English Heritage unveils recreation of 4,500-year-old Neolithic hall near Stonehenge

A 7-metre-high reconstructed Neolithic hall is being built near the Stonehenge visitor centre on Salisbury Plain. The structure, called the Kusuma Neolithic Hall, is being constructed entirely by hand over nine months by more than 100 volunteers. The hall will open to the public this summer and later become an immersive learning space for schools. The design is based on the archaeological footprint of Durrington 68, a square anomaly discovered near Woodhenge. The original site contains a horseshoe-shaped ring of post holes and four massive internal roof support pillars, but its floor and hearths were destroyed by ploughing. Nearby animal bones and grooved ware pottery suggest winter feasting, ritual gatherings, or communal storage.

"It may have been a place for ceremony or a barn for pack animals. It could have been a place for weary labourers to rest their heads. Or perhaps there was no building at all. English Heritage has unveiled a 7-metre-high reconstruction of what a 4,500-year-old Neolithic hall may have looked like at Stonehenge, offering visitors a glimpse into the lives of the prehistoric builders who raised the world's most famous stone circle."

"The 1m project is in its final stages of construction near the Stonehenge visitor centre on Salisbury Plain. Built entirely by hand over nine months by a team of more than 100 volunteers, the Kusuma Neolithic Hall will open to the public this summer before transforming into an immersive, historical learning space for schools. The structure is based on the archaeological footprint of an anomaly known as Durrington 68, a unique square in the circle building discovered two miles away near Woodhenge, another Neolithic site."

"First excavated in 1928 by Maud Cunnington, and re-examined in 2007 by the Stonehenge Riverside Project, the original site features a horseshoe-shaped ring of post holes surrounding four massive internal roof support pillars. Because centuries of plowing destroyed the original floor and hearths, its true purpose remains a mystery. However, discoveries of animal bones and grooved ware pottery nearby point towards winter feasting, ritual gatherings or even communal storage."

"Luke Winter, an experimental archaeologist, who analysed European Neolithic carpentry and prehistoric pollen data to design the hall, explained the construction's rigorous scientific backing. Everything in that building was growing in this landscape 5,000 years ago, he said. We've been using replica stone tools to create every aspect of this bui"

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