'Spanish Stonehenge' is discovered as more than 500 standing stones from prehistoric era emerge

Archaeologists say they've uncovered a massive megalithic complex of more than 500 standing stones.

In what could be one of the biggest archaeological discoveries in Europe, a collection of over 500 standings stones have been found in southern Spain.

Megaliths are large stones used to build ancient structures or monuments, Stonehenge is a prime example of a megalithic complex.

One of the most fascinating parts of the discovery is how different types of structures built using standings stones have all been found together at the same site, and they have been so well preserved.

The land was initially going to be used as an avocado plantation but the standing stones were found during a survey of the terrain, which has rather scuppered the plans to grow more of the popular fruit.

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José Antonio Linares, one of the directors on the project, said the stones found at the La Torre-La Janera site were probably erected during the fifth or sixth millennium BC, making them thousands of years old.

He said: "This is the biggest and most diverse collection of standing stones grouped together in the Iberian peninsula. It is a major megalithic site in Europe."

While it might end up being one of the largest megalithic sites in Europe, archaeologists would have to uncover a lot more stones to get it anywhere close to the Carnac site in France, which has more than 3,000 standing stones.

Many of the stones are buried deep within the ground and researchers believe it will be 2026 before they've been able to extract them all.

Ian Dagnall / Alamy Stock Photo

The Iberian peninsula is quite the archaeological hotspot, with all sorts of incredible discoveries being made.

Researchers reckon that human remains dating as far back as 8,000 years ago discovered in modern day Portugal could be the first historical example of mummification, which could end up being a bit of a blow to the Ancient Egyptians as that was historically their thing.

Meanwhile, in the north-eastern part of Spain a necropolis packed with over 4,500 bodies from centuries ago with all the skeletons turned to face towards Mecca helped fill in some of the details of history.

It's a fascinating reminder that many of us are living our lives atop the bones of past civilisations of people who walked upon the same ground and breathed the same air that we do today.

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Topics: News, World News, Science

Joe Harker

Joe graduated from the University of Salford with a degree in Journalism and worked for Reach before joining the LADbible Group. When not writing he enjoys the nerdier things in life like painting wargaming miniatures and chatting with other nerds on the internet. He's also spent a few years coaching fencing. Contact him via [email protected]

@MrJoeHarker