Unlocking the Mysteries of Avebury

Overview

Nearing Avebury Photo - Avebury, England

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Avebury may be a lesser-known henge sibling to the massive stones of Stonehenge in the south, but it is certainly no less impressive. The span of the henge and the earthworks surrounding it is much wider than that of Stonehenge, measuring a whopping 420m (nearly 1400ft) across and enclosing over 28 acres of land.Essentially, Avebury is all about circles. On its outermost edges, it is ringed in a large bank, which, on its inner edge, dips straight into a ditch. These earthworks are broken only by the four original paths out, which lead approximately to the north, northeast, southwest, and south. Unlike Silbury Hill, which is very close by, the bank and ditch were not designed to be perfectl...Read More

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Avebury Stone Circle

Attraction | "The Trek to Avebury"

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After our second visit to Stonehenge (described in another journal), Poppa pointed the car towards Marlborough and then towards Avebury on the A4. We turned off on the A4361 just after seeing signs for West Kennet Long Barrow on our left and seeing Silbury Hill itself looming to our right. Very shortly after this, we saw that traffic was divided in a very similar manner to Lacock, the National Trust village we visited the day before. By this, I mean that there was a large car park for visitors and a road into the village for all the locals. I don't blame them for doing this - if I lived there, I certainly wouldn't want cars and coaches lining the streets, blocking access to my house!It was luc...Read More

After our second visit to Stonehenge (described in another journal), Poppa pointed the car towards Marlborough and then towards Avebury on the A4. We turned off on the A4361 just after seeing signs for West Kennet Long Barrow on our left and seeing Silbury Hill itself looming to our right. Very shortly after this, we saw that traffic was divided in a very similar manner to Lacock, the National Trust village we visited the day before. By this, I mean that there was a large car park for visitors and a road into the village for all the locals. I don't blame them for doing this - if I lived there, I certainly wouldn't want cars and coaches lining the streets, blocking access to my house!

It was lucky that there was a man greeting visitors, since our map had the stone circles marked a fair distance away and we weren't at all sure that we were in the right place - although perhaps this was not luck as much as a good way to take our money, since the attendant was collecting money for the £5 pay-and-display parking lot. That was the only admission we had to pay into the site, and it even gave us a rebate off museum entry, although we did not have time to actually visit it.

The parking lot was maybe 500m away from the site itself, and the walkway leading between the two was very shaded by overhanging trees, so it made for quite a short and pleasant walk. The day was a brilliant one, and I especially loved the contrast of the radiant blue sky against the maroony-bronze hue of the giant copper beech along the path.

Pretty quickly, the path made a 90° turn to the left into the village. To the right, the stones peeked out from behind the man-made hills surrounding them until nearly a quarter of the circle was in full view. We couldn't quite access the circle yet, as there was a fence and a ditch separating us, so we continued on until we were on one of the village roads, where we then turned right, passed over the dip, and entered the World Heritage site through a fence.

Stretching along from the fence are the stones that Avebury is so famous for, arranged in a semicircle on the edge of a man-made ditch. All around the stones were some of the cheapest lawnmowers you can find - also known as a herd of sheep. This meant that we not only spent the entire time with varying pitches of "Baaaa!" echoing through our heads, but we also had to keep a close eye on where we were putting our feet. As we were looking down, trying to pick our way and keep our shoes as clean and un-smelly as possible, we noticed that some of the patties looked entirely too large for any sheep sort of some sort of monster...or perhaps just cows. So be warned, and don't wear flip-flops like I did! Read Less

Member Rating 5 out of 5 on June 15, 2007

Avebury Stone Circle

Avebury, England 01672 5380
01672 539250

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Avebury Stone Circle

Attraction | "In Amongst The Stones"

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Many of the first stones we saw were not, in fact, original stones of the Great Circle. They were only about waist-height at best and clearly hewn into an obelisk shape, whereas all of the original stones were as they were formed in nature and many times larger than me. However, looking ahead, we could see many of the huge stones Avebury is renowned for, stretching off, as their name says, in a circle to our left.I was probably more struck by this site than I was by Stonehenge. Yes, this probably had to do with the fact that I had no preconceptions of what Avebury would look like, but it was also just the immense span of the place that got me. Far and wide, I could see stones jutting out from ...Read More

Many of the first stones we saw were not, in fact, original stones of the Great Circle. They were only about waist-height at best and clearly hewn into an obelisk shape, whereas all of the original stones were as they were formed in nature and many times larger than me. However, looking ahead, we could see many of the huge stones Avebury is renowned for, stretching off, as their name says, in a circle to our left.

I was probably more struck by this site than I was by Stonehenge. Yes, this probably had to do with the fact that I had no preconceptions of what Avebury would look like, but it was also just the immense span of the place that got me. Far and wide, I could see stones jutting out from the grass, completely incongruous with the rolling fields surrounding them. I could only imagine what it was like when it was first built, with the brilliant white of the Wiltshire chalk churned up by the building of the bank surrounding me. Who worshipped in this place, and what exactly did they use it for? Legend says it was the druids, but archaeology shows that Avebury predates the druids by many, many years. All of the mystery and intrigue, to me, only gave it more of an aura.

I really enjoyed myself weaving around the stones with my Nanna. I ran my fingers along the stones, feeling their weathered faces, and laughed at the antics of the sheep and lambs cavorting throughout the field. One ewe had her face buried underneath the triangular edge of one of the stones, and when we approached, she pulled it up just enough to give us the impression that she was holding the stone up with the power of her little head. I've heard of the weight of the world being on your shoulders...but on your head?

Unfortunately, we couldn't cross over to where the D-shape of the Southern Circle was, because there was construction going on to build a staircase over the bank. We just looked from afar at the second lot of large stones, much closer together, with flocks of white all around them.

Nanna walked back across the field to the entrance, but I took the long way back, dipping down into the ditch before coming up onto the bank. Two lambs and their mother met me there, and one of the lambs had absolutely no fear at all. It nearly walked straight into me trying to sniff my camera!

There was a great view of the whole southern section of the Great Circle and the Southern Circle from the bank, complemented by spectacular scenery to the other side. I would say it is a must to climb the bank to get a feel for the whole site which spreads out before you. It filled me once again with wonder at the people of Avebury long ago. What a stunning, mesmerizing sight. Read Less

Member Rating 5 out of 5 on June 15, 2007

Avebury Stone Circle

Avebury, England 01672 5380
01672 539250

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West Kennet Long Barrow

Attraction

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The area around Avebury is very rich in prehistoric landmarks. West Kennet Long Barrow often comes third on the list of most notable, following Avebury itself, and Silbury Hill.Unlike Silbury Hill, which is only rumored to be a burial mound, West Kennet Long Barrow is most certainly a tomb. It was built around 3500BC -1000 years before Silbury Hill- and was in use for about 1200 years before being sealed and blockaded by giant boulders similar to Avebury's - sarsen stones from the Marlborough Downs. And, unlike Stonehenge, this is not a place I would like to be on midsummer's day. Stonehenge is a spiritual place that huge crowds gather at for midsummer's eve, while I can imagine that West ...Read More

The area around Avebury is very rich in prehistoric landmarks. West Kennet Long Barrow often comes third on the list of most notable, following Avebury itself, and Silbury Hill.

Unlike Silbury Hill, which is only rumored to be a burial mound, West Kennet Long Barrow is most certainly a tomb. It was built around 3500BC -1000 years before Silbury Hill- and was in use for about 1200 years before being sealed and blockaded by giant boulders similar to Avebury's - sarsen stones from the Marlborough Downs. And, unlike Stonehenge, this is not a place I would like to be on midsummer's day. Stonehenge is a spiritual place that huge crowds gather at for midsummer's eve, while I can imagine that West Kennet Long Barrow would attract slightly fewer numbers. That's not the main reason I wouldn't like to be there though; apparently, a "spectral figure" and her hound like to hang out at the Barrow that day. I'm not much for making friends with spectres.

Like at Stonehenge, there were a few botched excavations at this site that led to much of the evidence of the people responsible for the Barrow being destroyed. Like at Avebury, parts of the tombs were willfully destroyed by people coming in and looting materials in centuries past.

There is not a whole lot to see at West Kennet, besides a great view of Silbury Hill and the small chamber, which, according to MysteriousBritain, "consists of five separate chambers, two on either side of a narrow passage, which then opens up into a further chamber at the far end" and extends about 10 meters into the 100 meter-long mound, which is flanked on either side by ditches. The chambers are made of giant sarsen stones as well.

We did not go to West Kennet; we only drove past as we were running out of time for other activities we had planned that day. There is not much to the site at all - pretty much, the barrow, the ditches, and a car park. There are no entry fees and no overpriced shops, but that is probably because you will probably only spend fifteen to thirty minutes at most at the site. It is interesting, but not extensively large, and I assume there are not many sign posts to inform you on the history that makes the site so interesting. Read Less

Member Rating 3 out of 5 on June 15, 2007

West Kennet Long Barrow
West Kennet
Avebury, England

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Silbury Hill

Attraction

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To the north of the A4, just before the turnoff to Avebury, sits Silbury Hill. This "hill" is actually the largest man-made mound in Europe, standing at 130ft tall and spanning a whopping five acres. Like at Stonehenge and nearby Avebury, the engineers of this hill knew exactly what they were doing, making it with a perfectly round base, approximately 550ft in circumference, and a very flat top, approximately 95ft in circumference.Construction on Silbury Hill started long after both Avebury and Stonehenge were begun, in approximately 2500BC. The reason it was built is not known for certain, since excavations have turned up nothing but pieces of pots and other generic evidence of human inha...Read More

To the north of the A4, just before the turnoff to Avebury, sits Silbury Hill. This "hill" is actually the largest man-made mound in Europe, standing at 130ft tall and spanning a whopping five acres. Like at Stonehenge and nearby Avebury, the engineers of this hill knew exactly what they were doing, making it with a perfectly round base, approximately 550ft in circumference, and a very flat top, approximately 95ft in circumference.

Construction on Silbury Hill started long after both Avebury and Stonehenge were begun, in approximately 2500BC. The reason it was built is not known for certain, since excavations have turned up nothing but pieces of pots and other generic evidence of human inhabitation. There have definitely been no finds that point towards it being a burial mound, as legend has it (supposedly, King Sil was buried in it sitting on his horse).

Here is one legend I find very amusing (courtesy of Prehistoric.co.uk, which could explain why the mound has turned up no archaeological finds of note: "The Devil was making his way to Marlborough with a huge shovel full of earth he intended to dump on the town. On his way he met a cobbler carrying a load of old shoes he was taking to repair. "Old cobbler, is it far to the town of Marlborough?", asked the Devil. The cobbler had his wits about when he recognised "Old Nick" and replied, "It is a long way indeed, for I have worn out all of these shoes trying to walk there!". Upon hearing this the Devil decided to give up and dropped his shovel full of earth by the road-side forming a huge mound. In this way the old cobbler saved the town of Marlborough thanks to his quick wits."

Unfortunately, Silbury Hill is not much of a tourist attraction, since it is essentially just a large hill on the side of the road. The car park is currently not open, either, so you have to stop a fair distance away (there are a few good viewpoints along the road to Avebury) to get out and have a look at it. This is because they are currently boring a hole into the center of the hill, attempting to excavate what they can and learn more about the origins of the hill. And if you are thinking about climbing the hill, that is a big no-no. You used to be able to climb it, roll down it, whatever you wanted - my Nanna climbed it to photograph rare flowers near the top - but this is no more, to keep the hill in the best and most undamaged state possible. Read Less

Member Rating 3 out of 5 on June 15, 2007

Silbury Hill
Avebury, England
Avebury, England

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Avebury Journals

Unlocking the Mysteries of Avebury