Archaeologists discover mysterious stone structure underneath Neolithic garbage pile

Archaeologists working in the Orkney Islands of Scotland have discovered large stone slabs belonging to a mysterious, ancient structure. But perhaps even more puzzling than the stones is the fact that they were found underneath Scotland's "largest Neolithic rubbish dump," BBC reports.

The structure is approximately 33 feet wide, and is made up of pieces of stone 13 feet in length; the complex could date back as far as 5,000 years. A human arm bone found nearby might have belonged to the founder of the structure.

"The sheer size and scale of the stones unearthed are unprecedented on this site," site director Nick Card told the BBC. "The way the stones are built into the construction is also unique to the Ness [of Brodgar dig site]. This all suggests that they may have been re-used and taken from elsewhere. Perhaps they may be part of a stone circle that pre-dates the main Ness site. It is all a bit of mystery and we won't know more until we do more work."

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The University of the Highlands and Islands Archaeology Institute agreed that "hard work" would be required in order to fully understand the site. Jeva Lange