Tuesday 3 June 2014

Homes of Neolithic builders recreated at Stonehenge

Five Neolithic homes have been constructed at Stonehenge to help reveal how those who built the famous stone structure would have lived 4,500 years ago.

The houses have the walls made of white chalk and a thatched roof of straw daub and wheat, and are based on remains of such buildings found under a mile away at Durrington Walls.
Each house is made up of a single room around 5m across, with a fire at the centre with the smoke filtered up through the roof.
Volunteers constructing an experimental Neolithic house at Old SarumSusan Greaney, Senior Properties Historian at English Heritage, said:
“One of the things we’re trying to do at Stonehenge is to re-connect the ancient stones with the people that lived and worked in the surrounding landscape.
“Now visitors can step through the door of these houses and get a real sense of what everyday life might have been like when Stonehenge was built. These houses are the result of careful analysis of the archaeological evidence, educated guess work, and a lot of hard physical work.”

Stonehenge Tour Guide