Scientific American: Germany's 7,000-year-old stone circle proves that Europe's neolithic people were more tuned in to the heavens than previously thought. Archaeologists and astronomers have been studying Germany's 7,000-year-old stone circle, which stands in a field near the city of Goseck, and now conclude that the area's neolithic and Bronze Age inhabitants were more scientifically sophisticated than previously believed. The stone circle would have consisted of four concentric circles enclosing three wooden gates. On the winter solstice, the sun could be seen rising through the southermost gate. The site is considered the world's oldest observatory.