Archaeologists have found new evidence that rewrites the history of the Stonehenge landscape. One of the newly-discovered sites even predates the construction of the world famous monument itself.
FASCINATING FINDS: Flint arrow heads give a secure early Neolithic date
The remains, found at LarkhillandBulford, were unearthed during excavations being carried out before the building of a series of brand new Army houses.
At Larkhill, the discovery of a Neolithic causewayed enclosure – a major ceremonial gathering place some 200 meters in diameter – dating from around 3650 BC radically changes our view of the Stonehenge landscape. About 70 enclosures of this type are known across the UK, although this is only the second discovery in the Stonehenge landscape, with the other further to the northwest at Robin Hood’s Ball on the Salisbury Plain Training Area. In the Wessex region they occur on hilltops and, along with long…
A major new archaeological find of causewayed enclosures and artifacts near Britain’s famous Stonehenge site is about to “rewrite” the history of the area and of northwestern Europe’s early inhabited history.
Built 5,650 years ago—more than 1,000 years before Stonehenge—one of the enclosures appears to have been a major ceremonial gathering place.
The major enclosure’s precise original function remains a mystery, but the scant available evidence suggests that it was used for a mixture of ceremonial, religious, political, and mortuary roles.
According to a press release issued by a construction consultancy company involved with an unrelated new building project at the site, archaeologists have “discovered important new sites that rewrite the Stonehenge landscape” and which “predate the construction of Stonehenge itself.”
The remains, found at Larkhill and Bulford, were unearthed during excavations ahead of the construction of new British Army family accommodation.
About 70 enclosures of the type found are known across England and Europe, the press release continued.
The structure is one of the “earliest built structures in the British landscape,” and was used “for temporary settlement, as ceremonial gathering places, to manage and exchange animals, including the first domesticated cattle and sheep and for ritual activity.”
The Larkhill enclosure has produced freshly broken pottery, dumps of worked flint and even a large stone saddle quern used to turn grain into flour. The Neolithic period saw the first use of domesticated crops and this find provides evidence of this.
The Greater Cursus, an earthwork nearly 1.8 miles in length, is the longest structure. It connects and divides parts of the landscape, and separates the Larkhill causewayed enclosure from the place that became Stonehenge.
“The people who built the causewayed enclosure are the ancestors of the builders of Stonehenge and were shaping the landscape into which the stone circle was placed,” the press release continued.
“Their work shows that this was a special landscape even before Stonehenge was constructed. People were already living and working within what we now call the Stonehenge landscape and they were building the structures that would culminate in the Stonehenge complex of stones and earthworks.
A huge, prehistoric religious and ceremonial complex has been discovered near Britain’s most famous prehistoric temple Stonehenge.
Its discovery is likely to transform our understanding of the early development of Stonehenge’s ancient landscape.
Built about 5,650 years ago – more than 1,000 years before the great stones of Stonehenge were erected – the 200m-diameter complex is the first major early Neolithic monument to be discovered in the Stonehenge area for more than a century.
The newly discovered complex, just over a mile and a half north-east of Stonehenge, appears to have consisted of around 950m of segmented ditches – and potentially palisaded earthen banks – arranged in two great concentric circles.
So far, archaeologists have located and excavated around 100 metres worth of the outer ditch. It is not yet known how much, if any, of the rest of the monument has survived.
Amongst all the various carvings on the stones at Stonehenge, from the modern graffiti of the 17th to the 20th century and the ancient axe heads and daggers from about 1700BC, there are three that are not often noticed.
These are the Ordnance Survey (OS) benchmarks.
The OS website says: “Bench marks are the visible manifestation of Ordnance Datum Newlyn (ODN), which is the national height system for mainland Great Britain and forms the reference frame for heights above mean sea level.”
The original reference datum levelling survey was begun in Liverpool in 1840 using a benchmark on St. John’s Church, and in 1844 it was changed to the tidal pole in Victoria Dock. The reference Mean Sea Level (MSL) for the datum was established over a nine day period of tidal observations.
A second levelling survey was carried out in 1912-21 and the datum was changed to…
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Did you know the famous stone circle is surrounded by other prehistoric monuments, which are all part of the Stonehenge World Heritage Site?
Stonehenge needs little introduction. We all know it. But have you ever experienced it on foot? And do you know how those huge heavy rocks got there? Or what the ancient site was used for?
The best way to approach Stonehenge is on foot across the landscape, the same way that the ancient Neolithic and Bronze Age people did over 4000 years ago.
Our licensed guided walking tours provides you with spectacular views of the Stonehenge area rarely seen by the millions of people who visit the monument each year. This really is a wonderful walk with some tantalising glimpses of the Stone Circle as you approach.
World Heritage Guided Walking Tours
This Stonehenge World Heritage Trail explores the awe-inspiring monuments and landscapes of Neolithic and Bronze Age Britain. Your expert guide will lead you through ancient landscapes, monumental earthworks, megalithic circles and avenues.
Your tour guide for this experience is a local historian and astronomer who has spent the last 15 years researching Stonehenge and its surrounding area. He has an in-depth understanding of the solar and lunar alignment theories as well as a passion for the archaeology and history of the World Heritage Site.
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monument is roped off. Visitors observe the stones from a distance and are not permitted within the inner circle and for most tourists this is perfectly adequate. Since the new English Heritage visitor centre opened in 2013 the monument can often see over 1000 people per hour circling the Stone Circle at distances up to 100 meters away.
Walk Among The Stones At Stonehenge Without The Crowds
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For the more discerning traveller and those who are really, really interested in Stonehenge it is possible to go beyond the rope fence and walk among the stones with just a handful of people. These visits are called Special Access visits and take place outside public opening hours and are very early in the morning or late in the evening, often at sunset or sunrise. This is the only time you will be able to walk amongst the stones at Stonehenge. There are periods, noticeably the months of October and November where no Special Access slots are made available at all due to conservation reasons. The days around the summer solstice at the end of June are also blacked out.
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Most people are aware that Stonehenge is somehow aligned to the annual movements of the Sun.
Each year thousands of pilgrims, druids and party-goers gather in celebration, hoping to witness the most famous of these – the Summer Solstice Sunrise on June 21st.
At this time of year, as seen from the centre of the monument, the Sun rises in the same direction as the centre-line of the Avenue – the ancient processional approach to Stonehenge – towards the northeast.
The Stonehenge Avenue alignment was first pointed out by William Stukeley in 1740.
Even though almost everyone believes the Heel Stone was put up by the builders to exactly mark the summer solstice sunrise position, this can’t be true because it stands off to the right hand side of the alignment.
Today the Sun seems to rise out of the top of the Heel Stone due to the modern trees…
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FASCINATING FINDS: Flint arrow heads give a secure early Neolithic date 
Stonehenge’s ancient landscape.
Stonehenge needs little introduction. We all know it. But have you ever experienced it on foot? And do you know how those huge heavy rocks got there? Or what the ancient site was used for?
moon has come this close to Earth since 1948.
witness the most famous of these – the Summer Solstice Sunrise on June 21st.
Stonehenge Guided Tours 