Stonehenge may be the most famous example of the “ Brobdingnagian Isidor Feinstein Stone arranged in a circle ” music genre , but it ’s a reputation that arguably is n’t deserved . After all , it ’s far from the largest henge in Europe , or even the British Isles – and as a new analysis and redating of an ancient circle in Dorset , England , has now reward , it ’s not the oldest one either .

flag , a prehistorical interment site about 78 kilometers ( 48.7 miles ) sou'-west of Stonehenge , is not a new discovery . It was originally found in the 1980s , in fact , during the construction of a bypass route around the township – despite the discovery , the project went ahead , and half the site now lies underneath the road .

Still , the expanse archeologist could make provide intriguing clues to the site ’s story . “ Flagstones is an unusual monument , ” explained Susan Greaney , a specialist in Neolithic and Bronze Age monument and lecturer in Archeology at the University of Exeter , in astatementtoday .

“ In some respect , it looks like monument that come earlier , which we call causewayed enclosure , and in others , it look a bit like things that fare later on that we call henges , ” she said . “ But we did n’t know where it sit between these types of memorial . ”

Originally , it was thought to date to around 2900 BCE – the same time as Stonehenge . It made sense : as a round of intersecting pit , 100 meters ( 328 feet ) across , Flagstones was strikingly similar to its more noted first cousin ’s first stage of twist – it ’s just about the same size of it and figure , and even seems to have been fabricate with the same antler pick applied science that was used for Stonehenge .

Like Stonehenge , Flagstones was used for inhumation – at least four bodies fully or part cremated , and three interred without cremation . Even the details of the graves were uniform , with some dangerous good in Flagstones being almost identical to those found in Stonehenge .

Most convincing of all : initialradiocarbon datingplaced the artifact at Flagstones as around 4,400 - 5,000 years old – a broad range of dates , surely , but not one that precluded the menses of Stonehenge ’s building . Overall , it was a pretty safe stake that the two memorial were basically the same age .

But until now , nobody had really jibe .

Today , we have dating proficiency that would put those used in the eighties to disgrace . Collaborating with laboratories at ETH Zürich and the University of Groningen , Greaney and colleagues receive 17 unexampled and far more exact estimates for the monument ’s age – and what they found was surprising . “ The revised chronology places it in an earlier full point than we expected , ” Greaney said .

Rather than date from 2900 BCE , it seems Flagstones ’s structure began as early on as 3650 BCE , with the circular ditched enclosure and sepulture being contribute in around 3200 BCE . That makes the Dorset monument at least a couple of century previous than Stonehenge – which , in twist , grow some interesting questions about how the two circles were touch .

“ The chronology of Flagstones is all-important for understanding the changing sequence of ceremonial and funeral monuments in Britain , ” said Dr Greaney .

“ Could Stonehenge have been a written matter of Flagstones ? ” she suggest – “ or do these findings suggest our current geological dating of Stonehenge might want revision ? ”

The study is published in the journalAntiquity .