Britain’s first ‘city’ arose near an ancient spring on Salisbury Plain, and the ancestors of its inhabitants probably built Stonehenge, experts believe.

Blick Mead lies just a mile away from the Wiltshire stone circle, and experts have uncovered more than 70,000 stone tools at the site, as well as an intriguing ceremonial platform suggesting the area held ritual importance for prehistoric hunter-gatherers who lived there 10,000 years ago.

Although hunter-gatherer populations rarely settle in one place, scientists Dr Albert Lin believes the site could have been one of the first 'cities' in Europe - the first time communities laid down routes in Britain.

And evidence suggests they are likely to be the ancestors of those who built Stonehenge.

“Blick Mead was an important place for the early humans that roamed here, maybe even one of the first manifestations of a human city," said Dr Lin, a technologist and explorer who has previous searched for the tomb of Genghis Khan in Mongolia using satellites, drones, and ground penetrating radar.

Professor David Jacques of the University of Buckingham, said the site may have been a permanent encampment where at least the children, elderly and sick lived.

“When you look at Stonehenge you think, ‘but where are the people?’” said Prof Jacques. “It makes sense that if you want to find the people who built it, the obvious idea is to look for where the water is.