Archaeology & History

Smaller, earlier structure discovered a few miles from Stonehenge

By T.K. Randall
June 20, 2026

Image: Stonehenge, Wiltshire
Credit: Udit Kapoor / CC BY-SA 4.0 (adapted) Situated a mere three miles from the iconic megalithic stones, the structure - which dates back 5,000 years (making it 500 years older than Stonehenge) - has almost completely disappeared aside from two holes in the ground that would have once held large timber posts.

Significantly, these posts would have been aligned with the summer and winter solstices, just like Stonehenge, and a number of artifacts (such as pottery, flint tools and animal bones) have also been found in the vicinity of the site.

The excavation was headed up by Phil Harding - an archaeologist who is best known for his regular appearances on the Channel 4 TV show Time Team."Two post pits tell me [much] more about the people 5,000 years ago," he said.

"This tells me about the whole community, this tells me about how they were thinking, how they were behaving, how they were revering the heavens."

The discovery paints a picture of a time when structures such as these may have been commonplace across the region.

Exactly how many such monuments once existed, however, will probably never be known.

Source: BBC News

Tags: Stonehenge