There are many mysteries of Stonehenge, but we're one step closer to unlocking some of the secrets thanks to recent findings.
Archaeologists with the Stonehenge Hidden Landscape Project spent four years studying the grounds of the prehistoric monument in England, ditching shovels for high-tech tools like GPS-guided magnetometers, ground-penetrating radar and a 3D laser scanner, that allowed them to map the site.
The findings, which will air in a BBC Two documentary on Thursday, confirmed earlier research that suggested that the Stonehenge had 17 other shrines nearby, including a "super henge."
"Using 21st-century techniques, the Stonehenge Hidden Landscapes team has transformed our knowledge of this ancient, precious and very special landscape," says Dr. Nick Snashall of National Trust Archaeologist for the Avebury and Stonehenge World Heritage Site.
The archaeologists surveyed a section of a dirt bank of a known structure called Durrington Walls that revealed more than 50 huge stones. "That's a big prehistoric monument which we never knew anything about," Gaffney says.
The 10-foot long stones formed a "super henge" that faces the River Avon, a position that researchers think suggests a ritual connection with the water.
The team of archaeologists mapped the land surrounding the Stonehenge in an attempt to figure out if the Stonehenge was an excluded place, "where only special people would come."
The newly detailed, three-dimensional map that covers 12 sq km led researchers to uncover more monuments that, like the Stonehenge, date back 5,000 years ago. The monuments are marked by post holes that further suggest astronomic importance that can be linked to rituals.
Researchers discovered Cursus, a two mile wide rectangular enclosure has pits that are aligned with the summer solstice sun. It is believed to have been built 300 to 500 years before Stonehenge.
Another building that dates back 6,000 years was also identified during the land survey. The team believes it was probably used for ritual burials and other practices like excarnation, a ritual that included stripping flesh from bones.
The survey suggests that the monuments were not planned as a whole.
"Their work has revealed a clutch of previously unsuspected sites and monuments showing how much of the story of this world-famous archaeological treasure house remains to be told," Dr. Snashall says.
The team will analyze the data found to reveal how the site evolved throughout the years.
