GoKawiilPress Release Science and research
A prehistoric sanctuary near Chleby, over 6,500 years old, served as a ritual centre linked to the movements of the Sun and Moon. Archaeologists led by UWB have found it is one of Central Europe’s oldest monuments, 1,000 years older than Stonehenge.
6,500 years ago, people built an almost circular enclosure at the site of present-day Chleby, measuring 230 meters in diameter. It featured a ditch more than 2.5 meters deep and twelve irregularly spaced entrances. "Circular enclosures are completely unknown in our region for this period, which already makes the site exceptional. But when we began to analyze the positioning of the entrances in detail, it became clear that their arrangement was not random. Their geometry creates a system that made it possible to observe the most significant moments of the solar and lunar cycles,” explained Petr Krištuf of the Department of Archaeology at the Faculty of Arts of the University of West Bohemia, who is leading the research.
Archaeologists have identified two main observation points. One is associated with the Moon’s extreme positions on the horizon during its approximately 18-year cycle. The other connects sunrise at the summer solstice with sunset at the winter solstice. A similar arrangement is known from Stonehenge. However, according to the research team’s latest findings, the Chleby structure is significantly older. “For prehistoric farming communities, the connection between sunrise and the summer solstice symbolized a beginning, while sunset and the winter solstice represented an ending. The same principle can be seen along Stonehenge’s main axis. We can now see that the sanctuary at Chleby was designed similarly. Still, more than a thousand years earlier, as we have established from the dating of organic material,” Petr Krištuf explained.
Like Stonehenge, Chleby was also a place of rituals. Evidence includes bull skulls and horns found in the ditch near the entrances. “We assume that they may originally have decorated monumental gateways leading into the enclosure. The cult of the bull was an important religious symbol among the first farming communities and is known from many parts of prehistoric Europe,” added archaeologist Jan Turek, who is involved in the research on behalf of Charles University.
Human bones were also found in the ditch. Earlier research revealed a Bronze Age Únětice culture burial containing the remains of approximately 18 people, who were buried there gradually over time. 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. 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,” Petr Krištuf added.
Scientists will now also focus on analyzing the soil. “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 Jan Fišer of the University of Hradec Králové, who is analyzing soil samples from the enclosure and its wider surroundings.
The public can take a look over the archaeologists’ shoulders on 19 August from 3 p.m. during the Archaeological Summer event, held directly at the site in Chleby.