Our Archaeology Section have announced an exciting opportunity for the Jersey public to get involved in their Neolithic Landscapes project, which started a couple of years ago with an aim of investigating Jersey’s landscape as it existed about 6000 years ago. This was when the La Hougue Bie passage grave and other dolmens around the island were built. Whilst we know of the dolmens and several menhirs or standing stones, little is known of the landscape in between these sites or much about the Neolithic people themselves. Investigations, including geophysical surveys are in process and being planned.
What we do know is that some of the Neolithic megalithic structures align with the sun at certain times of the year. In England, Stonehenge famously aligns with mid-summer solstice and in Jersey, La Hougue Bie and Faldouet dolmen align with the equinox sunrise twice a year in March and September.
Many islanders will be aware that at La Hougue Bie, the first rays of sunlight penetrate deep into the chamber of the passage grave some 25 metres underground. It has been impossible to experience the same effect at Faldouet because the mound or tumulus that once covered that dolmen was removed when the site was excavated 175 years ago. Now that planning permission has been granted to rebuild the missing parts of the dolmen and recreate its mound, seeing the same spectacle of the equinox sunrise reaching deep into the darkness of the dolmen should be possible like at La Hougue Bie once work is complete.
The first stage of replacing the capstones on the entrance passage has just been completed and after replacing the largest capstones, the next stage will be to recreate the tumulus to rebury the dolmen. That is where members of the Société, and any members of the public who join the Société come in, as they can join work parties to complete the work before the next equinox in late September. Like all Société citizen science activities, you need to be a member of the Société to participate but for that you will get training from experienced archaeologists and other Archaeology Section members, equipment will be provided and you will get priority for a opportunity to see the equinox spectacle for the first time in about 5000 to 6000 years in the reburied dolmen at Faldouet.
If you are interested, please contact the main office on 758314 to put your name down. For anyone who is not a member, you can join online or we will send you a membership form to participate in any of our citizen science activities. Please also feel free to visit the dolmen to see how the work is progressing.
* Citizen science may be described as where the public participates voluntarily in the scientific process, addressing real-world issues to increase knowledge in ways that may include formulating research questions, conducting scientific experiments, collecting and analysing data, interpreting results, making new discoveries, developing technologies and applications, and solving complex problems. Société members have been doing this for 152 years!
