BCAA Travel Blog

Stonehenge is probably the most famous ancient stone monument in Europe. It is certainly the best known in the British Isles, drawing thousands of tourists annually to the Salisbury Plain in southwest England. However, despite its fame, Stonehenge is not the largest, oldest or even the most interesting prehistoric site in England. That distinction belongs to Avebury, located 32 kilometres to the north, where the 4,500-year-old ruins of the world’s largest ring of prehistoric pillars encircles a small village on the edge of the rolling Marlborough Downs.

Built over a period of time beginning around 2,700 BC, the Avebury henge is composed of a huge ditch and bank. The ditch alone is 21 metres wide and 11 metres deep. Within the henge is a large stone circle, with a diameter of 335 metres. The ring is composed of sarsen stones which were originally scattered widely over this part of Wiltshire. Within the main circle are two inner henges made up of about 30 stones each. Four entrances in the ditched bank lead to the monument. A twin line of standing stones, known as Kennet Avenue, runs from the southern entrance southwards. Another avenue known as Beckhampton Avenue, of which only two stones still remain, leads away to the west.

The main circle was built about 500 years after the earthworks. It originally contained 98 stones, some weighing in excess of 40 tonnes and standing between three and four metres. Now there are only 27 in place. Many of the original stones were destroyed from the early 14th century onwards to provide local building materials and to make room for agriculture. Others were buried due to a fear of the pagan rituals that were associated with the site. A wealthy marmalade businessman named Alexander Keiller uncovered the stones in the 1930s and re-erected them.

Constructing the henge required enormous effort. Archaeologists estimate that it would have taken Avebury’s Neolithic builders 1.5 million working hours to move the 100,000 tonnes of chalk that make up the ditch and bank. The massive sarsen stones were dragged to the site from three kilometres away using wooden sledges by men, teams of oxen and horses. The heavy stones would have then been hoisted upright into pre-dug holes with wooden levers and ropes. Considering that this entire process was conducted using simple tools, it is possible that it may have taken up to a year to erect just one of the larger stones.

Avebury was finally finished in the Early Bronze Age. At completion, there would have been a total of 600 stones in the stone circles, avenues and sanctuary. In its heyday it would have stood out for miles as a brilliant, gleaming white mound, whereas today grass has invaded the chalky soil and now covers the site.

Despite Avebury’s mystical grandeur, it attracts relatively little public attention, which makes it a godsend for tourists. At Stonehenge, which is situated right next to a noisy highway and whose parking lot is always full of tour buses, you have to pay a fee to skirt the monument on paved paths, and fences prevent you from getting too close to the magic circle. At Avebury, there is no traffic noise, no admission fees, no fences, no T-shirt shops and few tourists. When I visited he site a few years ago, I had the place virtually to myself, aside from a few grazing sheep. You can roam the site freely, taking your time, choosing your viewpoint and touching the stones at will. You can also tour the village of Avebury, population 300, which contains a few houses and shops. There is a pub, a small museum, and a 15th century church and 16th century manor.

Impressive in its own right, Avebury is surrounded by other remarkable Neolithic monuments, all located within a few kilometres distance. These include Europe’s largest artificial earthen mound at Silbury Hill, the megalithic tombs of West and East Kennet Long Barrows, a causewayed camp at Windmill Hill, and the ‘Sanctuary’ on Overton Hill.

As is the case with Stonehenge there are several theories about why Avebury was built, but no widespread agreement. Some have pointed out that area looks like a snake from the air, suggesting it was the sacred site of a serpent cult. Others talk about mysterious ley lines that interfere with local electricity and astronomical alignments. Numerous people have identified what they claim are carvings of faces on the stones’ surfaces. Others point out that many of the stones conform to two shapes–slim and long, and short and wide–suggesting an arrangement according to gender. 

Researchers are certain that Avebury was of extreme importance as a gathering place. Archaeological evidence indicates that it was an uninhabited area, as very little ancient rubbish has been found. It is likely then that the site would have been used solely for rituals and possibly as a temple. The seasons and fertility were probably the main focus of the ceremonies practised. Even so, very little of the area has been investigated and the surrounding fields may hold secrets yet to be uncovered. For now, however, Avebury remains a puzzling enigma.

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