The Sweet Track is an ancient causeway in the Somerset Levels, England. It was built in 3807 or 3806 BC and has been claimed to be the oldest road in the world. It is now known that the Sweet Track was largely built over the course of an earlier structure, the Post Track. The track extended across the marsh between what was then an island at Westhay, although much of the marsh has now been drained, and a ridge of high ground at Shapwick, a distance close to 2,000 metres (6,600 ft). The track is one of a network that once crossed the Somerset Levels. Construction was of crossed wooden poles which were driven into the waterlogged soil to support a walkway that consisted mainly of planks of oak, laid end-to-end. The track was only used for a period of around 10 years and was then abandoned, probably due to rising water levels. Following its discovery in 1970, most of the track has been left in its original location, with active conservation measures taken, including a water pumping and distribution system to maintain the wood in its damp condition. Some of the track is stored at the British Museum and a reconstruction of a section was built at the Peat Moors Centre near Glastonbury.
Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweet_Track
_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
1839:
Qing government official Lin Zexu catalysed the First Opium War after ordering the destruction of nearly 1.2 million kg (2.6 million lbs) of opium in Humen, China. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lin_Zexu
1937:
Nearly six months after Edward, Duke of Windsor, abdicated the British throne, he married American socialite Wallis Simpson in a private ceremony near Tours, France. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wallis_Simpson
1943:
Off-duty US sailors fought with Mexican American youths in Los Angeles, spawning the Zoot Suit Riots. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zoot_Suit_Riots
1968:
American artist Andy Warhol and two others were shot and wounded at his New York City studio "The Factory" by radical feminist Valerie Solanas. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andy_Warhol
1973:
At the Paris Air Show, a Tupolev Tu-144 broke up in mid-flight and disintegrated, killing the six members of the crew and eight bystanders on the ground. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1973_Paris_Air_Show_crash
_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:
guardian angel: A spirit believed to protect and to guide a particular person. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/guardian_angel
___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:
It might be crazy to expect a high government official to speak the truth. It might be crazy to believe that government policy will be something more than the handmaiden of the most powerful interests. It might be crazy to argue that we should preserve a tradition that has been part of our tradition for most of our history — free culture. If this is crazy, then let there be more crazies. Soon. --Lawrence Lessig https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Lawrence_Lessig