Avebury

Avebury stone circle is visited by thousands of people every year and there cannot be many visitors who remain unmoved by their first sight of these ancient and mysterious monoliths. Avebury is the largest stone circle in the world and for many more splendid and famous than Stonehenge, even though it has never received as much attention. It is part of a massive prehistoric complex which includes avenues, burial mounds, earth enclosures and barrows. We are still searching to unravel the mysteries of Avebury.

Avebury consists of three stone circles, two of them contained by the third.  The grand outer circle originally had 98 stones but now only has 27 stones remaining. The two inner circles were constructed first, around 2,600 BC and the outer circle and earthworks were built in about 2,500 BC. All together the three circles contained 134 stones, 56 of which are standing today.

 Much research has been carried out and up until the eighteenth century the general outline of the Avebury temple was still visible. One researcher was the antiquarian, Dr. William Stukeley who visited the site many times in the 1720’s and watched in dismay as local farmers gradually destroyed a lot of the circle for local buildings. Stukely’s measurements and drawings provided us with some idea of the complexity and awesome nature of the site.

Compared with Stonehenge, Avebury remains relatively unspoilt in many ways. The Avebury circle is now an integral part of a living rural community. Houses, a pub and village shops are to be found within the perimeter of the prehistoric monument. There is also a very fine Church in the village. Much to my amazement the main road not only runs through the village but also cuts a zigzag path through the centre of the monument!

As well as walking around the circles and talking about the various stones we can also walk along West Kennet Avenue. This is a pair of parallel lines of large sarsen stones which originally ran from the southern entrance of the circle to the Sanctuary of Overton Hill. This site consists of concentric rings of stones and post holes now indicated by concrete markers. The Sanctuary is near to Silbury Hill and is well worth a visit.