Archaeologists Discover New Structure at Stonehenge
By STAN PARCHIN
August 29, 2010
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| Stonehenge. Salisbury Plain, Wiltshire, England. Photograph provided by Flickr. |
University of Birmingham archaeologist Vince Gaffney and his team discovered a new structure at Stonehenge on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, England using radar. Scientific data retrieved from the site was employed in a virtual excavation to recreate the area's appearance at the time of the iconic Neolithic stone monument's construction (ca. 2000 B.C.).
The circular ditch, 25 meters (32 feet) in diameter, is located about 900 meters (2,950 feet) from the famous structure. It has a ring of internal pits, each measuring one meter (three feet) wide, which possibly held timber posts. Images indicate that the henge or circular monument had northeast and southwest entrances. The burial mound within the site's circumference seems to have been established sometime after the wooden poles were placed in the ground.
Speculation remains about Stonehenge's original purpose. Theories range from religious ceremonies and sacrificial rituals to astronomy.
Gaffney's project is being funded by the University of Birmingham, the University of Bradford, the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Archaeological Prospection and Virtual Archaeology in Vienna, Austria, the National Trust and English Heritage.
Source
Wainwright, Geoffrey. The Henge Monuments: Ceremony and Society in Prehistoric Britain. London: Thames & Hudson, 1990.
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