Neolithic Solstice Site Discovered in Wiltshire Predates Stonehenge

Archaeologists have identified a solstice alignment site at Bulford, Wiltshire, that predates Stonehenge by 500 years. Radiocarbon dated to 2950 B.C.E., the site features two large postholes nearly 400 feet apart, aligned with the midsummer sunrise. Excavated between 2015 and 2017 by Wessex Archaeology ahead of military construction, the site yielded nearly 50 pits with pottery, animal bones, stone tools, and charcoal. Lead archaeologist Phil Harding noticed the alignment while reviewing the site plan; skyscape archaeologist Fabio Silva confirmed it. The wooden posts were estimated at 9–13 feet tall. A smaller pit held a rare disc-shaped flint knife, possibly a symbolic sun reference. Silva stated that the alignment shows communities engaged with solstices centuries before Stonehenge's sarsen stones were raised. Bulford is the oldest known alignment in the Wiltshire landscape, though other sites like Bryn Celli Ddu (Wales), Maeshowe (Scotland), and Newgrange (Ireland) are older.