Feces fossils were discovered at the archaeological site where a village once stood occupied by the would-be builders of Stonehenge. This discovery could help reveal the diet of the possible creators of what remains one of the greatest archaeological mysteries.
The fossils, called coprolites, They were unearthed at Durrington Walls, 2.8 kilometers from Stonehenge, a town dating back to 2500 BC. — when the monument was also built, according to the study published this Friday in the scientific journal Parasitology.
Five of the discovered fossils, one of a human and four of dogs, contained parasite eggs.. In addition to one of the dog feces fossils, the remaining four coprolites contained worm eggs. capillarity. The presence of these eggs indicates that the owner of the feces possibly ingested raw lungs or liver of an already infected animal.
These parasites affect cattle and other ruminants, which, according to the study cited by CNN, suggests that this would be the main source of food for the settlement. In the case of the dogs, they may have been fed the remains of the same livestock.
Nevertheless, Around 90% of the 38,000 bones unearthed at the site belonged to pigs. with the remaining 10% belonging to cattle. One of the coprolites contained tapeworm eggs found only in fish, although no evidence was found at the archaeological site indicating a fish-based diet.
Durrington Walls was seasonally occupied, mainly in the winter periods,” said Piers Mitchell, one of the heads of the University of Cambridge’s Ancestral Parasite Laboratory, quoted by CNN. “The dog has probably arrived [ao local] already infected with the parasite.”
Also according to Piers Mitchell, analyzes of cow bones discovered at the archaeological site suggest that these would have come from southern regions of the UK and that this could also have been the way of the inhabitants of Durrington Walls.
As well as possibly housing the builders of Stonehenge, the archaeological village is believed to have been a venue for various ceremonies and banquets, cemented by the discovery of various pottery artifacts and the large number of animal bones.
Source: Observadora
