Stonehenge underground? Scientists find ‘remarkable’ ring of ancient pits near famous stone circle
- Some 20 or more massive shafts forming a circle more than 10 metres in diameter have been uncovered just three kilometres from Stonehenge
- Academics believe the shafts could mark the boundary of a sacred area or precinct around a circular monument
Archaeologists said on Monday that they have discovered a major prehistoric monument under the earth near Stonehenge that could shed new light on the origins of the mystical stone circle in southwestern England.
Experts from a group of British universities led by the University of Bradford say the site consists of at least 20 huge shafts, more than 10 metres in diameter and 5 metres deep, forming a circle more than 2 kilometres in diameter.
The new find is at Durrington Walls, the site of a Neolithic village about 2 kilometres from Stonehenge,
Researchers say the shafts appear to have been dug around 4,500 years ago, and could mark the boundary of a sacred area or precinct around a circular monument known as the Durrington Walls henge.
Richard Bates, of the University of St Andrews School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, said the findings – made with remote sensing and sampling – provided “an insight to the past that shows an even more complex society than we could ever imagine.”