Avebury is the largest stone circle in the world: it is 427m
(1401ft) in diameter covers an area of some 28 acres (11.5
ha). Although not so immediately impressive as Stonehenge,
it is an extraordinary site formed by a huge circular bank
(a mile round), a massive ditch now only a half its original
depth, and a great ring of 98 sarsen slabs enclosing two smaller
circles of 30 stones each and other settings and arrangements
of stones.
The outer bank, still very impressive, was originally 17m
(55ft) high from ditch bottom to bank top. The stones, each
weighing about 40 tons or more, were left rough and not dressed
as were the Stonehenge
blocks. They were obtained from the same place, the nearby
Marlborough Downs. Now there are only 27 in place, because
a few hundred years ago many of the stones were broken up
by lighting fires beneath them and pouring cold water over
them. They were then used to construct the present village
which grew up within the earthwork (one of the buildings of
the village houses the tiny but very interesting Alexander
Keiller Museum, with many of the archaeological finds of the
site; it is well worth visiting).
In the 14th century some of the stones were buried. In that
period, a man was killed by one of the stones falling over
unexpectedly in the pit which was being prepared for its burial.
No attempt was made to extract his body. A pair of scissors,
a lancet, and three silver coins were found next the poor
skeleton, and the stone is now called the Barber's Stone.
Other remarkable stones are the Swindon Stone, the largest
(it weighs about 60 tons), the Devil's Chair (local legends
attribute mystic powers to the stone such as the ability to
summon the devil if you run round it 100 times anti-clockwise)
and the Repaired Stone, which has been reconstructed in an
odd shape.
The two smaller circles within the great ring were probably
the heart of the ritual or ceremony. Of the northern one,
only few stones are visible. Two of the central ones are called
The Cove and may have been erected first, even before the
great circle. Shortly before mid-summer 1996 they were daubed
with graffiti, but they were promptly cleaned by a sculpture
restoration team, as the megalithic monument is in care of
the National Trust.
There were two ceremonial avenues of standing stones departing
from the main ring. Only one survives, the West Kennet Avenue,
which was originally 2.5km (1.5 mi) in length and connected
Avebury to the small stone circle called The Sanctuary on
Overton Hill. South of Avebury are two other interesting sites
Stonehenge
pictures
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