Coëby
co tai s
ume ous
megalithic
mo ume ts.
Image
C edit:
Wikimedia
commo s
A chaeologists
i vestigati g
a
Neolithic
cemete y
i
B itta y,
F a ce,
may
have
u cove ed
clues
to
a
bu ial
t aditio
that
dates
back
a ou d
7,000
yea s.
At
the
Coëby
Neolithic
cemete y
ea
T édio ,
esea che s
exami ed
two
u usually
la ge,
elo gated
ea th
mou ds
whose
pu pose
has
emai ed
u ce tai
si ce
the
site
was
discove ed
i
1986.I
a
ece t
study
published
i
‘A chaeological
P ospectio ,’
Philippe
Gouézi
a d
Vivie
Mathé
used
elect ical
su veys
to
look
be eath
the
su face
of
the
two
st uctu es
without
excavati g
them.
Thei
fi di gs
suggest
that
the
mou ds
could
co tai
sto e-built
bu ial
chambe s
a d
u usual
sta di g
sto es,
i cludi g
sto es
that
may
have
bee
shaped
to
esemble
people.
The
esea che s
say
the
st uctu es
could
be
elated
to
a
type
of
Neolithic
fu e a y
mo ume t
k ow
as
a
Passy-type
ba ow,
pote tially
exte di g
the
k ow
dist ibutio
of
this
t aditio
fu the
west.
How
did
a cheologists
look
be eath
the
7,000-yea -old
mou ds
I stead
of
immediately
diggi g
i to
the
a cie t
st uctu es,
the
esea che s
used
elect ical
su veys
to
i vestigate
what
could
be
hidde
be eath
the
su face.
The
tech ique
allowed
them
to
exami e
diffe e ces
i
the
mate ial
i side
the
mou ds.
I
simple
te ms,
elect ical
measu eme ts
ca
eveal
a eas
whe e
the
g ou d
behaves
diffe e tly,
helpi g
a chaeologists
ide tify
bu ied
st uctu es
without
havi g
to
distu b
them.
Fo
the
Coëby
study,
elect ical
su veys
we e
ca ied
out
o
two
of
the
lo g
ba ows.
The
esea che s
we e
looki g
fo
evide ce
that
could
explai
the
i te al
co st uctio
of
the
mou ds
a d
help
dete mi e
whethe
they
we e
actually
fu e a y
mo ume ts.
The
esults
p oduced
patte s
that
we e
co siste t
with
st uctu es
be eath
the
ea th.
Acco di g
to
the
study,
these
fi di gs
could
i dicate
a a geme ts
simila
to
Passy-type
mo ume ts,
i cludi g
ough
a d
a th opomo phic
sta di g
sto es.
Could
those
Neolithic
mou ds
have
bee
bu ial
mo ume ts
The
evide ce
poi ts
towa ds
that
possibility,
although
the
esea che s
have
bee
ca eful
ot
to
p ese t
it
as
a
co fi med
co clusio .
The
su vey
esults
suggest
that
the
two
lo g
ba ows
may
co tai
i te al
sto e
st uctu es.
Othe
i te p etatio s
i clude
the
possibility
of
sto e
cluste s
withi
the
mou ds.
Take
togethe ,
these
featu es
make
a
fu e a y
pu pose
i c easi gly
plausible.This
is
impo ta t
because
the
shape
of
the
Coëby
mou ds
does
ot
immediately
fit
the
mo e
familia
image
of
a
p ehisto ic
bu ial
mo ume t.
Rathe
tha
bei g
simple
piles
of
ea th
o
sto e,
the
st uctu es
appea
to
have
bee
delibe ately
built
a d
may
have
co tai ed
ca efully
a a ged
eleme ts.
The
study
the efo e
aises
the
possibility
that
the
Coëby
lo g
ba ows
we e
pa t
of
a
pa ticula
Neolithic
bu ial
t aditio .
The
esea che s
say
they
could
be
compa able
to
Passy-type
co st uctio s,
which
a e
k ow
f om
a eas
of
o the
F a ce.
Image
C edit:
AI
ge e ated
What
a e
Passy-type
mo ume ts
Passy-type
mo ume ts
a e
a
disti ctive
fo m
of
Neolithic
bu ial
st uctu e
associated
with
o the
F a ce.
Thei
impo ta ce
to
the
Coëby
discove y
comes
f om
the
simila ities
suggested
by
the
elect ical
su vey.
The
esea che s
ote
that
Passy-type
co st uctio s
a e
associated
with
elo gated
mo ume ts
cove i g
u usual
sto e
a a geme ts,
i cludi g
ough
sto es
a d
sto es
with
huma -like
fo ms.If
the
Coëby
st uctu es
a e
co fi med
as
examples
of
this
t aditio ,
they
could
ep ese t
a
sig ifica t
geog aphical
exte sio
of
whe e
such
mo ume ts
a e
k ow
to
have
existed.
That
possibility
gives
the
discove y
a
wide
impo ta ce.
It
would
ot
simply
add
two
mo e
p ehisto ic
mou ds
to
the
cemete y.
It
could
also
show
that
ideas
about
how
the
dead
we e
commemo ated
t avelled
ac oss
a
b oade
pa t
of
Neolithic
F a ce
tha
p eviously
ecog ised.
What
makes
the
sta di g
sto es
p ese t
the e
so
i t igui g
O e
of
the
most
puzzli g
eleme ts
is
the
p ese ce
of
‘sta di g
sto es’
withi
o
a ou d
the
lo g
ba ows.
The
esea ch
poi ts
to
the
possibility
that
some
of
these
sto es
we e
a th opomo phic,
mea i g
that
they
may
have
had
fo ms
esembli g
huma
figu es.
This
is
pa ticula ly
i te esti g
i
a
bu ial
setti g,
whe e
such
sto es
could
have
ca ied
a
symbolic
mea i g
co ected
with
the
people
bu ied
at
the
site.Howeve ,
the
esea che s
do
ot
claim
to
k ow
what
these
sto es
ep ese ted
o
how
they
we e
used.
Thei
p ese ce
emai s
o e
of
the
ce t al
myste ies
su ou di g
the
mo ume ts.
Ea lie
a chaeological
wo k
at
Coëby
has
al eady
evealed
a th opomo phic
sto e
featu es
elsewhe e
i
the
cemete y.
Resea ch
o
othe
pa ts
of
the
site
has
docume ted
complex
fu e a y
st uctu es
a d
huma -shaped
sto e
eleme ts,
showi g
that
the
use
of
u usual
sta di g
sto es
was
ot
e ti ely
isolated
withi
the
wide
la dscape.
What
makes
the
Coëby
cemete y
u ique
The
Coëby
cemete y
is
located
i
the
commu e
of
T édio
i
Mo biha ,
B itta y.
Acco di g
to
the
esea ch
by
Gouézi
a d
Mathé,
the
site
was
discove ed
i
1986
a d
has
si ce
bee
the
focus
of
a chaeological
wo k
exami i g
its
ma y
megalithic
st uctu es.
The
cemete y
is
u usual
because
seve al
diffe e t
types
of
p ehisto ic
mo ume ts
a e
co ce t ated
withi
the
same
la dscape.
The
esea che s
desc ibed
a
a a geme t
that
eflects
activity
f om
the
Neolithic
pe iod
th ough
to
the
B o ze
Age.
What
could
the
discove y
eveal
about
Neolithic
people
The
fi di gs
offe
a
glimpse
i to
how
commu ities
thousa ds
of
yea s
ago
may
have
t eated
thei
dead
a d
shaped
thei
la dscapes.
The
Coëby
cemete y
was
ot
simply
a
place
whe e
bodies
we e
bu ied.
The
a ge
of
mo ume ts
fou d
the e
suggests
that
people
epeatedly
modified
a d
used
the
la dscape
ove
lo g
pe iods.
The
ewly
studied
ba ows
add
a othe
laye
to
that
histo y.Fo
Gouézi
a d
Mathé,
the
elect ical
su vey
p ovides
a
way
to
i vestigate
these
st uctu es
while
leavi g
them
la gely
u distu bed.
It
has
also
p oduced
evide ce
that
ca
guide
futu e
a chaeological
wo k.
The
esea che s
st ess
that
fu the
i vestigatio
is
eeded.
Excavatio
would
be
ecessa y
to
establish
exactly
what
lies
i side
the
mou ds
a d
to
dete mi e
whethe
the
suspected
st uctu es
a e
ge ui ely
fu e a y.
