Builders of Stonehenge Houses Found
Archaeologists have found a huge ancient settlement, used by the people who built Stonehenge.The dig is at Durrington Walls, near the Salisbury Plain monument. It seems that the people occupied the sites seasonally, for funeral ceremonies and ritual feasting. In 2,600-2,500 BC this settlement would have housed hundreds of people, making it the largest Neolithic village ever found in Great Britain. Researchers say Stonehenge was built in this period.
Some archaeologists have said that there are problems when trying to date the site because the stone circle has been rebuilt so many times. Artifacts have been dug up and reburied so many times, it is very hard to determine an exact date for construction.
But Mike Parker Pearson is sure of a link between the settelment and Stonehenge. “In what were houses, we have excavated the outlines on the floors of box beds and wooden dressers or cupboards,” he explained.
Mr Parke Pearson said this was based on the fact that these houses have exactly the same layout as Neolithic houses in Skara Brae, Orkney, which have survived because, unlike these dwellings, they were made of stone.
They think the could have been atleast 100 houses in total, Each one measures about 5m (16ft) square, was made of timber,
with a clay floor and central hearth. The archaeologists have found 4,600 year-old rubbish covering the floors of the houses.
“The rubbish isn’t your average domestic debris. There’s a lack of craft-working equipment for cleaning animal hides and no evidence for crop-processing,” he said.
“The animal bones are being thrown away half-eaten. It’s what we call a feasting assemblage. This is where they went to party - you could say it was the first free festival.”
Plan of Stonehenge and the Town