(AFP)
A stone circle predating Britain's famous Stonehenge site has been discovered on a Scottish island, a university professor announced.
The structure, believed to be 5,000 years old, was discovered in an ancient quarry on the Isle of Lewis off Scotland's north-west coast, Professor Colin Richard of Manchester University said.
"It is the only stone circle we have found built in a quarry, and the circle could commemorate the quarry as sacred," Professor Richard told The Independent newspaper.
"Where the stones come from and the act of moving them from one place to another seems to be more important than the finished circle."
Named Na Dromanan and measuring 30 metres across, the stone circle could be one of Britain's oldest, predating those in Stonehenge and Avebury, both built in central England later in the Neolithic period.
"There are not many stone circles in this condition and I have never seen this type of construction before," Professor Richard said.
"It should be good for the tourist trade."
Archaeologists believe stone circles began to be built around 3,700 BC, although their purpose remains a subject of intense academic controversy.
Some suggest they served as religious sites while others believe they were used as astronomical instruments.
A stone circle predating Britain's famous Stonehenge site has been discovered on a Scottish island, a university professor announced.
The structure, believed to be 5,000 years old, was discovered in an ancient quarry on the Isle of Lewis off Scotland's north-west coast, Professor Colin Richard of Manchester University said.
"It is the only stone circle we have found built in a quarry, and the circle could commemorate the quarry as sacred," Professor Richard told The Independent newspaper.
"Where the stones come from and the act of moving them from one place to another seems to be more important than the finished circle."
Named Na Dromanan and measuring 30 metres across, the stone circle could be one of Britain's oldest, predating those in Stonehenge and Avebury, both built in central England later in the Neolithic period.
"There are not many stone circles in this condition and I have never seen this type of construction before," Professor Richard said.
"It should be good for the tourist trade."
Archaeologists believe stone circles began to be built around 3,700 BC, although their purpose remains a subject of intense academic controversy.
Some suggest they served as religious sites while others believe they were used as astronomical instruments.
