A village inhabited at the time of its creation was found near Stonehenge

Washington - Archaeologists studying the famous stone structure in England's Stonehenge have discovered a Neolithic village consisting of small houses that may have served as dwellings for the builders of this mysterious center, or could have provided shelter for people who came here for festivities. The research, which involved the American National Geographic Society in addition to British archaeologists, uncovered the largest Neolithic village ever found in Britain. The results of their findings were published today in the United States.
    The discovery confirms the theory that Stonehenge was not isolated but part of a much larger religious complex used for burial ceremonies.
    So far, eight houses have been excavated, but at least another 25 remain buried, said researcher Mike Parker Pearson from the University of Sheffield at a National Geographic Society press conference today. All of them had a central hearth. Six of them even retained a clay floor.
    The ancient houses are located at Durrington Walls, about three kilometers from Stonehenge. It is also a kind of wooden version of the stone circle.
    Carbon dating has determined the age of the village to around 2600 BC, which is when Stonehenge was also built. At the same time, for example, the Great Pyramid in Egypt's Giza was constructed.
    The wooden houses had a square floor plan, with each side measuring 4.6 meters. They are nearly identical to the stone houses that were built at the same time in the Orkney Islands off the coast of Scotland, the researcher noted.
    Archaeologists even found traces of bed frames along the side walls and even some kind of cupboard and a tool cabinet in the wall opposite the doors. The village was evidently inhabited by hundreds of people.
    Remains of stone tools, animal bones, arrowheads, and other artifacts were also discovered in the village. Remains from pigs suggest that they were slaughtered when they were about nine months old, indicating festivities during the winter solstice.
    Parker Pearson noted that Stonehenge was oriented towards the sunrise on the summer solstice and the sunset on the winter solstice. However, the wooden circle at Durrington Walls is oriented towards the sunrise on the winter solstice and the sunset on the summer solstice.
    Julian Thomas from the University of Manchester remarked that both Stonehenge and Durrington Walls had a kind of path connecting them to the River Avon - this speaks to a model of movement between the two sites. "Of course, this is a place of immense importance," he said.
    Researchers believe that Durrington Walls was a place where people lived, and Stonehenge, where burnt remains were found, was a cemetery and memorial.
    Two of the houses were separate from the others and likely served as homes for community leaders or perhaps as cultic structures where religious rituals were held. In these buildings, there was no waste or common household rubbish as found in surrounding houses, Thomas pointed out.
    Durrington indeed seems "very much like a place to live," added Parker Pearson. However, no one ever lived in the megalithic Stonehenge, which was the largest cemetery in Britain of its time. It is estimated that 250 cremations were conducted in its area.