Stonehenge was not alone, archaeologists report. Credit: Wikimedia
LONDON: Archaeologists say they’ve had found traces of a wooden structure built close to the British monument of Stonehenge, a stunning discovery that sheds new light on an ancient place of worship.
The prehistoric monument is said to be like a wooden “twin” of the collection of giant stones piled up on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, southwest England.
“This is probably the first major ceremonial monument that has been found in the past 50 years or so,” said Vince Gaffney, a professor from the University of Birmingham, who is leading the archaeological dig. “It will completely change the way we think about the landscape around Stonehenge.
Part of a large, holy complex
“People have tended to think that as Stonehenge reached its peak it was the paramount monument, existing in splendid isolation. This discovery is completely new and extremely important in how we understand Stonehenge and its landscape.”
The “henge-like” monument, found just 900 metres (2,950 feet) away from Stonehenge, is thought to have been a circular, timber structure with two entrances and was probably built around the same time, some 4,500 years ago.
The circle is about the same size as Stonehenge and consists of pits in the ground about one metre (three feet) wide, which the researchers believe could have held wooden obelisks.
It would have been visible from Stonehenge and archaeologists believe the new find suggests the stone circle was just one part of a larger, holy complex.
High-tech solution to Stonehenge’s landscape
The origins of Stonehenge are unclear, but the stone circle is one of Britain’s biggest tourist draws and twice a year is the focus of celebrations of the summer and winter solstices.
The wooden structure was unearthed by a team of archaeologists led by the University of Birmingham and the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Archaeological Prospection and Virtual Archaeology in Vienna, as part of a major project to map the landscape around Stonehenge using high-tech equipment.
The scientists said they stumbled upon the second monument just two weeks into the three-year, multi-million pound (dollar, euro) study that also involves researchers from Germany, Norway and Sweden.
They expect this to be the first of many significant discoveries in the area.
Brand new method of archaeological investigation
“This is just the beginning,” said professor Wolfgang Neubauer, director of the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute.
“We will now map this monument using an array of technologies that will allow us to view this new discovery, and the landscape around it, in three dimensions.
“This marks a new departure for archaeologists and how they investigate the past.”
Archaeologist Amanda Chadburn, from English Heritage, added: “The discovery is all the more remarkable given how much research there has been in the vicinity of Stonehenge, and emphasises the importance of continuing research within and around the World Heritage Site.”
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I thought it was relatively common knowledge that there was a wooden version of stonehenge nearby. Can someone please explain as this doesn’t come across as news to me?
I know what you mean – there is the remains of wooden hedge, but it’s a 14km away (for memory). This is 900 metres away, so it’s a new find.
Surely this discovery was almost to be expected? On a visit to the area thirty years ago I was taken to Woodhenge, an ancient religious site similar to and less than two miles from Stonehenge. Around half a kilometre away was yet another, similar circular monument. Both of these have been known for some time, the former being excavated some time in the 1920s.
I would have thought the expectation would be that there are likely to be others within the area, since this seems to have been a place of considerable religious significance.
Of course, nothing I’ve written is intended to detract from the importance of the find. Perhaps I just feel academia should not be so easily stunned.
I would like to see more research done to bridge the gap between ancient American and Coastal European archaeology.
There is another ‘Woodhenge” in Vermont as well as a serpent mound not unlike the one that was at Avebury. Barry Fells analsis of Ogham script sites along with Menhirs, Menatols and Dolmens in North America seems to be ignored by the scientific community despite extremely similar sites being found in Ireland and Brittany.
DNA evidence indicates a back migration from America to Europe about 6,000 years ago (Irish, Brittany and Basque DNA). The DNA of these people indicates a departure from Europe 13,000 years ago (ie the Solutrean/Clovis Hunters of France/America). Basque and Anasazi language is also the same – so why is this a no go zone of research when so many things are shouting that America and Europe have a shared history?
A lot of geophysics has taken place around Stonehenge in the last few years so it was known that something was there, but this shows it in more detail. It’s an interesting and exciting advance in our knowledge of the area, but there are some wild and extravagant claims about what has been found. The find is at Cursus 50 barrow. So what is it?
We do not know. Some of the wild claims are;
1) The most significant find in the last 50 years. What about the so called bluestone henge found down by the river last year? There have been several other major finds in the area during the last few years.
2) ‘People have tended to think .. Stonehenge…was standing in splendid isolation’ No we didn’t. Those who have been to the area would have seen and heard of several other monuments in the surrounding area showing that Stonehenge as part of a larger ceremonial landscape.
3) It’s a henge. There is no evidence of what it is. As Professor Mike Parker Pearson from the Stonehenge Riverside Project says “No one has any idea if these were circles of posts, stones or just pits. Nor do we know what date they are other than broadly 3000-1500 BC. They are both great finds but we know too little about them as yet (without excavation) to say how they will change our understanding. As we found last year with Bluestonehenge, there is still much to be found around Stonehenge.”
It’s interesting, but the wild claims are hype.
Pat Shelley
About the same time this was reported, they reported that they found one in Cincinnati, Ohio USA.
Wooden “Stonehenge” Emerges From Prehistoric Ohio National Geographic
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2010/07/100720-woodhenge-stonehenge-ohio-fort-ancient-science/
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