<p>Archaeologists on Monday said they have discovered a major prehistoric monument under the earth near Stonehenge that could shed new light on the origins of the mystical stone circle in southwestern England.</p>.<p>Experts from a group of British universities led by the University of Bradford say the site consists of at least 20 huge shafts, more than 10 meters (32 feet) in diameter and 5 metres (16 feet) deep, forming a circle more than 2 kilometres (1.2 miles) in diameter.</p>.<p>The new find is at Durrington Walls, the site of a Neolithic village about 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) from Stonehenge, Researchers say the shafts appear to have been dug around 4,500 years ago, and could mark the boundary of a sacred area or precinct around a circular monument known as the Durrington Walls henge.</p>.<p>Richard Bates, of the University of St Andrews School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, said the findings -- made with remote sensing and sampling — provided "an insight to the past that shows an even more complex society than we could ever imagine".</p>.<p>University of Bradford archaeologist Vince Gaffney said it was "remarkable" that Stonehenge, one of the most studied archaeological landscapes in the world, could yield such a major new discovery.</p>.<p>"When these pits were first noted it was thought they might be natural features — solution hollows in the chalk," he said. But geophysical surveys allowed scientists to "join the dots and see there was a pattern on a massive scale".</p>.<p>Britain is dotted with stone circles build thousands of years ago for reasons that remain mysterious.</p>.<p>The most famous is Stonehenge, a huge monument built between 3000 B C and 1600 B C that is one of Britain's most popular tourist attractions.</p>.<p>It's also a spiritual home for thousands of druids and mystics who visit at the summer and winter solstices -- though this weekend's summer solstice celebrations were scuttled by a ban on mass gatherings because of the coronavirus pandemic.</p>
<p>Archaeologists on Monday said they have discovered a major prehistoric monument under the earth near Stonehenge that could shed new light on the origins of the mystical stone circle in southwestern England.</p>.<p>Experts from a group of British universities led by the University of Bradford say the site consists of at least 20 huge shafts, more than 10 meters (32 feet) in diameter and 5 metres (16 feet) deep, forming a circle more than 2 kilometres (1.2 miles) in diameter.</p>.<p>The new find is at Durrington Walls, the site of a Neolithic village about 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) from Stonehenge, Researchers say the shafts appear to have been dug around 4,500 years ago, and could mark the boundary of a sacred area or precinct around a circular monument known as the Durrington Walls henge.</p>.<p>Richard Bates, of the University of St Andrews School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, said the findings -- made with remote sensing and sampling — provided "an insight to the past that shows an even more complex society than we could ever imagine".</p>.<p>University of Bradford archaeologist Vince Gaffney said it was "remarkable" that Stonehenge, one of the most studied archaeological landscapes in the world, could yield such a major new discovery.</p>.<p>"When these pits were first noted it was thought they might be natural features — solution hollows in the chalk," he said. But geophysical surveys allowed scientists to "join the dots and see there was a pattern on a massive scale".</p>.<p>Britain is dotted with stone circles build thousands of years ago for reasons that remain mysterious.</p>.<p>The most famous is Stonehenge, a huge monument built between 3000 B C and 1600 B C that is one of Britain's most popular tourist attractions.</p>.<p>It's also a spiritual home for thousands of druids and mystics who visit at the summer and winter solstices -- though this weekend's summer solstice celebrations were scuttled by a ban on mass gatherings because of the coronavirus pandemic.</p>