Archaeologists have uncovered a major new prehistoric monument just a stone’s throw from Stonehenge.
The ring of shafts was discovered in the ancient settlement of Durrington Walls, Wiltshire, just two miles from one of the world’s most famous prehistoric sites.
Analysis suggests the newly-unearthed circle, spanning more than two kilometres, is Neolithic and was excavated more than 4,500 years ago.
Each of the 20 or more shafts measures more than 10 metres in diameter and five metres in depth, and may have served as a boundary to a sacred area connected to the henge, experts believe.
A team of specialists from the universities of St Andrews, Birmingham, Warwick, Wales Trinity Saint David and the Scottish Universities Environmental Research Centre collaborated on the ground-breaking project.
Dr Richard Bates, of the St Andrew’s School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, said: “Yet again, the use of a multidisciplinary effort with remote sensing and careful sampling is giving us an insight to the past that shows an even more complex society than we could ever imagine.
“Clearly sophisticated practices demonstrate that the people were so in tune with natural events to an extent that we can barely conceive in the modern world we live in today.”
Tim Kinnaird, of the same school, said: “The sedimentary infills contain a rich and fascinating archive of previously unknown environmental information.
“With optically stimulated luminescence profiling and dating, we can write detailed narratives of the Stonehenge landscape for the last 4,000 years.”
The announcement of the discovery comes after the Summer Solstice, which took place online this year with the annual gathering cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.
English Heritage has provided access to the event since 2000 but warned visitors not to travel to the 3,000BC Neolithic monument this year.
Dr Nick Snashall, National Trust archaeologist for the Stonehenge and Avebury World Heritage Site, hailed it as an “astonishing discovery”.
He said: “As the place where the builders of Stonehenge lived and feasted Durrington Walls is key to unlocking the story of the wider Stonehenge landscape, and this astonishing discovery offers us new insights into the lives and beliefs of our Neolithic ancestors.
“The Hidden Landscapes team have combined cutting-edge, archaeological fieldwork with good old-fashioned detective work to reveal this extraordinary discovery and write a whole new chapter in the story of the Stonehenge landscape.”
