A 4,500-year-old trench has been discovered near the Stonehenge site.

Initial findings suggest there may have been up to 20 trenches surrounding a worship site used by people living during the Stone Age and associated with a stone temple.

Previously, these trenches were thought to be sinkholes or reservoirs. However, the similarities between them prompted scientists to investigate further. An aerial survey combining various technologies such as ground-penetrating radar and magnetic field measurements revealed a 4,500-year-old circular structure.

Because Durrington Walls is located in the center of the massive pit, researchers believe this trench served as a boundary surrounding land considered sacred by ancient peoples. The location of Stonehenge is related to the summer and winter solstices, reflecting the sun's influence. Meanwhile, the newly discovered trench may reveal ancient peoples' perception of larger-scale cosmic phenomena.

In addition to Durrington Walls, the moat also surrounds the Larkhill stone structures, built 1,500 years before Stonehenge. The team of experts is unsure whether the moat served as a guide or a barrier preventing ancient people from accessing the stone structures. However, it suggests that the stone structures in the area were part of a complex cultural and spiritual tradition.

New discoveries indicate that Neolithic communities in Britain were highly developed and likely achieved significant advancements in construction techniques. Researchers say that digging such wide and deep trenches with rudimentary tools is as impressive as arranging massive stone blocks.

A new study published in the Internet journal Archaeology on June 21st coincides with the time when sun worshippers often visit Stonehenge to celebrate the Summer Solstice, marking the end of spring and the beginning of summer in England and many Western or temperate countries.

Many researchers believe that Stonehenge was built by the ancient Britons as a giant astronomical calendar capable of accurate predictions before the invention of writing, the wheel, or the discovery of the Earth's rotation around the sun. On the summer solstice, the sun rises from the Heel Stone in the east. The light aligns with the central stones and the Altar Stone in the west. By the winter solstice (December 21st or 22nd), this phenomenon is completely reversed, and the sun begins to rise from the opposite stone.

According to existing research, scientists believe that the ancient Britons, originating from what is now Anatolia (Türkiye), brought megalithic culture to the British Isles. Besides Stonehenge, they also built settlements with earthen ramparts, such as at Skara Brae and the Orkneys. Later, another group, from the steppes of present-day Ukraine and Kazakhstan, arrived in Britain 4,500 years ago and occupied almost all of the islands.

The work of a genetic research team led by Professor David Reich of Harvard Medical School in Cambridge, Massachusetts, shows that up to 90% of the genes of the ancient Britons – the group that built Stonehenge – were replaced within just a few hundred years. However, some argue that the stone structures continued to be used by ancient populations for religious purposes until society transitioned to the Bronze Age.

The Heritage website states that archaeological estimates reveal the first stones of Stonehenge may have been erected as far back as 5,000 years ago. It was subsequently repaired by later generations, and the circle of stones in its current form was completed around 2,500 BC. The deep moats surrounding the nearby shrine, however, only appeared around 4,000 years ago. This indicates that settlement and the use of large stones for worship may have lasted for thousands of years. Some historical sources in England believe that Stonehenge was worshipped by the indigenous people until the Roman conquest of Britain in 55 BC.

Huong Thao