Biggest grave circle ever found
Flemish archaeologists couldn’t contain their glee when they discovered the biggest grave circle ever found in Flanders. The grave circle is “as old as the pyramids”!
The grave circle is one of two archaeologists discovered under the soccer pitch in Schellebelle (East Flanders). The grave circles are grave monuments that date from the Bronze Age and are over 3,000 years old.
The Schellebelle area has been inhabited for thousands of years. Clara Thys of the team of archaeologists who are doing the dig: “Maybe it’s not so spectacular to look at. All you see is colour alterations in the soil, but they point to an age old civilisation. They also teach us a lot about burial rites. In those days people were cremated. We find urns filled with ash and burnt bones”.
Grave circles are no exception in Flanders, but the one in Schellebelle is remarkable. One of the circles has a diameter of 55 metres and is the largest ever found in northern Belgium.
Despite this exceptional find football players at KVV Schelde will soon be able to return to their pitch.
“We are measuring everything and detailing everything. Everybody will be able to read up on what was once on this location” explains Clara Thys. Before everything again disappears under soccer pitches all the local schools have been invited to visit the site and hear an explanation from the archaeologist team.
