Stonehenge mystery thickens

Stonehenge mystery thickens

Researchers have discovered what may be the largest surviving Neolithic stone monument in the U.K. — an enormous ‘superhenge’ with as many as 100 large standing stones — about three kilometres from the famous Stonehenge.

Tourists at the Stonehenge on Salisbury Plain in England.

The remains of the monument are buried under a thick, grassy bank and are thought to have been hauled into position more than 4,500 years ago.

The hidden arrangement of nearly 100 huge standing stones formed part of a C-shaped Neolithic arena that bordered a dry valley and faced the Avon river directly.

Researchers used ground-penetrating radar to image 30 intact stones measuring up to 4.5 metres tall.

The fragments of more buried stones, or the massive foundation pits in which they stood, show the full extent of the monument, the Guardian reported.

“What we are starting to see is the largest surviving stone monument, preserved underneath a bank, that has ever been discovered in Britain and possibly in Europe,” says Vince Gaffney, an archaeologist at Bradford University, who leads the Stonehenge Hidden Landscape project.

The recumbent stones were lost beneath a huge bank and were incorporated as a somewhat clumsy linear southern border to the otherwise circular “superhenge” known as the Durrington Walls.

Whale vomit set to fetch 7,000 pounds at auction

Whale vomit set to fetch 7,000 pounds at auction

The extremely rare lump of ambergris found by a dog walker on a beach

An extremely rare lump of whale vomit found by a dog walker on a beach in the UK is expected to fetch 7,000 pounds at the first auction of its kind.

The substance is used in the perfumery industry and has sold for thousands of pounds privately before.

The chunk of ambergris — a waxy rock-like substance that can prolong the scent of perfume — was found washed-up on the shore at Anglesey, north Wales, earlier this year.

The ambergris, that measures 8 inches by 6 inches and weighs 1.1 kg, could have been floating in the sea for decades before it came ashore.

Ambergris is produced in the intestines of sperm whales to protect them from the sharp beaks of squid which they eat and is passed as vomit, ‘mirror.co.uk’ reported.

The substance is used in the perfumery industry and has sold for thousands of pounds privately before.

“Our vendor was out walking his dog when it ran over to this object and wouldn’t leave it alone,” said Chris Surfleet, senior valuer and auctioneer.

“He took it home, did a bit of research and suspected it was ambergris and knew it had a value so came to us. We are 100 per cent certain it is ambergris.

“A number of people with experience with ambergris have studied it who have confirmed it,” he said.

“It is a bit like gold in that it comes down to the price per gram. There is a lot of interest in unusual items these days,” he said.  --- AP

New species of ancient humans found

New species of ancient humans found

Explorers stumbled upon a huge haul of bones found in a small, dark chamber at the back of a cave in South Africa

A huge haul of bones found in a small, dark chamber at the back of a cave in South Africa may be the remnants of a new species of ancient human relative.

A replica of the skull of a newly discovered ancient species, "Homo naledi" - named in honour of the "Rising Star" cave where it was found. Naledi means "star" in South Africa's Sesotho language.

Explorers happened upon the bones after squeezing through a fissure high up in the rear wall of the Rising Star cave, 50 km from Johannesburg, before descending down a long, narrow chute to the chamber floor 40 metres beneath the surface.

They recovered more than 1,500 pieces of bone belonging to at least 15 individuals. The remains appear to be infants, juveniles and one very old adult.

Thousands more pieces of bone are still in the chamber, smothered in the soft dirt that covers the ground.

The leaders of the National Geographic-funded project believe the bones — as yet undated — represent a new species of ancient human relative.

They have named the creature Homo naledi, where naledi means “star” in Sesotho, a local South African language.

But other experts on human origins say the claim is unjustified. — © Guardian Newspapers Limited, 2015