| Avebury
Henge
Stone circle and henge, Wiltshire. Theme - Archaeology Other themes: Wales |
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Within
the henge are the remains of the largest stone circle in Europe, which
itself encloses two smaller stone circles. John Aubrey, one of the first
antiquarians to take an interest in stone circles, wrote that Avebury "does
as much exceed in greatness the so renowned Stonehenge as a cathedral doeth
a parish church". He is said to have discovered the site by accident when
out hunting!
As at Callanish there is also an impressive avenue flanked by standing stones. The winding Kennet Avenue (see photo AR36) runs for 2.4 km (1.5 miles) from "The Sanctuary" (SU119679) where there was once a large round wooden structure. The site was seriously damaged in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries by destruction of some of the stones for building stone for Avebury village, much of which lies within the henge itself. However it seems that one of the stones fell on and killed a man (who's pocket contents can be seen in the local museum). This event seems to have made the others less sure about the wisdom of what they were doing. |
"The Stone Circles of the
British Isles" Aubrey Burl, 1976, Yale University Press, ISBN 0 300 01972
6
"Prehistoric England" Richard
Cavendish, 1983, Orion Publishing Group, ISBN 1 85605 169 2
