Hi-Tech Survey Makes New Finds At Stonehenge

A hidden complex of archaeological monuments has been uncovered around Stonehenge using hi-tech methods of scanning below the Earth's surface.

The finds date back 6,000 years and include evidence of 17 previously unknown wooden or stone structures and dozens of burial mounds.

Most of the monuments have merged into the landscape and are invisible to the casual eye.

The four-year study, the largest geophysical survey ever undertaken, covered an area of 12 square kilometres (7.45 square miles) and went three metres (10ft) below the ground.

The area around Stonehenge where the new monuments were found

British project leader Professor Vincent Gaffney, from the University of Birmingham, said: "This project has revealed that the area around Stonehenge is teeming with previously unseen archaeology.

"New monuments have been revealed, as well as new types of monument that have previously never been seen by archaeologists

"All of this information has been placed within a single digital map, which will guide how Stonehenge and its landscape are studied in the future.

The survey team carried out a painstaking search of the area

"This is going to change how we view Stonehenge. It is not yet another find from Stonehenge, it's a fundamental step forward in the way we understand it."

The investigators used a battery of state-of-the-art instruments including magnetometers - essentially advanced metal detectors - ground-penetrating radar arrays, electromagnetic sensors and lasers.

Among the new discoveries are massive prehistoric pits, some of which appear to form astronomical alignments.

New information has also come to light about known monuments, including the Durrington Walls "super-henge" a short distance from Stonehenge.

US President Barack Obama is among recent visitors to Stonehenge

Nearly a mile in circumference, the survey showed it was once flanked by as many as 60 massive posts or stones up to three metres (10ft) high.

Among the many burial mounds is a 33 metre-long (108ft) barrow, within which signs of a massive timber building were found.

Evidence suggests this was the site of complex rituals involving the dead, including the removal of flesh and limbs.

Prof Gaffney said it is now clear Stonehenge was not an isolated structure on the edge of Salisbury Plain, but the centre of numerous ritualistic monuments that had grown and expanded over time.

"You've got Stonehenge which is attracting people from large parts of the country, but around it people are creating their own shrines and temples," he said.

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