Secrets Stonehenge were revealed by unprecedented underground mapping technology. This technology revealed that the Stonehenge did not always stand alone, according to the announcement made by the researchers on Wednesday.
The recently performed digital mapping project revealed that other unknown monuments previously surrounded the Stonehenge, such as huge pits, shrines, and burial mounds. These latest findings have now revolutionized the way today's archaeologists view the iconic landmark, as the Stonehenge was always regarded to be an isolated structure.
Vince Gaffney, the lead researcher of the secrets Stonehenge project, said in a statement, "Stonehenge may never be the same again. This project has revealed that the area around Stonehenge is teeming with previously unseen archaeology."
The survey was actually completed as a part of the Stonehenge Hidden Landscapes Project, which was a collaboration between the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Archaeological Prospection and Virtual Archaeology and the University of Birmingham. In a span of four years, the researchers made use of remote sensing techniques and geophysical surveys in order to collate data from the 12-square-kilometer area that surrounds the Stonehenge.
Because of the mapping technology, there were up to 17 archaeological secrets Stonehenge structures that were discovered to be in very close proximity to the internationally famous landmark.
Gaffney mentioned before the project was initiated that the closest structure known to science to the Stonehenge was more than 1.5 miles away. However, some of the discovered secrets Stonehenge structures were as close as 150 feet.
He told Mashable, "We can interpret the structures in a sense of small shrines or chapels - Stonehenge being like the cathedral, in relative terms. Suddenly, we are looking at a landscape with lots of small shrines, suggesting the area was full of activity, and Stonehenge becomes a different monument."
Researches now strongly believe that the newly discovered secrets Stonehenge are actually related to rituals and other processional routes that culminated at the Stonehenge's main structure. The burial grounds that were found within the area were even mapped in meticulous detail.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
