it would be rolled up, one end crinkled in one-third of the width and the contrary end likewise folded in.
Ugarit-Pre historic cityIt is the Capital city of a prehistoric principality in what these days is on the northern part of the Syrian coast, just north of the city of Latakia.
