ARCHAEOLOGISTS at Bournemouth University are involved in a project to showcase Avebury Stone Circle in its Neolithic heyday.

The university, working alongside Daden Limited - a company specialising in 3D immersive environments - GPS firm Satsymph, and the National Trust, is working to produce virtual reality software that will transport site visitors back thousands of years.

It is hoped that ultimately the same technology will enable people to experience heritage sites across the globe.

Project lead Professor Liz Falconer said: "We will shortly be launching a blog and website where we will post regular updates on the work, and give people the opportunity to immerse themselves in late Neolithic Wiltshire."

Avebury Henge and stone circle are part of the Avebury and Stonehenge World Heritage Site.

The virtual reality software will allow visitors to experience the sights and sounds of the location as it would have been in the Neolithic period.

A project spokesman said: "The main aim of this project is to develop and explore the potential of virtual historical places to increase engagement with, and understanding of, the development of human cultures through a sense of virtual place.

"It is hoped that the project will lead to the development of a fuller experience made permanently available to both the public and to schools, and then to the use of the technology for other heritage sites across the globe."