Archaeologists discover 'Neolithic bling' at gigantic stone circle

(Image credit: screenshot/twitter)

published 7 August 2015

Archaeologists have discovered a monument from Stone Age Britain that makes Stonehenge look small. The ancient henge, Marden Henge, is 10 times bigger than Stonehenge, with walls that stand 10 feet high and enclose nearly 40 acres of land. "For all the attention that has been lavished on Stonehenge over the years, we may well find out that Marden was where it was really at during the Neolithic," Jim Leary, director of the archaeology field school at the University of Reading, told National Geographic.

Archaeologists are unearthing a treasure trove of artifacts from the massive 4,500-year-old monument, including intricately crafted arrowheads, a skeleton buried with an amber necklace, an early Bronze Age burial, and a rare stone building that rests in the center of the henge.

Unfortunately, Marden Henge's true purpose remains as much of a mystery as Stonehenge's. Judging by the remains of numerous pigs and a fire pit, archaeolgists assume that it seemed to be "the scene of feasting on a lavish scale," National Geographic reports. One theory is that the site was a place where "initiates or celebrants were cleansed before participating in ceremonies." Another explanation is that the henge was a smokehouse where hogs were prepared for feasts.