After being dismissed by experts, a series of deep pits were found near Stonehenge in 2013. Experts have now confirmed that they had been created by the ancient Britons.
An archaeologist team discovered 20 pits measuring more than 30 feet wide and 16 feet deep in June 2020.
The Durrington Walls Henge was the center of their arrangement. It is located just two miles away from Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire.
The initial data indicated that the features were from the Neolithic Period and that they had been discovered by humans approximately 4,500 years before the construction of the Durrington Walls.
One archaeologist described the pits as “blobs on ground” shortly after their discovery. Another said that they weren’t man-made and added they can be trusted to recognize natural features when they come across them.
However, science has now proven that these pits were made in the early days of Britain.
A 3D map created with special technology, which can scan below the ground, is shown in Stonehenge: New Revelations by Channel 5. It shows how extensive the pits are.
After some scientists dismissed the discovery of the deep pits near Stonehenge as natural phenomena, experts have confirmed that they were made by ancient Britons.
A team of archaeologists discovered the 20 pits that are over 30 feet wide and 16 feet deep in June 2020. Scientists have now confirmed that these pits are made by Britons in the early years. Above: This amazing 3D map, created with special technology which can scan below the surface and revealed by Channel 5’s Stonehenge – The New Revelations, shows the size of the pits
A second CGI image allows viewers to view the pits as they would have appeared if ancient Britons had used them.
Vincent Gaffney of Bradford University, the scientist who led the discovery team, stated that science had proved the pits to be a massive Neolithic monument.
In The Guardian, he said that’some of the discussion about Stonehenge and the discovery seemed crazy to me.
Professor Gaffney claimed that his team now has a look at “nearly 50%” of the pits to find that they are all the same.
“So this basically says this is an enormous structure. He said that it could have been a naturally occurring feature but that we don’t know.
“So, it’s also the largest prehistoric structure in Britain.”
Stonehenge’s underground ring measures around 20 times larger than the ring in Stonehenge. The underground ring is 20 times larger than Stonehenge.
Another CGI image gives viewers a chance to see the pits how they might have looked when being used by ancient Britons
Although it’s not clear why these pits were created, there may be cosmological reasons.
Special remote sensing technology was used by archaeologists to locate the location of pits beneath ground.
Experts are capable of detecting where soil has been disturbed even though it occurred thousands of centuries ago.
They also utilized optically stimulated light (OSL) to determine the date that the sediment last came in contact with the sun.
The University of St Andrews’ school of earth- and environmental sciences, Dr Tim Kinnaird said that tests showed beyond doubt the dates of the pits to 2400BC.
Image of Stonehenge and the position of the pits. Stonehenge Hidden Landscapes Project led by University of Bradford, was responsible for the original discovery of these pits.
According to the coring of the shafts, the features were found in Neolithic times and excavated over 4,500 years ago.
As part of the initial discovery of these pits, Stonehenge Hidden Landscapes Project is led by University of Bradford.
The University of St Andrews experts joined forces with colleagues from Birmingham, Warwick, University of Wales Trinity Saint David, and Scottish Universities Environmental Research Centre (University of Glasgow).
Professor Gaffney stated last year that Stonehenge was one of the most well-studied archaeological landscapes in the world.
“It’s amazing that new technology can lead to such an enormous prehistoric structure being discovered,” said a researcher.
Professor Richard Bates of the University’s School of Earth and Environmental Sciences said that Dr. Bates’ multidisciplinary approach to remote sensing and carefully sampling has given us a glimpse into the past, which shows a more complicated society than what we can imagine.
According to some, the shafts were used as boundary lines for a precinct or sacred space associated with the henge. Above Map
“Clearly, sophisticated practices show that people were so tuned to natural events that they could barely comprehend the world in which we live today.
National Trust archaeologist Dr Nick Snashall for Stonehenge World Heritage Site and Avebury World Heritage Site last year, hailed the “astonishing discovery”.
He stated that Stonehenge was the site where Stonehenge builders lived and feasted Durrington Walls. This astonishing discovery provides new insight into our Neolithic ancestors’ lives and beliefs.
“The Hidden Landscapes team combined archaeological fieldwork and detective work to uncover this remarkable discovery. It is a new chapter in Stonehenge’s story.”
Stonehenge – The New Revelations will air on Channel 5 on December 9th at 9 PM.
Stonehenge’s monument today is the last stage in a 4-part building project which ended 3500 years ago.
Stonehenge, one of Britain’s most famous prehistoric monuments is a great example. Stonehenge can still be seen today as the last stage, which was built around 3,500 years ago.
Stonehenge, according to its website, was constructed in four phases:
The first stageStonehenge’s first form was an earthwork, or Henge. It consisted of a bank, ditch and Aubrey holes. This probably occurred around 3100 BC.
The Aubrey holes are round pits in the chalk, about one metre (3.3 feet) wide and deep, with steep sides and flat bottoms.
Stonehenge (pictured above) is one the most notable prehistoric monuments of Britain
The circle is approximately 86.6m (284ft) wide.
Some of the chalk fillings contained cremated bones, however, the holes were not likely to have been used for graves but rather as part of religious ceremonies. Excavations showed that there was some evidence of human remains.
Stonehenge was left unaltered after the first stage.
Second StageStonehenge 2: Around 2150 BC the second most significant stage was completed. This is when approximately 82 bluestones, sourced from South-West Wales’ Preseli Mountains were moved to Stonehenge. The stones, which can weigh up to four tons each, may have been dragged by rollers and sledges into Milford Haven. From there, they were loaded on rafts.
The men were taken on the water to the South Coast of Wales, up the Avon and Frome rivers before they were dragged back overland near Warminster or Wiltshire.
The last stage was mostly by water. This took us down the Wylye from Salisbury to Salisbury and then on to Salisbury Avon, west Amesbury.
It took nearly 240 miles to reach the destination. Once there, stones were placed in the middle of the circle for a complete double circle.
In the same time, the original entry was extended and a pair Heel Stones was built. Stonehenge’s River Avon was connected to the Avenue in the area closest to the sunrise.
Troisième phaseStonehenge’s third stage was completed around 2000 BC. It saw the arrival, as a form of sandstone, of the Sarsen stones, which were much larger than bluestones.
Most likely they were brought to Stonehenge from the Marlborough Downs (40 kms, or 25mi)
Stonehenge was 50-tonnes when the largest of the sarsen rocks arrived. Water transportation would have been impossible, so it is believed that these stones were carried by sledges and ropes.
According to calculations, it took 500 men with leather ropes to pull the first stone. An additional 100 needed to lay the rolling stones in front of the sledge.
They were laid in an outer circular arrangement with continuous lintels, which are horizontal support.
Five trilithons, consisting of three upright stones and one across the top, were located inside the circle. They are still visible today in an arrangement called a horseshoe.
The final stage: After 1500 years BC, the fourth stage was completed. Here the bluestones of smaller sizes were placed in the horseshoe or circle you can see today.
Bluestone circles had 60 stones at one time, although this number has since fallen to around 60. Some are still below the ground as stumps.
Source: Stonehenge.co.uk