A settlement of four houses whose construction has been dated back 6,000 years has been discovered in a Berkshire quarry, putting them among the oldest houses in England.
Only outlines of walls and post holes have survived in the sandy soil at the Kingsmead quarry, near Windsor, but the size of the foundations suggests that substantial structures, probably with loft spaces for storing grain and food, once stood there.
Radiocarbon results for one of the houses produced a date of about 3,800 BC to 3,640 BC, and the scientists, from Wessex Archaeology, hope to get dates for the others from organic finds, included charred remains of cooked food, and hazelnut shells.
Two of the structures had upright posts, two had split-log planks. All the houses were rectangles; divided internally. The largest measured 17 by seven metres. It is thought all were thatched.
Finds from the site include pottery, flint tools, arrow heads and stone corn grinders. Apart from what the early farmers could grow in the fertile soil (the area was renowned into the late 20th century for fruit and vegetable farms), there were ready timber supplies and hunting opportunities in nearby woodlands and fish from the rivers Thames and Colne.
The first house in the excavation, funded by the quarry's owners Cemex, was found by Wessex Archaeology five years ago and caused great excitement because so few houses survive from that date in England. Finding a whole settlement is unprecedented.
Alistair Barclay, excavation director, said that although only foundations survive, there was good evidence for timber construction techniques from structures preserved in the soil.