'Prototype' Stonehenge discovered

A 5,000-year-old structure that may have served as an early "prototype" for Stonehenge has been found just three miles away from the famous site.

A team of archaeologists led by Phil Harding from TV series Time Team announced the discovery, just days before thousands flock to the Wiltshire landmark for the summer solstice.

Dr Harding described it as "certainly the highlight of my career".

When intact, the structure would have consisted of two wooden poles 120 metres apart, which were aligned to point directly toward the rising sun during the summer solstice and the setting sun at the winter solstice.

It predates the main stone circle monument at Stonehenge by around 500 years.

The archaeologists said the 13-acre site at Bulford where the older structure was found was likely to have been a focus for major religious gatherings.

While the findings have only been revealed today, the original excavation was carried out between 2015 and 2017. It uncovered 48 pits which dated back almost 5,000 years to 2950 BC.

The dig was part of work to support the Ministry of Defence, which was looking to increase troop numbers in the Salisbury Plain area as personnel were withdrawn from Germany. The site is now used for military housing.

As well as the Stonehenge "prototype", the pits included pottery, animal bone, worked flints and charcoal, suggesting large groups of people gathered over a relatively short period to celebrate the sun.

One of the pits, thought to have been a "viewing station" for the solstice, contained a very rare disc-shaped knife that was deliberately placed there – possibly as a symbolic reference to the sun disc, the experts said.

Read more from Sky News:
World-famous Robin Hood tree has died
AI bosses deliver message to world leaders

Dr Matt Leivers, from Wessex Archaeology, said it was "inconceivable" that the people at Bulford and those at Stonehenge during its first phase didn't know about each other – and could have been the same people.

"If we had a time machine and went back," he mused, "I wouldn't be at all surprised if what we haven't found is one of the campsites of the builders of the first phase of Stonehenge. I think that's entirely plausible."

(c) Sky News 2026: 'Prototype' Stonehenge discovered