This discovery gives reason for the archaeologists to believe that the area of the monument and the settlement nearby were a centre for ceremonies and celebrations, with Stonehenge likely a burial site and other nearby circular earthen "henges" being used for feasting purposes.
Professor Michael Parker Pearson, of Sheffield University, and one of the main researchers, said: "We have found that Stonehenge itself was just half of a larger complex."
The archaeologists believe that large numbers of people came from all around for the huge feasts in midwinter, and that vast amounts of food were eaten with the bones from the meat being just tossed on the floors of the houses.
Professor Pearson added: "This is where they went to party - you could say it was the first free festival."
The archaeologists said that recent carbon dating has determined the time of Stonehenge's construction as between 2640 to 2480 B.C. with a 95 percent likelihood, and that this was around the same time that the ancient Egyptians were building the giant pyramid of Giza.
