Long-lost UK burial tomb as old as the PYRAMIDS is finally exposed after 5,000 years in huge breakthrough

NewsUK News A LONG-LOST tomb as ancient as the Pyramids has been exposed by the UK’s scorching heatwaves. Incredible shots taken from above reveal the outline of the 5000-year-old burial mound, once used by ancient Britons. A long-lost tomb as ancient as the Pyramids has been exposed near Welshpool, in mid-Wales Credit: WNS The heatwave in Wales has revealed dozens of unknown archaeological sites Credit: RCAHMW The mound would have served as a communal burial site and sacred gathering space during the neolithic age, the final phase of the Stone Age. It is believed bodies were left outside of the barrow to decompose, before the cleaned bones were moved inside the stone chambers. Sign up for The Sun newsletter Thank you! Aerial archaeologist Dr Toby Driver spotted the barrow in the parched landscape of Welshpool in mid-Wales. Toby described the image as a “remarkable” cropmark of a “rectangular Neolithic long barrow” dating back several millenia. The ancient outlines emerge through the scorched grasslands Credit: RCAHMW Forts, Roman buildings and even First World War trenches have been spotted in aerial photography Credit: RCAHMW According to the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales, its size can be determined by the tractor lines in the field. Expert Toby said he has been trying to keep track of the finds during the heatwaves. “We used to wait five to seven years for a record heatwave summer for aerial archaeology, but now they come around every other year,” he said. “This year has been pretty windy across Wales, so some of the longer trips to record cropmarks have made for challenging flying.” Most read in The Sun He said that the cropmarks tend to jump out as the aircraft orbits around the site. “But some parts of Wales are now so dry that the cropmarks can be faint and pretty hard to see,” he added. “In these cases, we digitally rebalance the colour bands of the image, really making the archaeology ‘pop’ and reveal previously hidden details – these images appear as black and white.” The Commission collaborates with pilots at FlyWales, Haverfordwest, and Caernarfon Airport to track cropmarks across Wales during the dry weather. The blazing heat in Wales between April and July has exposed several other lost archaeological sites in the fields. Previously “invisible” monuments, including forts, Roman buildings and even First World War practice trenches have been revealed in the scorched grasslands. The National Monuments Record of Wales is archiving the photographs, which will be available to inspect for decades to come. Toby said he also recorded an unidentified Iron Age or Romano-British farmstead in Llandysul on the west coast of Wales. Comment now