Connor unearths a Calderstones mystery

Ahead of The Big Dig there's been an exciting discovery made about the Calderstones themselves...and it's all down to a local lad whose eagle eye spotted the mysterious marking.

Calderstones School pupil Connor Hannaway has made history by discovering a unique bird-shaped carving on the Neolithic monuments housed in the park, which can only be seen in certain lights and has so far escaped the notice of archaeologists and historians for hundreds of years.

The bird carving discovered by Connor on the Calderstones

Year 8 pupil Connor was on a school trip with some of his classmates visting the Calderstones when he made the discovery. Some of the marks on the stones were made as early as 5,000 years ago, and include patterns of spirals, arcs and ring marks. Connor alerted Richard MacDonald, Heritage Stories Maker at The Reader Organisation and the pupils' tour guide, to his finding when he asked what a bird symbolised.

The exact date of the etching remains unknown, but it is possible that the bird belongs to the later period of markings from the medieval period. What's so amazing is that the marking has never been recorded in any of the professional papers written about the Calderstones - as far as we know, Connor is the first person to have ever come across it in the 5,000 years since.

Some truly ground-breaking work is ahead - who knows what other discoveries may be found by the untrained eye during The Big Dig? We're very excited to find out...

Congratulations to Connor on his historic discovery - keep your eyes peeled for some special appearances coming very soon...