Archaeologists found Prehistoric site near UK's Stonehenge

Archaeologists have discovered a smaller prehistoric site, a mile away from Britain's famous circle of standing stones at Stonehenge.

Researchers have dubbed the site 'Bluehenge' after the color of the 27 Welsh stones that were laid to make up a path.

The new circle, unearthed in secret over the summer, is one of the most important prehistoric finds in decades. The site is about a mile (2 kilometers) away from Stonehenge, which is believed to have been built around 2500 B.C.

Bluehenge, about 80 miles (130 kilometers) southwest of London, is thought to date back to the same period, but the exact circumstances of Bluehenge's construction aren't clear.

Bluehenge was put up 5,000 years ago – around the same time as work began on Stonehenge, and appears to be a miniature version of it, researchers say.

The two circles stood together for hundreds of years before Bluehenge was dismantled.  Researchers believe its stones were later used to enlarge Stonehenge.

Bluehenge lies at the end of the 'Avenue' – a pathway that connected Stonehenge to the Avon. All that remains of the smaller circle are the holes of 27 giant stones set on a ramped mount. Chips of stone found in the holes appear to be the same as those used in Stonehenge.

The stone, made of Preseli Spotted Dolerite – a chemically altered igneous rock which is harder than granite – were mined in the Preseli Mountains in Pembrokeshire and dragged and floated 200 miles to the site on the banks of the river.

The new monument was discovered by Professor Mike Parker Pearson, of Sheffield University, who believes the monuments were linked to rituals of life and death.

Other archaeologists believe it is impossible to be certain about their purpose, and that given Stonehenge was created, used and modified over 1,400 years that it was likely to be used for many different things.

Professor Geoffrey Wainwright, who found the source of the Stonehenge stones in Wales with Professor Darvill, said: 'This [new] henge is very important because it forms part of the picture of ceremonial monuments in the area and puts Stonehenge into context.

'It's no longer Stonehenge standing alone, but it has to be seen in context with the landscape.' Professor Tim Darvill, an expert on the monument, from Bournemouth University, sai he wouldn't be surprised if more circles were still to be found.

Stonehenge was built and rebuilt over 600 years in three main phases. The first, which began in 3000BC saw the creation of a ditch and bank which later enclosed a circle of 56 holes for posts or stones.

Around 2600BC the site was transformed into two circles of 82 blue stones brought from the Welsh mountains. Then, 150 years later, the ancient Britons set up 50-ton sarsen stones quarried at Marlborough, 25 miles away.

The blue stones were dug up and repositioned, and the sarsens used to create the Stonehenge familiar today.

The new find changes this account of this history. It suggests that the creators of Stonehenge originally built two circles – one with 56 stones at Stonehenge, and another with 27 at Bluehenge, with the stones of the smaller circle eventually incorporated into the bigger one.

Via - Telegraph

Categories: Archaeology , Weird News