British archaeologists made news when they discovered what could be Britain’s oldest toy. They found out a figurine buried alongside a prehistoric baby at Stonehenge. The figurine looks like a hedgehog or pig and is said to be about 2000 years old.
The discovery was made in September 2008 when the archaeologists unearthed the figurine near the stone monument in southern England near Salisbury Plain.
According to the archaeologists, the Bronze Age figurine is said to have been likely made as a toy in memory of the baby being stillborn or dying in infancy. The burial of the figurine was uncovered during the excavation of ancient palisade or timber wall and ditch which are said to have stretched eastward from the megalithic circle. This discovery was made in the course of a seven year archaeological investigation of the Stonehenge area also known as Stonehenge Riverside project. The archaeologist said that the 19.5 foot tall timber may have served as boundary fence to the Stonehenge.
Joshua Pollard of the University of Bristol who led the team of archaeologists said that they thought the figurine could be related to the stone portions of the monument even though it turned to be a later feature. The researcher remarked that it was rare to find toys at the in the time in the history of Britain. Pollard added that the figurine was a rare representation of the prehistory of British art.
The grave of young child is estimated to be dating back to as far as 800 B.C TO 20 B.C. and it included a pottery vessel which is suspected to have contained food intended for the child’s journey to the new world after death.
The archaeologist and researchers argued that the figurine could be a depiction of networks of land boundaries and divisions. They also cited examples of numerous cattle and horse heads excavated from ditches elsewhere in Salisbury plain.

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