A seemingly supersized super-henge has been discovered by archaeological experts near Stonehenge, suggesting that a massive Neolithic-era area may have been uncovered.
According to the National Trust, the Durrington Walls found at the Stonehenge World Heritage site is believed to had been a place where early people held their rituals and gatherings. For the longest time, experts have been baffled about the construction of the walls that are straight on one side and curvy for the most part. In 1810, a historian named Richard Colt theorized that the walls became that way due to the forces of long-term agricultural practices. However, recent data from a ground-penetrating radar technology has discovered a new angle to the mystery of these Neolithic phenomenon.
The researchers found that the straight part of the wall is actually parallel atop a block of 90 large standing stones, which were believed to have originally stood 15 feet in height and been used to configure an obsolete arena that is shaped like the letter C. As per the aid of the radar imaging system, the archaeologists were able to detect 40 buried stones, 35 damaged stones and 50 "scooped out" portions, where stones were believed to have previously stood.
Now, the experts are keen to believe that the large stones were conscientiously taken down to fulfill a dramatic reform in a religious sector. Some have suggested that the stones were buried following a significant switch of the early people from one religious group to a solar cult that used a close, protuberant hill as its main object of veneration.
The initiative called the Stonehenge Hidden Landscape project, spearheaded by the University of Birmingham in collaboration with the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Archaeological Prospection and Virtual Archaeology and other academic partners, hopes to correct wrong notions and provide adequate and accurate information regarding the landscapes at Stonehenge. The researchers plan to do this through the aid of advanced technologies that can help perform geophysical examinations, as well as remote sensing analyses at impeccable levels.
Meanwhile, the researchers are stunned by their discovery of the new ruins. "It's utterly remarkable," commented Professor Vince Gaffney, leader of the project from the University of Bradford. The monuments were enormous, unique and definitely one of the largest stone pieces across the entire Europe. "This is archaeology on steroids," he closed.
Photo: Loco Steve | Flickr
