Stonehenge builders ate undercooked offal, ancient faeces reveals

Researchers have found parasites in human faeces that suggest the builders of the ancient stone circle ate the internal organs of animals.

Evidence suggests that the builders of the monument were housed at a settlement called Durrington Walls, which is 2 miles away. The site has been used for between 10 to 50 years.

Experts say they have discovered parasites in ancient faeces recovered from the prehistoric rubbish dumps of Durrington Walls.

New tests show neolithic pits were made by humans.

The team says the stools are the oldest coprolites in Britain to have parasites, and the earliest evidence of parasites in Britain.

Dr Piers Mitchell of the University of Cambridge is a co-author of the study.

In the journal Parasitology, Mitchell and colleagues report how they found 19 coprolites at Durrington Walls, five of which contained parasites.

Four of the coprolites were from dogs and one from a human, with the latter three of them containing eggs of a worm known as a capillaria.

The team believes that the builders of Stonehenge ate undercooked offal.

Mitchell said that the parasites were eating the internal organs of the cattle. It wasn't just that they removed the meat from the bone and threw it away.

It looks like they shared their food with their companion animals, or at least gave them the leftovers.

The eggs of fish tapeworm were found in the other canine coprolite. Mitchell said it was likely that the dog was already sick when it arrived at Durrington Walls, given the site was only occupied for a short time and it took some months after the dog was sick to start producing eggs. There are no bones or oil from freshwater fish found at the settlement.

The team notes that previous discoveries of pig and cattle bones suggested that the inhabitants held a lot of meat in the winter.

Mitchell said that previous work suggested the builders brought their animals with them when they traveled to Stonehenge.

He said that it was not clear if the feasts were rare or special, or if the villagers used up their supply of meat every night.

The finds were exciting and valuable because there was little information from the time.

The results appeared to challenge previous studies that said pigs were a source of meat for the builders. He suggested that the explanation could be that the people with different customs came together for the great build.

He said that it was important to consider all types of finds.