Archaeologists discovered finds dating back to the Neolithic at a burial site in Shrewsbury, United Kingdom. Radiocarbon dating of wooden pole’s remains found in the ground revealed it was buried in 2033 BC.

Archaeologists expected the finds to date back to Anglo-Saxon times but they were revealed to be much older. Other finds from the site include animal burial pits in which a calf, a pig and a dog that died while giving birth were buried. According to the researchers, it appears that the current Medieval church is built over the site of an ancient pagan burial ground that’s been in use from the late Neolithic period through the Bronze Age, Iron Age, Roman, Anglo-Saxon and through to today. The church was bought by the Greek Orthodox Church from the Church of England in 1994. According to the experts, the site might be United Kingdom’s oldest-known continuously used sacred ground. The only other British site of a Christian church that is known to date back to the late Neolithic period is a Norman ruin at Cranborne Chase, in Dorset.

(after BBC News & Sarah Hart)