Scientists discover possible older version of Stonehenge

Scientists think they have found an earlier version of Stonehenge, located close to the original monument.

Experts discovered two holes which they believe may have held large wooden posts, which lined up with the sun on the longest and shortest days of the year.

The site has been dated to around 5,000 years old - making it 500 years older than Stonehenge.

Researchers also found other items at the site, including pottery and tools, suggesting that prehistoric people gathered there.

Stonehenge is a circle of huge stones, located on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire in the south-west of England.

It's thought to have been built in prehistoric times, with the stones being raised around 2,500 BC.

The monument was designed to match the position of the Sun during the winter and summer solstices.

On these days, the Sun lines up with gaps in the stones in a special way, attracting thousands of people to the site each year.

Experts from Wessex Archaeology, who led the excavation, say the new site is located only around three miles away from Stonehenge, in the village of Bulford.

It was a much more simple construction, made up of just two wooden posts, which have long since rotted away.

The posts were positioned 120 metres apart and estimated to be between 2-4 metres high.

When the team came across the holes, they noticed that they seemed to line up with the Sun, just like Stonehenge.

Phil Harding, from Wessex Archaeology explained: "I got my pencil and ruler, and I joined them up, and I was aware that they were kind of pointing in the general direction of the sunrise on midsummer."

The pits that held these posts also were not the only discovery during the excavation.

Surrounding them were a number of other holes which contained artefacts such as tools made of flint, and pottery.

Experts were able to date these objects, which helped to establish the age of the 5,000-year-old site.

Dr Jennifer Wexler, from English Heritage, said the discovery could suggest more about the area and those who lived there.

"The people who built Stonehenge and the people who were at Bulford were early farmers, and their livelihoods really were connected to the seasons and the Sun doing its job," she explained.

"The discovery of Bulford actually suggests that maybe the people who built the first stages of Stonehenge were based or living there, or at least gathering seasonally to do the construction work at Stonehenge."