10th August 2010, 07:50 PM
Found: Britain's oldest house at 10,500 years old is uncovered by archaeologists
It is cramped, draughty and unlikely to win any design awards.
But according to archaeologists, this wooden hut is one of the most important buildings ever created in Britain.
The newly discovered circular structure is the UK's oldest known home.
Built more than 6,000 years before Stonehenge, it provided shelter from the icy winds and storms that battered the nomadic hunters roaming Britain at the end of the last Ice Age.
Remains of the 11 ft wide building were discovered near Scarborough in North Yorkshire and have been dated to at least 8,500BC.
It stood next to an ancient lake and close to the remains of a wooden timber quay side.
A large tree trunk has also been uncovered by the team. Despite being 11,000 years old it is well preserved with its bark still intact.
The house predates what was previously Britain's oldest known dwelling at Howick, Northumberland, by at least 500 years.
The centre of the structure had been hollowed out and filled with organic material. The researchers believe the floor was once carpeted with a layer of reeds, moss or grasses. The team believe there may once have been a fireplace.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/a...z0wEEimTcX
It is cramped, draughty and unlikely to win any design awards.
But according to archaeologists, this wooden hut is one of the most important buildings ever created in Britain.
The newly discovered circular structure is the UK's oldest known home.
Built more than 6,000 years before Stonehenge, it provided shelter from the icy winds and storms that battered the nomadic hunters roaming Britain at the end of the last Ice Age.
Remains of the 11 ft wide building were discovered near Scarborough in North Yorkshire and have been dated to at least 8,500BC.
It stood next to an ancient lake and close to the remains of a wooden timber quay side.
A large tree trunk has also been uncovered by the team. Despite being 11,000 years old it is well preserved with its bark still intact.
The house predates what was previously Britain's oldest known dwelling at Howick, Northumberland, by at least 500 years.
The centre of the structure had been hollowed out and filled with organic material. The researchers believe the floor was once carpeted with a layer of reeds, moss or grasses. The team believe there may once have been a fireplace.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/a...z0wEEimTcX
