Move over, Stonehenge. A collection of up to 90 stones dating back thousands of years has been discovered beneath the Durrington Walls 'superhenge' monument.
The stones, which may originally have stood 4.5 meters (14 ft) in height, were found buried under Durrington Walls—a 4,500 year-old stone bank located around 3 km (1.8 miles) from the Stonehenge monument in Wiltshire, southwest England.
Stonehenge consists of the remains of a ring of standing stones and is classed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The monument is believed to have been built around 5,000-4,000 years ago and the largest stones at Stonehenge—known as sarsens—are up to nine meters (30 ft) tall and weigh an average of 25 tonnes. Scientists are baffled as to how prehistoric people were able to transport the stones and build the monument, which is believed to have had religious significance.
The team behind the discovery think the underground stones could even predate Stonehenge. They believe that the newly-discovered stones were pushed over and a bank at Durrington Walls built on top. The Telegraph reported that the stones probably marked a ritual procession route. Vince Gaffney, an archaeologist at the University of Bradford, told The Telegraph that the discovery was "completely unique" and added: "We've never seen anything like this in the world."
The BBC described the discovery as a "superhenge."
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Conor is a staff writer for Newsweek covering Africa, with a focus on Nigeria, security and conflict.
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