New 'henge-like' monument unearthed at Stonehenge

Washington, Feb 2 (ANI): Archaeologists have discovered a major ceremonial monument less than one km away from the iconic Stonehenge.

The team led by the University of Birmingham and the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Archaeological Prospection and Virtual Archaeology, Austria, unearthed the prehistoric 'henge-like' late Neolithic monument, reports Physorg.com.

Professor Vince Gaffney, from Birmingham University, hailed the incredible discovery as one of the most significant yet for those researching the UK's most important prehistoric structure.

"This finding is remarkable. It will completely change the way we think about the landscape around Stonehenge," he said.

"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," he added.

The new discovery is believed to be contemporaneous to Stonehenge and appears to be on the same orientation as the World Heritage Site monument.

It comprises a segmented ditch with opposed north-east/south-west entrances that are associated with internal pits that are up to one metre in diameter and could have held a freestanding, timber structure. (ANI)