‘Woodhenge’ found near Stonehenge
A major ceremonial monument, very similar to Stonehenge, has been discovered less than one kilometre away from the iconic World Heritage structure in England. The new henge, made of timber instead of stone monoliths, was uncovered this week, by team led by the University of Birmingham and Austrian archaeologists just two weeks into a three-year international study that is part of the international Stonehenge Hidden Landscapes Project.
The new monument, called “henge-like,” is from the Late Neolithic period and archaeologists believe it to be contemporaneous to Stonehenge and it appears to be on the same orientation as the World Heritage Site monument. The new monument comprises a segmented ditch with opposed north-east/south-west entrances that are associated with internal pits that are up to one metre in diameter and could have held a free-standing, timber structure. “This finding is remarkable,” Prof. Vince Gaffney of the Birmingham University said. “It will completely change the way we think about the landscape around Stonehenge. People have tended to think that as Stonehenge reached its peak it was the paramount monument, existing in splendid isolation.” The discovery has been described as the most significant yet for those researching the UK’s most important prehistoric structure. “Stonehenge is one of the most studied monuments on earth but this demonstrates that there is still much more to be found,” he added.
The Stonehenge Hidden Landscapes Project aims to map 14 square kilometres of the Stonehenge landscape using the latest geophysical imaging techniques, to recreate visually the iconic prehistoric monument and its surroundings.
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