#superhenge

[archaeologs]

Prehistoric Giants: "Super Henge" Confirmed Near Stonehenge

Researchers have confirmed the existence of a massive series of Neolithic pits surrounding the Durrington Walls at the Stonehenge.

https://www.archaeologs.com/n/prehistoric-giants-super-henge-confirmed-near-stonehenge

[hiddenbonesoflove-blog]

Superhenge?

Last year, an international team of scientists mapping the underground landscape surrounding Stonehenge announced that they had located a massive stone monument that dwarfed its ancient neighbor. When archaeologists started excavating “Superhenge” earlier this month, however, they found something completely different.

In September 2015, scientists announced that the English countryside two miles northeast of Stonehenge concealed an enormous secret—a massive stone monument possibly five times bigger than the iconic landmark. An international team of researchers with the Stonehenge Hidden Landscape Project said the strong signals detected by their ground-penetrating radar and GPS-guided magnetometers led them to believe that they had found a “Superhenge” with more than 100 stone monoliths buried beneath Durrington Walls, once home to a Neolithic settlement thought to have been occupied by Stonehenge’s builders.

When archaeologists began to excavate the Superhenge site earlier this month, however, they discovered a big surprise. The anomalies that had been detected in the geophysical survey turned out not to be a series of buried stones lying on their sides but a collection of five-foot-deep pits deliberately filled with blocks of chalk that once housed soaring wooden timbers. The archaeologists found ramps at the sides of the pits that were used by the ancient people to lower the poles into place. The two-week dig also unearthed tools used by the Neolithic builders such as a spade made from a cow’s shoulder blade.“We found voids filled with infill material showing where the posts had stood and also marks on the chalk, part of the natural geology on the site, at the base of the post holes that showed where they had been twisted in order to loosen them when they were removed,” says Dr. Nick Snashall, an archaeologist with Britain’s National Trust who is responsible for the Stonehenge site. The research team believes the massive wooden poles, upwards of 20 feet tall, may have been part of a great circular timber monument likely built 4,500 years ago in the Late Neolithic period to memorialize Stonehenge’s builders immediately after they abandoned the Durrington Walls settlement after a decade of use. As the vast ring neared completion after months—possibly years—of construction, it appears that the ancient pagans suddenly stopped work and removed the timbers due to a sudden religious or political change. The Independent newspaper reports that the abandonment of the project could have been tied to the arrival around this time of a new people or traditions known as the Beaker culture.It appears that the massive timbers were lifted vertically straight out of their holes, not rocked or pulled over before their removal. The pagans then replaced the wooden monument with an enormous circular bank of dirt stretching around a mile-long circumference that can still be seen today. The Neolithic people who built Stonehenge were also known to use timber at times to erect structures such as Woodhenge, a circular pattern of 168 timber posts adjacent to Durrington Walls that resembled Stonehenge. What was the meaning of the two materials to the ancient pagans? “The significance of wood versus stone at this time is a matter of much debate among archaeologists,” Snashall tells HISTORY. “One of our project leads, Professor Mike Parker Pearson, is of the view that wood is connected with the living and stone with the dead or ancestors. That would make sense in this context as immediately before the putting up of the timber posts this site had been an enormous settlement—the evidence suggests for the builders of Stonehenge.“Of course individual timber posts may have been carved or painted and served as totem poles or told the stories of individuals, ancestors or gods. The careful removal of these posts may have been to enable their use in another monument nearby and/or because of the significance of individual posts.”

According to a post on the National Trust’s blog detailing the Durrington Walls excavation, if all the anomalies registered by the ground-penetrating radar had once been locations of timber posts, as many as 300 trees may have been used to construct the giant circle. However, during the Late Neolithic period when the posts were erected, the surrounding landscape was not thought to have been heavily wooded, so it’s a mystery as to where they came from and how they were transported.The next step for the research team is to analyze the findings from the excavation. Radiocarbon dating of artifacts found in the post holes will help to establish the dates of their raising and dismantling. The scientists will also try to solve the mystery of how and why the posts were lifted vertically and what happened to them after they were removed.

[snakerij]

http://www.joelrabijns.be/

[planetscitech-blog]

A huge circle of trees was discovered only a few kilometers from Stonehenge

A huge circle of trees was discovered only a few kilometers from Stonehenge

Last year, the front pages of the media were flooded with the discovery of a giant circular structure about 5 times larger than Stonehenge, just 3.2 kilometers northeast of this famous site – what scientists have dubbed Superhenge.

At that time, the researchers detected what they saw as 90 stone monoliths buried Neolithic settlement called “Durrington Walls”, but further research showed that the…

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[my-testblog]

11 things you need to know about Superhenge

Brittany Jones Cooper, Editor, Yahoo Travel

The newly discovered monument is made up of 90 large stones. (Photo: Ludwig Boltzmann Institute)

If you thought Stonehenge was impressive, wait until you see Superhenge!

On Sept. 7, scientists at the British Science Festival unveiled evidence showing the presence of an ancient Neolithic monument buried beneath the ground. The rock formation is located just two miles away from Stonehenge, and while scientists have yet to dig it up, they believe the rocks at this site are taller and possibly older than Stonehenge.

As we wait to see just how big this discovery is, here are 11 things you need to know about Superhenge:

1. This thing is big.

This large Neolithic settlement is being referred to superhenge because it’s five times the area of Stonehenge.

2. It’s old… like, really old.

Researchers predict that that the rock formation could be as old or older than Stonehenge. That means the monument was likely built 4,500 years ago.

3. It has six times more stones than Stonehenge.

The Neolithic monument consists of a row of 90 standing stones. The main structure of Stonehenge has merely 15 large standing stones.

4. It could be taller than Stonehenge.

The tallest rocks of Stonehenge measure at 13 feet. Researchers predict that some of the newly discovered stones may have originally measured up to 15 feet.

Related: I Flew to Stonehenge for This? The Biggest Bucket List Busts

The new stones are located along the lower edge of Durrtington Walls. (Photo: Ludwig Boltzmann Institute)

5. You can find it just around the corner.

Located just two miles away from Stonehenge, this newly found monument is located along the lower edge of Durrington Walls, a Stone Age enclosure and one of the largest known henge monuments.

6. The rocks were hiding.

The stones are currently buried about three feet under the earth and were detected using ground penetrating radar. It appears as if they were (probably intentionally) pushed over and a bank of earth was built over them.

Related: #Daydream: Stonehenge

7. It’s cut from the same stone.

Stonehenge is made of sarsen stones, sandstone blocks that are found in large quantities on the Salisbury Plain in the United Kingdom. While researchers still need to dig out the newly discovered monument, they believe that Superhenge is also made of the same stone.

8. The rocks were used in rituals.

It’s believed that Superhenge was used as a Neolithic ritual site and incorporates lunar and solar alignments.

The Stonehenge Hidden Landscape Project is dedicated to revealing all of the hidden treasures in the area. (Photo: Ludwig Boltzmann Institute)

9. This finding is important to science.

With the discovery of these stones, scientists are learning more about Stonehenge, the surrounding landscape, and the builders of the time.

10. We still don’t know exactly how it was used.

This new finding, along with Stonehenge, Durrington Walls and 17 other ritual sites found in the area likely have a relationship with each other. However, researchers still don’t know what it is.

11. Researchers were shocked to find it.

“We don’t think there’s anything quite like this anywhere else in the world,” said lead researcher Vince Gaffney of the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute. “This is completely new and the scale is extraordinary.”

WATCH: The Ancient Oasis Towns of Oman: An Explorer’s Dream

In this episode of A Broad Abroad, on Yahoo Travel, Paula Froelich discovers the Ancient City of Birkat Al Mawz near Oman where despite the crumbling walls, still houses a community AND looks a little like a scene from Star Wars.

Let Yahoo Travel inspire you every day. Hang out with us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest. Check out our original adventure travel series, “A Broad Abroad.”

Yahoo Travel

[elhistoriador]

Superhenge: ¿un templo para sacrificios humanos?

Superhenge: ¿un templo para sacrificios humanos?

ABC.es

Nuevo hallazgo arqueológico junto al famoso monumento del Neolitico

Recreación artístico del círculo de piedras de ‘Superhenge’.LUDWIG BOLTZMANN INSTITUTE L

El hallazgo bajo tierra de un nuevo supercírculo con 90 piedras de gran tamaño, a sólo tres kilómetros escasos de Stonehenge, ha disparado las teorías sobre la posibilidad de que el asentamiento del Neolítico sirviera hace más…

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[peachdoxie]

SUPERHENGE!!!!!!!!!

[avidnetwork]

Researchers say they've discovered new 'superhenge' near Stonehenge site

Researchers say they’ve discovered new ‘superhenge’ near Stonehenge site

British researchers said Monday that they had discovered evidence of a larger version of Stonehenge located approximately 2 mil es from the famous prehistoric site.

Discovered new ‘Superhenge’ near Stonehenge site

The site at Durrington Walls, located about 90 miles southwest of London, has been dubbed a “superhenge” containing as many as 90 large stones.

The researchers from the University of…

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