Feb 6, 2023 12:24 PM MTI
The Thornborough Henges, a Neolithic complex also referred to as the ‘Stonehenge of the North’, opened to the public on Friday, Historic England, the UK government agency dealing with cultural heritage protection, announced.
Thornborough Henge at geograph.org.uk aerial view (Image credit: Wikimedia Commons/geograph.co.uk/Tony Newbould/CC BY-SA 2.0)
The prehistoric archaeological site is a group of three mysterious circular structures located near Ripon, about 30 kilometers north of Leeds.
The time of its origin falls between 3500 and 2500 BC. Circles, more than 200 meters in diameter, shall serve as gathering points for celebrations, business meetings or exhibitions. Research results indicate that the building can be clearly seen from several kilometers away.
The British government agency for cultural heritage, Historic England, believes that “Thornborough Heng is probably the most important ancient monument between Stonehenge in the southwest of England and the Orkney Islands in Scotland”.
In many ways it is reminiscent of the Stonehenge already known from the south-west of England: it forms circles and would have been built by the labor of many people, marking how important a building it must have been in its time.
Remnants of its walls are still clearly visible today, and large circles can be seen from above. At the same time, they overcame the great decline, as the affected land had been under cultivation for a long time.
Duncan Wilson, chair of History of England, described the Neolithic landscape as “a point of contact spanning millennia, creating a sense of beauty and mystery”.
Memorial Park was opened to the public through the agreement in 2016 with the previous owner of the area, a construction company. The company operated a quarry there, but gave up the area after long disputes.
Rishi Sunak, UK Prime Minister who is also the district’s elected representative, also spoke at the opening of Thornborough Henges. According to Sunak, the new attraction will go a long way in helping tell the story of the UK’s history.
The memorial park, which opened on Friday, will join a group of famous landmarks that are part of British cultural heritage, such as the Iron Bridge over the River Severn, Hadrian’s Wall, which remains from Roman times, Stonehenge in southwest England or Dover Castle.
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