Volcanic hazard areas may be bigger

There’s no need to travel all the way to England to find out about one of the most famous landmarks on the planet: The Secrets of Stonehenge is finally coming to Tāmaki Makaurau.

The international exhibition goes on display in Tāmaki Paenga Hira Auckland War Memorial Museum from December 15.

The exhibition features hundreds of artefacts more than 4000 years old, sharing the breakthrough scientific evidence and revealing the secrets behind one of the most mysterious prehistoric monuments.

Stonehenge stands proudly in Salisbury. The largest stones are about seven metres high, nearly three metres wide and weigh more than 22 tonnes.

The ancient landmark has long sparked curiosity regarding its origins, construction and meaning, and after almost 20 years of excavations, archaeologists finally have some answers that shed light on the people who built it.

The exhibition has been curated by Professor Mike Parker Pearson, who has been directing research on Stonehenge since 2003.

‘‘After centuries of speculation, we are finally reaching an understanding of Stonehenge: who built it, when, how and why,’’ Parker Pearson said.

‘‘We now know that Stonehenge did not appear out of the blue.’’

The site at Salisbury had been considered sacred for ‘‘hundreds, if not thousands of years before the first Stonehenge was built’’.

‘‘That first Stonehenge, built around 3000BC, looked very different from its second incarnation, built 500 years later, when it took the form in which it broadly appears today,’’ Parker Pearson said.

‘‘Its story is one of change and evolution – a story we are piecing together for the first time.’’

The exhibition digs deep into the evolving stories of the landmark, from how the stones arrived there, to who the builders were and what their intentions might have been as they formed the stone circle.

It also speculates on the monument’s special place in the ancient landscape.

Through artefacts, including stone tools, antler picks, pottery, gold and bronze objects, science and hands-on experiences with interactive tables, touch screens, videos, and digital animations, visitors can explore when, why, how and by whom Stonehenge was built.

Secrets of Stonehenge opens on December 15 for a limited time. Tickets are available on the Auckland Museum website, or at the museum.

Auckland may need to increase the radius of its volcanic hazard areas, new research has found. New evidence from geologists looking at a Death Valley volcanic eruption crater in the United States found deposits of volcanic rock and ash further out from the eruption site than they expected. The rocks were found by the researchers due to improved preservation in the arid Californian Death Valley environment. The study, led by American professor Greg Valentine, increased the range of pyroclastic surge runout – gas and rock ejected during volcanic eruptions – to 10 to 15 kilometres. Auckland’s current volcano plan includes a 5km radius evacuation zone around any new volcanic vent. The city has about 50 dormant volcanoes, with the most recent eruption at Rangitoto about 600 to 700 years ago.