Stonehenge may well be one of the most famous archaeological sites in the world, but up until now, very little was known about the people who built it.
Two miles northeast of Stonehenge at Durrington Walls, the remains of what appears to be an ancient religious complex has been discovered. The discovery has led to speculation that Stonehenge is, in fact, part of a larger religious complex - it is not an isolated site at all.
Excavations at Durrington Walls have uncovered evidence of another henge at the site. Measuring approximately 1,400 feet in diameter, it enclosed a series of rings made up of timber posts. These posts were set up in a similar fashion to the rocks at Stonehenge, with the exception of their orientation.
While Stonehenge was constructed so as to align with the sunrise at the summer solstice and the sunset at the winter solstice, the henge discovered at Durrington Walls is the opposite (aligned with sunrise at the winter solstice and sunset at the summer solstice).
Based on artifacts discovered at the houses on the site, the people who lived at Durrington Walls had large-scale midwinter celebrations to mark the winter solstice. Eight homes have been excavated and it is thought that at least two dozen more are nearby.
The small (14 feet by 14 feet) homes are square, with a central fireplace and an oval hearth set into the floor. Marks in the floor indicate where box-beds and a dresser stood long ago.
