A group of archaeologists is undertaking a major dig in Wiltshire, which it is hoped could explain why Stonehenge was built where it was.
The team, which consists of leading experts in the Mesolithic period, also hopes to confirm Amesbury as the oldest continuous settlement in the UK.
The site already boasts the biggest collection of flints and cooked animal bones in north-western Europe.
The dig in Amesbury will run until 25 October.
The term Mesolithic refers to specific groups of archaeological cultures defined as falling between the Palaeolithic and the Neolithic.
'Something really special'
Andy Rhind-Tutt from Amesbury Museum said Amesbury pre-dated Stonehenge by as much 5,000 years, and could "go a long way" to explaining why Stonehenge is where it is.
"No-one would have built Stonehenge without there being something really special about the area.
"There must have been something there beforehand and Amesbury may well be it - [it could be] one of the greatest Mesolithic sites in the country."
Mr Rhind-Tutt said the team would also be looking to "find evidence of settlement for 10,000 BC".
"In previous excavations, they've found evidence of settlement up to 7,596 BC - a boar's tusk - but we're not at the bottom of the trench yet.
"Thatcham near Newbury [in Berkshire] is proving to be the oldest continuous settlement in the UK, but if Amesbury has older evidence this time, then it will be instead.
"At the moment, it is only 104 years short of being the oldest."
Well-preserved remains of a Mesolithic settlement dating from 7,700 BC have previously been found at Thatcham, which is 41 miles (66km) from Amesbury.
The Amesbury dig will also be filmed and made into a documentary by the BBC, Smithsonian, CBC and others to be screened at a later date. The project it being led by Buckingham University.
A Wiltshire town has been confirmed
as the longest continuous settlement in the United Kingdom.
Amesbury, including Stonehenge, has been continually occupied since 8820BC,
experts have found.
The news was confirmed following an archaeological dig which also unearthed
evidence of frogs' legs being eaten in Britain 8,000 years before France.
Amesbury's place in history has also now been recognised by the Guinness Book
of Records.
David Jacques, from the University of Buckingham, said: "The site blows the
lid off the Neolithic Revolution in a number of ways.
"It provides evidence for people staying put, clearing
land, building, and presumably worshipping, monuments.
"The area was clearly a hub point for people to come to from many miles away,
and in many ways was a forerunner for what later went on at Stonehenge
itself.
"The first monuments at Stonehenge were built by these people. For years
people have been asking why is Stonehenge where it is, now at last, we have
found the answers."
Mr Jacques said the River Avon, which runs through the area, would have been
like an A road with people travelling along it.
"They may have had the equivalent of local guides and there would have been
feasting," he added.
"We have found remains of big game animals, such as aurochs and red deer, and
an enormous amount of burnt flint from their feasting fires."
The dig unearthed the largest haul of worked flints
from the Mesolithic period
Previously, Thatcham in Berkshire, 40 miles from Amesbury, held the record
for the longest continuous settlement in the country.
The dig in Amesbury also uncovered 31,000 worked flints in 40 days as well as
animal bones such as frogs' legs.
Mr Jacques said our ancestors were eating a "Heston Blumenthal-style
menu".
Queen Eleanor of Provence - consort to Henry III - is buried at the town's
former abbey
Amesbury residents get a free visitors' pass to Stonehenge each year
In 1965, the Beatles stayed at the Antrobus Arms Hotel whilst filming
Help!
The area's most famous resident - Police frontman Sting - lives in nearby
Wilsford cum Lake
The find was based on a report by fossil mammal
specialist Simon Parfitt, of the Natural History Museum.
Andy Rhind-Tutt, the founder of Amesbury Museum and Heritage Trust, said
there was "something unique and rather special about the area" to keep people
there from the end of the Ice Age, to when Stonehenge was created and until
today.
"The fact that the feasting of large animals and the discovery of a
relatively constant temperature spring sitting alongside the River Avon, may
well be it," he said.
The dig was filmed and made into a documentary by the BBC, Smithsonian, CBC
and others to be screened later in the summer.
The project was led by the University of Buckingham.
The first UK trial to use contraception on wild hill ponies is at risk of failing, a charity says.
The Dartmoor Hill Pony Association is trying to reduce the slaughter of hundreds of foals each year because there is no market for them.
Two years ago a small number of mares were injected with contraceptives and now the charity wants to extend the trial to 100 animals.
However, it has been unable to find enough land for a new trial.
The pony charity said the first trial proved successful but it needed to carry out further tests, in a controlled area, to ensure the contraception would be effective across the moor.
'The last straw'
The contraceptive drug was donated by pharmaceuticals company, Pfizer, and imported from Australia.
The trial has the support of the Dartmoor National Park Authority, which described the ponies as "a national park emblem".
But Charlotte Faulkner, from the association, said if it was not able to get the land it would be "very much the last straw" for the scheme.
The charity had approached the Forestry Commission for permission to use a piece of of its land, but it was declined.
The commission said it wanted to enter into a long-term partnership with one environmental organisation to manage its estate "as a whole".
The aim is to reduce the slaughter of hundreds of unwanted foals each year
Ms Faulkner has appealed to any Dartmoor landowners for help finding suitable land.
"If there's anyone who can think of any ideas that might be able to help us get this project to work, please help us to do so," she said.
The storm destruction of the railway line connecting Devon and Cornwall to the rest of the UK will cost the South West economy millions of pounds each day, business leaders have claimed.
Network Rail said the line, which is hanging in mid-air, will take a minimum of six weeks to repair.
In Cornwall, storms have caused damage set to cost £14m to repair so far this year, the local council has estimated.
Across the South West more than 900 homes are still without power.
In Exeter, on Wednesday evening, a man was rescued from flood water at Silverton Mill.
Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service said he was found on the roof of his van. His condition is unknown.
In Kingsand and Cawsand in south-east Cornwall, the high tide overnight has caused further damage to the seafront buildings and walls.
Despite it being a windy night, the clock tower in Kingsand is still standing and structural engineers are expected to assess the building later.
Driving down to Seaton, it looks like a wasteland with broken branches and whole trees being pushed back by the sea.
Sand bags, rocks and boulders are scattered around and the Beach Cafe looks in a bad state.
Cornwall Council said the village clock tower was "in a dangerous condition" after it was battered by huge waves.
Following the destruction of the main railway line at Dawlish, Network Rail said it was "fully committed to restoring a key main line" and "work starts this morning".
Devon and Cornwall Business Council's Tim Jones said the closure was "hugely significant" and "hugely damaging" for the region's economy.
"We've done some initial assessments of what it will cost and we estimate it will be between £1m and £2m a day.
"The amount is based on estimates from last year when Cowley Bridge Junction was closed, disruption to business travellers, the amount lost from taxi companies and businesses around train stations - if you add it all up you come to the estimate we have.
"We've got to live with the problem of the Dawlish sea wall and come up with a financially viable solution."
But David Parlby, from the Plymouth Chamber of Commerce, said: "Financially we think it will cost £20m for each day the line is closed... to have it disconnected is a major blow."
Several homes are at risk in Dawlish after the sea wall was breached
Chris Pomfrett, chairman of the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Local Enterprise Partnership, said: "I think Dawlish has been an accident waiting to happen.
This, on top of the problems last year north of Exeter [Cowley Bridge Junction], asks the question when are we going to take a proper look at our transport infrastructure?
"If we want to get businesses to grow here and improve the economy, you have to have an absolutely resilient transport infrastructure."
'Totally destroyed'
On Wednesday, Prime Minister David Cameron announced an extra £100m for flood repairs across the country.
After chairing a meeting of the Cobra emergency committee, he said he had seen "the shocking pictures of the destroyed train line in Dawlish".
The police have cordoned off the area and, as far as they know, there has been no further movement.
Evacuated residents from nearby properties have had a second night out of their homes and the future is not good.
Engineers are coming back today, again to try and assess the situation.
Up to 150ft (46m) of railway track was destroyed and Dawlish station was also damaged on Wednesday.
Network Rail's Robin Gisby said: "What we will do in the next 48 hours is protect the line from what we understand will be another big storm over the weekend.
"So our concern at the moment is that the 260ft (80m) wall that's gone is leaving the rest of it exposed.
"We've got a lot of staff just protecting it and then we'll come up with a better assessment of how long it's going to take to rebuild."
In Plymouth, BBC Radio Devon's Jo Irving said the end of Hoe Road was "still cordoned off after waves totally destroyed part of the sea wall in two places".
BBC Radio Cornwall's Johnny O'Shea said there was debris everywhere in Seaton
In Porthleven, Cornwall, ten boats sank after the outer harbour was breached on Wednesday and a crane has been working to lift several boats out of the water.
Harbourmaster Phil Ward said: "We've got away very lightly, we've lost some stones and the lifeboat roof."
There is further flooding while power supplies and transport are disrupted after south-west England and south Wales were hit by a powerful storm.
Engineers have been working to restore power but more than 7,000 homes are still without electricity.
In Dawlish, Devon, a section of sea wall under the railway line collapsed, leaving the track suspended in mid-air.
David Cameron will chair a meeting of the Cobra emergency committee later to consider the government's response.
It is the first time this year that the prime minister will have chaired a meeting of Cobra to discuss the floods and follows widespread criticism of Environment Secretary Owen Paterson's handling of the crisis.
Rail tracks at Dawlish appeared to run into the sea
In places, the track at Dawlish was suspended in mid-air
The prime minister's office said Mr Cameron was anxious to ensure that "all that can be done is being done".
Earlier, First Great Western said all lines between Exeter St Davids and Penzance were closed because of adverse weather conditions and it advised against travel for the rest of the day.
Part of the sea wall at Dawlish, which is between Exeter and Cornwall, has collapsed and the railway station and tracks have been severely damaged by huge waves, driven by gale-force winds.
Western Power Distribution said about 44,000 customers had been affected by power cuts since Tuesday afternoon and 7,400 homes in south-west England remained without power.
Overnight 'pasting'
The Met Office said gusts of up to 70mph and 20mm of rain had spread from the South West to south-west Wales and eastern Northern Ireland overnight.
Western Power Distribution said there had been high voltage faults due to debris being blown around in Devon and Cornwall.
A significant section of the West Pier in Brighton collapsed overnight
Teams of engineers worked through the night to try to fix the faults, and the company said it would also switch circuits to work around individual faults.
Phil Davies, network service manager for the company, said they had had "quite a pasting in the South West overnight".
"We are importing some staff from south Wales and the Midlands to help and we are confident we can get everybody back [with power] today."
Winds of up to 92mph (148km/h) were reported in the Isles of Scilly
In Wales, a number of main roads were closed by fallen trees or flooding.
Trees blocked the A465 Heads of the Valleys Road at Hirwaun, the A484 at Carmarthen and the A476 at Ffairfach in Carmarthenshire. The A484 has been blocked by flooding at Cenarth in Carmarthenshire.
Firefighters have also been called out to deal with dangerous structures. There have been two incidents in the Tenby area of Pembrokeshire with roofing being blown off buildings.
The Met Office has an amber severe weather warning - meaning "be prepared" - for wind for southern England between 08:00 and 15:00 GMT on Wednesday, as well as warnings for wind and rain for other parts of the UK.
The Environment Agency's severe flood warnings cover South Cornwall, South Devon from Start Point to Dawlish Warren, South Devon from Exmouth to Lyme Regis, Lyme Regis harbour, West Bay in Dorset, Weymouth seafront, Chiswell on the Isle of Portland, and two areas of Somerset - the A361 East Lyng to Burrowbridge, and Salt Moor and North Moor.
It also has about 70 flood warnings and more than 200 flood alerts in England and Wales.
BBC weather presenter Matt Taylor said there would be more stormy weather on Wednesday.
BBC Weather's Chris Fawkes: "As long as the jetstream continues to be in a locked position, we will continue to see storm after storm"
"There will be another bout of potentially damaging winds into the morning rush-hour," he said.
On Tuesday, the Prince of Wales met residents in the flood-hit Somerset Levels where thousands of hectares of land remain under water and whole villages have been cut off for weeks.
Somerset residents have expressed anger at the pace at which the Environment Agency and the government have responded.
Many said there has been a slow response from the authorities to the flooding, which has affected many parts of the Levels since December.
In Cornwall, the local authority estimated storms had caused more than £4m of damage across the county in the past month.
The Met Office said another band of rain was expected to arrive from the south on Thursday.
The excavation at Amesbury will be led by David Jacques (r) and filmed by a documentary crew
