Serendipity involving a hosepipe (or lack thereof) and an eagle eyed English Heritage steward called Tim Daw, have led to an important discovery regarding the original shape of Stonehenge. Historians and archaeologists have questioned whether Stonehenge was intended to be a full or incomplete circle, with some experts arguing a lack of stones in the south-west quadrant is proof it was never completely round. The use of scientific techniques had also failed to definitively answer the question. What scuppered science was solved with old-fashioned observation when Tim noticed ground which was parched because the site hosepipe was too short to reach it, Tim commented:
"I was standing on the public path looking at the grass near the stones and thinking that we needed to find a longer hosepipe to get the parched patches to green up…. I had a sudden lightbulb moment in my head, and remembered that the marks were where archaeologists had looked without success for signs that there had been stone holes, and that parch marks can signify them…I called my colleague over and he saw them and realised their possible significance as well. Not being archaeologists we called in the professionals to evaluate them…I am still amazed and very pleased that simply looking at something, that tens of thousands of people had unwittingly seen, can reveal secrets that sophisticated machinery can't.
Susan Greaney from English Heritage said the discovery seemed to suggest Stonehenge was intended to be circular. A scientific paper supporting the discovery has been published in the latest issue of Antiquity.
