BRITAIN--A HUGE HENGE ABOUT TO BE INVESTIGATED

A site at Marden, near Devizes (Wiltshire, England), rivalled Stonehenge and Avebury in its day, says English Heritage. A six-week dig at the site close to the village, will start on June 28, 2010.

Unlike Stonehenge and Avebury, Marden Henge no longer has any surviving standing stones, but its sheer size is astounding. Comprising a substantial and well-preserved bank with an internal ditch enclosing an area of some 10.5 hectares it is one of the largest Neolithic henges in Britain.

Archaeologists are particularly intrigued by evidence of a huge mound at the center of the henge similar to a smaller version of Silbury Hill. The mound collapsed in 1806 and was leveled by 1817. English Heritage hopes to find out more about this feature by obtaining dating material from any surviving features within its center.

The Henge is on the road out of the village towards Beechingstoke, at Hatfield Farm, and is on private land.