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| Tourist Information - Avebury Village and Stone Circle | |
The village of Avebury in Wiltshire has given its name to one of the greatest stone circles in the United Kingdom. The village is located a few miles away from the Ridgeway and in close proximity to Silbury Hill and many other ancient places. The area has been inhabited by villagers for about 1000 years and is completed surrounded by the stone circle. |
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Avebury stone circle is the largest henge monument in Britain, which is managed by the National Trust. Unlike Stonehenge you can wander around the stones and experience the mystery and mystique of this prehistoric wonder. Avebury is one of the most important megalithic monuments in Europe and spread over a vast area. The great stone circle, encompassing part of the village of Avebury, is enclosed by a ditch and external bank and approached by an avenue of stones. |
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Mostly dating to around 2,600-2,500 B.C., Avebury covers approximately 28 acres comprises a huge circular earthwork ditch, originally about 30 feet deep, and bank about a quarter of a mile in diameter which encloses an outer circle of standing stones. It has been estimated that there were originally a minimum of 247 standing stones within the henge, and perhaps 400 more forming the avenue outside. |
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The heaviest remaining megalith, the Swindon Stone near the north entrance weighs about 65 tonnes, but the survivors average about 15 tonnes. The Avebury stones are sarsens of the same geological type as those of Stonehenge. At Avebury, the sarsens were selected for their shape and used in their natural state, whereas those at Stonehenge were laboriously worked into a precise geometry. The Avebury builders preferred their stones to be columnar or flat with a triangular outline. Many of the stones were re-erected in the 1930s by the archaeologist Alexander Keiller. The site museum, including a new exhibition in the 17th Century thatched threshing barn, presents the archaeological story of Avebury. Finds from the site and interactive and audio-visual displays are used to tell the story of the monuments and the people who have helped to reveal their past. While Stonehenge was dedicated to the worship of the moon and sun the meaning of the Avebury temple seems instead strongly connected to the great human themes of fertility, life and death. Rich evidence of funerary feasts has been found at the Sanctuary, which was linked by a procession route, the West Kennet Avenue, to the henge. The columnar and triangular stones of this avenue were deliberately paired together. Such a strong sexual symbolism implies a close connection between fertility and funerary rites. This celebration of the cycle of birth, life and death was a central part of neolithic philosophy which is consistent with the symbolism found in megalithic passage graves of the same period. We conclude that the rites at Avebury were intended to bring life to the dead and good fortune to the living. Avebury also hosts a museum in which can be found the remains of a prehistoric child called 'Charlie' .The museum houses one of the most important prehistoric archaeological collections in Britain. |
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