Archaeologists hoping to find the medieval town walls of Malmesbury (England) have discovered Stone Age flints and the remains of a massive Iron Age wall. According to a new report published by Bristol and Region Archaeological Services, carbon dating has placed the Neolithic flints at around 2,500 BCE and the foundations of the Iron Age wall at about 800 BCE. The Neolithic material indicates that the site of the modern town was occupied at the time when Stonehenge and Avebury were built, and raises the possibility that the ancient community may have been involved in their construction.
     Malmesbury sits on the top of a steep hill on a bend of the River Avon, an ideal position for a stronghold. The latest discoveries, which include Bronze Age pottery fragments, indicate that Malmesbury may be the ancient British city of Caer Bladon ö the town was described as an ancient place of the Britons by 12th century historian William of Malmesbury. All told, finds in the town and the surrounding area suggest virtually continuous occupation of the site from Neolithic times onwards, making Malmesbury the longest continually occupied place so far known in Britain.

Source: This is Wiltshire (2 May 2003)