Ancient ring discovered underground in Scotland could be a Stonehenge-like monument
While scanning one of Scotland’s richest prehistoric landscapes, archaeologists uncovered evidence of a new stone or timber circle buried beneath peaty moorland. The discovery could add another monument to a formal structure that has fascinated researchers for more than a century.
The possible circle lies beneath the surface of Machari Moor on the Isle of Arran, Scotland, a landscape already famous for its standing stonesburial monuments and formal venue Researchers from Historic Environment Scotland identified a possible cycle between about 3500 and 1500 BC using geophysical survey equipment, which is mounted above ground and detects subtle magnetic changes underground without disturbing any archaeological remains.
The discovery comes from a survey that was intended to test how well modern archaeological tools work in peat-covered landscapes, but instead the project revealed an unexpected underground cycle.
“We know there is still a lot of archaeological discovery left to be discovered at Machery Moor, but the discovery of a new circle completely exceeds our expectations.” nick hannonHistoric Environment Scotland’s senior heritage recording manager said in a statement Released on 30 June.
Whereas stonehenge The world’s most famous prehistoric circle, this is just one monument of Hundreds were built in Britain and mainland Europe. During the Neolithic and Bronze Age. Machari Moor is one of the best preserved examples of these ritual landscapes, with six ceremonial circles already identified since the 1980s.
In fact, archaeologists found that there was much more to learn about some of the circles than was previously known. For example, at Machery Moor Circle 2, the team identified a ring of anomalies, suggesting that the circle may have contained 14 stones instead of the seven or eight previously reconstructed.
Excavations of Circle 11 from the 1985 excavations. Circle 11 has been dated to the Bronze Age.
(Image credit: Historic Environment Scotland)
The circles also share a striking orientation: they align with a notch at the top of nearby Machree Glen where midsummer sun may have increased, which suggests that astronomical observations may have played a role in the ceremonies held there.
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archaeological anomalies
Unlike circles that had already been discovered at the site, the newly discovered monument has not yet been excavated. Instead, the researchers identified a ring of magnetic anomalies – microscopic disturbances in the soil that often indicate archaeological features such as pits or postholes.
according to survey reportThe feature consists of 12 circular, crater-like anomalies arranged in a circle about 92 feet (28 m) across. The pits are about 21 feet (6.5 m) apart, with two unusually wide gaps that researchers say may represent the locations of two additional pits that are now decayed. If so, the monument may have originally had 14 pillars or standing stones.
“There is no indication at this time that any stone is involved in any of these anomalies,” the researchers said in the report, so the circle may have been formed from wooden pillars or standing stones that were later removed.
An ancient circle looking north at Macherey Moor, Scotland, is believed to be Bronze Age.
(Image credit: Historic Environment Scotland)
Previous excavations have already revealed that many of the other stone circles at Machree Moor were originally built as wooden circles, before the wooden pillars were replaced with stone ones around 2000 BC. human cremation And physical funeral These were later placed in some circles, which shows that the functions of the monuments have changed over time.
“It is likely that the newly discovered circle dates from the same period as the other circles still in existence,” representatives from Historic Environment Scotland said in the statement.
