A digital mapping project revealed a score of new features of the iconic Stonehenge ruins.
The Stonehenge Hidden Landscapes Project, led by the University of Birmingham, used remote sensing techniques and geophysical surveys to uncover a more detailed archaeological map of the site.
"Developing non-invasive methods to document our cultural heritage is one of the greatest challenges of our time and can only be accomplished by adapting the latest technology such as ground-penetrating radar arrays and high-resolution magnetometers. The developments of the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Archaeological Prospection and Virtual Archaeology (LBI ArchPro) offer Europe the opportunity to carry out fundamental archaeological research at a scale and precision never previously attempted," said Professor Wolfgang Neubauer, Director of the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute.
The findings include 17 previously unknown ritual monuments dating back to the period when Stonehenge first achieved its iconic shape. Dozens of burial mounds were mapped, including a long barrow which contained a timber building most likely used for the ritual inhumation of the dead.
The researchers found the Durrington Walls "super henge," which is a previously-known monument, may have been used for rituals and has a circumference of 0.93 miles; this would make it one of the largest of its kind.
The survey revealed the Durrington Walls had an early phase in which it was flanked with a row of massive posts or stones up to three meters high. Some of these features may still exist under the banks surrounding the monument.
The work uncovered several novel types of monuments including prehistoric pits which may form astrological alignments as well as burial grounds from the Bronze Age, Iron Age and Roman settlements.
Some more modern features were also revealed: the map allowed researchers to look at practice trenches dug around Stonehenge to prepare troops for battle at the dawn of the First World War.
"This project has revealed that the area around Stonehenge is teeming with previously unseen archaeology and that the application of new technology can transform how archaeologists and the wider public understand one of the best-studied landscapes on Earth," said British project leader Professor Vincent Gaffney, Chair in Landscape Archaeology and Geomatics at the University of Birmingham.
