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The tallest stone at Stonehenge pointed towards the midsummer sunset, proving a new alignment theory to be true, it's been claimed.

A few months ago, Tim Daw, a steward at the Wiltshire monument, revealed that he had discovered an alignment, which, up to that point, had not been known.

It involved a line of stones at 80 degrees to the axis of the monument,

And at 9.26pm on Saturday, he says his theory was shown to be correct.

Tim, who tweeted a theory-proving picture, told the BBC: "It wasn't the best evening for a sunset picture as a bank of cloud came in at the wrong moment but it was close enough to prove the point.

"I put forward this theory. I said 'this stone, the sun will set along its back' (on) Midsummer. Yes it did."

"(There was) a wonderful sunset last night. We could see the sun going down directly in line with... the back of this stone. It was fantastic."

Watch thousands swarm to Stonehenge for summer solstice:

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Around 23,000 people, including hippies and Pagans, gathered at Stonehenge to witness the summer solstice sunrise at 4.52am yesterday.

Scores of other people flocked to the nearby Avebury stone circle.

According to Wiltshire Police, the celebrations were "positive and peaceful".

Officers said arrests were lower than in previous years, with nine people being held for drugs offences at Stonehenge and a handful being cautioned for possession of Class A drugs, while no arrests were made at Avebury.

Stonehenge is believed to have been used as an important religious site by early Britons 4,000 years ago. Recent Pagan celebrations at the site began in the 20th century.

More than a million people flock to Stonehenge every year, with thousands attending ceremonies to mark the solstices in summer and winter.

In pictures - the summer solstice sunrise at Stonehenge: