England is steeped in ancient history and with so much mystery hidden around every corner, some things are bound to be overlooked. And so, a monumental site has recently been discovered close in both proximity and nature to the Stonehenge. This newly found site is much, much bigger and is essentially a vast arc of pits.
Getty Images | Archaeologists believe the discovery is a significant development in determining life in Old Britain
The Stonehenge Hidden Landscapes Project
Though the Stonehenge is located in one of the world’s richest archaeological landscapes, a large chunk of this area remains yet to be discovered. To uncover the secrets of this landscape, archaeologists decided to go all-in with inventive geophysical and remote sensing tools.
According to the lead author of this study and University of Bradford archaeologist Vincent Gaffney, the aim of the research was to look between the structures already discovered and studied.
Heritage Images | The centermost part of the discovered area referred to as Durrington walls
The New Discovery
Notorious for its scale, the Stonehenge spans about 100 feet and stands at 20+ feet high. In comparison, this latest finding spans about 1.2 miles. The circle of large shafts stands 15 feet deep and 30 feet wide individually.
The structure is located close to the town of Durrington, which is two miles away from Stonehenge. Gaffney’s team also discovered bones and struck flint around the site. From discoveries made in the area so far, it is undeniable that similar sites were a part of Neolithic life held a significance in terms of religion. Across Salisbury and beyond, it seems that these monuments were built and utilized for ritual purposes.
Magnetometry, a scientific tool used to sense variation in soil, was used to discover these pits. The international European team, with the aid of tractors pushing magnetometers, traversed the pastures holding walls, henges, enclosures, cursus, and barrows, which the Neolithic people once called home.
CNN | Archaeologists are calling the discovery ‘superhenge’
Bottom Line
The Hidden Landscapes team has used a combination of inventive archaeological fieldwork with some archaic sleuth work to uncover this fascinating monument and add a new chapter to the tales of the Stonehenge landscape.
It still remains difficult to determine how long these massive stones would’ve taken to create but, from the looks of it, they must’ve demanded both considerable organization of labor and time.
