Britain's Stonehenge, a mysterious circle of large, standing stones, has puzzled scientists for centuries. But last week, archaeologists put a major piece of the puzzle in place.
A scientific team announced the discovery of a prehistoric village about two miles from Stonehenge. They believe that the village, which was unearthed five months ago, is where Stonehenge's builders lived. A test called carbon dating shows that both sites are about 4,500 years old.
The ancient village is located in an area known as Durrington Walls. Archaeologists can now see how Stonehenge and Durrington Walls may have been connected. Both sites have stone avenues that lead to the Avon River. The river could have been used for travel from one location to the other. The researchers think that the ancient villagers visited Stonehenge for religious observances.
The team has dug up eight wooden houses, and there may be hundreds more. Arrowheads, stone tools and animal bones were also found.
"We knew these (sites) were from broadly the same period, but the idea that it forms a single integrated complex is quite new," says the project's director, Julian Thomas of Manchester University. "It completely changes our understanding of Stonehenge."