Avebury
 Prehistoric Britain |
The stone circle at Avebury is one of Britain's premier prehistoric monuments, centred amidst a large complex of Neolithic ritual sites. Silbury Hill stands about a mile to the south, to the north west is the Windmill Hill encampment, on a nearby hilltop lies West Kennet Long Barrow and the Sanctuary Stone (now lost to us) on Overton Hill was once linked to Avebury by the "Stone Avenue".
The principal features at Avebury are an enormous stone circle, the Outer Circle, enclosed by a perimeter ditch and bank, and two small inner stone circles. Close to a mile in circumference the Outer Circle partially encloses the modern village of Avebury. Dating from around 2500BC, the Avebury stones were erected between the first two of Stonehenge's three phases of construction - the entire site covers some 28 acres.
The outer ring are Sarcen stones, similar to those at Stonehenge, with the more westerly of these surviving to a greater degree than those standing on the eastern perimeter. The huge ditch surrounding the Outer Circle remains to only a third of its original depth and the accompanying bank work is now much reduced in height. The northern Inner Circle, despite being very ruinous still offers the impressive remains known as the "cove", thought to represent the female aspect. The southern Inner Circle once contained a large standing stone called the "Obelisk", considered to represent the male aspect.
Recent excavation appears to have revealed the principal entry points through the Outer Circle, from which ran two impressive stone avenues - one liked to the Sanctuary site, the other reaching out toward Beckhampton.
Although less obviously spectacular that Stonehenge, located 20 miles to the south, the sheer size of the Avebury henge, together with its associated Neolithic monuments, has led many scholars to consider it superior to its near neighbour. In addition, Avebury remains far more accessible for visitors who can wander at leisure between the standing stones.
Unfortunately, local residents destroyed or damaged many of the stones in the 18th century when clearing their farmland. Despite this unconscious vandalism, many of the missing stones have been identified thanks to detailed drawings undertaken by the 18th century antiquarian William Stukely.