Archaeologists discover a lost ring of pits near Stonehenge

"The ring of more than 20 pits, some of which are 10 metres deep and five metres wide, extends in an arc more than a mile across. At their centre are the ancient sites of Durrington Walls and Woodhenge, 1.8 miles (2.9 kilometres) northeast of Stonehenge, where the henge builders held ritual feasts. Using an array of novel scientific techniques, researchers now say that these pits were likely constructed by Neolithic people around 4,500 years ago."

"Lead researcher Professor Vincent Gaffney, of the University of Bradford, told the Daily Mail that the vast structure was a 'cosmological statement'. He says: 'They link Durrington walls henge and another site at Larkhill - a causewayed enclosure about a thousand years earlier. ' 'And in doing so, inscribed a boundary into the landscape - setting aside an area of special significance.'"

The ring comprises more than 20 pits, some up to 10 metres deep and five metres wide, stretching in an arc over a mile across. The pits centre on the ancient Durrington Walls and Woodhenge sites, about 1.8 miles northeast of Stonehenge, locations associated with Neolithic ritual feasting. Novel scientific techniques indicate the pits were likely cut by Neolithic people around 4,500 years ago, requiring substantial planning and labour to carve into the chalk. The arrangement appears to link Durrington Walls with an earlier causewayed enclosure at Larkhill and to inscribe a deliberate boundary setting aside an area of special significance. Debate remains over whether all pits are anthropogenic or partly natural.

Read at Mail Online