Neolithic Europe And Beyond

~ beetleypete

The Neolithic period dates from 10,000 BC until 4,500 BC. It began 12,022 years ago, long before Ancient Egypt, Ancient Greece, Ancient Rome, or the Mayan and Aztec civilisations in the Americas. Given those dates, it is easy to imagine that you would find little trace of Neolithic settlements and buildings today. But nothing could be further from the truth, thanks to the work of archaeologists.

Stonehenge. One of the best-known examples of a stone temple, situated in the south-west of England.
It was built around 5,000 years ago, so is ‘Late Neolithic’.

A Dolmen, or burial tomb. This one is in Italy.

The oldest religious structure known so far. Built in 10,000 BC. It is in Anatolia, Turkey.

Temples on the Island of Malta. Over 6,000 years old, so older than the Pyramids in Egypt.

A farmstead on a Scottish Island. This is dated from 3,500 BC, so is 5,500 years old.

The entrance to a 5,000 year old burial tomb in Denmark. Forty bodies were found inside a huge mound.

Last but not least, the remains of the original walls of Jericho, in Palestine. They are estimated to be 12,000 years old.

42 thoughts on “Neolithic Europe And Beyond”

  4. As you say, it’s amazing to think they managed to build such wonders at the time, with such basic means, but if we needed any proof that they were clever and resourceful, there couldn’t be any better. I haven’t seen any of those (I’ve visited a couple) but now I hope I will in the future. Thanks, Pete!

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  6. I used to live by and walk around one of the many Dolmens in Jersey when I lived there. They are scattered all over the Island and date back to the time when they was still a land bridge to Europe. Some are just in the middle of fields with little indication, bar a plaque, of what they are. La Hougue-Bie is the famous one that they have restored and now charge a pretty penny to visit 🙂

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  9. Hadrian’s Wall is a recent construction compared to the ones you’ve featured. According to Wikipedia, “it runs a total of 73 miles (117.5 kilometres) in northern England.” And it “marked the boundary between Roman Britannia and unconquered Caledonia to the north.” It might be interesting to write a blog post about ancient walls. You could include the Walls of Jericho, the Great Wall of China, etc.

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    1. It is an iconic site here, but there are other stone circles nearby that don’t get as much attention. Stonehenge is definitely the most impressive, because the ‘tops’ are still across some of the stones.
      Thanks, Theo.
      Best wishes, Pete.

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  12. The ancient world has always fascinated me. Thinking of people living their lives in those places, all that time ago…it puts our own lives into perspective. Just as thinking about the unending Universe does!

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    1. We have a lot of Roman history here, but these places pre-date that by many thousands of years. The Roman invasion of Britain happened in 43AD. Stonehenge had already existed for nearly 5,000 years before the Romans arrived.
      Best wishes, Pete.

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    1. I have visited some in Wales (and England of course) and they have an ancient mystery that you can almost sense. I posted about some standing stones I visited in the north-west of England.

      Castlerigg Stone Circle


      The interesting thing is that these stones were not sourced locally. Many were brought from over 100 miles away, probably dragged on sleds across wooden rollers. Others are believed to have come from as far away as central France. It’s incredible how they managed to transport them with the technology available at the time.
      Best wishes, Pete.

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