<< Our Photo Pages >> Avebury - Stone Circle in England in Wiltshire

Submitted by Andy B on Tuesday, 13 June 2023  Page Views: 166017

Neolithic and Bronze AgeSite Name: Avebury
Country: England County: Wiltshire Type: Stone Circle
Nearest Town: Marlborough  Nearest Village: Avebury
Map Ref: SU10266996  Landranger Map Number: 173
Latitude: 51.428554N  Longitude: 1.853813W
Condition:
5Perfect
4Almost Perfect
3Reasonable but with some damage
2Ruined but still recognisable as an ancient site
1Pretty much destroyed, possibly visible as crop marks
0No data.
-1Completely destroyed
 3 Ambience:
5Superb
4Good
3Ordinary
2Not Good
1Awful
0No data.
 5 Access:
5Can be driven to, probably with disabled access
4Short walk on a footpath
3Requiring a bit more of a walk
2A long walk
1In the middle of nowhere, a nightmare to find
0No data.
 5 Accuracy:
5co-ordinates taken by GPS or official recorded co-ordinates
4co-ordinates scaled from a detailed map
3co-ordinates scaled from a bad map
2co-ordinates of the nearest village
1co-ordinates of the nearest town
0no data
 5

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rvbaker2003 visited on 10th Nov 2024 - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 5 Access: 5

Shalaa visited on 20th Aug 2024 - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 5

bishop_pam visited on 10th Jun 2024 - their rating: Cond: 5 Amb: 5 Access: 5 Earlier visit was 15 October 2017

vanoflife visited on 1st Dec 2023 - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 5 Access: 4

Couplands visited on 12th Sep 2023 - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 4 Access: 4

Hogeybare visited on 18th Aug 2022 - their rating: Cond: 5 Amb: 5 Access: 5 Great circle, long barrow and avenues, you can get right on the stones. lovely place, enromous stones.

aolson visited on 24th Jun 2022 - their rating: Cond: 4 Amb: 4 Access: 5 Alas, due to rental car problems we had all of 45 minutes to explore the whole Avebury area. I only got to see 1/4 of the circle and we had to leave.

lichen visited on 21st May 2022 - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 5 Access: 5

runni visited on 29th Mar 2021 - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 5 Access: 5

TheCaptain visited on 25th Sep 2020 - their rating: Cond: 4 Amb: 4 Access: 5 The electric at home is off for the day so they can cut some trees, so I have a trip to Avebury for a long walk up to the polisher, down the Ridgeway and back to Avebury via Overton Down, East Kennet, West Kennet longbarrow, Silbury Hill, Waden Hill and the Avenue. Well deserved pint at the Red Lion. Beautiful day out.

Hayden visited on 9th Sep 2020 - their rating: Cond: 2 Amb: 3 Access: 5 Avebury

Geojazz visited on 1st Aug 2020 - their rating: Access: 4

TheCaptain visited on 18th Sep 2019 - their rating: Cond: 4 Amb: 4 Access: 5 Decided to go find The Polisher on a wonderful sunny day to see if my legs were working again. Parked at Avebury, then walked up the Herepath to The Ridgeway, and turned north. Found the polisher too easily, and had lunch sat on it. Legs working well after the first chiro session, so continued north up the Ridgeway before turning to drop down off the hills and back to Avebury via some tumuli, but had to go a longer way due to a field of inquisitive bullocks. Back to Avebury and walked around the henge and stones before a pint in the Red Lion. Still fairly early and legs feeling good, so walked down the route of the Beckhampton Avenue to Adam and Eve and a huge longbarrow before going back To Avebury and the car. Drove via Silbury to the Kennet Avenue, and walked up and down that, finding the second polisher stone. Beautiful day ouy.

michelle_b007 visited on 13th Aug 2019 - their rating: Cond: 4 Amb: 5

sba_dk visited on 18th Jul 2019 - their rating: Cond: 4 Amb: 4 Access: 5

Hodur visited on 29th Dec 2018 - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 4 Access: 5

linnie visited on 21st Sep 2018 - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 4 Access: 3 I loved Avebury. When we visited there were professional research photographers focused on a couple of the huge megaliths in the middle of the main area that people were walking, so the ambience was a bit lessened due to that, but we went around to the fewer stones of a more remote corner of the complex and had a lovely time focusing on them, getting to know them, playing flute to them, all without other 2-leggeds interrupting. :D It is also nice and close to West Kennet long barrow, which was one of my favourite places to flute and just Be.

Chappers60 visited on 6th Aug 2018 - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 4 Access: 5

SandyG visited on 7th Aug 2016 - their rating: Cond: 4 Amb: 5 Access: 5

Chrononaut1962 visited on 24th Jul 2016 - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 4 Access: 5

Jansold visited on 15th May 2016 - their rating: Cond: 4 Amb: 4 Access: 5

wildtalents visited on 5th May 2016 - their rating: Cond: 4 Amb: 5 Access: 5 Having visited Avebury numerous times I've chosen the date when I last visited, which was already seven years ago. Each time we visited we would take a photo of one of us, or one of the kids, sat on the Devil's Chair, and by estimating ages (if the images themselves aren't dated) could come up with a chronology of some kind. In 2004 we rented a cottage in the village for a week and that gave us a really good chance to explore more fully. When the kids got bored of that we took them to Swindon for the day. They liked it lol. We walked the putative route of the Beckhampton Avenue one evening. There really are a lot of sarsens at the sides of the road, incorporated into walls, half-buried at the side of the road and so on. Pete Glastonbury's CD captured these very well. The walk petered out at the Longstones, Adam and Eve, isolated in their field about two miles or so from Avebury village.

ajmp3003 visited on 1st May 2016 - their rating: Cond: 4 Amb: 5 Access: 5

trystan_hughes visited on 22nd Dec 2015 - their rating: Cond: 4 Amb: 5 Access: 5

emerald visited on 20th Oct 2015 - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 5 Access: 4

mlc visited on 15th Oct 2015 - their rating: Amb: 5 Access: 4

XIII visited on 13th Aug 2015 - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 4 Access: 5

ScottHK visited on 2nd Jul 2015 - their rating: Amb: 5 Access: 5

drolaf visited on 1st Jan 2015 - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 4 Access: 4

Chrus visited on 1st Jan 2014 - their rating: Cond: 5 Amb: 5 Access: 5

Estrela visited on 3rd Sep 2013 We stayed in the Manor Farm within the stone circle, with magnificent views from our front and back windows of the stones of the circle. There is masses to see in the area, and a lovely, relaxed feel to the place, very unlike the much more well-known Stonehenge. The stones reflect the earlier date, much less worked and more primitive. One huge stone appears to have a face engraved on its side, but that is probably coincidence. The circle is huge, and the ditch still impressive although far short of its original 9m depth. Such a shame that the road intersects it, and that many stones were used for local building material, so that one side of the circle is all but gone. A magical place.

mfrincu visited on 3rd May 2013 - their rating: Cond: 4 Amb: 4 Access: 4 Not as popular as Stonehenge but by far more complex. You have earth mounds, earth pyramids, passage graves, stone avenues, and yes stone circles.

fyrefly visited on 1st Jan 2013 - their rating: Access: 5 Great site.

ModernExplorers visited on 21st Dec 2012 - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 4 Access: 5 A fantastic site, 2 stone circles within a huge stone circle. I was there for the winter solstice/End of the World and there was great atmosphere. I can feel energy coming from some of the stones

gherkin001 visited on 14th Oct 2012 - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 4 Access: 5 Going back on Wednesday, has a very calming influence on me

JohnLindsay visited on 2nd Apr 2012 - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 2 Access: 3 Salisbury railway station from the 09.41 out of Surbiton, then the bus 2 to Devizes change to the 49 to Swindon. Bus stop by pub. Huge amount of traffic means walking life threatening. There are no maps in the NT retail opportunity for the area, and they don't do walkers' leaflets. The interchange in Devizes should fail so time to do the museum. This is a spiral of virtue matter. There is also a bus 4 to Marlborough with a really strange timetable, but that means Bedwyn Marlborough or Marlborough Salisbury. The unusability of rail tickets across the network is another spiral of virtue matter, so that is two small ones. Add to the bibliography Pollard Avebury. Then in Field on Earthern long barrows I find something on Horslip Bridge which adds to the complexity, what is an enclosure, causewayed, what is a barrow, long, earthern, and why are they called morturary or burial when many don't appear to have any bodies at all?

entoptika visited on 1st Apr 2012 - their rating: Cond: 4 Amb: 4 Access: 5

graemefield visited on 27th Nov 2011 - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 5 Access: 4

TheCaptain visited on 11th Jul 2011 - their rating: Cond: 4 Amb: 4 Access: 5 Did pretty much the whole Avebury tour with Dad and Rachael. Drove up the avenue from the Sanctury, and parked in the NH car park. Walked around the whole henge, and visited the internal circles. I'd forgotten quite how massive and wonderful Avebury is, even with a lot of people here

RobBarnett visited on 1st Jul 2011 - their rating: Cond: 5 Amb: 5 Access: 5 1Fabulous as always !!!

ulrike visited on 19th Jun 2011 When I asked my dad about this visit he said I was more interested in the molehills than the standing stones. I do remember being a bit awed by the stones, and a bit confused.

jeffrep visited on 27th May 2011 - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 5 Access: 5 Second visit to the Avebury complex including Windmill Hill this time. First visit was on September 30, 2005.

custer visited on 23rd Oct 2010 - their rating: Cond: 4 Amb: 5 Access: 5 Always a great place to visit. Notice something different each time. Some of the stones are enormous .The earth ditch is awe inspiring. Must be a fantastic sight from the air. Returned on 15th May 2011. Great day out.

johnstone visited on 30th Jun 2010 - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 4 Access: 5

markj99 visited on 18th Aug 2009 - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 4 Access: 5 I enjoyed my visit to Avebury Circle but i have two reservations: 1) I found the scale of the circle too large to take in as a whole. It was difficult to imagine the overall plan. Subsequent views of aerial shots have given me a better impression of the monument. 2) The construction of houses and a road within the henge spoiled the antiquity of the site for me. I would have liked to have seen the circle in its original condition.

Richard13 visited on 1st Jul 2009 - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 5 Access: 5

SteveC visited on 25th Oct 2008 - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 5 Access: 5

ForestDaughter visited on 23rd Sep 2008 - their rating: Amb: 5 Access: 5

ChrisHealey visited on 21st Jun 2008 - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 5 Access: 5

Woode visited on 21st Dec 2007 - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 5 Access: 5

coldrum visited on 1st Jan 2005 - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 4 Access: 5

RedKite1985 visited on 1st Jan 2002 - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 4 Access: 5

MartinJEley visited on 15th May 2000 - their rating: Cond: 4 Amb: 5 Access: 5 The integration of the village into the superb stone circle is in part a distraction and yet a wonder in itself. The site is impressive both on its own and as a part of the many sites in this area of Wiltshire. The ability to walk through the stones and experience the location gives it some advantages over Stonehenge.

LPhillips visited on 1st Sep 1999 - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 5 Access: 5

scherre visited on 1st Sep 1999 - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 4

TheCaptain visited on 4th Oct 1998 - their rating: Cond: 5 Amb: 4 Access: 5 Visit lots of ancient sites on a long off road cycle tour from Avebury to Windmill Hill, along the Wansdyke and back up Kennet Avenue

Baruc visited on 3rd May 1998 - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 4 Access: 5

woodini254 visited on 29th Dec 1993 - their rating: Cond: 4 Amb: 5 Access: 5 I have visited this site a number of times over the last 20 years.

Dutch visited on 7th Jun 1988 - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 4 Access: 5

bat400 visited on 1st Oct 1987 - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 4 Access: 4

sirius_b visited on 1st Jan 1987 - their rating: Cond: 4 Amb: 4 Access: 5

Orcinus visited on 1st Jan 1987 - their rating: Cond: 4 Amb: 5 Access: 5

wvwoody visited on 25th May 1983 - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 4 Access: 5

BolshieBoris visited on 1st Oct 1978 - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 5 Access: 5

TerryR visited on 1st Jul 1966 - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 4 Access: 5

jeniferj visited - their rating: Cond: 4 Amb: 5 Access: 5

jeniferj visited - their rating: Cond: 4 Amb: 5 Access: 5

druid visited - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 5 Access: 5

Elric visited - their rating: Cond: 5 Amb: 5 Access: 5

Twistytwirly visited - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 5 Access: 4

coin visited - their rating: Cond: 5 Amb: 5 Access: 5 One of my favourite places on earth.

kith visited - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 5 Access: 5

Klingon visited - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 5 Access: 5

NickyD visited - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 5 Access: 5

jlfern2 visited - their rating: Cond: 4 Amb: 4 Access: 5

Lazulilou visited - their rating: Cond: 2 Amb: 3 Access: 5

TwinFlamesKiss visited - their rating: Cond: 5 Amb: 5 Access: 5 One of the best sites to visit anywhere. So big there is a village, with shop and pub inside it. We have been many times, and the Red Lion pub is a must stop too for lunch or a drink. Great site to visit in the winter, as well as summer. Don't miss walking up the procession way across the road that leads up to the circle. There are numerous gathering there on special dates.

morgainelefay saw from a distance

CoppellaiaMatta PAB neolithique02 Bladup Jimwithnoname Ogham mark_a sorschaL celticmaiden55 myf DrewParsons h_fenton moor2moor sorschaL TimPrevett AngieLake rldixon TheWhiteRider hamish JimChampion Andy B sem tom_bullock Ahdzib mdensham MartinRS MegalithJunkie cazzyjane steph coldrum Jimwithnoname kelpie AnnabelleStar FrothNinja ArchAstro Alma23 Wazza12 hevveh mrcrow have visited here

Average ratings for this site from all visit loggers: Condition: 3.5 Ambience: 4.49 Access: 4.81

Avebury
Avebury submitted by creators : I have been reluctant to submit this picture because it is a composite, taken on the same day in the same place but still a composite. It is AngieLake's exquisitely named 'receptors' hands receiving the moon and a picture I love. So a composite done tenderly of Avebury that is at my very heart. (Vote or comment on this photo)
Stone circle, henge, museum, village, pub and much more in Wiltshire. As well as the main ~500m diameter circle there are the remains of two inner circular features, one of which may have been a horseshoe. Two Avenues (one now destroyed) connected to the circle.

Some statistics:
* The world's biggest stone circle
* Bank circumference: 1.5km; height: 17m; area: 11.5ha
* Average stone weight: 40 tons
* Man-hours to construct: 1.5million

Archaeologists locate the remains of the 'lost' Beckhampton Avenue.
The excavation, in August 1999 revealed the remains of six stone settings. These form an avenue that the excavators believe to be part of the 'Beckhampton Avenue' leading westwards from the henge, last recorded in the 1720s by the antiquarian William Stukeley. Continued on the University of Southampton press release This work is part of the four year Negotiating Avebury Project, which includes virtual reality modelling of the stones.

Much has been written about Avebury that I won't repeat here. I would especially recommend Prehistoric Avebury by Aubrey Burl and Michael Dames' book The Avebury Cycle, in which he discusses the relationship between the different features in the local landscape, including the local springs. He suggests these springs, such as the one at Swallowhead, between the West Kennet Barrow and Silbury Hill had special significance to the ancient inhabitants of the area.

Barry Cunliffe's Wessex to A.D. 1000 is useful in that it covers the background to all the monuments in this area, based on the many excavations.

Another interesting book is Places of Power by Paul Devereux, the second half of which covers Avebury and expands on his 1991 Antiquity Paper, 'Three-dimensional aspects of apparent relationships between natural and artificial features within the topography of the Avebury complex' (Antiquity 65: 894-8). In plain language that you can just see Silbury Hill from a small area inside the henge, a phenomenon we saw on our recent visit with Terence Meaden.

Access: Avebury village is well signposted. National Trust owned with full tourist facilities. Use the large car park or there is parking at the pub for customers.

New geophysical survey discovers ‘secret square’ beneath Avebury stone circle, details below.

Note: An update from the volunteers digitising the Avebury archive, including a March 1937 clipping from the Daily Telegraph calling V Gordon Childe a "Controversial Archaeologist" for denouncing the "simple supernaturalism" of physicists Sir Arthur Eddington and Sir James Jeans, and for calling Hitler’s Aryan theory "arrant nonsense".
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 More pictures in our eGallery: Avebury Complex

 More pictures in our eGallery: Avebury Aerial

Avebury - The Cove
Avebury - The Cove submitted by Nasher : OVERALL 1st PRIZE WINNER! This is Leah's (Creator's niece) submission for * A * Summer Solstice Photo Competition. (20 comments - Vote or comment on this photo)

Avebury
Avebury submitted by Tom_Bullock : Avebury by moonlight (18 comments - Vote or comment on this photo)

Avebury Aerial 0507
Avebury Aerial 0507 submitted by JJ : Here's my theory: As you can see, the shadows cast on the western side of the circle point to the exact spot for the next stone in line. Perhaps this is why Avebury is more hexagonal in shape than round. Based on this assumption, then it would be easy to work out the heights of the missing stones without too much difficulty. Maybe the distance between each stone along this side was calculated... (4 comments - Vote or comment on this photo)

Avebury
Avebury submitted by h_fenton : Avebury, Oblique Kite Aerial Photograph 12 July 2009 (3 comments - Vote or comment on this photo)

Avebury - The Cove
Avebury - The Cove submitted by bec-zog : Avebury; Ink and Watercolor by bec (Vote or comment on this photo)

Avebury Henge aerial 0490
Avebury Henge aerial 0490 submitted by JJ : Aerial photo copyright JJ Evendon

Avebury
Avebury submitted by Nasher : This is the cove taken whilst waiting for sunrise at solstice 2005. I like this picture because it gives the feeling of what it was actually like, really moody! (2 comments)

Avebury
Avebury submitted by Jimwithnoname : Solstice light (4 comments)

Avebury - The Cove
Avebury - The Cove submitted by jackdaw1 : Cove sundown. (1 comment)

Avebury Twisty Tree
Avebury Twisty Tree submitted by coldrum : Tree roots at Avebury, Wiltshire *B* (2 comments)

Avebury
Avebury submitted by creators : Trying out a new camera on a beautiful night at Avebury. (8 comments)

Avebury
Avebury submitted by kbr61263 : HDR at Avebury, taken August 2012

avebury
avebury submitted by jackdaw1 : taken @Avebury. entitled 'Spirit of the stones' (3 comments)

Avebury
Avebury submitted by hailstones : Standing stones at avebury. They look like old men, one with a large tongue hanging out. (4 comments)

Avebury
Avebury submitted by Nasher : *B* Catagory, photo competition. Full moon, 21 July 2005, Avebury. I forgot my battery, so my nice Uncle shared, just as well, what are Uncles for, eh? (6 comments)

Avebury wisp
Avebury wisp submitted by JimChampion : Category * B * February 2005: one of the southern Avebury stones by night, with a wisp of exhaled water vapour caught in the flash. I have not removed the reflecting roadsign to the right (as per the rules!) (3 comments)

Avebury
Avebury submitted by creators : Cat *A*. There is no place I treasure more on this Earth, nor sight more pleasing to my eyes. The 'receptors' watching over us last night. Solstice 2005. (4 comments)

Avebury
Avebury submitted by Thorgrim : Avebury Morning Pastel by Peter Herring (6 comments)

Avebury
Avebury submitted by Lisa_Fryer : Solstice sunrise taken in the Avenue at Avebury on the morning of the solstice. (1 comment)

Avebury
Avebury submitted by bunny1887 : Avebury Stones (6 comments)

Avebury
Avebury submitted by mishkin : Cat.B The Winterbourne river captured for a rare moment when it snowed in February 2007 at Avebury. (4 comments)

Avebury
Avebury submitted by creators : We set off for Avebury just as the skies began to clear and followed a magnificent partial rainbow all the way. Not an arc but a blazing column of multi-coloured fire rising up into the sky. It disappeared just as we pulled into the car park. That's life Jim. The woolly lawn mowers were out in force, guaranteeing that we took home a whole lot more than pictures. This cute little feller was most ob... (4 comments)

Avebury
Avebury submitted by sem : The Pilgrim.A traveller enters the bank at Avebury. (5 comments)

Avebury
Avebury submitted by Lisa_Fryer : Before sunrise - taken in the Avenue at Avebury on the morning of the solstice.

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Earth Mysteries by Chris Witcombe
Stonecentric by Frank Wayman
Virtual fieldtrip to Salisbury Plain by Dave Wheatley
From Watford Gap to Camelot by David Craig
Stonehenge-Avebury.net by Terence Meaden
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Nearby sites listing. In the following links * = Image available
 61m N 351° Avebury - The Cove* Standing Stones (SU10257002)
 283m W 272° St. James's Church (Avebury) Ancient Cross (SU0997669968)
 305m WSW 238° Alexander Keiller Museum* Museum (SU100698)
 579m SSE 148° West Kennet Avenue polisher* Polissoir (SU10576947)
 804m SSE 148° West Kennet Avenue* Multiple Stone Rows / Avenue (SU10696928)
 968m SE 132° Falkner's Circle* Stone Circle (SU10986931)
 1.2km NNE 28° Avebury Down Earthwork Misc. Earthwork (SU10837102)
 1.3km NE 39° Avebury Down Bell Barrow* Barrow Cemetery (SU11047094)
 1.4km NE 44° Avebury Downs Barn Tumuli* Barrow Cemetery (SU1125170971)
 1.4km WSW 241° South Street Long Barrow* Chambered Tomb (SU09006927)
 1.5km S 190° Silbury Hill* Artificial Mound (SU10016853)
 1.5km WSW 244° Longstone Cove* Standing Stones (SU0888769301)
 1.6km E 86° Avebury Down barrow cemetery* Barrow Cemetery (SU11877007)
 1.6km SSE 167° Silbaby* Misc. Earthwork (SU1062668354)
 1.8km WNW 288° Horslip Long Barrow* Long Barrow (SU0858970503)
 1.8km NE 42° Avebury Down Stone Circle* Stone Circle (SU11437127)
 1.8km WSW 242° Longstones Barrow* Long Barrow (SU08706914)
 1.8km SE 137° Overton Hill barrow cemetery* Barrow Cemetery (SU11526863)
 1.9km S 185° Swallowhead Spring* Holy Well or Sacred Spring (SU101681)
 1.9km SSE 157° West Kennet Palisaded Enclosures* Ancient Village or Settlement (SU110682)
 1.9km WSW 247° South of Penning Barn* Round Barrow(s) (SU08506921)
 2.0km WSW 251° North of The Grange Round Barrow(s) (SU08346928)
 2.1km NNW 347° Winterbourne Monkton* Chambered Tomb (SU09797197)
 2.1km S 181° West Kennet Barrow* Round Barrow(s) (SU10246788)
 2.1km NW 309° Picket Barrow* Round Barrow(s) (SU086713)
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Stone Pages (Still Images) by Arosio and Meozzi
Megalithic Mysteries by Andy Burnham

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Ancient Sites Directory by Chris Tweed
Virtual fieldtrip to Salisbury Plain by Dave Wheatley
Earth Mysteries by Chris Witcombe
Stonecentric by Frank Wayman
Virtual fieldtrip to Salisbury Plain by Dave Wheatley
From Watford Gap to Camelot by David Craig
Stonehenge-Avebury.net by Terence Meaden
Myths and Megaliths by Jim Dyson
Myths and Megaliths by Jim Dyson
Wicker Screen by Phil Dunn
English Heritage by Paul Linford et al
Tania Ruiz's Web Pages by Tania Ruiz
STILE by Clive Ruggles

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"Avebury" | Login/Create an Account | 81 News and Comments
  
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Video Talk: Avebury: Rethinking a Henge and its Landscape, Prof Joshua Polllard by Andy B on Friday, 26 July 2024
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Caroline Adams writes: Following Cotswold Archaeology’s Annual Lecture titled ‘Avebury: Rethinking a Henge and its Landscape', presented by Professor Joshua Pollard, on the 12th June, an edited recording of this webinar (and many others!) is now available to watch on our You Tube here:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_n8SQ7dytQ

Here also is some further reading information regarding Avebury and its local archaeological environment:

The Living with Monuments Project: livingwithmonuments.org/
An Antiquity paper on the origins of Avebury: http://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/antiquity/article/origins-of-avebury/DB43C9DCF03F2F2B75E487DE0D312B75
For a general introduction to the region, Steve Marshall's 'Exploring Avebury' website (linked to his book of the same name): http://www.exploringavebury.com/
Information about visiting Avebury in Wiltshire: Avebury | Wiltshire | National Trust http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/wiltshire/avebury
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Sacred Sites with Carenza Lewis, TV programme from the 2000s by Andy B on Saturday, 06 July 2024
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Nowhere in England is as rich in sacred sites in the landscape as the west country. In this series, archaeologist and Time Team star, Carenza Lewis beats a path across the landscape in search of the meaning and significance which lies behind these sites. From the Neolithic monument at Avebury, the largest of its kind in Europe, to the post Christian shrine of Glastonbury, Carenza takes in the mediaeval city in Bristol, the mystic of Malmesbury, the Roman settlement in Lydney and the parishes of Cadbury, the Camelot of the West Country in a stunning and magnificent celebration of the spiritual heritage of the region.

Carenza Lewis begins her journey through some of the most evocative landscapes of the West Country in the magnificent setting of Avebury in Wiltshire. Carenza explores the meaning of sacredness in the largest and most spectacular prehistoric sacred site in Europe.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zHoR9JlK8B8
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Re: Avebury - Some old photos in Ridiculous Article by AngieLake on Friday, 13 October 2023
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This is in Daily Mail online today:
[Titled:]
Revealed: The World Heritage ancient stone circle at Avebury is FAKE - with photographs showing that the stones were actually erected in the 1930s... and some are upside down
The stone circle at Avebury is one of Britain's greatest archaeological treasures
But a set of photos reveal a chapter in the site's history many aren't aware of
They show a group of men in the 1930s re-erecting and repositioning the stones

However, there are some quite interesting old B/W photos in the article.
Read more here:
www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/article-12624909/The-World-Heritage-ancient-stone-circle-Avebury-FAKE-photographs-showing-stones-actually-erected-1930s-upside-down.html
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    Re: Avebury - Some old photos in Ridiculous Article by HarryTwenty on Friday, 13 October 2023
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    The author of this piece of clickbait canard didn't even bother to do his homework properly before stirring this particular pot. It's very similar to the people who use old restoration work photos of Stonehenge to push the rumour that it was only built in the 20th century, strange really when John Aubrey drew it in the 17th century and JMW Turner painted it in the 19th century, they must have been seers.

    Anybody with a working brain knows that when re-erecting a fallen stone the first thing an archaeologist looks for is the adjacent socket, which they then use to reset the stone as accurately as they can. Keiller wasn't perfect but he did a good job with what he had and where a stone wasn't present he erected concrete markers in their place it's not a secret, except to people with a an agenda to discredit our ancient sites and heritage it seems. If Avebury is a 20th century invention maybe the author of this particular hit piece can explain William Stukeley's drawings of Avebury from the 18th century, another seer perhaps?

    From the increase in vandalism at these sites to the often amateurish attempts at discrediting the authenticity of them it appears to be a concerted effort by somebody to push people away from them, I wonder who the vested interest is in this case?
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      Re: Avebury - Some old photos in Ridiculous Article by Andy B on Saturday, 14 October 2023
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      Hello Harry and Angie, I wonder if this is to do with the sinister 'Restore Trust' Tufton Street thinktank connected group who are again attempting to place members on the board of the National Trust and who want to force the NT to fully restore Clandon Park (near us), which would be an ultra expensive folly and put preservation of other sites at risk. This was from last year:
      www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/nov/06/right-leaning-group-fails-to-wrest-control-of-national-trust-from-political-takeover
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        Re: Avebury - Some old photos in Ridiculous Article by HarryTwenty on Tuesday, 17 October 2023
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        Not heard of these Andy, but seems like a bit of internal politics at the National Trust.
        I'm not sure they'd be behind the creeping attacks on ancient sites that seems to have ramped up recently but you never know.

        As for the Daily Mail hit piece, unless they got the nod from elsewhere to run it they made the decision in-house. Bearing in mind that the editor is a follower of Jorge in the Apostolic Palace I expect they aren't too happy with the popularity (or existence) of anything pre-Nicaean, it threatens their power structure. See history for details.

        Will just have to keep visiting and recording the sites we still have left while we still have them. Even if our ancestors left behind no written record (undiscovered so far) it looks like they may have left all the information they wanted to pass on to us contained in their extensive engineering projects, it's just a different kind of language : )

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300 years of William Stukeley exhibition, 27th June to 10th November 2023 by Anonymous on Tuesday, 27 June 2023
300 years of William Stukeley exhibition
Between 1719 and 1724, antiquarian William Stukeley spent time at Avebury. To celebrate 300 years since his fantastically detailed drawings of the stones and village, visit this fantastic exhibition of drawings.

The writings and drawings of William Stukeley have contributed significantly to what we know about Avebury and the surrounding landscape. Stukeley's beautifully detailed drawings of the stone circles in the early eighteenth century offer a reminder of how the landscape has changed in the past three hundred years, and how much has remained the same. Visit the seventeenth century threshing barn in the heart of Avebury for free to see several of his works reproduced to celebrate the anniversary.

Runs from Tue 27 Jun to November 10th 2023
Free entry 10am to 5pm

https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/wiltshire/avebury/events/9e9cc819-27f0-40cc-b0e0-3b02568f885e
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The Avebury Papers - digitising and sharing the multimedia archive by Andy B on Tuesday, 13 June 2023
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The Avebury Papers is a four-year funded project to digitise, explore, and share the multimedia archive of Avebury’s Neolithic origins and its subsequent life-history.

The only large-scale archaeological excavations to take place at Avebury were carried out just before the outbreak of WWII. Materials and objects collected and made at this time were left under-analysed for decades. As a result, we have – until now – only had a partial understanding of Avebury’s past and present.

We will add to the archaeological work that ended so abruptly due to the war, bringing together findings from 1939 and subsequent excavations. The archive also includes creative work inspired by Avebury, and these stories are just as important as the stones for understanding Avebury today. Importantly, the entire archive will be made available online on an ‘open access’ basis for anyone to use for research, enjoyment, and artistic projects.
Start here: https://www.aveburypapers.org/ and I'll highlight a few bits below

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    Psychometry and the Giants of Archaeology by Andy B on Tuesday, 13 June 2023
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    Extract of letter from V Gordon Childe to Alexander Keiller, 10 October 1937:

    “I was glad to note that you made some protest against the vapours that have befouled the ether […] it is monstrous that the only prehistory broadcast should be this nonsense.”

    On Friday 17 September, 1937, BBC Radio aired one of a three-part series titled, “The Unchronicled Past” by antiquarian John Foster Forbes. Foster Forbes was dedicated to the idea that megaliths were built by the survivors from Atlantis. He was noted for his opinions on UFOs, giants, and psychometry, which was the practice of feeling and studying vibrations from ancient monuments. The inclusion of his ideas on BBC Radio sparked vociferous protest from contemporary archaeologists: including Alexander Keiller and V Gordon Childe, who was then Abercromby Professor of Archaeology at University of Edinburgh.

    A March 1937 clipping in the Daily Telegraph calls Childe a “Controversial Archaeologist” for denouncing the “simple supernaturalism” of physicists Sir Arthur Eddington and Sir James Jeans, and for calling Hitler’s Aryan theory “arrant nonsense”.

    More at
    https://www.aveburypapers.org/psychometry-and-the-giants-of-archaeology/
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Avebury photo album showing Barn, Museum, Silbury Hill and West Kennet Long Barrow by Andy B on Sunday, 03 October 2021
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Marcgreenman writes; I have finally finished making all of my notes to this album, hopefully this will be enough to show what is happening here as there is a lot to reveal. as a source of information on Aebury itself the museum has turned out to be absolutely invaluable, you will learn so much from making a visit. Note that the information panels around the village have all been changed recently and they all look a whole lot better and more informative a very good job there by the national trust

https://www.flickr.com/photos/183773182@N07/albums/72157719914990486

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Drone flight along West Kennett Avenue to Avebury Henge by SteveC on Sunday, 21 June 2020
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Hi all,

Had a flight along the West Kennett Avenue to Avebury Henge and took some video.

https://youtu.be/qn4HCMU48sU
Please feel free to comment if you enjoy, or even if you don't lol.
Regards
Steve
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Avebury and Stonehenge CLOSED for Summer Solstice but Stonehenge is live-streaming by Andy B on Tuesday, 19 May 2020
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Avebury and Stonehenge closed for Summer Solstice

The National Trust have today (Monday 18 May) confirmed that neither Avebury nor its land across the Stonehenge Landscape, will be open for this year’s summer solstice and are asking visitors not to travel to the area.

The celebrations which take place every midsummer, on or around the 21st June, regularly attract in the region of 10,000 people to Stonehenge and surrounding areas including Avebury.

The NT say: ‘Our priority is always to ensure the safety and wellbeing of staff, volunteers, attendees and residents. This decision was made due to the on-going ban on mass gatherings, and the need to maintain social distancing – still the mainstay of measures to combat Coronavirus.’

English Heritage who manage Stonehenge have also announced that they will not be able to host the solstice at the World Heritage site, to ensure the safety and wellbeing of all attendees, volunteers and staff.

The Stonehenge summer sunrise is going to be live-streamed but sadly you will have to endure the horrors of Facebook to do so - admittedly nothing like as catching coronavirus but not great.
https://www.facebook.com/englishheritage/

Re: the Avebury closure the NT say ‘We recognise the spiritual importance and relevance of the summer Solstice and understand that this will come as a great disappointment to many but also not a huge surprise given the on-going pandemic crisis and a ban on mass gatherings. We hope that this announcement will be received with the understanding of everyone who likes to celebrate this important time of year and traditional acts of worship.’

Many other live events have either been cancelled or postponed this year due to the ongoing battle against the disease and to limit its spread.

The camping sites, the village pub, car parks and toilets will all be closed.

Each year the Trust works closely with partners through the Avebury Solstice Planning Group to manage visitors who come to Avebury for the Solstice aiming to ensure
the event allows peaceful access for celebrants and to minimise disruption to the village and neighbouring farms. We thank everyone for their understanding and hope to welcome summer solstice visitors back next year.
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Avebury Art Project, Bath Artists’ Studios 30th Sept to 13th Oct 2019 by Andy B on Tuesday, 24 September 2019
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An exhibition of site specific work by studio holders at Bath Artists’ Studios
Monday 30 September to Sunday 13 October 2019
Roper Gallery, Bath Artists’ Studios, The Old Malthouse, Comfortable Place, Bath, BA1 3AJ.

The World Heritage site of Avebury in Wiltshire, UK is place that has a deep history of human engagement. During the latter half of 2018 and throughout 2019, artists from Bath Artist’s Studios have been visiting the site collectively and individually as a field based methodology that focuses on site specific making, collaboration and creative conversations. This exhibition presents the outcome of some of that work as well as some of the conversations that took place in this ancient landscape.

Artists:

Felicity Bowers
Artist and printmaker. I teach drawing and printmaking at Bath Artists’ Studios. I have been visiting Avebury and other megalithic sites for 40 years, studying and pondering their significance and the layers of time they represent.

Mary Caron-Courtney
The mystery and timeless layering of the landscape evoke exploration of surface. Trodden and embedded markings create their own narrative to be developed through a range of contemporary media.

Beverley Ferguson
I am a Textile and Mixed-Media artist. Surfaces and textures intrigue and interest me. Through the exploration of textiles I find myself, encounter others and inhabit landscapes around me.

Simon Ferguson
I wanted to express my feelings about Avebury using multimedia, something modern technology has made more accessible. I have found the landscape and its sites have provoked so many thoughts in me that I wanted to do more than just make photographs. It has meant learning new software and experimenting so I feel that this is an ongoing project rather than a finished piece.

And many more, details here
http://bathartistsstudios.co.uk/avebury-project/
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Re: Avebury by Stone_Monkey on Thursday, 18 July 2019
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Obviously this site features on many major alignments & is extensively featured on the following blog posts;
...https://ancientwhisperspenwith.blogspot.com/2018/11/avebury-geometry-pt-2-a.html
...https://ancientwhisperspenwith.blogspot.com/2019/01/the-st-michaelmary-alignment-my.html
...https://ancientwhisperspenwith.blogspot.com/2019/02/the-st-michael-triangle-duke-line.html
...https://ancientwhisperspenwith.blogspot.com/2019/01/the-isles-line-perpendicular-cross-to.html
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Re: Avebury by 4seasonbackpacking on Tuesday, 25 June 2019
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Re: Avebury by 4seasonbackpacking on Saturday, 20 April 2019
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The origins of Avebury, Mark Gillings, Joshua Pollard and Kristian Strutt, April 2019 by Andy B on Thursday, 11 April 2019
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The origins of Avebury by Mark Gillings, Joshua Pollard and Kristian Strutt
Antiquity, Volume 93, Issue 368, April 2019
Published online: 10 April 2019

The Avebury henge is one of the famous megalithic monuments of the European Neolithic, yet much remains unknown about the detail and chronology of its construction. Here, the results of a new geophysical survey and re-examination of earlier excavation records illuminate the earliest beginnings of the monument. The authors suggest that Avebury's Southern Inner Circle was constructed to memorialise and monumentalise the site of a much earlier ‘foundational’ house. The significance here resides in the way that traces of habitation may take on special social and historical value, leading to their marking and commemoration through major acts of monument building.

If our new interpretation of the structure within the Southern Inner Circle as an Early Neolithic house is correct, the implications for understanding Avebury's origins are profound: the ancestry of one of Europe's great megalithic monuments can be traced back to the monumentalisation of a relatively modest dwelling. This supports Julian Thomas's view that fourth-millennium BC tombs and houses/halls played an active role in the creation and commemoration of foundational social groups.

Since its unexpected discovery in 1939, the Z-feature at Avebury has presented an interpretative conundrum. Smith (1965: 251) came close to our preferred explanation when she proposed a link with Early Neolithic funerary architecture, in that the settings within the Southern Inner Circle deliberately echo elements of a long barrow, with the Obelisk representing a burial deposit. Instead of a tomb, however, the Z-feature settings can now be considered to commemorate a form of domestic architecture.

https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/antiquity/article/origins-of-avebury/DB43C9DCF03F2F2B75E487DE0D312B75/core-reader#
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    Making Megaliths: Shifting and Unstable Stones in the Neolithic of the Avebury Landsc by Andy B on Thursday, 11 April 2019
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    Another recent paper that's related:
    Making Megaliths: Shifting and Unstable Stones in the Neolithic of the Avebury Landscape

    Mark Gillings (a1) and Joshua Pollard (a2)
    https://doi.org/10.1017/S0959774316000330
    Published online: 24 May 2016

    This paper focuses upon the web of practices and transformations bound up in the extraction and movement of megaliths during the Neolithic of southern Britain. The focus is on the Avebury landscape of Wiltshire, where over 700 individual megaliths were employed in the construction of ceremonial and funerary monuments. Locally sourced, little consideration has been given to the process of acquisition and movement of sarsen stones that make up key monuments such as the Avebury henge and its avenues, attention instead focusing on the middle-distance transportation of sarsen out of this region to Stonehenge. Though stone movements were local, we argue they were far from lacking in significance, as indicated by the subsequent monumentalization of at least two locations from which they were likely acquired. We argue that since such stones embodied place(s), their removal, movement and resetting represented a remarkably dynamic and potentially disruptive reconfiguration of the world as it was known. Megaliths were never inert or stable matter, and we need to embrace this in our interpretative accounts if we are to understand the very different types of monument that emerged in prehistory as a result.

    You can download this paper here:
    https://web.archive.org/web/20180720183217/https://lra.le.ac.uk/bitstream/2381/37572/2/POST_REVIEW_gillings_pollard_2016_CAJ_submission_FINAL.pdf
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The Origins of Avebury by Runemage on Wednesday, 10 April 2019
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Paper by Mark Gillings, Joshua Pollard and Kristian Strutt

Abstract
The Avebury henge is one of the famous megalithic monuments of the European Neolithic, yet much remains unknown about the detail and chronology of its construction. Here, the results of a new geophysical survey and re-examination of earlier excavation records illuminate the earliest beginnings of the monument. The authors suggest that Avebury's Southern Inner Circle was constructed to memorialise and monumentalise the site of a much earlier ‘foundational’ house. The significance here resides in the way that traces of habitation may take on special social and historical value, leading to their marking and commemoration through major acts of monument building.

Cambridge University Press, Antiquity, Volume 93 Issue 368

https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/antiquity/article/origins-of-avebury/DB43C9DCF03F2F2B75E487DE0D312B75/core-reader
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Re: Avebury by 4seasonbackpacking on Wednesday, 28 November 2018
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Re: Avebury by 4seasonbackpacking on Thursday, 15 November 2018
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Re: Avebury by 4seasonbackpacking on Wednesday, 26 September 2018
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Re: Avebury by Anonymous on Friday, 14 September 2018
Your main photo is a mirror image.
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    Re: Avebury by ainsloch on Friday, 14 September 2018
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    Yes well spotted! The slides can be scanned from either side, I should have checked and flipped the image. I will upload the amended picture.
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Standing with Stones and Heritage Action meet this Sunday 16th Sept at Avebury by Andy B on Thursday, 13 September 2018
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Heritage Action write:
I bet you’ve been wondering why we’ve not been talking about the Megameet this year.

We’ve all been a bit busy, but it would be criminal to not all meet up!

As I’m sure you’re aware, those lovely chaps, Michael and Rupert, over at the Standing With Stones Community on Facebook will actually be in the same place at the same time, and have organised a get-together in Avebury on Sunday 16th September 2018 starting in the Red Lion pub around midday.

As Rupert lives in France it’s not very often this will happen, so with their permission we have suggested that we also tag our annual get together onto this as it would be amazing to meet up with Michael and Rupert (and, of course, their multitude of followers!).

So why not join us all then!
https://heritageaction.wordpress.com/2018/09/06/joint-megameet/

More in our forum
http://www.megalithic.co.uk/modules.php?op=modload&name=Forum&file=viewtopic&topic=7766&forum=1&start=0
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Making Megaliths: Shifting and Unstable Stones in the Avebury Landscape by Andy B on Monday, 02 July 2018
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Making Megaliths: Shifting and Unstable Stones in the Neolithic of the Avebury Landscape
Authors: Gillings, Mark
Pollard, Joshua
First Published: 24-May-2016
Publisher: Cambridge University Press on behalf of McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research
Citation: Cambridge Archaeological Journal, 2016, pp. 1-23
Abstract: This paper focuses upon the web of practices and transformations bound up in the extraction and movement of megaliths during the Neolithic of southern Britain. The focus is on the Avebury landscape of Wiltshire, where over 700 individual megaliths were employed in the construction of ceremonial and funerary monuments. Locally-sourced, little consideration has been given to the process of acquisition and movement of sarsen stones that make up key monuments such as the Avebury henge and its avenues; attention instead focussing on the middle-distance transportation of sarsen out of this region to Stonehenge. Though stone movements were local, we argue they were far from lacking in significance, as indicated by the subsequent monumentalization of at least two locations from which they were likely acquired. We argue that since such stones embodied place(s); their removal, movement and resetting represented a remarkably dynamic and potentially disruptive reconfiguration of the world as it was known. Megaliths were never inert or stable matter, and we need to embrace this in our interpretative accounts if we are to understand the very different types of monument that emerged in prehistory as a result.

http://hdl.handle.net/2381/37572
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Re: Avebury by Blingo_von_Trumpenstein on Wednesday, 13 June 2018
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Nearest village: Avebury had me rolling on the floor...
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Virtual Avebury, June, July and August 2018 - a partnership between present and past by Andy B on Monday, 11 June 2018
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Virtual Avebury is an AHRC/EPSRC funded project under the 2017 Immersive Partnerships call. It is a partnership between BU, National Trust, virtual reality developers Daden Ltd and soundscape specialists Satsymph. We are creating a 3D, fully immersive simulation of Avebury Stone Circle, as it may have appeared circa 2,300 BCE. The project has been funded for 9 months during 2018, running from mid-February to mid-November, and has three main phases:

the first phase, from mid-February to the end of May, is to create the visual simulation in Unity 3D and embed a layered soundscape;

the second phase, from the beginning of June to to the end of August, will be to evaluate the simulation through public engagement. Visitors to Avebury itself, participants in the BU Festival of Learning, and online visitors from anywhere with an internet connection, can join in to help us understand how people interact with the virtual environment and with other visitors they will meet there in real time, and how experiencing Virtual Avebury in 2,300 BCE affects their reactions to physical Avebury in the present day;

the third phase will be from the beginning of September to mid-November when we’ll be analysing the data and writing reports and papers.

Come and join in!

Evaluating Virtual Avebury from the user perspective lies at the heart of this project. We would like to encourage as many people as possible to try it out with us, using fully immersive headsets, earphones and haptic devices, as well as texture, smell and air movement effects. We will ask you to complete a questionnaire after you have experienced Virtual Avebury if you are aged 16 or over, but no one is under any obligation to do so and anyone is welcome to come along and try it. If you are under 16 years of age, you will need to be accompanied by a responsible adult whilst you are using Virtual Avebury at our physical locations.
At Avebury

We are planning on being at Avebury on a range of dates in June, July and August, which are shown below. We would like to take this opportunity to thank our partners, National Trust, for being such accommodating and enthusiastic hosts, as they have created a space for us in The Barn Museum. We will be there from 11 am to 4 pm each day, although the dates below may be subject to some alterations due to unforeseen circumstances. So if you are planning on visiting us at Avebury, please check back here a day or two beforehand as we will keep this list up to date; even the best-laid plans can go awry!

JUNE: 5, 6, 7, 13, 14, 19, 20, 21, 22, 27, 28

JULY: 3, 4, 5, 11, 12, 13, 14, 17, 18, 19, 26, 27, 28, 29

AUGUST: 6, 8, 15, 17
BU Festival of Learning 2018

We will be in Room 201 in the Fusion Building on Saturday 16th June from 11 am to 4 pm as part of the BU Festival of Learning, Festival for the Family Day. We’ll have 3 immersive rigs on offer, so you can explore Virtual Avebury with family and friends; walking through the landscape, listening to the sounds of the Neolithic, and sharing the experience with others in the virtual environment. We’ll also have augmented reality and 360-degree video examples too.
Online

If you can’t make it to our physical venues, you’ll be able to experience Virtual Avebury on your own devices at any time in June, July and August. Instructions for how to do this will be in our News section (top right of this page) shortly.

https://research.bournemouth.ac.uk/project/virtual-avebury-an-immersive-partnership/
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    Re: Virtual Avebury, June, July and August 2018 - a partnership between present and p by Blingo_von_Trumpenstein on Wednesday, 13 June 2018
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    Sounds good. I will check it out and report back. Am feeling the draw of this mighty Ur temple once again so will be there for Solstice with drums and prehistoric axes (the usual). Any fellow portallers treading the same path? Minimeet?
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The Living with Monuments Project excavating at the foot of Avebury Down by Andy B on Wednesday, 16 August 2017
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The Living with Monuments Project is a joint venture between researchers from the Universities of Southampton, Leicester, Ghent and Cambridge, Allen Environmental Archaeology and the National Trust.

Their aim is to redress a critical imbalance in what we know of life and cultural landscapes during the Neolithic and Early Bronze Age (c.4,000-1500 BC). Archaeologists’ accounts of these periods mainly deal with why and how the ceremonial and funerary monuments – which form the most visible and tangible part of its archaeological record – were created.

But we know remarkably little about where and how people lived in the Neolithic and Early Bronze Age or what other sorts of non-monument focussed activity they were undertaking . To solve this problem they are carrying out an innovative programme of carefully targeted fieldwork alongside reassessment of existing data – including material in the Museum archives – within a landscape famed for its monumental architecture: the area in and around Avebury.

This year the Living with Monuments team is based at a the foot of Avebury Down, in an area to the east of Avebury henge, where they will be for the first three weeks in August

The site is in an area where Rev. H.G.O. Kendall and W.E.V. Young began to collect Neolithic flintwork in the 1920s, and where a fantastic, dense scatter of early and middle Neolithic flintwork (c.4000-2900BC) was identified. Though Kendall’s collection is housed in the Alexander Keiller Museum in Avebury the exact location of the scatter remained a mystery until 2006 when map detective work by Jim Gunter identified its probable location and shortly afterwards on the ground investigations by Josh, Ros and Nick established its exact position.

The Living with Monuments Project is being directed by Dr. Josh Pollard (Southampton University), Dr Mark Gillings (Leicester University), Prof. Alistair Pike (Southampton) and Dr Nick Snashall (National Trust) together with Dr. Ben Chan (Southampton), Dr. Ros Cleal (National Trust) and Dr Mike Allen (Allen Environmental Archaeology).

More at
https://ntarchaeostonehengeaveburywhs.wordpress.com/category/dig/foot-of-avebury-down/page/5/
and four more pages of dig diary which unfortunatey come up in reverse order, currently at Day 14 and backwards:
https://ntarchaeostonehengeaveburywhs.wordpress.com/category/dig/foot-of-avebury-down/

and on our page here
http://www.megalithic.co.uk/article.php?sid=10474#comments
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New geophysical survey discovers ‘secret square’ beneath Avebury stone circle by Andy B on Friday, 30 June 2017
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SQUARING THE CIRCLE: Archaeological detectives discover ‘secret square’ beneath world-famous Avebury stone circle

New archaeological surveys reveal unique square megalithic monument at the heart of the World Heritage Site.

Archaeologists have found a striking and apparently unique square monument beneath the world famous Avebury stone circle in Wiltshire.

The UNESCO World Heritage Site, cared for by the National Trust, was built over several hundred years in the 3rd millennium BC and contains three stone circles – including the largest stone circle in Europe which is 330m across and originally comprised around 100 huge standing stones.

A research team led by the University of Leicester and University of Southampton used a combination of soil resistance survey and Ground-Penetrating Radar to investigate the stone circle.

Their work was funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) and supported by the National Trust, as well as archaeologists from the University of Cambridge and Allen Environmental Archaeology.

Dr Mark Gillings, Academic Director and Reader in Archaeology in the School of Archaeology and Ancient History at the University of Leicester, said: “Our research has revealed previously unknown megaliths inside the world-famous Avebury stone circle. We have detected and mapped a series of prehistoric standing stones that were subsequently hidden and buried, along with the positions of others likely destroyed during the 17th and 18th centuries. Together, these reveal a striking and apparently unique square megalithic monument within the Avebury circles that has the potential to be one of the very earliest structures on this remarkable site.”

Avebury has been subject of considerable archaeological interest since the 17th century. The discovery of new megaliths inside the monument was therefore a great surprise, pointing to the need for further archaeological investigations of this kind at the site. The survey took place inside the Southern Inner Circle, contained within the bank and ditch and colossal Outer Stone Circle of the Avebury henge. Excavations here by the archaeologist and marmalade magnate Alexander Keiller in 1939 demonstrated the existence of a curious angular setting of small standing stones set close to a single huge upright known since the 18th century as the Obelisk. Unfortunately, the outbreak of war left this feature only partially investigated.

Dr Joshua Pollard from the University of Southampton said: “Our careful programme of geophysical survey has finally completed the work begun by Keiller. It has shown the line of stones he identified was one side of a square of megaliths about 30m across and enclosing the Obelisk. Also visible are short lines of former standing stones radiating from this square and connecting with the Southern Inner Circle. Megalithic circles are well known from the time when Avebury was built during the late Neolithic (3rd millennium BC), but square megalithic settings of this scale and complexity are unheard of.”

Dr Nick Snashall, National Trust archaeologist at Avebury, said: “This discovery has been almost eighty years in the making but it’s been well worth waiting for. The completion of the work first started by Keiller in the 1930s has revealed an entirely new type of monument at the heart of the world’s largest prehistoric stone circle, using techniques he never dreamt of. And goes to show how much more is still to be revealed at Avebury if we ask the right questions.”

The archaeologists who undertook the work think the construction of the square megalithic setting might have commemorated and monumentalised the location of an early Neolithic house – perhaps part of a founding settlement – subsequently used as the centre point of the Southern Inner Circle. At the time of excavation in 1939 the house was erroneously considered by Keiller to be a medieval cart shed.

If

Read the rest of this post...
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Re: Avebury by Blingo_von_Trumpenstein on Monday, 27 June 2016
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Great merriment was had at the mighty Avebury henge on Monday night. Hundreds came with joy in their hearts and the ever turning wheel in their minds. Druidic practice in many forms. Calling of the quarters. Shamanic drumming and trance states. Immense stones. Not the first and not the last. Mead was consumed. Goddess everywhere. King's drummers pounding. Stone rocking beats. Smiles abound. Glorious in every sense.
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    Re: Avebury by AngieLake on Tuesday, 28 June 2016
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    Ahh... you lucky man... the King's Drummers were brilliant when they performed during the night at Stonehenge summer solstice before " 'elf 'n' safety" spoiled things. Bet it was more exciting than the sanitised experience at Stonehenge this year.
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    Re: Avebury by Blingo_von_Trumpenstein on Tuesday, 28 June 2016
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    Glad you had fun Angie. No sanitisation at Avebury. Just loveliness. The police even wished me a happy solstice! 7 mile cycle up over the Downs back to Marlborough was hard going...but worth all the effort. My first Solstice away from the Ladies in my whole life so had to be something special to keep me smiling...and was...
    It just gets darker from here!
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      Re: Avebury by AngieLake on Tuesday, 28 June 2016
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      Hi Blingo. Thanks. Btw: I didn't go to Stonehenge, just saw pics online. Haven't been since 2012, sadly.
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Re: Avebury by Anonymous on Wednesday, 02 December 2015
Fabulous series of pictures, thank you so much for sharing, I can almost feel the frost crunching under my feet
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Re: Avebury by emerald on Thursday, 29 October 2015
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Gorgeous circle, Castlerigg has always been my favourite, but this nearly beats it. Amazing
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Avebury Fashion Shoot by Hesperides on Tuesday, 02 December 2014
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Fashion Shoot in the Avebury circle

On a visit to Avebury on 9 June 2009, I came on an incongruous scene. First, walking by the back of a building near the museum, we saw a table laden with hundreds of bottles of make up of all sorts, as well as racks of clothing. Later we saw a dozen or so people--rather like worker bees around the queen--tending a tall and leggy model standing by one of the great stones. I will post a photo if I can figure out the system.

I always wondered how this shoot came out, and whether photos from it were ever published. Does anyone here know? I believe it was for the Japanese edition of teen Vogue!
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Avebury Winter Warmers, 25th Nov, 2 Dec 2014 by bat400 on Monday, 24 November 2014
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Avebury Winter Warmers



Leave the crowds behind and join Archaeologist Dr Nick Snashall for a winter ramble around the Stone Circles followed by mince pies, Christmas liqueur and the chance to browse our superb range of gift ideas and take advantage of a special seasonal discount in our National Trust shop.

More Information: Event Bookings, 01672 538 016, [email protected]
> /> Tuesday, 25 November 2014 10:30 am - 1pm All Tickets £10

Tuesday, 02 December 2014 10:30 am - 1pm All Tickets £10


http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/whats-on/find-an-event

Thanks to coldrum for the link.
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Re: Avebury/Original Quarry by Anonymous on Friday, 07 November 2014
We found a company just outside of Salisbury that can offer quite a lot of information on the materials used and the actual age of them, you can check them out here.

Feel free to drop them a call.
[Nice try but Avebury wasn't made of granite worktops - feel free to contact us re: advertising - Ed]
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Avebury's Stones: Selected, Shaped, Carved by Andy B on Tuesday, 06 May 2014
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Kate Prendergast writes: At Avebury - the Neolithic monumental complex and World Heritage Site in Wiltshire - are Britain’s largest stone circle, longest stone avenue and finest megalithic long barrow. These great standing stones have repeatedly been described as unworked since they were first documented, but in a new book, Di Pattison finds abundant evidence to the contrary.

Pattison documents a remarkable corpus of over 170 large-scale three-dimensional carvings, including astonishing architectural installations in 4D, the principal motif of which is the human head. She convincingly demonstrates that the carvings and masonry were integral elements of each structure from the outset, certain types of stone being chosen to be worked and others to make tools.

The book is the product of ten years research and has been peer-reviewed. It is introduced by Terence Meaden and Kate Prendergast.

Further details are available here.
http://www.stanburgpublishing.co.uk/book-1/4580294980

At the Avebury World Heritage Site in Southern England are Britain’s largest stone circle, longest stone avenue and finest megalithic long barrow. These great standing stones have repeatedly been described as unworked since they were first documented, but Di Pattison finds abundant evidence to the contrary.

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Avebury Wins Which? Award - Beats the Pyramids! by Runemage on Tuesday, 22 January 2013
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Forget the Taj Mahal... try Wiltshire's own wonder of the world: Avebury's stone monument names second best heritage sight [sic]

The Wiltshire monument has been recognised by travel experts from Which? Compared with the splendour of the pyramids or the majesty of the Taj Mahal, it may appear a fairly modest creation. But a field of stone monuments in Wiltshire has been named as the second best heritage site in the world.

The collection of Neolithic stones in Avebury has been placed ahead of much more recognisable sites including the Valley of the Kings in Egypt and the Forbidden City in China. Experts at Which? Travel magazine placed Mexico’s ancient city of Monte Alban in first place. The panel used criteria including the preservation of the site and appeal of the local region as a place to take a holiday.

The three stone circles at Avebury outscored more famous historic landmarks because of a high score on the overall visitor experience.

The site, which attracts more than 250,000 visitors a year, was praised because tourists can wander freely between the stones, unlike the more famous Stonehenge, also in Wiltshire, where the formations are roped-off. Avebury, near Calne, beat the pyramids of Egypt partly because rural Wiltshire was considered a nicer place to visit than the Sahara desert. Visitors to the greener parts of the county enjoy beautiful rolling hills and quiet, picturesque villages. Which?

Travel magazine described the Unesco World Heritage site as ‘the best-preserved and most impressive complex of prehistoric sites in Europe’.

Reacting to the news, Stuart Wheeler of Wiltshire Council said: ‘We have always known we have a wonderful piece of history on our doorstep and now we have official confirmation.’

Avebury is a Neolithic henge monument comprising of three stone circles. The monuments, thought to have been constructed around 2600BC, are the largest stone circles in Europe, and a place of great importance to pagans.

Dr Nick Snashall, National Trust archaeologist at Avebury, said: ‘Our dedicated team of staff and volunteers work year round to ensure that it remains a source of inspiration and delight.

‘It is wonderful to see that the very special qualities of Avebury have been recognised in this way.’

Source
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2265688/Aveburys-stone-monument-named-worlds-second-best-heritage-site--beating-Taj-Mahal-ancient-Pyramids.html
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Meet the experts Stone Circle Tour for Heritage Open Day Sat 8th September by Andy B on Saturday, 14 July 2012
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Meet the experts Stone Circle Tour (Heritage Open Day)

Join Curator Dr Ros Cleal or Archaeologist Dr Nick Snashall for a tour of the henge and stone circles followed by the chance to handle real finds from the Museum collections.

More Information: Museum Bookings, 01672 538 016, [email protected]

Booking Advisable 01672 538 016
Dress for the outdoors and wear sturdy shoes.
Meet at the Barn in the Old Farmyard

Saturday, 08 September 2012 11am - 12pm No Additional charges
Saturday, 08 September 2012 2pm - 3pm No Additional charges

http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/avebury/things-to-see-and-do/events/#iframeEvents
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Re: Found this awesome website on Avebury-I like the reconstruction of ditch by neolithique02 on Tuesday, 11 October 2011
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More pics here :
http://neolithique02.blog4ever.com/blog/photos-cat-65835-1948646798-visite_de_stonehenge_et_d_avebury__uk_.html
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Found this awesome website on Avebury-I like the reconstruction of ditch by angieweekender on Tuesday, 13 September 2011
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http://www.avebury-web.co.uk/silbview.html3
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Mini-mega-meet Avebury 13,14,15 June ?? by Blingo_von_Trumpenstein on Tuesday, 07 June 2011
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Hello fellow megalith lovers,
I am going to be at Avebury next Monday to Wednesday on a pre-solstice build-up. I am taking some very special neolithic stone axes to the stones and West Kennet. Does anyone fancy meeting up at the stones? I enjoy watching peoples reactions to holding ancient artifacts so I invite anyone to come along and hold some very special objects. If you've got a drum - bring it, if you've not got a drum then make or buy one. Post back if you're interested and I'll get a meeting time arranged. I am also doing some acoustic research at West Kennet and maybe even get my telescope out for an astronomical viewing session within the great circle . . .
Blingo_von_T
([email protected])
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Re: Wiltshire Wanderings Video, exploring ancient history by mikesndbs on Sunday, 05 June 2011
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Hi Andy

Thanks for posting my video, I have now signed up :-)

Mike
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Wiltshire Wanderings Video, exploring ancient history by Andy B on Sunday, 05 June 2011
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Mike in West Sussex writes:



Continuing the development of Mikesndbs we take on the task of exploring four fascinating locations within Wiltshire (around 100 miles from my home location) The youngest of which is well over 900 years!

First of all Avebury to see the henge and stones.
Followed by Silbury Hill then on to West Kennet Long Barrow.
These locations are all within a few miles of each other and can easily be visited on one day!

Lastly we head off to see the Big Belly Oak off the A346.

Coordinates for each location are given in the film, pleased use the pause function to review these. The only one not given is the actual location of the oak, this is: 51 23 28.9 N / 1 41 44.0 W Coordinates taken from my Garmin satnav at the time.

It was a hard task compressing these locations into just 15 minutes but I hope you will want to go and visit them and explore for yourself.

Recorded 24th May 2011
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Enya Evening Falls by coldrum on Saturday, 19 February 2011
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A shot of Avebury on Enya's Evening falls video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0P8Axizjn2k
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New Avebury henge walk could rival Hadrian's Wall by Andy B on Saturday, 02 October 2010
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A new long-distance footpath from Avebury to Stonehenge could topple Hadrian’s Wall as the UK’s most popular walking attraction.

The pathway is being planned by the Friends of the Ridgeway, who want to widen their focus beyond the National Trail.

Ian Ritchie, chairman of the Friends, told members of the Marlborough Area Board last week that the walk could pump an estimated £6 million into the local economy.

Mr Ritchie, who lives at Ramsbury, explained that the 29 mile Great Stones Walk connecting the two World Heritage Sites would pass through some of the best archaeological and historic sites in Britain.

He said: “This route has real historical integrity and goes by and through a wealth of archaeological and historic sites.

“It could become the première historical walking route in England held by Hadrian’s Wall at the moment.”

As well as being an international attraction for walkers, it would bring a welcome boost to the ailing rural economy.

Mr Ritchie said: “It will bring something like £6 million into the local economy, supported by the experience of the Hadrian’s Wall path, and create about 100 full-time or part-time jobs.”

The Friends estimate the walk would attract between 200,000 to 400,000 extra visitors a year and say consultations are taking place with landowners and parish councils along the route.

Later Mr Ritchie told the Gazette that the new path would link existing footpaths, bridleways and rights of way.

The cost of improving the route to National Trail standards has been estimated at about £105,000 and Mr Ritchie said it was hoped that much of the funding would come from the Salisbury Plain and North Wessex Downs AONB groups.

The area board meeting gave the new walk proposal its unanimous backing.

http://www.gazetteandherald.co.uk/news/towns/marlboroughheadlines/8381775.New_Avebury_henge_walk_could_rival_Hadrian_s_Wall/
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Re: Avebury by enjaytom on Wednesday, 08 September 2010
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The three stone rings at Avebury plus the stump of the holed stone exactly match the fundamental elements of the Norse story of the Creation of The Earth written by the Icelandic scholar Snorri Sturluson in AD 1100. All aspects of the Avebury ancient monument, its position at the metropolitan centre of Neolithic Britain are fully accounted for in my book ''Stonehenge Sacred Symbolism'', 120,000 words and 320 pages A4. The numbers of standing stones, their arrangement tally precisely. The sourthern ring of 29 stones with a row of nine stones in a straight line plus two more offset at the ends of the row equate to the Icelandic saga description of a trial for murder, the accused, the jury of nine, the two counsels, one for the defence and one for the prosecution.
The stump of the Holed stone found by Sir Alexander Keiller is one of many Holed Stones in Britain, Ireland and Scotland all of which are associated with good health tales. It was a sacred monument to the Health goddess Eyr.
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Re: Avebury by Anonymous on Thursday, 01 July 2010
In my book 'Stonehenge Sacred Symbolism' I explain how Avebury was built about 2500 BC in what was then the metropolitan centre of Britain and Ireland, 99 stones enclosed a sacred central area within which was the Cove, probably a fertility shrine. The southern ring of 29 stones enclosed a central quartz 'Obelisk' and 9 stones in a straight row plus two more offset at the row ends.The southern circle had the exact characteristics of an Icelandic saga telling of the trial by jury of nine of the complainants peers and two counsel for the defence and prosecution. The accused stood in the middle of the ring of stones, a death sentence was duly passed for the murder. A third feature was the holed stone, probably a good health shrine, the Norse goddess Eyr. `
The surrounding ditch and embankment, the four causeways, all these components correlate exactly with the Norse beliefs in the Creation of Mankind's Earth myth written by Snorri Sturluson, a scholar living in Iceland about AD 1100.
Our days of the week are named for the old gods Sunday, Moonday, Wedensday [Odinsday], Thorsday and Freyrday. These are the names of the deities who created Midgard, safe from the frost giants.

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Stonehenge and Avebury seminar at Devizes, May 2010 by Andy B on Monday, 21 June 2010
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Josh Pollard’s discussion of “Neolithic Avebury” focussed more on what we don’t know, rather than what we do and, as such seemed to be setting a research agenda. Earlier we had seen aerial photographs that showed evidence of structures in Avebury’s western palisades. Josh Pollard wondered whether this was Avebury’s Durrington Walls, and suggested that there is significance in the association with the river, as in the Stonehenge landscape. He used an interesting term in connection with the (almost completely missing) Beckhampton Avenue: “memoryscape.” He suggested that the Avenue was constructed to commemorate the construction and subsequent eradication of the Longstone Enclosure. If so, to me this sounds very much like MPP’s suggestion that the extended Stonehenge Avenue was built to commemorate the construction and removal of Bluestonehenge by the river Avon.
More at
http://www.eternalidol.com/?p=7267
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Re: Avebury by Anonymous on Sunday, 20 June 2010
According the Robert Palmer (Skip) , many avebury stone markers were destroyed by Stonekiller Jackson, a bigoted priest from an earlier century who desecrated such places with fire
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Stone 206 Street View by SteveDut on Wednesday, 05 May 2010
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View Larger Map
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Street View by coldrum on Wednesday, 17 March 2010
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View Larger Map
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Re: Avebury by davidmorgan on Sunday, 14 March 2010
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Street View - I see he does a bit of off-street here...

View Larger Map
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Re: Avebury October events 2009 by Anonymous on Sunday, 25 October 2009
Stone Tools workshop was really super. Learnt a great deal. Recommended very highly. Found a mesolithic flint blade in the middle of the Sanctuary en route, reported it to head archaeologist and now I am listed as the official finder!! Thanks megalithic for letting me know about this event - I had a really magical time. I can't see how it could have been better...
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A great day out. by coldrum on Friday, 26 June 2009
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From Swimmerpaul:

A great day out.

Date 18/06/2009

Swimmerpaul

In the recent spell of great weather i had a great day out. I live in Poole Dorset. I set out from there about ten am. First stop Old Sarum Brilliant site to visit especially on a clear warm day you can see for miles. Checked out the site of the original Salisbury Cathedral.Must visit the Parliament Stone on another day. On to Avebury This site is a must for anyone interested in old sites. You have West Kennett long barrow, Silbury Hill. and Avebury Stone Circle. My favorite is the long barrow at West Kennet. There is a short walk threw a field of yellow flowering rape there is a slight breeze on this warm summer day these are the days you remember in the long dark winter nights. The barrow site on top a hill not to steep so don't let that put you off.The long barrow can be entered and there are small chambers off of the main chamber its cool inside compared to the hear outside. This place is a five star site. And by the way its free. Silbury Hill is just across the road and Avebury village with its stone circle a ten minute drive away.

Swimmerpaul.
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Re: Events January/February 2009 by Anonymous on Wednesday, 11 February 2009
Is Avebury correlated to Stonehenge by any chance. Both sites gives me the creeps if you ask me. I think aliens came down and created both sites entirely with beams of laser or something to let us humans know that extraterestial life is out there Regards, Linda
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    Re: Events January/February 2009 by Martin_L on Wednesday, 11 February 2009
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    You may contact Erich von Däniken. Possibly he will make a new book out of it.
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    Re: Events January/February 2009 by rodders on Wednesday, 11 February 2009
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    Have indeed passed on the link to Erich`s office.
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Re: Events January/February 2009 by Anonymous on Saturday, 07 February 2009
Hi does anyone know what happened to one of the Two avenues that got destroyed? I sure would like to know. This is a great monument very similar to that of Stonehenge. Excellent Images. Much credit to you for all this work and reporting.
-----------------------

Regards,
Jason (Link removed)
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Re: New Year's Walk at Avebury by Anonymous on Monday, 05 January 2009
Avebury And The Norsemen tells of one hundred and seventy standing stones at Avebury, the largest ancient monument in England. Norse myths and sagas written a thousand years ago tell how mankind’s earth was brought into being by three deities Odin, Vili and Ve. How this creation happened, the mythical attributes of their panoply of gods, is told in Icelandic stories.
Each group of Avebury’s ancient stones, item by item and concept by concept, match elements in the Norse tales. It seems the Norsemen inherited their mythical beliefs from very ancient times, from the people who designed and built Avebury about 2500 BC.
Why Avebury was built and its true purpose can now be told.

Avebury offers a visitor the impression of a quiet English village with a cluster of thatched cottages, pepperpot chimneys, a church spire and tall trees nestling in the emerald green folds of the southern English countryside. Crows fly high above, circling the treetops. But Avebury is far more than it seems at first glance.
Dotted throughout the village are totem-like slabs of stone, remnants of a most remarkable man-made ancient monument. You can amble through Avebury’s graveyard of standing stones and identify fragments of a plan originally conceived and built about 2500 BC.
One hundred and seventy mysterious hard grey sandstone megaliths were obtained from Marlborough Downs, five miles away to the north-east, each stone carefully chosen for its size and shape. They varied from a few tons to massive slabs of twenty tons or more, according to the particular purpose for which they were intended. You can appreciate the enormous building effort made by Britain’s inhabitants one hundred and twenty generations ago.
The consensus of belief, the impetus that led to the construction of Avebury’s ancient stones by those ancient people, requires our understanding. There must have been an overwhelming conviction similar to the religious faith held by many societies today. Only that kind of community inspiration can lead to a successful conclusion of the great temple construction project. The celebrated cathedrals of Europe, the mosques of Arab countries, the Buddha statues of the east, exemplify how mankind created temples in recognition of community religious convictions.
What were the religious beliefs of the ancient Britons? Who made the world and how? We have no direct evidence, yet maybe there is a hint of the past at Avebury. There is an answer to the riddle of Avebury’s ancient monument and its purpose.
Writings from twelfth century Iceland tell of a Norse myth describing the creation of mankind's world. Three ancient deities: Odin, Vili and Ve created mankind's world in this way: -
In the beginning of time, long before mankind's world was made, the gods lived in a great empty void of space. They were sorely troubled by wicked frost giants from the north, of whom Ymir was the worst. Eventually they killed Ymir and created the world from his body parts. A broad ocean encircled Earth, the deep wide sea was made from his blood. They raised Ymir's eyebrows to form a protective enclosure around the Earth. Ymir's skull formed the sky and his brains became the clouds. Four submissive slaves called North, East, South and West were summoned to hold up the sky, forever and ever. Within the newly created and protective stronghold called Midgard, a safe haven was made for men and women, for all the birds and animals. Warmed by the Sun and watered by rain, they lived in peace. It was said all families and races of mankind are descended from them.
From earliest prehistoric times, the number thirty-three has been used in an adjectival and symbolic sense to indicate sacred matters, deities, the ultimate place or person. Another Norse tale attributes Odin with thirty-three names describing his strengths and values.
Avebury’s outer ring of ninety-nine standing stones, three times thirty-three, is seen to represent each of the three all-powerful deities Odin, Vili an

Read the rest of this post...
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Re: Avebury by Anonymous on Friday, 25 July 2008
I just found this 'alternative' view of Avebury - fascinating stuff if it's true!

http://www.louistalboys.com/avebury/index.htm
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Averbury Monuments Teachers Kit by coldrum on Tuesday, 20 May 2008
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Wessex Archaeology has produced a new online Teacher’s Kit for Avebury World Heritage Site, commissioned by English Heritage.

The new Teacher’s Kit is available online from today. It will soon be available on the English Heritage website.

The Kit will help schoolchildren heading for Avebury and the surrounding monuments make the most of their trip to the World Heritage Site. It is a downloadable resource for teachers of Key Stage 2 and 3 pupils. As well as information sheets for teachers there are on-site investigation sheets, puzzles, maps, treasure hunts and other games and activities to help pupils to learn about the history of these historical sites in an entertaining and engaging way.

“We want to encourage more schools to come to Avebury World Heritage Site and ensure that pupils have an educational and stimulating visit,” explained Lucy Bradley, Education Manager for English Heritage in the South West.

“The site is steeped in a rich and mysterious history and there is so much children can learn from a visit here. This new web resource will help them to discover the site’s historical significance using fun learning tools”.

The Teacher’s Kit came about after last year’s successful project at Silbury Hill to stabilise the ancient man-made mound. “Pupils from two primary schools and a secondary school visited while the work was in progress. The visit really helped the children to get an in-depth learning experience of the mysterious hill”, said Lucy “So we thought it would be great if we could create a Teacher’s Kit which encourages active learning for visits to the whole World Heritage Site.”

Avebury World Heritage Site is a Neolithic landscape which encompasses Avebury Stone Circle, West Kennet Long Barrow and Avenue, The Sanctuary, Windmill Hill and Silbury Hill.

Avebury Stone Circle, West Kennet Long Barrow and Avenue, The Sanctuary and Windmill Hill are managed by The National Trust on behalf of English Heritage.

http://news.wessexarch.co.uk/2008/05/06/avebury-monuments-teachers-kit/
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Re: Avebury (south area of henge) by TwentyTrees on Friday, 09 November 2007
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See picture just uploaded taken in August with stump of ringstone in foreground.
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    Re: Avebury (south area of henge) by AngieLake on Friday, 09 November 2007
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    Thanks Chris. Will look forward to this, when the next batch are on screen!
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Re: Avebury (south area of henge) by AngieLake on Thursday, 08 November 2007
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Does anyone know what happened to the Ring Stone? I see the stump of it is shown in a photo in Burl's book 'Prehistoric Avebury', but we don't seem to have a photo of it on Meg P.
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Re: The importance of Waden Hill? by AngieLake on Wednesday, 25 July 2007
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I've done a lot of photo-posting from my Wilts holiday this afternoon, and included one of the view I had from my seat in The Devil's Chair towards the summit of Waden Hill. After this [on the evening of 7/7/07], I walked to the top of Waden Hill to admire the view.

Following my recent visit to Wiltshire I wrote a long letter to my brother telling him about some of the highlights, including this part about Avebury, and my thoughts when I suddenly saw the significance of The Devil’s Chair and its view towards Waden Hill:

“. I roamed around filming and photographing, then sat in the Devil’s Chair…a huge portal stone on one side of the original entrance to the main circle inside the Henge at the South. This massive stone has a natural ‘seat’ feature in its southern face – over which the higher part of the stone forms a slight canopy.
I was struck by how, maybe, the ancient officiator at ceremonies during Avebury’s original important rituals might have sat here, waiting for something to happen – a ‘signal’, say, from the summit of Waden Hill, which [I measured with my compass that evening] was due South.
Waden Hill rises to the west of the West Kennett Avenue of standing stones, which leads sinuously south from Avebury henge/circle and used to end in a ceremonial area called ‘The Sanctuary’. If you climb to the top of Waden Hill you can look over to the mysterious Silbury Hill, a huge flat-topped mound (the largest man-made mound in Europe) like a collapsing sandcastle surrounded by a ditch, or moat, if it fills with rainwater. Silbury is also visible from ‘The Sanctuary’, and is visible from West Kennett Long Barrow, too. I’ve also seen it from the huge henge banks near the lane from the car park at Avebury.

It’s just possible that the summit of Waden Hill was the link to all these places.

It struck me while visiting West Kennett long barrow, that if someone important was being interred there, a ceremony on top of Silbury might start - maybe by lighting a fire? Meanwhile, anyone on top of Waden Hill, or to the East at The Sanctuary, would see this and start their own ceremony. Possibly a procession would set off from The Sanctuary and dance or walk up the Avenue? Likewise, anyone at the main henge at Avebury (and particularly someone sitting on the Devil’s Chair portal stone, who saw the signal given from the top of Waden Hill), would then start the accompanying ritual in Avebury’s sacred henge, knowing it would soon be joined by the procession from The Sanctuary.”

[Copyright: Angie Lake, July 2007] (for what it’s worth!)

I don’t recall reading this anywhere, though someone probably has already seen it?

I like to make my own mind up about things, then read about them later. Of course, all those 'built' features would have to be concurrent for my theory to work!



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Solstice is celebrated by coldrum on Wednesday, 17 January 2007
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TWENTY sun worshippers braved the cold to mark the winter solstice at Avebury.

Druid keeper of the stones Terry Dobney led a ceremony marking the important day on the pagan calendar.

While fog hid the sun, the group formed a circle within the stones.

Further south, confusion reigned at Stonehenge as English Heritage told a crowd assembled there that the solstice was not officially on until today.

About 60 people turned up to the circle in south Wiltshire only to be told it was the wrong day.

After negotiating with site managers English Heritage, the crowd performed traditional solstice activities before leaving peacefully.
Advertisement continued...

The Pagan celebration of Winter Solstice is one of the oldest winter celebrations in the world.

An English Heritage spokeswoman said most people assumed that because the summer solstice was on the 21st day of June that its winter counterpart occurred on the same date in December.

Stonehenge is currently competing against other iconic buildings and structures for the New Seven Wonders of the World.


swindonadvertiser.
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Re: Saddling up for solstice by Anonymous on Wednesday, 21 June 2006
found the police at Avebury to be fantastic , although you saw them out and about and on their bikes ! what you noticed was their easy going nature and their sincerity to be part of the evening . Great community spirit and it was the same last year. Well done Guys .
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Saddling up for solstice by Andy B on Thursday, 08 June 2006
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FOLLOWING on from the highly successful Blues n Zuz teenage discos run by Marlborough police, officers are about to launch the Blues on Twos.

That's what officers who will be carrying out bicycle patrols during the summer solstice celebrations in Avebury on June 21 are calling themselves.

The idea of having bicycle patrols was tested at the 2005 solstice gathering in Avebury.

PC Andy Sexton, who with PC Simon McLaren-Clark will be carrying out the patrols, said: "We tried it out last year and it was a fantastic success because we were able to hit the solstice people from a very community-based level."

continued...
Both officers are keen leisure cyclists so are looking forward to patrolling the solstice from their saddles.

This year the force is providing the pair with brand new Smith and Wesson all terrain bicycles, which are expected to arrive in Marlborough tomorrow.

More:
http://www.thisiswiltshire.co.uk/display.var.786375.0.saddling_up_for_solstice.php
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Re: Avebury by Anonymous on Monday, 04 July 2005
i went to avebury on a school trip and with my family,there were loads and loads and loads of pooooooooooooo!my friend fell down the hill and got stung all over his hand but i don't care, i alos went climbing itis lovly at night if your wondering how i know because i saw on T.V.
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Re: Avebury by Anonymous on Wednesday, 18 May 2005
elo! i went to avebury on a school trip, my friend fell down a hill!!! ha ha ha ha!! ther was loads of sheep poooooooooo! wich everyone was standing in!! the pub sounded like a gud idea!!! the stones were amazin, beta than i thought theyd be!! bye bye
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Re: Avebury by gormer on Saturday, 01 November 2003
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Avebury's stone circle was enchanting, and the first I'd been to while in England (on a tip from Wiltshire locals, we visited Avebury instead of Stonehenge on a Saturday afternoon in midsummer--far less crowded). The tourist facilities do a decent job of interpreting the site--I don't think I would have enjoyed my trip half as much without knowing the quirky little side stories about the unfortunate Barber/Surgeon Stone, for instance, or about the "recycling" of Avebury stones in local architecture. Sadly, I didn't have time to visit the wealth of other sites in the immediate area beyond the stone circle, but I can see how Avebury could easily become a vacation in itself.
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Re: Avebury by Tristam on Sunday, 27 January 2002
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When I look these images I hear the calling of the ancient ones. The moon above the stones is wonderful...
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    Re: Avebury by Derek on Wednesday, 04 September 2002
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    Surprised to see so few comments in this thread! I liked the write-up above though personally I'd take Michael Dames's book with a pinch of salt, enormously enjoyable though it is. Another recent publication well worth a read is "Avebury -biography of a landscape" by Reynolds and Pollard. I don't remember "Places of Power" having much to say about Avebury - - - I shall have to reread it soon! Each year Avebury seems to attract more people, great in a way but sadly a percentage of them are f*ckwits who leave candles and litter everywhere, etc etc. The interactive exhibition now installed in the Great Barn is well worth a look, the computer flyby through the stones is especially good, so too the landscape models. This summer a Tourist Info thingie has opened up in the back part of the chapel in Green St and while I can't comment on the knowledgeability of the staff there (as I didn't ask them anything) I'm sure they'll do their best and there's a reasonable array of trinkets and leaflets etc. I got a quite nice trashy mousemat with the cove printed on it! If you visit Avebury speak nicely to the stones and respect them please - - - and make sure you visit West Kennet Avenue as it's the best bit!
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