Archaeologists say they now have firm evidence that a huge circle of deep pits near Stonehenge was carved by humans more than 4,000 years ago.
Known as the Durrington pit circle, the structure consists of around 20 विशाल pits stretching over a mile in diameter. Some are up to 10 metres wide and 5 metres deep, requiring significant planning and engineering to dig into the chalk landscape.
Using a mix of cutting-edge techniques — including radar, magnetometry, electrical imaging, soil DNA analysis and luminescence dating — researchers found repeating, unnatural soil patterns that they say could not have formed naturally.
Lead researcher Prof Vincent Gaffney said the evidence shows the pits were deliberately constructed and likely had ritual or cosmological significance, possibly linked to beliefs about an underworld.
The findings also strengthen the idea that Neolithic people used early counting or measuring systems to build structures on such a massive scale.
