Archaeologists have unearthed a monolithic shrine just miles away from the original Stonehenge site in Wiltshire, England and while the initial discovery was made roughly one-year ago, new research shows that the ‘super-henge’ is actually bigger than first thought.
A team of Stonehenge Hidden Landscapes (SHLP) researchers recently unveiled new data acquired by applying advanced sensing technologies to the prehistoric site — located just a few miles from the original Stonehenge — and found more stones beneath the earth.
The 4,500-year-old stones, which were discovered beneath 3 feet of dirt, were discovered by the SHLP researchers using a combination of non-invasive geophysical prospection and remote sensing technologies — cutting-edge technologies which offer a glimpse beneath the earth without the need to excavate. Using these new-age technologies to their advantage, the researchers were able to discover evidence of a row of up to 90 standing stones.
Some of the newly discovered stones, in their original state, may have measured as high as 4.5 meters, according to the researchers who announced their findings on Monday to coincide with the opening day of the British Science Festival.
According to the researchers, the newly discovered stones are located beneath the outer bank of the Durrington Walls ‘super-henge’.
Durrington Walls, one of the largest known henge monuments, measures more than 1.5 kilometers in circumference and is surrounding by a 17.6 meter wide ditch and an outer bank. Beneath the superhenge’s outer bank is where the researchers claim to have found evidence of the new row of some 90 standing stones.
Professor Neubauer, LBI ArchPro’s director, confirmed the team’s findings in stating that their ground penetrating radar “has revealed an amazing row of up to 90 standing stones a number of which have survived after being pushed over and a massive bank placed over the stones.”
Our high resolution ground penetrating radar data has revealed an amazing row of up to 90 standing stones a number of which have survived after being pushed over and a massive bank placed over the stones. In the east up to 30 stones, measuring up to size of 4.5 m x 1.5 x 1 m, have survived below the bank whereas elsewhere the stones are fragmentary or represented by massive foundation pits
Prior evidence suggests that the super-henge site is actually five times larger than the original.
In other archaeological discoveries reported earlier this year, a team of US-based archaeologists claims to have uncovered the remains of the ancient “City of the Monkey God,” also known as the legendary “White City.”
