London - For centuries Stonehenge has mystified and enraptured archaeologists and visitors.
So maybe it is not surprising that another monumental wonder from prehistory has been overlooked for so long – even though it is just a mile away.
Experts have discovered an “extraordinary” line of giant stones that dates back more than 4 500 years.
The area around Stonehenge is littered with prehistoric sights but the 90 or more stones, lying 3ft underground, have only just been discovered by sophisticated radar equipment towed by quadbikes.
The buried monoliths are each up to 15ft tall. Instead of being arranged in a circle as they are at Stonehenge, it is thought they once formed a long standing line.
“We’re looking at one of the largest stone monuments in Europe and it has been under our noses for something like 4 000 years,” said Professor Vince Gaffney, from the University of Bradford, one of the archaeologists leading the research. “It’s truly remarkable. We don’t think there’s anything quite like this anywhere else in the world. This is completely new and the scale is extraordinary.
“We presume it to be a ritual arena of some sort. These things are theatrical… designed to impress.”
The stones were placed along the south-eastern edge of what later became the Durrington Walls “superhenge” – a circular settlement ringed by a ditch and bank that, at nearly a mile across, is the largest earthwork of its kind in the UK.
Experts believe they were not originally part of the henge but were deliberately toppled.
Who toppled them and whether the arena was a rival attraction to Stonehenge or part of the same complex of sacred sites is unknown. They may even have been pushed over to protect their sacred significance, Professor Gaffney said.
The stones, which have not yet been excavated, are thought to be “sarsens” – giant sandstone blocks like those used at Stonehenge.
The discovery was unveiled at the British Science Festival at the University of Bradford.
At the same event last year, the Hidden Landscapes study revealed a host of archaeological features around Stonehenge.
Dr Nick Snashall, National Trust archaeologist for Stonehenge said: “The Stonehenge landscape has been studied for centuries.
“But the work of the Hidden Landscapes team is revealing previously unsuspected twists in its age-old tale.”
Daily Mail