A numerical analysis of a assemblage of mysterious decorated Harlan Stone cylinder known as the Folkton Drums suggests the ancient aim could have been used as a standardized unit of measurement in build up ancient pit monuments .
save in theBritish Journal for the chronicle of Mathematics , researchers from the University College London and Manchester University say the endocarp cylinders would have enabled ancient builders to accurately measure rock circles and other ancient social structure of ritualistic or cultural import such as Stonehenge .
“ We propose that there is a direct link between the design of the memorial of Stonehenge and the chicken feed artefact jazz as the Folkton and Lavant Drums , in which the Drums represent measurement criterion that were essential for precise and reproducible monument building , ” compose the authors .
Firstfoundin 1889 in a child ’s grave in northerly England , the “ beautiful yet plumbable ” drums are made of topically quarried chalk and beautify with geometrical designs . Though no carbon 14 dating is available yet , the drums are conceive to particular date back to the third millennium BC . Measuring R-2 , which can vary in duration depending on humidity and other weather conditions , may have been wrapped around the outside of a drum for maintain a consistent length . Meanwhile , decorations found on the exterior may “ encode instructions concerning rotations . ” The large of the drums have circumferences cheeseparing to 3 meters ( 10 feet ) , but the size variations permit for different building techniques to “ form a mathematical sympathetic sequence . ”
“ We regard this size to have been deliberately incorporate into their design for allow the use of the drums as standards of elongate measurement , ” the source wrote .
give their proximity to Stonehenge , it ’s potential these Stone ( or ones standardised to them ) could have been used to measure and establish the prehistoric monument located in Wiltshire , England . understand the drums , researcher say , could provide clues about how similar massive structures were made . piddling is known about how or why Stonehenge was built , for lesson , other than it wasconstructedby an ancient radical of people over several stages and 100 likely oriented toward solstice events .
However , the investigator note that the drums were left in the Robert Ranke Graves of children , so they could have some implications for child , growth , or the human life - cycle – all theory and mysteries yet to be explore in future research .
