It is believed to be the oldest carved wood ever found in the UK. The decorative markings were made by Late Mesolithic people 2,000 years before Stonehenge was built and 4,500 years before the Romans came to Britain.
The wood contains markings made by Late Mesolithic people more than 6,000 years ago. Pic: Historic EnglandA piece of carved wood discovered by chance is more than 6,000 years old - making it the oldest of its kind in the UK, experts say.
The metre-long piece of oak was discovered lying in peat during the construction of an outbuilding at a property in the village of Boxford inIt was found approximately 1.5 metres below the surface and not far from the present course of the River Lambourn.Experts suggest it pre-dates by 500 years the only other known Mesolithic carved timber in Britain, discovered near Maerdy in Wales.
The timber was removed and later that day it was cleaned and found to have some markings that did not appear to be natural.The markings on the wood are believed to be similar to the body decoration on the Shigir Idol - a wooden sculpture found in the Ural mountains of Russia which, at 12,500 years old, is believed to be the oldest example of carved wood in the world.
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