New research strongly suggests that Stonehenge was not always alone and that there were more than a dozen other structures that once surrounded it.
According to BBC News, scientists used radar and mapping equipment to study the ground beneath Stonehenge up to three meters deep with astounding clarity. The researchers hope to learn how the area evolved over time and what that could possibly say about Stonehenge.
Vincent Gaffney, a professor at the University of Birmingham and the project's chief, spoke on the research, which is the subject of a forthcoming BBC 2 documentary, at the British Science Festival.
"For the past four years we have been looking at this amazing monument to try and see what was around it," he said, according to BBC News. "Was it really an excluded place, where only special people would come?"
Their were apparently 17 other ritualistic monuments never before known to have existed, meaning the area may not have been so secluded, the Associated Press reported. Among the monuments was a large timber building that was most likely used for burial ceremonies.
"Despite Stonehenge being the most iconic of all prehistoric monuments and occupying one of the richest archaeological landscapes in the world, much of this landscape in effect remains terra incognita," Gaffney told the Guardian. "The project has revealed that the area around Stonehenge is teeming with previously unseen archaeology and that the application of new technology can transform how archaeologists and the wider public understand one of the best-studied landscapes on Earth."
The researchers also determined that the 17 previously unknown monuments are as old as Stonehenge. Still, more research will be needed to get a better look at how the landscape evolved.
The documentary, titled "Operation Stonehenge: What Lies Beneath," will air on BBC 2 on Thursday, Sept. 11 at 8 p.m. BST (3 p.m. EST).
