LONDON — The discovery of a small prehistoric circle of stones near Stonehenge may confirm the theory that the mysterious monument in southwestern England was part of a massive funeral complex built around a river, researchers said Tuesday.
The new find shows that the second stone circle — dubbed “Bluehenge” because it was built with bluestones — once stood next to the River Avon about 1 3/4 miles from Stonehenge, one of Britain’s best loved and least understood landmarks.
The find last month could help prove that the Avon linked a “domain of the dead” — made up of Stonehenge and Bluehenge — with an upstream “domain of the living” known as Durrington Wells, a monument where extensive signs of feasting and other human activity were found, said professor Julian Thomas, co-director of the Stonehenge Riverside Project.
