A PREHISTORIC earthwork, thousands of years old, has been uncovered by archaeologists checking what lay under the site of a controversial housing development.
Residents against developer Peveril Homes' building of 77 homes under the site in Etwall Road, Willington, had hoped that the find would affect the project.
But a Derbyshire County Council spokeswoman said experts believed that the Neolithic "henge" was "not that unusual" and that it did not qualify for scheduled monument status.
Had it been scheduled, it would have been protected against disturbance or unlicensed metal detecting.
The full name for the find is a "hengiform monument" and it would have been created between 4,000 and 2,500 BC. Experts believe the sites may have been used for rituals or astronomical observation rather than day-to-day activity.
The council spokeswoman said: "A hengiform monument means it was once a henge (earthwork) with banks and ditches, probably not standing stones. The ditches have long-since been filled in due to thousands of years of ploughing.
"The developer has funded a full archaeological evaluation for our records and will now be allowed to build over the site.
"These hengiforms aren't that unusual. This does not qualify for scheduled monument status. The Trent Valley is full of burial sites and henges.
"The most important monument complexes in the Trent Valley are protected through being given Scheduled Monument status – although interesting, this one doesn't come up to that level of importance because it is an isolated monument with few related features, and because it is affected by ploughing."
Peveril Homes was granted planning permission for the homes by South Derbyshire District Council in January this year.
The developer's planning application: "Very substantial time, energy and investment has gone into the design of this scheme and it is our view that this has delivered a very special development proposal."
