Stonehenge was once a complete circle, solving one of the great mysteries surrounding this iconic English landmark. The 5,000-year-old mystery was solved by a maintenance worker on the site who was unable to completely water the grounds.
Dry grass was the clue which provided archaeologists with evidence for a completely circular outer wall of stones in ancient times. For centuries, historians have tested the monument and surrounding area, trying to determine the shape of the monument.
Hose pipe used my maintenance workers was too short to reach one area of the monument. Because of this, the patch was left dry, and grass there turned brown. This lack of water also left behind marks that revealed the locations of ancient stones. A drought in 2013 helped to make evidence of the ancient stones more apparent.
Tim Daw, an English Heritage Steward, was the first to notice the patches where the massive columns once stood. Analysis of their locations suggested the outer ring of stones were laid out in a complete circle.
Sarsen stones are blocks of sandstone found in the Salisbury Plain, Dorset and Hampshire, along with other locations in southern England. Investigators looking into the new finding believe Sarsen stones may have once stood where the dry patch exists in modern times.
Stonehenge was created in several stages, according to most archaeologists. The distinctive stone circle of the monument was constructed sometime around the year B.C.E. 2500, during the Late Neolithic period.
"Stonehenge remained important into the early Bronze Age, when many burial mounds were built nearby," English Heritage stated on their website.
The marks were first discovered in July 2013, as Daw was thinking that he needed to acquire a larger hose to water the patched areas. He realized the dry marks were located in areas that had been examined by archaeologists looking for evidence of holes where the stones may have once stood. Researchers are currently studying the patches, attempting to confirm or deny the idea rocks once stood in their place.
Stonehenge is one of the most famous - and carefully studied - moments in the world. This shows that this area continues to hold secrets, waiting to be uncovered. Investigators are waiting for another drought to reveal additional evidence of ancient construction.
"I am still amazed and very pleased that simply really looking at something, that tens of thousands of people had unwittingly seen, can reveal secrets that sophisticated machinery can't," Daw said.
An article adding support to the "complete circle" theory, detailing evidence related to Daw's accidental discovery, was published in the journal Antiquity.
