A team of researchers in East Anglia has discovered a series of amber-lined offering wells dating to the 1st century AD. The wells contain high concentrations of spring-blooming pollen and intricately carved wooden figurines, suggesting they were the focal point of Icenian spring purification rites.
Experts believe these rituals are the direct precursors to modern May Day celebrations in the British Isles. The specific arrangement of the amber beads at the bottom of the wells indicates a sophisticated understanding of solar cycles and the return of the sun after winter.