Prehistoric Monument Found at Interchange
FairCityNews.com | Sep 09, 2009 | Comments 3
Springfield, MO— A prehistoric monument was uncovered in southern Greene County today at the U.S. 65-U.S. 60 interchange and dubbed “Springhenge”. The iconic stone monument is composed of earthworks lined in a setting of large standing stones and sits at the centre of the densest complex of Ozarkian and Springfieldian forests in Missouri, including several hundred burial mounds.
The site and its surroundings have been added to the UNESCO’s list of World Heritage Sites, and it is also a legally protected Scheduled Ancient Monument.
Archeologists believe Springhenge served as a burial ground from its earliest beginnings. The dating of cremated remains found on the site shows that burials took place there as early as 3000 BC, when the first ditches were being constructed around the monument. Burials continued at Springhenge for at least another 500 years.
The Missouri Department of Transportation uncovered the site during excavation for a project to upgrade US 65 to a six-lane freeway in late August. MoDOT is asking motorists not to pay too much attention to the monument and want to see drivers concentrate on the road because there will be a lot of distractions in the cloverleaf area as scholars work to better understand the ancient monument.
Historians believe Springhenge may have been a place of pilgrimage for neo-druids, and for certain others following pagan or neo-pagan beliefs. Late-summer sunrises greeted visitors this year, however, the first record of recreated Druidic practices date to 1905 when the Ancient Order of Druids enacted a ceremony along the James River.
Springhenge is considered one of the Seven Wonders of Springfield, MO.
Filed Under: Travel
I’m wondering how the “neo-Druids” got to Missouri 5,000 or so years ago…
If I were to fashion a guess, I’d say ancient alien aircraft but I’m not a scientist.
Is there a second site being excavated at Battlefield and Lone Pine?