Archaeologists in Orkney have uncovered a massive Stone Age cathedral.
It is the first structure of its kind ever to be found in Britain.
The cathedral has lain hidden beneath a thin layer of soil for thousands of years.
Pictures taken from above the site have revealed the size of the structure, which had walls 65 feet long and five foot thick.
Nick Card from the Orkney Research Centre for Archaeology says it is a discovery of huge importance. He added: "The size of it would suggest it was the Neolithic cathedral of its day.
"It's the symmetry you see in the architecture, the beauty of the stone work. It would not only have impressed the people who saw it, it would have put them in awe of the structure."
Orkney is already renowned for its Stone Age architecture.
But the team working on the island believe this new discovery would have been even more important in its day than many of the island's other sites, and would have stood at the heart of Stone Age Orkney.
Archaeologist Antonia Thomas said: "It's absolutely amazing. I mean this is for myself and the other archaeologists why we are in the profession. This site is really just the best place we could be.
"You really have to suspend your disbelief sometimes. Almost every 10 minutes someone pops up and they've found something amazing. The artefacts on the site are amazing too. It's just spectacular."
Last updated: 15 August 2009, 17:19
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