Marijane Porter / Wessex Archaeology
A reconstruction of what ancient meetings at the site might have been like
A routine dig next to a British barracks has revealed what may be Stonehenge’s earliest ancestor — and the discovery of a career for archaeologist Phil Harding.
A team of British archaeologists revealed on Thursday that they had discovered, near the prehistoric stone circle of Stonehenge, in southern England, a structure that may have served as a “prototype” to the Neolithic monument, 5,000 years old.
According to the team, from the British company Wessex Archeology, the structure would be composed of two wooden posts 120 meters apart, which would be aligned to point directly towards the sunrise during the summer solstice and towards the sunset on the winter solsticeo.
The structure now discovered is about 500 years older than Stonehenge, researchers say. It is located in Bulford5 kilometers from the main stone circle.
The team was led by archaeologist Phil Hardingaged 76, well known in the United Kingdom for his many years of excavations conducted for the Channel 4 television series ““.
According to Harding, the place, where a treasure trove of finds which includes pottery, animal bones and a rare disc-shaped knife, was probably a meeting point for large religious gatherings.
“Opportunities like this probably only come once “I’m probably nearing the end of my career, but thank God I’ve stayed in archeology long enough to be part of this discovery, because it’s definitely the highlight of my career“.
is a symbol of British culture and history and continues to be one of the biggest tourist attractions in the country. It was built on the flat lands of Salisbury Plain in phases, starting 5,000 years ago, with the single circle of stones being erected at the end of the Neolithic periodaround 2,500 BC
O The meaning of the site has been the subject of heated debate. The most consensual interpretation is that aligned with the movements of the sun, coinciding perfectly with the summer and winter solstices.
Other theories about Stonehenge include that it was a coronation place of Danish kings, a druidic temple, a cult center intended for healing or a astronomical “computer” to predict eclipses and solar phenomena.
Whatever the explanation, thousands of people, many dressed as druids and pagans, will gather at the site on Sunday to watch the sunrise, notes the .
“What few will realize is that 5,000 years ago, on a nearby hillside overlooking present-day Bulford, people did exactly the samevenerating and celebrating the sunrise on the summer solstice,” Harding said.
