Scientists Discover Stonehenge-like Circle in Denmark

Danish researchers have announced the discovery of a collection of wooden pieces placed in a circle that are believed to date back thousands of years ago.

The team says the wood pieces and some other objects were found during building work in the northwestern Danish town of Arse.

The discovery led the researchers to suggest the people who placed the wooden pieces might have been linked to a group who built Britain's famous Stonehenge stone structure.

A total of 45 ancient wood pieces were discovered underground last week during building or construction work.

The pieces formed a circle about 30 meters across.

In an email to the French news agency AFP, Sidsel Wallen of the town's West Himmellands Museum described the discovery as a once-in-a-lifetime find.

The circle points to a strong connection with the British henge world, she added.

The British Museum says on its website the first stones placed at Stonehenge in southern England are believed to have started arriving there around 3000 BC.

The Danish researchers said they were also looking to see whether an inner circle might also exist where the wooden pieces were found.

Wallen noted that in the past other wood circles had been found on the Danish island of Bornholm in the Baltic Sea.

But Wallen said the circle in Arse was the first one of this larger type that we can properly investigate.

Archaeologists working at the building site also found an ancient settlement that included a leader's grave and a bronze sword.

Wallen said her team was still carrying out detailed work in the area in an effort to estimate the age and purpose of the materials.

In particular, the archaeologists are now searching for religious-connected materials known as ritual deposits.

These might include flint arrowheads and small knives or daggers.

Wallen said the researchers will continue looking for links between the Arse site and other groups, such as those who built Stonehenge.

She added the influence of other groups had already been found in some objects and graves found in Denmark. I'm John Russell.