Althorp would have been a Neanderthal camp.
Long before it became the seat of the aristocratic Spencer family, to which the late Princess Diana belonged, an unexpected discovery suggests that the vast English estate of Althorp, located in Northamptonshire, England, was occupied by Neanderthals.
Archaeologists looking for a “lost” medieval village on Princess Diana’s childhood estate were the ones who found the discovery: pieces of worked seashells, as reported The Telegraph.
The team was surprised when carbon dating revealed that the shells were at least 40,000 years old, putting the relics within the long chronology of Neanderthal presence (Homo neanderthalensis) in Great Britain.
“We do not believe that the shells are the remains of a prehistoric meal, since Althorp was further from the sea than today,” he told The Telegraph Roger Michel, director of the Institute of Digital Archeology. “They are also incised. They could have been used for decoration or as mother-of-pearl spurs for jewelry ”.
Humans or Neanderthals?
However, it cannot be known for sure whether the artifacts were made by Neanderthals, as modern humans are believed to (Homo sapiens) arrived in Britain around 40,000 years ago, just as Neanderthal populations in Europe were declining and the species was on the way to extinction. Therefore, the shells could have been worked by modern humans, although less likely, or by Neanderthals, as reported. Live Sciene.
Still, it is no nonsense that Neanderthals were capable of reproducing sophisticated objects. After all, recent archaeological discoveries have suggested that these were technologically advanced. For example, Neanderthals may have been Europe’s first artists.
In search of the medieval village of Olletorp
Archaeologists didn’t just set out to find traces of a prehistoric species at Althorp. It was the late princess’s brother, Charles Spencer, who commissioned the excavation, in the hope that the site of the abandoned “Olletorp” would be discovered, a village whose inhabitants fled in the 14th century when the Black Death raged.
The team of archaeologists at the Spencers’ estate plans to continue their search for Ollethorp, in addition to continuing to study the artifacts they have unearthed.
“Our geophysical studies of the reservoir reveal many areas of interest that deserve further exploration,” Michel told The Telegraph. “Althorp may very well tell the whole story of the colonization of Great Britain, from the time of the first human settlements to HS2. [una línea ferroviaria de alta velocidad prevista] that will happen not far from the farm ”.
Since the early 16th century, the sprawling English estate at Althorp has been the seat of the Spencer family. Princess Diana moved to Althorp when she was a young teenager and lived there until her marriage to Prince Charles. (I)
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