English Heritage today unveiled its £1m reconstruction of a 7m-tall, 4,500-year-old Neolithic hall near Stonehenge.
Funded by the Kusuma Trust, the hall is in the final stages of construction and will be open to the public this summer before serving as a living-history learning space for school groups from September.
The biggest-ever replica of a prehistoric building, Kusuma Neolithic Hall is based on archaeological evidence of a large prehistoric structure near the settlement of Durrington Walls, some two miles north-east of Stonehenge.
It’s not entirely clear what the original structure was used for.
Excavations unearthed thousands of animal bones and a vast quantity of grooved ware pottery, suggesting vast winter feasts, rituals or even burial practices.
Flint axes and chalk daub
The replica was built over nine months by a team of 100 English Heritage volunteers using Neolithic stone tools such as flint axes, and locally sourced materials, including thatch, coppiced timber and chalk daub.
They worked under the guidance of award-winning experimental archaeologist Luke Winter to better understand the work and timescales involved.
English Heritage conceived the hall as a learning space for groups of up to 30 students.
The idea is to transport them back in time as they gather around the hearth, handle replica tools, try out cooking and crafts, and discover what everyday life was like 4,500 years ago.
Matt Thompson, conservation, curatorial and learning director for English Heritage, said that by using historically accurate techniques and materials in its construction, the team was able “to develop a much keener understanding of the everyday lives of the Neolithic people who came to Stonehenge and settled in the locality”.
“This summer, visitors to Stonehenge will also be able to experience the hall and speak to some of our wonderful volunteers who built it, before it is opened up to educational groups for the new school year.”
