Stonehenge Road Tunnel Scheme Slammed as ‘Disastrous’ After Stunning Neolithic Discovery Nearby

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Stonehenge Road Tunnel Scheme Slammed as ‘Disastrous’ After Stunning Neolithic Discovery Nearby

A neolithic structure larger than any comparable prehistoric monument in Britain dating back 4,500 years was uncovered thanks to new remote sensing on Salisbury Plain, 1.9 miles (3 km) north-east of Stonehenge, with a series of vast shafts found to have been aligned to form a circle.

Leading archaeologists in the UK are insisting that a £1.6 billion road tunnel through the iconic Stonehenge landscape should be abandoned, reports The Guardian.

One reason to scrap the project, they say, is the recent discovery nearby of Britain’s largest prehistoric structure to date by the Stonehenge Hidden Landscapes Project, which was surveying the landscape around one of Britain’s most recognizable landmarks.

​Mike Parker Pearson, professor of British later prehistory at University College London, was quoted as saying:

Pearson dismissed arguments in favour of the project presented by Highways England, who argue improving the A303 with a tunnel will cut congestion, saying:

In response, Derek Parody, Highways England project director for the A303 Stonehenge scheme, said:

He added that meticulous planning and survey work had gone into the project using ground-penetrating radar, in compliance with Historic England-required standards.

Astonishing Find

A giant neolithic structure, dating back to the same period when Stonehenge was suggested as having been erected, some 4,500 years ago, has been found by a team of archaeologists from several universities, using the newest technology that ruled out any traditional digging on the sire.

Remote sensing technology and sampling revealed a 2-km (1.2-mile) wide circle of shafts, each more than five metres deep and up to 20 metres across, surrounding a settlement at Durrington Walls. The structure also included a henge, or circular structure, made of timber posts.

The site is located about 3.2 km northeast of Stonehenge, on Salisbury Plain near Amesbury, Wiltshire.

Stonehenge Road Tunnel Scheme Slammed as ‘Disastrous’ After Stunning Neolithic Discovery Nearby

The Stonehenge stone circle is seen through a barbed wire, where official Summer Solstice celebrations were cancelled due to the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), near Amesbury, Britain June 20, 2020

What had earlier been dismissed as possibly natural sinkholes was revealed through geophysical prospection, ground-penetrating radar and magnetometry to be a circle of pits significantly larger than any comparable prehistoric monument in Britain.

The scientists surmise the structure was a boundary guiding people to a sacred area, as Durrington Walls, one of Britain’s largest henge monuments, is situated at its centre.

Vincent Gaffney of the University of Bradford, co-principal investigator of the Stonehenge Hidden Landscapes Project, urged that “sensitive decisions” be taken at a heritage site as complex as Stonehenge, adding:

Parker Pearson added that other shafts have been identified by the team that might potentially be part of other formations, even nearer Stonehenge.

Referring to the road tunnel project, which the government is expected to decide on by 17 July, Professor Pearson said:

Sourse: sputniknews.com

Stonehenge Road Tunnel Scheme Slammed as ‘Disastrous’ After Stunning Neolithic Discovery Nearby

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