LONDON (AP) — Archaeologists revealed Thursday that they have discovered a structure near the prehistoric stone circle of Stonehenge in southern England that may have served as a “prototype” for the 5,000-year-old Neolithic monument.

A team from the British firm Wessex Archaeology said the structure would have consisted of two wooden poles 120 meters (394 feet) apart and aligned to point directly at the rising sun during the summer solstice and the setting sun at the winter solstice.

Researchers said the discovery predated Stonehenge by around 500 years.

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