Massive ring of prehistoric pits discovered around Stonehenge
WHAT COULD be one of the largest prehistoric sites in the UK has been discovered near Stonehenge by a consortium of archaeologists led by the University of Bradford.
A massive 2km-wide ring of prehistoric pits up to 10m across and 5m deep has been discovered around the ‘super henge’ at Durrington Walls and the famous site at Woodhenge. The structures have been carbon dated to about 2500BC.
Archaeologists believe the circle marks a boundary around the massive henge at Durrington. It is thought the features, along with an internal post line, could have guided people towards the religious sites and warned others not to cross the boundary.
The news emerged as 3.6 million people around the world tuned in to a livestream from Stonehenge this weekend for a virtual celebration of the summer solstice.
Describing the prehistoric find, Professor Vincent Gaffney from the University of Bradford said it was extraordinary such a major find had been made so close to Stonehenge.
“The area around Stonehenge is amongst the most studied archaeological landscapes on Earth and it is remarkable that the application of new technology can still lead to the discovery of such a massive prehistoric structure which, currently, is significantly larger than any comparative prehistoric monument that we know of in Britain, at least.
“When these pits were first noted it was thought they might be natural features – solution hollows in the chalk. Only when the larger picture emerged, through the geophysical surveys undertaken as part of the Stonehenge Hidden Landscape Project, could we join the dots and see there was a pattern on a massive scale.”