Rochdale's mini-Stonehenge?

Rochdale's Stonehenge? - News - Manchester Evening News

News of a recent discovery by archaeologist Stuart Mendelsohn, on the moors of Rochdale, which may have important implications for our better understanding of Neolithic and/or Bronze Age Britain some 5,000 years ago. This from the linked report...

The two nearby sites - an oval made up of collapsed slabs, and a 30-metre circle of rounded stones - are believed to be ancient burial sites dating back as far as 5,000 years. They were spotted by archaeologist Stuart Mendelsohn during a walk on the hills in December and could now become a major tourist attraction.

"I suppose you could describe it as Rochdale's version of Stonehenge," said Mr Mendelson, 52, who is based in Sweden but originally from Middleton. "It would have been a sacred site and what we've found so far I feel will be the tip of the iceberg.

At first reading, it appears that because no enclosing ditch has been been found, these might be stone circles rather than proper henges. However, it is notable that one of the sites isn't a circle at all, but an oval, a configuration that would make it unusual in its own right - the bluestones at Stonehenge were at one time also configured to form an oval. Here's more from the linked article...

The two sites have been visited by Peter Iles, a leading archaeological expert from Lancashire County Council. They have also been inspected by English Heritage and entered on the official Greater Manchester archaeology database. English Heritage described both as "fairly well preserved" and claim both are "possible of Bronze age date" - meaning they could date back to 3,000 BC.

Unlike the famous monument at Stonehenge, however, they are believed to be made of local materials. The first site, made up of fallen stones, is 10.2m in overall diameter..

The second, which includes the circle, is on the western slope and - according to an English Heritage report - "seems to have been sited to be visible from some distance to the west, rather than the valley floor".

The report adds that both finds "probably represent Bronze Age burial monuments." Around 20 stones have been uncovered it total - the largest being 1.5m tall - and the entire site covers an acre.

As ever, further developments will be awaited with keen anticipation.