Archaeologists discover “astonishing” huge circular neolithic monument next to Stonehenge (photo)

The prehistoric site features 20 or more massive shafts in a circle around the Durrington Walls henge

Archaeologists have uncovered an “astonishing” circular neolithic monument next to Stonehenge.

The prehistoric site, just two miles from the iconic ring of standing stones in Wiltshire, features 20 or more massive shafts in a circle around the Durrington Walls henge.

Coring of the shafts, which are more than 10 meters wide and five deep, suggest the features were excavated more than 4,500 years ago, around the time the settlement of Durrington Walls was built.

It is thought the shafts, which form a circle more than two kilometers wide around the ancient settlement, served as a boundary to a sacred area or precinct associated with the henge.

Experts from the University of St Andrews were joined by counterparts from institutes including Birmingham, Warwick, the University of Wales Trinity Saint David and the Scottish Universities Environmental Research Center at the University of Glasgow.

See Also:

Mythbuster: Men think more about football than sex, study suggests

(Credit: University of St Andrews)

Read more: The Independent