Smaller Stonehenge-like stone circle discovered

William Atkins
Monday, 05 October 2009 19:51

Science - Biology

British archaeologists have discovered a smaller 'Stonehenge' that they are calling 'Bluehenge' due to the color of the original stone that made up each monolith. Bluehenge was found down a pathway from the more famous monument.


A “mini-Stonehenge” has been uncovered by researchers from the University of Sheffield.

The Bluehenge structure is located about a mile from the famous prehistoric monument, Stonehenge, which is located within the English county of Wiltshire, about 13 kilometers (8.1 miles) north of Salisbury and 3.2 kilometers (2 miles) west of Amesbury.

According to the BBC News article “Mini-Stonehenge find ‘important’,” the smaller remains is called “’Bluehenge’, … after the hue of the 27 stones from Wales which once formed it…”

The archaeologists making the discovery, over the summer of 2009, state that its presence is “very important” for further knowledge about Stonehenge.

The leader of the Stonehenge Riverside Project, which made the discovery, is Mike Parker Pearson, a professor of archaeology at the University of Sheffield.

The newly discovered monument is located at the end of a pathway that connects Stonehenge to the River Avon.

Unlike Stonehenge, however, nothing remains of Bluehenge except numerous holes, which form a circle about 18 meters (60 feet) in diameter.

The holes are the bases from which the monoliths were built very long ago. The Bluehenge site was built on an uplifted mound.

Bluehenge would have had 27 monoliths, while the larger Stonehenge had 56 such structures.

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