In the small Dutch town of Tiel, an ancient site has been unveiled by archaeologists. Dubbed the "Stonehenge of the Netherlands" by the local press, this location, despite being 4000 years old, is less massive than the site in England. It features a burial mound that served as a solar calendar. The mound contained around 60 remains of men, women, and children. It had several passages aligned to allow sunlight to directly penetrate during the shortest and longest days of the year.
Excavations of this "open-air sanctuary" began in 2017, about 30 miles (50 kilometers) southeast of Utrecht. Several details have now been revealed about this site.
Analysis of color and composition variations in the clay helped to locate three burial mounds a few miles from the banks of the Waal River. The main mound, about 65 feet (20 meters) in diameter, had its passages arranged to serve as a solar calendar. Archaeologists explained, "The locals used this calendar to determine important moments like festivals and harvest days."
Site presentation video (in Dutch) Researcher Cristian van der Linde highlighted another discovery: a glass bead of Mesopotamian origin (modern-day Iraq) was found in a burial. "This bead traveled a distance of 3100 miles (5000 kilometers), four millennia ago," he stated. Stijn Arnoldussen, a professor at the University of Groningen, added, "Glass was not manufactured locally, so the bead must have been an extraordinary item at the time as it was an unknown material."