Companion circle found to Britain's Stonehenge
LONDON - The discovery of the remains of a small prehistoric circle of stones near Stonehenge may confirm the theory that the mysterious monument in southwest England was part of a massive funeral complex built around a river, researchers said yesterday.
LONDON - The discovery of the remains of a small prehistoric circle of stones near Stonehenge may confirm the theory that the mysterious monument in southwest England was part of a massive funeral complex built around a river, researchers said yesterday.
The second stone circle - dubbed "Bluehenge" because it was built with blue Preseli dolerite mined in Preseli, Wales, 150 miles away - once stood next to the River Avon 1.75 miles from Stonehenge, one of Britain's best-loved and least-understood landmarks.
The find last month could help prove that the Avon linked a "domain of the dead" - made up of Stonehenge and Bluehenge - with an upstream "domain of the living" known as Durrington Walls, where extensive signs of feasting and other human activity were found, said Julian Thomas, codirector of the Stonehenge Riverside Project.
The approximately 25 massive bluestones were erected in a circle about 5,000 years ago and eventually were encircled by a ditch and an earthen embankment. About 500 years later, however, the stones were moved and incorporated into Stonehenge.
All that is left of the bluestone circle are the holes where the stones sat in the ground and a few chips of dolerite.
Project director Mike Parker Pearson said it was possible Bluehenge was the starting point of a processional walk that began at the river and ended at Stonehenge, the site of a large prehistoric cemetery.
"Not many people know that Stonehenge was Britain's largest burial ground at that time," he said. "Maybe the bluestone circle is where people were cremated before their ashes were buried at Stonehenge itself."
There were very few signs of human life found around Stonehenge and Bluehenge, researchers said, lending credence to the idea that it was used as a funeral site, especially since there were signs that many human beings were cremated there.
A five-university team has been excavating the greater Stonehenge site since 2003 in a bid to unravel its meaning and use.
"This find certainly confirms the idea we've put forward that the river is of fundamental importance and links everything," Thomas said. "Everything is related to the river."
Stonehenge, a UNESCO World Heritage site, is a favorite with visitors from throughout the world and has become popular with Druids, neo-Pagans, and New Agers who attach mystical significance to the strangely shaped circle of stones, but there remains great debate about the actual purpose of the structure.
