Avebury is a tiny village centered in and around a large Neolithic stone circle. The circle is about 1,400 feet wide, and visitors (as well as sheep!) are able to wander in and around all of the stones. Many stones are missing - knocked over in the Middle Ages by people who believed they represented pagan beliefs, or repurposed for other building uses.
Archaeologists believe the stones were erected around 2,600 B.C., thus predating Stonehenge by a few centuries. Extensive excavation was performed in the 1920s by an amateur archaeologist who identified points of missing henge stones and marked them with smaller stone monuments. His team also investigated the earthen bank and ditch that surround the circle. On top of the bank, we walked along chalk, which is the underlying geological layer in this region. It would have been difficult for people to excavate this material as they built the stone circle.
We enjoyed Avebury. We walked among the stone henges and partway along the bank, then had lunch at The Red Lion, a pub inside the stone circle. There was a National Trust used book store where we spent some time, and the "gift shop" was also very well done. The kids enjoyed communing with the sheep.
We were lucky with the weather - it was pouring rain when we parked the car and pouring rain when we left, but you wouldn't know it from these pictures :)
