The sun rises at Stonehenge, near Amesbury, in Wiltshire, southern England on June 21, 2023, during the Summer Solstice festival. (Photo by Daniel LEAL / AFP) (Photo by DANIEL LEAL/AFP via Getty Images)
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A 5,000-year-old discovery near Stonehenge in Wiltshire, in the U.K., has revealed what archaeologists believe may be an early prototype for the monument’s famous solar alignment.
The evidence was found at Bulford, about three miles (five kilometers) from Stonehenge, the most famous of the U.K.’s thousands of Neolithic monuments. Radiocarbon dating places the site at around 2950 BC, making it contemporary with the earliest earthworks at Stonehenge, and around 500 years older than the alignment of its famous stones.
It looks to be the earliest known evidence of a solstice alignment in the area, suggesting that prehistoric communities were already using astronomical observations to mark the movement of the sun long before Stonehenge.
At the center of the discovery are the remains of a simple but precisely arranged structure. It would have consisted of two wooden poles, positioned 394 feet apart, according to researchers, to form a line pointing directly at the rising sun during the summer solstice and the setting sun during the winter solstice.
Only the pits that once held the poles survive today, and since they are in U.K. Ministry of Defense-owned land, they are not accessible to the public. However, analysis carried out for Wessex Archaeology confirmed the alignment using reconstructions of the ancient sky, landscape and horizon. The study found that the structure aligned with the solstices to within one degree, showing that the people who built it had a sophisticated understanding of seasonal cycles.
A 5,000-year-old discovery near Stonehenge in Wiltshire, in the U.K., has revealed what archaeologists believe may be an early prototype for the monument’s famous solar alignment.
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The excavations at Bulford revealed 48 pits containing pottery, animal bone, worked flints and charcoal. These finds suggest that large numbers of people gathered at the site over a relatively short period, probably for ceremonies linked to the solstices and the wider solar cycle. One pit, thought to have possibly formed part of a viewing station, contained an extremely rare disc-shaped flint knife. Archaeologists believe it may have been deliberately placed there as a symbolic reference to the sun disc.
“The alignment shows that communities were already engaging with both the summer and winter solstices in the Stonehenge landscape, centuries before the sarsen stones were raised,” said Dr Fabio Silva, Skyscape Archaeologist at Stone x Sky and the Skyscape Academy, who conducted the analysis. “Rather than marking the beginning of a story, Stonehenge now more clearly appears to have emerged from traditions and practices with much deeper roots in this landscape.”
Members of the Shakti Sings choir sing as druids, pagans and revellers gather in the centre of Stonehenge, hoping to see the sun rise, as they take part in a winter solstice ceremony at the ancient neolithic monument of Stonehenge near Amesbury on December 22, 2018 in Wiltshire, England. A large crowd gathered at the famous historic stone circle, a UNESCO listed ancient monument to celebrate the sunrise closest to the Winter Solstice, the shortest day of the year. The event is claimed to be more important in the pagan calendar than the summer solstice, because it marks the 're-birth' of the Sun for the New Year. (Photo by Matt Cardy/Getty Images)
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The discovery of a new chapter in the story of Stonehenge comes days before the Northern Hemisphere’s summer solstice — the longest day of the year. At 9:24 a.m. BST on Sunday, June 21, 2026, the Northern Hemisphere will be tilted at its maximum angle toward the sun. On that day, the sun will rise at its farthest northeasterly point and set at its farthest northwesterly point. The event is caused by Earth’s 23.5-degree axial tilt.
“In a few days’ time, Stonehenge will be filled with people celebrating midsummer solstice,” said Dr Phil Harding, Archaeologist at Wessex Archaeology, who led the excavations. “But what few will realize is that 5,000 years ago on a nearby hillside overlooking modern-day Bulford, people were doing the exact same thing – revering and celebrating the sunrise on midsummer’s day.” He added that the sun was hugely important to prehistoric communities, who were able to plot and record its midsummer rising with remarkable accuracy.
More about the discovery will soon feature in an upcoming article for the newsletter of The Prehistoric Society.
Wishing you clear skies and wide eyes.
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