BRITISH ARCHAEOLOGISTS DISCOVER ANCIENT CELTIC TEMPLE

TEMPLE DISCOVERED

LONDON (JULY 10) XINHUA - BRITISH ARCHAEOLOGISTS UNEARTHED A CELTIC TEMPLE OF
THE LATE FIRST CENTURY A.D. NEAR STANWICK, NORTHAMPTONSHIRE, "THE INDEPENDENT"
NEWSPAPER REPORTED TODAY.

THE TEMPLE WAS BUILT BY CELTS, AN ANCIENT TRIBE, AS A CENTER FOR ANCESTOR
WORSHIP. IT IS A WALLED AREA, 35 METERS ACROSS, IN THE SHAPE OF A POLYGON WITH
AT LEAST 20 SIDES.

AT THE CENTER OF THE TEMPLE THERE SEEMS TO HAVE BEEN A BRONZE AGE BURIAL MOUND
WHICH PRE-DATES THE TEMPLE BY AT LEAST 1,200 YEARS.

IN EARLY ROMAN TIMES THE MOUND WAS CONVERTED INTO A MAUSOLEUM FOR A LOCAL
TRIBAL CHIEF, AND THEN THE TEMPLE DEVELOPED INTO A RITUAL CENTER FOR ANCESTOR
WORSHIP AND FOR THE CELEBRATION OF THE FESTIVAL OF THE DEAD.

INSIDE THE TEMPLE, WORSHIPPERS THREW MONEY TO THE GROUND AS THEY MOVED AROUND
THE MAUSOLEUM MOUND. MORE THAN 100 COINS HAVE BEEN FOUND SO FAR.
TEMPLE WALLS. THOUSANDS OF OYSTER SHELLS HEAPED IN LARGE PILES HAVE BEEN FOUND
OUTSIDE THE TEMPLE WALLS, THE NEWSPAPER SAID.

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