Imagine for a moment that you are a novelist (who knows, perhaps you are). Typing away at your latest bestseller, you decide that your protagonist – also a novelist – has made Stonehenge the setting of one of the most memorable scenes in his most well-beloved tale. So far, so good.
In a seemingly unrelated scene, nearly a hundred years after this author’s death, you have archaeologists discover a circular enclosure that’s even more ancient than Stonehenge. Then, inspiration hits you – a plot twist! The house the author had built for himself sits right slap bang in the middle of this ancient henge and he was completely oblivious to it!
‘Ach, no one would believe that,’ you exclaim with disgust, ‘it’s too far fetched!’ You rip the page from the typewriter, crumple it into a ball, and toss it deftly into a waiting bin.
And yet…that improbable turn of events is exactly what has happened in the case of Britain’s favourite novelists, Thomas Hardy. The novel in question was Tess of the D’Urbervilles and it is his house – Max Gate on the edge of Dorchester in Dorset – that is on an unfeasibly old Neolithic site that has just been declared a scheduled monument.
The 100m-diameter henge, known as Flagstones, was discovered in the 1980s and was believed to have been constructed around 3000BC – roughly the same time as Stonehenge. However, a further investigation in 2022 unearthed evidence of activity way back in 3500-3800BC, making the site’s extreme antiquity worthy of official protection (particularly as half of it had already been destroyed by the building of the Dorchester bypass).
Nothing of the Early Stone Age henge is visible on the surface but if you fancy roaming around on top of it, while enjoying Hardy’s lovely garden, you can visit Max Gate, which is owned by the National Trust.
And it should be said that it’s a bit of a fiction that Hardy knew nothing of what lay beneath his property. During building works a considerable sarsen was discovered which he set up in his garden as a ‘druid stone’.
Fascinated by the stories buried beneath our feet, Hardy also gave talks about the Roman and Iron Age finds his builders’ pick axes had turned up. However, had he looked up from his writing and discovered that the spot he had chosen for his home was in the heart of one of the country’s most ancient monuments, it’s safe to say he’d have waxed lyrical.
5 more amazing prehistoric discoveries
Must Farm Settlement, Cambridgeshire
Not only is Must Farm Britain’s best preserved Bronze Age site to date, it also gave up England’s largest ever Bronze Age hoard. The 3000 year-old community lived on a river in round houses supported by stilts. However, their aquatic location didn’t spare the so-called ‘Peterborough Pompeii’ from a devastating fire that destroyed the settlement after less than a year.
Ness of Brodgar, Orkney
When your dig is described as ‘one of the most important archaeological excavations in the world’ you can be reasonably assured you’re onto something special. And the Ness of Brodgar is certainly that. The 40 structures revealed on the 7.5-acre site were built over several periods between 3500 and 2400BC and have given archaeologists unique insights into prehistoric life in Northern Europe.
Stone Age Chalk Drum, East Yorkshire
We tend to think of neolithic art as cave paintings, pots and…well, that’s about it. But our Stone Age forebears produced surprisingly elaborate artefacts too. One of Britain’s most important Stone Age sculptures was discovered at Burton Agnes. The 5000-year-old chalk drum had been lodged in the grave of three children (though sadly is not, despite its name, a musical instrument).
Two new dinosaurs, Isle of Wight
Of course, pre-historic remains are not the exclusive preserve of humans – countless dinosaurs have left fossilised bones and footprints behind too. And the beach near the picturesque village of Brighstone threw up not just one brand new species of dinosaur but two. The Ceratosuchops inferodios was a ‘horned crocodile-faced hell heron’ and probably a poor dinner party guest, while the other, Riparovenator milnerae, was a calmer-sounding ‘riverbank hunter’.
Cape of gold, Flintshire
Not all sensational prehistoric finds have been made during the modern age of archaeology. In 1833, a gang of quarrymen in Mold came across a Bronze Age grave that contained not only skeletal remains but also a remarkable golden cape. The ceremonial garment was fashioned some 3700 years ago and is described by the British Museum as ‘one of the finest examples of prehistoric sheet-gold working’.
Main image: Max Gate, Dorset/Marika Reinholds, Geograph
More amazing stories from the British countryside
