View source for Avebury

{{short description|Neolithic henge monument in Wiltshire, England}}
{{about|the prehistoric site|the modern village and civil parish containing it|Avebury (village)}}
{{Use British English|date=September 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2020}}
{{Infobox ancient site
 |name = Avebury
 |alternate_name =
 |image = Wiltshire-Avebury.jpg
 |alt =
 |caption = Avebury henge, stone circle and village overview
 |map_type = United Kingdom Wiltshire
 |map_size =
 |relief = yes
 |map_caption = Map of Wiltshire showing the location of Avebury
 |coordinates = {{coord|51|25|43|N|1|51|15|W|type:landmark_region:GB-WIL|display=inline,title}}
 |location = [[Wiltshire]], England
 |region =
 |type = [[Monument]]
 |part_of =
 |length =
 |width =
 |area =
 |height =
 |builder =
 |material = [[Sarsen]]
 |built = [[Neolithic]]
 |abandoned =
 |epochs =
 |cultures =
 |dependency_of =
 |occupants =
 |event =
 |excavations =
 |archaeologists =
 |condition =
 |ownership = [[National Trust]]
 |management = National Trust
 |public_access =
 |website = {{URL|https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/avebury}}
 |notes =
| designation1          = WHS
| designation1_date     = 1986 <small>(10th [[World Heritage Committee|session]])</small>
| designation1_number   = [https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/373 373]
| designation1_criteria = i, ii, iii
| designation1_type     = Cultural
| designation1_partof   = [[Stonehenge, Avebury and Associated Sites]]
| designation1_free1name = Region
| designation1_free1value = [[List of World Heritage Sites in Europe|Europe and North America]]
}}

'''Avebury''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|eɪ|v|b|ər|i}}) is a [[Neolithic British Isles|Neolithic]] [[henge]] monument containing three [[stone circle]]s, around the village of [[Avebury (village)|Avebury]] in [[Wiltshire]], in south-west England. One of the best-known prehistoric sites in Britain, it contains the largest [[megalith]]ic stone circle in the world. It is both a tourist attraction and a place of religious importance to [[Neopaganism|contemporary pagans]].

Constructed over several hundred years in the third millennium BC, during the [[Neolithic]], or New Stone Age, the monument comprises a large henge (a bank and a ditch) with a large outer stone circle and two separate smaller stone circles situated inside the centre of the monument. Its original purpose is unknown, although archaeologists believe that it was most likely used for some form of ritual or ceremony. The Avebury monument is a part of a larger prehistoric landscape containing several older monuments nearby, including [[West Kennet Long Barrow]], [[Windmill Hill, Avebury|Windmill Hill]] and [[Silbury Hill]].

By the [[British Iron Age|Iron Age]], the site had been effectively abandoned, with some evidence of human activity on the site during the [[Roman Britain|Roman period]]. During the Early Middle Ages, a village first began to be built around the monument, eventually extending into it. In the late medieval and early modern periods, local people destroyed many of the standing stones around the henge, both for religious and practical reasons. The [[antiquarian]]s [[John Aubrey]] and [[William Stukeley]] took an interest in Avebury during the 17th and 18th centuries, respectively, and recorded much of the site between various phases of destruction. [[Archaeological]] investigation followed in the 20th century, with [[Harold St George Gray]] leading an excavation of the bank and ditch, and [[Alexander Keiller (archaeologist)|Alexander Keiller]] overseeing a project to reconstruct much of the monument.

Avebury is managed by the [[National Trust]]. It has been designated a [[Scheduled Ancient Monument]], as well as a [[World Heritage Site]], in the latter capacity being seen as a part of the wider prehistoric landscape of Wiltshire known as [[Stonehenge, Avebury and Associated Sites]]. About 480 people live in 235 homes in the village of Avebury and its associated settlement of Avebury Trusloe, and in the nearby hamlets of Beckhampton and West Kennett.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Avebury Parish Council |url=http://aveburyparishcouncil.org/ |access-date=7 September 2016 |website=aveburyparishcouncil.org}}</ref>

== Location and environment ==
[[File:Avebury aerial.jpg|thumb|left|Aerial photo of the site and village in 2017]]
At {{gbmapping|SU10266996}},<ref name="Pastscape">{{PastScape |mname=Avebury Henge|mnumber=220746 |access-date=27 February 2008}}</ref> Avebury is respectively about {{convert|6|and|7|mi|0}} from the modern towns of [[Marlborough, Wiltshire|Marlborough]] and [[Calne]]. The monuments at the Avebury World Heritage Site cover about {{convert|8+3/4|mi2|abbr=off}}. Avebury lies in an area of chalkland in the [[River Kennet|Upper Kennet Valley]] that forms the [[catchment]] for the River Kennet and supports local springs and seasonal watercourses. The monument stands slightly above the local landscape, sitting on a low chalk ridge {{cvt|160|m}} above sea level; to the east are the [[Marlborough Downs]], an area of lowland hills.{{Cn|date=January 2024}}
{{Location mark+
| image = Avebury World Heritage Site map.svg
| width = 320
| caption = Boundary and key sites for the Avebury section of the Stonehenge and Avebury World Heritage Site
| alt = Map showing the boundary and key sites on the Avebury section of the [[Stonehenge, Avebury and Associated Sites|Stonehenge and Avebury]] [[World Heritage Site]]
| type = thumb
| float = left
| marks =
{{Location mark~| width = 260| font_size=70|label = [[Windmill Hill, Avebury|Windmill Hill]]| position = top| mark_alt = Windmill Hill, Avebury| mark_link = Windmill Hill, Avebury| x% =20 | y% = 22}}
{{Location mark~| width = 260| font_size=70| label = [[#Alexander Keiller Museum|Museum]]| position = top| mark_alt = Avebury Museum| mark_link = Avebury#Alexander_Keiller_Museum| x% =36 | y% = 42}}
{{Location mark~| width = 260| font_size=70|label = [[Avebury Manor]]| position = left| mark_alt = Avebury Manor| mark_link = Avebury Manor| x% =34 | y% = 44}}
{{Location mark~| width = 260| font_size=70|label = Avebury&nbsp;stone&nbsp;circle| position = right| mark_alt = Avebury stone circle| mark_link = Avebury| x% =41 | y% = 43}}
{{Location mark~| width = 260| font_size=70|label = [[The Longstones|Longstones]]/ [[Beckhampton Avenue]]| position = bottom| mark_alt = The Longstones & Beckhampton Avenue| mark_link = The Longstones| x% =23 | y% = 53}}
{{Location mark~| width = 260| font_size=70|label = [[Kennet Avenue]]| position = right| mark_alt = Kennet Avenue| mark_link = Kennet Avenue| x% =44 | y% = 52}}
{{Location mark~| width = 260| font_size=70|label = [[Silbury Hill]]| position = bottom| mark_alt = Silbury Hill| mark_link = Silbury Hill| x% =38 | y% = 64}}
{{Location mark~| width = 260| font_size=70|label = [[West Kennet Long Barrow]]| position = bottom| mark_alt = West Kennet Long Barrow| mark_link = West Kennet Long Barrow| x% =43 | y% = 75}}
{{Location mark~| width = 260| font_size=70|label = [[The Sanctuary]]| position = right| mark_alt = The Sanctuary| mark_link = The Sanctuary| x% =61 | y% = 72}}
}}
The site lies at the centre of a collection of Neolithic and early Bronze Age monuments and was inscribed as a [[World Heritage Site]] in a co-listing with the monuments at Stonehenge, {{convert|17|mi}} to the south, in 1986. It is now listed as part of the ''Stonehenge, Avebury and Associated Sites World Heritage Site''.<ref>[[#Gil04|Gillings and Pollard 2004]]. p.&nbsp;6.</ref> The monuments are preserved as part of a Neolithic and Bronze Age landscape for the information they provide regarding prehistoric people's relationship with the landscape.<ref>{{cite web |title=Stonehenge, Avebury and Associated Sites |url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/373 |website=[[UNESCO]] |access-date=15 August 2021}}</ref>

[[Radiocarbon dating]] and analysis of pollen and occasionally insects in buried soils have shown that the environment of lowland Britain changed around 4250–4000&nbsp;BC. During the Neolithic period, argillic (clayey) brownearths reigned in the landscape formed by the acidifying conditions of a closed woodland, becoming more chalky as a result of clearance and anthropogenic (human-made) interference.{{Cn|date=July 2022}}

The area was originally a mix of deep argillic brownearths on clay-rich areas along with calcareous (chalky) brownearths that were "predisposed" to transforming into grassland. The change to a [[grassland]] environment from damp, heavy soils and expanses of dense forest was mostly brought about by farmers, probably through the use of [[slash and burn]] techniques. Environmental factors may also have made a contribution. The long grassland area formed a dense vegetational mat which eventually led to the decalcification of the soil profile. In the Mesolithic period, woodland was dominated by alder, lime, elm and oak. There is a major decline in pollen around 4500 BC, but an increase in grasses from 4500 BC to 3200 BC and the first occurrence of cereal pollen.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Gillings |first1=Mark |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt1cfr8sf |title=Landscape of the Megaliths: Excavation and Fieldwork on the Avebury Monuments, 1997–2003 |last2=Pollard |first2=Joshua |author-link2=Joshua Pollard |last3=Wheatley |first3=David |last4=Peterson |first4=Rick |last5=Cleal |first5=Rosamund |last6=Cooper |first6=Nicholas |last7=Courtney |first7=Paul |last8=Coward |first8=Fiona |last9=David |first9=Andrew |date=2008 |publisher=Oxbow Books |isbn=978-1-84217-971-0 |jstor=j.ctt1cfr8sf}}</ref>

Pollen is poorly preserved in the chalky soils found around Avebury, so the best evidence for the state of local environment at any time in the past comes from the study of the deposition of [[snail]] shells. Different species of snail live in specific habitats, so the presence of a certain species indicates what the area was like at a particular time.<ref>[[#Mal89|Malone 1989]]. pp.&nbsp;31–32.</ref>

The available evidence suggests that in the early Neolithic, Avebury and the surrounding hills were covered in dense [[oak]] woodland, and as the Neolithic progressed, the woodland around Avebury and the nearby monuments receded and was replaced by grassland.<ref>[[#Mal89|Malone 1989]]. pp.&nbsp;31, 34–35.</ref>

== Mesolithic and Neolithic history ==

The history of the site before the construction of the henge is uncertain, because little datable evidence has emerged from modern [[archaeological excavations]].<ref>[[#Gil04|Gillings and Pollard 2004]]. p&nbsp;23.</ref><!--this is mentioned in the 2004 book by Gillings and Pollard but may not be the case after their 2008 volume--> Evidence of activity in the region before the 4th millennium&nbsp;BC is limited, suggesting that there was little human occupation.

=== Mesolithic ===
[[File:Avebury-SU1025069970.png|thumb|[[LIDAR]] topography (using aerial [[laser]] scanning) shows the huge bank and ditch surrounding the stones]]
What is now termed the [[Mesolithic]] period in Britain lasted from circa 11,600 to 7,800 [[Before Present|BP]], at a time when the island was heavily forested and when there was still a land mass, called [[Doggerland]], which connected Britain to continental Europe.<ref>[[#Adk08|Adkins, Adkins and Leitch 2008]]. pp. 25–26.</ref> During this era, those humans living in Britain were [[hunter-gatherers]], often moving around the landscape in small familial or tribal groups in search of food and other resources. Archaeologists have unearthed evidence that there were some of these hunter-gatherers active around Avebury during the Late Mesolithic, with stray finds of [[flint tools]], dated between 7000 and 4000&nbsp;BC, having been found in the area.<ref>[[#Hol87|Holgate 1987]].</ref> The most important of these discoveries is a densely scattered collection of worked flints found {{cvt|300|m}} to the west of Avebury, which has led archaeologists to believe that that spot was a flint working site occupied over a period of several weeks by a group of nomadic hunter-gatherers who had set up camp there.<ref>[[#Gil04|Gillings and Pollard 2004]]. pp.&nbsp;23–25.</ref>

The archaeologists Mark Gillings and [[Joshua Pollard]] suggested the possibility that Avebury first gained some sort of ceremonial significance during the Late Mesolithic period. As evidence, they highlighted the existence of a [[posthole]] near the monument's southern entrance that would have once supported a large wooden post. Although this posthole was never dated when it was excavated in the early 20th century, and so cannot definitely be ascribed to the Mesolithic, Gillings and Pollard noted that its positioning had no relation to the rest of the henge, and that it may therefore have been erected centuries or even millennia before the henge was actually built.<ref name="Gillings & Pollard 2004 26">[[#Gil04|Gillings and Pollard 2004]]. p.&nbsp;26.</ref><!--it's possible this may have been dated by later excavations and mentioned in Gillings & Pollard's 2004 book--> They compared this with similar wooden posts that had been erected in southern Britain during the Mesolithic at [[Stonehenge]] and [[Hambledon Hill]], both of which were sites that like Avebury saw the construction of large monuments in the Neolithic.<ref>[[#Gil04|Gillings and Pollard 2004]]. p.&nbsp;25.</ref>

=== Early Neolithic ===

{{multiple image
| align = right
| image1 = Westkennet.jpg
| total_width = 500
| alt1 =
| caption1 =
| image2 = SilburyHill gobeirne.jpg
| alt2 =
| caption2 =
| footer = The two monuments of [[West Kennet Long Barrow]] and [[Silbury Hill]] were constructed in the vicinity of Avebury several centuries before the henge was built.
}}

In the 4th millennium&nbsp;BC, around the start of the Neolithic period in Britain, British society underwent radical changes. These coincided with the introduction of domesticated species of animals and plants, as well as a changing [[archaeological culture|material culture]] that included pottery. These developments allowed hunter-gatherers to settle down and produce their own food. As agriculture spread, people cleared land. At the same time, they also erected the first monuments to be seen in the local landscape, an activity interpreted as evidence of a change in the way people viewed their place in the world.<ref name="Gillings & Pollard 2004 26"/>

Based on [[anthropological]] studies of recent and contemporary societies, Gillings and Pollard suggest that forests, clearings, and stones were important in Neolithic culture, not only as resources but as symbols; the site of Avebury occupied a convergence of these three elements.<ref>[[#Gil04|Gillings and Pollard 2004]]. pp.&nbsp;29–33.</ref> Neolithic activity at Avebury is evidenced by flint, animal bones, and pottery such as [[Peterborough ware]] dating from the early 4th and 3rd millennia&nbsp;BC. Five distinct areas of Neolithic activity have been identified within {{cvt|500|m}} of Avebury; they include a scatter of flints along the line of the [[West Kennet Avenue]]—an [[avenue (archaeology)|avenue]] that connects Avebury with the Neolithic site of [[The Sanctuary]]. Pollard suggests that areas of activity in the Neolithic became important markers in the landscape.<ref>[[#Gil04|Gillings and Pollard 2004]]. p.&nbsp;34.</ref>

=== Late Neolithic ===
{{Quote box|width=246px|bgcolor=#ACE1AF|align=right|quote="After over a thousand years of early farming, a way of life based on ancestral tombs, forest clearance and settlement expansion came to an end. This was a time of important social changes."|source=Archaeologist and prehistorian [[Mike Parker Pearson]] on the Late Neolithic in Britain (2005)<ref>[[#Par05|Parker Pearson 2005]]. p. 57.</ref>}}

During the Late Neolithic, British society underwent another series of major changes. Between 3500 and 3300 BC, these prehistoric Britons ceased their continual expansion and cultivation of wilderness and instead focused on settling and farming the most agriculturally productive areas of the island: Orkney, eastern Scotland, Anglesey, the upper Thames, Wessex, Essex, Yorkshire and the river valleys of the Wash.<ref>[[#Par05|Parker Pearson 2005]]. pp. 56–57.</ref>

Late Neolithic Britons also appeared to have changed their religious beliefs, ceasing to construct the large chambered tombs that are widely thought by archaeologists to have been connected with [[ancestor veneration]]. Instead, they began the construction of large wooden or stone circles, with many hundreds being built across Britain and Ireland over a period of a thousand years.<ref>[[#Par05|Parker Pearson 2005]]. pp. 58–59.</ref>

== Construction ==
[[File:Northwest of Avebury Circle.jpg|thumb|right|The north-west sector of Avebury]]

The chronology of Avebury's construction is unclear. It was not designed as a single monument, but is the result of various projects that were undertaken at different times during late prehistory.<ref>[[#Bar94|Barrett 1994]]. p. 13.</ref> [[Aubrey Burl]] suggests dates of 3000 BC for the central cove, 2900 BC for the inner stone circle, 2600 BC for the outer circle and henge, and around 2400 BC for the avenues.<ref name="Burl 2002, 154">[[#Bur02|Burl 2002]]. p. 154.</ref>

The construction of large monuments such as those at Avebury indicates that a stable agrarian economy had developed in Britain by around 4000–3500&nbsp;BC. The people who built them had to be secure enough to spend time on such non-essential activities. Avebury was one of a group of monumental sites that were established in this region during the Neolithic. Its monuments comprise the henge and associated [[long barrow]]s, stone circles, avenues and a [[causewayed enclosure]]. These monument types are not exclusive to the Avebury area. For example, Stonehenge features the same kinds of monuments, and in [[Dorset]] there is a henge on the edge of [[Dorchester, Dorset|Dorchester]] and a causewayed enclosure at nearby [[Maiden Castle, Dorset#Before the fort|Maiden Castle]].<ref name="Malone 38">[[#Mal89|Malone 1989]] p.&nbsp;38.</ref> According to archaeologist [[Caroline Malone]], who worked for [[English Heritage]] as an inspector of monuments and was the curator of Avebury's Alexander Keiller Museum, it is possible that the monuments associated with Neolithic sites such as Avebury and Stonehenge constituted ritual or ceremonial centres.<ref name="Malone 38"/>

Archaeologist [[Mike Parker Pearson]] noted that the addition of the stones to the henge occurred at a similar date to the construction of Silbury Hill and the major building projects at Stonehenge and [[Durrington Walls]]. For this reason, he speculated that there may have been a "religious revival" at the time, which led to huge amounts of resources being expended on the construction of ceremonial monuments.<ref>[[#Par05|Parker Pearson 2005]]. p. 67.</ref>

Archaeologist Aaron Watson highlighted the possibility that by digging up earth and using it to construct the large banks, those Neolithic labourers constructing the Avebury monument symbolically saw themselves as turning the land "inside out", thereby creating a space that was "on a frontier between worlds above and beneath the ground."<ref>[[#Wat01|Watson 2001]]. p. 309.</ref>

=== Henge ===
[[File:ASC 10 db.jpg|right|thumb|Part of the outer ditch]]
The Avebury monument is a [[henge]], a type of monument consisting of a large circular bank with an internal ditch. The henge is not perfectly circular and measures {{convert|347.4|m|yd|-1}} in diameter<ref>{{cite book |last1=Malone |first1=Caroline |author-link=Caroline Malone |title=Neolithic Britain and Ireland |date=2011 |publisher=The History Press |isbn=9780752414423 |location=Stroud, Gloucestershire |page=172}}</ref> and over {{convert|1000|m|yd|-1}} in circumference.<ref name="Burl 2002. pp. 197-199">[[#Bur02|Burl 2002]]. pp. 197-199.</ref>

[[Radiocarbon dating]] suggests that the henge was made by the middle of the third millennium BC.<ref>{{cite web |last=Davies |first=Simon R. |title=Digital Avebury: New 'Avenues' of Research |url=http://intarch.ac.uk/journal/issue27/3/appendix1.html |publisher=The Institute of Archaeology and Antiquity, University of Birmingham |quote=The ditches and banks of Avebury henge have yielded radiocarbon dates around 2900–2600 cal BC (Pitts and Whittle 1992), 3040–2780 cal BC (Cleal 2001, 63) and 2840–2460 cal BC (Pollard and Cleal 2004, 121)}}</ref>

The top of the bank is irregular, something Caroline Malone suggested was because of the irregular nature of the work undertaken by excavators working on the adjacent sectors of the ditch.<ref>[[#Mal89|Malone 1989]]. p. 107.</ref> Later archaeologists such as Aaron Watson, Mark Gillings and Joshua Pollard have, however, suggested that this was an original Neolithic feature of the henge's architecture.<ref name="Watson 2001. p. 304">[[#Wat01|Watson 2001]]. p. 304.</ref><ref>[[#Gil99|Gillings and Pollard 2004]]. p. 07.</ref>

=== Outer Stone Circle ===
[[File:ASC 7 db.jpg|right|thumb|Part of the Outer Circle]]
Within the henge is a great outer circle. With a diameter of {{convert|331.6|m|0}}, this is one of Europe's largest stone circles,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-avebury|title=Avebury|year=2009|work=The National Trust|access-date=16 June 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090622024806/http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-avebury|archive-date=22 June 2009|url-status=dead}}</ref> and Britain's largest.<ref>{{cite book|last=Darvill|first=Timothy|title=Prehistoric Britain from the air: a study of space, time and society|year=1996|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-55132-8|page=185}}</ref> It was either contemporary with, or built around four or five centuries after, the earthworks. It is thought that there were originally 98 [[sarsen]] [[standing stone]]s, some weighing in excess of 40 tons. The stones varied in height from {{convert|3.6|m}} to {{convert|4.2|m}}, as exemplified at the north and south entrances. Radiocarbon dating of some stone settings indicate a construction date of around 2870–2200 BC.<ref name=":3">Cleal, R and Montague, R. 2001 "Neolithic and Early Bronze Age", in A. Chadburn and M. Pomeroy-Kellinger (eds.), ''Archaeological Research Agenda for the Avebury World Heritage Site''. Wessex Archaeology/English Heritage, Wessex, 8–14.</ref>

The two large stones at the Southern Entrance had an unusually smooth surface, likely due to having stone axes polished on them.<ref name="GroupedRef3">[[#Wat01|Watson 2001]]. p. 308.</ref>

=== Inner Stone Circles ===
[[File:Avebury (South Inner Circle), Wiltshire, UK - Diliff.jpg|right|thumb|South inner circle of megaliths within the Avebury henge stone circle]]

Nearer the middle of the monument are two additional, separate stone circles. The northern inner ring is {{convert|98|m|ft|0}} in diameter, but only two of its four standing stones remain upright. A [[cove (standing stones)|cove]] of three stones stood in the middle, its entrance facing northeast.{{Citation needed|date=March 2011}} Taking experiments undertaken at the megalithic [[Ring of Brodgar]] in [[Orkney]] as a basis, the archaeologists [[Joshua Pollard]], Mark Gillings and Aaron Watson believed that any sounds produced inside Avebury's Inner Circles would have created an echo as sound waves reflected off the standing stones.<ref name="GroupedRef3"/><ref>[[#Pol98|Pollard and Gillings 1998]]. p. 156.</ref>

The southern inner ring was {{convert|108|m|4=0}} in diameter before its destruction in the 18th century. The remaining sections of its arc now lie beneath the village buildings. A single large monolith, {{convert|5.5|m|4=0}} high, stood in the centre along with an alignment of smaller stones.{{Citation needed|date=March 2011}}

In 2017, a [[Geophysical survey (archaeology)|geophysical survey]] by archaeologists from the Universities of Leicester and Southampton indicated 'an apparently unique square megalithic monument within the Avebury circles' which may be one of the earliest structures on this site.<ref>{{cite web |title='Secret Square' discovered beneath world-famous Avebury stone circle |url=https://www.southampton.ac.uk/archaeology/news/2017/06/30-secret-square-avebury.page |publisher=University of Southampton |access-date=11 October 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title='The Square inside Avebury's Circles' by Marley Brown |url=https://www.archaeology.org/issues/282-features/top10/6179-england-neolithic-avebury-circles |website=Archaeology (magazine) |publisher=Archaeological Institute of America |access-date=11 October 2019}}</ref>

=== The Avenue ===
[[File:ASC Allee 1 db.jpg|right|thumb|The stone avenue]]
The [[West Kennet Avenue]], an [[avenue (archaeology)|avenue]] of paired stones, leads from the southeastern entrance of the henge; and traces of a second, the [[Beckhampton Avenue]], lead out from the western entrance.<ref name=":1" />

The archaeologist Aaron Watson, taking a [[phenomenology (archaeology)|phenomenological]] viewpoint to the monument, believed that the way in which the Avenue had been constructed in juxtaposition to Avebury, the Sanctuary, Silbury Hill and West Kennet Long Barrow had been intentional, commenting that "the Avenue carefully orchestrated passage through the landscape which influenced how people could move and what they could see, emphasising connections between places and maximising the spectacle of moving between these monuments."<ref>[[#Wat01|Watson 2001]]. p. 300.</ref>

== Purpose ==
[[File:Avebury, Stensättningen i ursprungligt skick, Nordisk familjebok.png|right|thumb|The postulated original layout of Avebury, published in a late 19th-century edition of the Swedish encyclopaedia ''[[Nordisk familjebok]]''. Original illustration by [[John Martin (painter)|John Martin]], based on an illustration by [[John Britton (antiquary)|John Britton]] ]]
The purpose which Neolithic people had for the Avebury monument has remained elusive, although many archaeologists have postulated about its meaning and usage.<ref>[[#Bur79|Burl 1979]]. p. 27.</ref> Many suggest that the henge could have been a meeting place for the citizens of the area for seasonal fairs or festivals. During that time the people would have been watching ceremonies or standing on the earthen banks. A lack of pottery and animal bone from excavations at Avebury suggest that the entrance to the henge was prohibited. The lack of "mess" and archaeological finds indicates "sanctity". Many of the stones had former uses before being transported to Avebury. For instance, many of the sarsens had been used to polish stone axes, while others had been "heavily worked".<ref name="x38">{{Cite book |last=Haughton|first=Brian |url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/1035091206 |title=Haunted spaces, sacred places : a field guide to stone circles, crop circles, ancient tombs, and supernatural landscapes |date=2008 |publisher=New Page Books |oclc=1035091206}}</ref>

Archaeologist [[Aubrey Burl]] believed that rituals would have been performed at Avebury by Neolithic peoples in order "to appease the malevolent powers of nature" that threatened their existence, such as the winter cold, death and disease.<ref>[[#Bur79|Burl 1979]]. p. 04.</ref>

In his study of those examples found at [[Orkney]], Colin Richards suggested that the stone and wooden circles built in Neolithic Britain might have represented the centre of the world, or ''[[axis mundi]]'', for those who constructed them,<ref>[[#Ric96|Richards 1996]]. p. 206.</ref> something Aaron Watson adopted as a possibility in his discussion of Avebury.<ref name="Watson 2001. p. 304"/>

A great deal of interest surrounds the morphology of the stones, which are usually described as being in one of two categories; tall and slender, or short and squat. This has led to numerous theories relating to the importance of gender in [[Neolithic]] [[Great Britain|Britain]] with the taller stones considered "male" and the shorter ones "female". The stones were not dressed in any way and may have been chosen for their pleasing natural forms.{{Cn|date=July 2022}}

The human bones found by Gray point to some form of funerary purpose and have parallels in the disarticulated human bones often found at earlier [[causewayed enclosure]] sites. Ancestor worship on a huge scale could have been one of the purposes of the monument and would not necessarily have been mutually exclusive with any male/female [[ritual]] role.{{Cn|date=July 2022}}

The henge, although clearly forming an imposing boundary to the circle, could have had a purpose that was not defensive as the ditch is on the inside (this is the defining characteristic of a [[henge]]). Being a henge and stone circle site, astronomical alignments are a common theory to explain the positioning of the stones at Avebury. The relationships between the causewayed enclosure, Avebury stone circles, and [[West Kennet Long Barrow]] to the south, has caused some to describe the area as a "ritual complex"—a site with many monuments of interlocking religious function.<ref>Pryor, Francis (2004). ''Britain BC: Life in Britain and Ireland before the Romans'', Harper Perennial, London, p.224</ref> Based on the scale of the site and wealth of archaeological material found in its ditches, particularly animal bone, it is theorised that the enclosure on Windmill Hill was a major, extra-regional focus for gatherings and feasting events.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Burnham |first1=Andy |title=The Old Stones: A Field Guide to the Megalithic Sites of Britain and Ireland |date=2018 |publisher=Watkins Publishing |isbn=978-1786781543}}</ref>

== Archaeological excavations ==

=== 1800s ===
In 1829, the foot of the Cove stone was dug to a 'yard' in depth, and in 1833 Henry Browne claimed to find evidence for 'burnt human sacrifices' also at the Cove in the north-east sector.<ref name=":3"/> in 1865, the [[Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History Society]] supported A. C. Smith and W. Cunnington to spend a week directing excavations in fourteen places, including around the Cove; they found no human bones.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Smith |first=Alfred Charles |date=1866 |title=Excavations at Avebury |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/12540006 |journal=[[Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History Magazine]] |volume=10 |issue=29 |pages=209–216 |via=[[Biodiversity Heritage Library]] {{open access}}}}</ref> In 1894 [[Henry Bruce Meux|Sir Henry Meux]] sponsored excavations which put a trench through the bank of the south-east sector, which gave the first indication that the earthwork was built in two phases.<ref name=":3"/>
[[File:Avebury ditch, 21 April 1922, by Harold St George Gray, Alexander Keiller Museum AVBAKP088 (cropped).jpg|thumb|Excavations at Avebury ditch showing 12 workers, taken on 21 April 1922, by Harold St George Gray]]

=== 1908–1922 ===
The site was surveyed and excavated intermittently between 1908 and 1922 by a team of workmen under the direction of [[Harold St George Gray]], on behalf of the British Association. The discovery of over 40 antler picks on or near the bottom of the ditch<ref name=":0">[[Avebury#Smi65|Smith 1965]]. p. 218</ref> enabled Gray to demonstrate that the Avebury builders had dug down {{convert|11|m|ft|0}} into the natural chalk using [[red deer]] antlers as their primary digging tool, producing a henge ditch with a {{convert|9|m|ft|0|adj=on}} high bank around its perimeter. Gray recorded the base of the ditch as being {{convert|4|m|ft|0}} wide and flat, but later archaeologists have questioned his use of untrained labour to excavate the ditch and suggested that its form may have been different. Gray found few [[Artifact (archaeology)|artefacts]] in the ditch-fill but he did recover scattered human bones, amongst which jawbones were particularly well represented. At a depth of about {{Convert|2|m|ft|0}}, Gray found the complete skeleton of a {{convert|1.5|m|ft|0|adj=on}} tall woman.<ref>{{cite web |year=2011 |title=The Ditch and Bank of the Henge |url=http://www.avebury-web.co.uk/ditchbank.html |access-date=20 May 2014 |work=avebury-web.co.uk}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=The History of the Avebury Monuments |url=http://www.wessexarch.co.uk/files/Learning/avebury_teachers_kit/history_of_the_avebury_monuments.pdf |access-date=20 May 2014 |work=Wessex Archaeology}}</ref>

=== 1934–1939 ===
Alexander Keiller financed and led excavations on West Kennet Avenue in 1934 and 1935; the North West sector of Avebury in 1937; the South West sector in 1938, and the South East sector in 1939.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Smith |first=Isobel |title=Windmill Hill and Avebury. Excavations by Alexander Keiller, 1925–1939 |publisher=Clarendon Press |year=1965 |location=Oxford}}</ref> 
[[File:Photographs of archaeological workers at Avebury in 1937 Wiltshire Museum WEVY-LFMJ-009-130.jpg|thumb|A spread from foreman William Young's ''Leaves from My Journal'' Volume 7. Two photographs by [[Alexander Keiller (archaeologist)|Alexander Keiller]] show Mr Van Ash (an explosives expert) and Frank Fishlock exploding tree stumps at Avebury in 1937.]]
It can reasonably be said that "Avebury today is largely Keiller's creation",<ref>{{cite web |last=Johnston |first=Philip |date=18 October 2000 |title=The man who made Avebury's stone circle |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1370875/The-man-who-made-Aveburys-stone-circle.html |via=telegraph.co.uk}}</ref> as Keiller directed his team to find and re-erect fallen or buried stones, and to build concrete '[[Pylon (architecture)|pylons]]' in the place of missing stones.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2">{{Cite book |title=The pastmasters: eleven modern pioneers of archaeology |date=1989 |publisher=Thames and Hudson |isbn=978-0-500-05051-4 |editor-last=Childe |editor-first=Vere Gordon |location=London |editor-last2=Daniel |editor-first2=Glyn Edmund}}</ref> [[Stuart Piggott]] co-directed excavations;<ref name=":2" /> local archaeologist William E. V. Young served as Foreman;<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Grant King |first=Denis |date=1972 |title=William E. V. Young, FSA (Scot), BEM |journal=Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History Society Bi-Annual Bulletin |volume=12 |pages=4–6}}</ref> [[Doris Emerson Chapman]] illustrated the stones and facial reconstructions for the human remains found across the landscape; and [[Denis Grant King]] created illustrations, plans and section drawings.<ref name=":1" /> Upwards of 50 men from across Wiltshire served as 'hands' during the excavations over the 6 year period, doing the hard work of digging and re-erecting stones.<ref name=":0" />[[File:The barber stone avebury great circle02.jpg|thumb|right|upright|The [[Barber surgeon of Avebury|Barber Stone]]]]During excavations in 1938, Keiller's team excavated the skeleton of a man from beneath Stone 38 (Stone 9 using Isobel Smith's system), now known as the [[Barber surgeon of Avebury]]. Coins dating from the 1320s were found with the skeleton, and the evidence suggests that the man was fatally injured when the stone fell on him whilst he was digging the hole in which it was to be buried in a mediaeval "rite of destruction". As well as the coins, Keiller's team found a pair of scissors and a [[scalpel|lancet]], the tools of a barber-surgeon at that time, hence the name given to the stone.<ref>Evans (2006), p.&nbsp;11.</ref><ref>[http://www.britarch.ac.uk/ba/ba48/ba48news.html British Archaeology, Issue no 48, October 1999, "Lost skeleton of `barber-surgeon' found in museum"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120120130438/http://www.britarch.ac.uk/ba/ba48/ba48news.html|date=20 January 2012}} Retrieved on 16 June 2009</ref>

Alexander Keiller and Stuart Piggott published short reports from the excavations, however the outbreak of World War II, Keiller's failing health and dwindling finances, and Piggott's career which took him abroad during the war and into new archaeological projects post war, meant that they did not publish a full report. The archeologist Isobel Smith was commissioned by Gabrielle Keiller to synthesise and complete the full report. Smith completed the publication in 1965, reorganised the stone numbering system for the landscape, and put Windmill Hill, Avebury and West Kennet Avenue into context.<ref name=":1"/>

=== 1969–1982 ===
When a new village school was built in 1969 there was a further opportunity to examine the site, and in 1982 an excavation to produce carbon dating material and environmental data was undertaken.

=== 2003 ===
In April 2003, during preparations to straighten some of the stones, one was found to extend at least {{convert|2.1|m|ft|0}} below ground. It was estimated to weigh more than 100&nbsp;tons, making it one of the largest found in the UK.<ref>{{cite news |date=17 April 2003 |title=100-ton stone astounds academics |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/wiltshire/2956995.stm |access-date=19 June 2009 |work=BBC News |publisher=BBC}}</ref> Later that year, a [[geophysical]] survey of the southeast and northeast quadrants of the circle by the National Trust revealed at least 15 of the megaliths lying buried. The survey identified their sizes, the direction in which they are lying, and where they fitted in the circle.<ref>{{cite news |date=2 December 2003 |title='Lost' Avebury stones discovered |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/wiltshire/3257174.stm |access-date=19 June 2009 |work=BBC News |publisher=BBC}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Buried megaliths discovered at stone circle site |url=http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_843553.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041012065025/http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_843553.html |archive-date=12 October 2004 |access-date=19 June 2009 |work=Ananova News |publisher=Ananova Ltd}}</ref>

== Development after the Neolithic ==

=== Iron Age and Roman periods ===
During the [[British Iron Age]], it appears that the Avebury monument had ceased to be used for its original purpose, and was instead largely ignored, with little archaeological evidence that many people visited the site at this time. Archaeologist [[Aubrey Burl]] believed that the Iron Age Britons living in the region would not have known when, why or by whom the monument had been constructed, perhaps having some vague understanding that it had been built by an earlier society or considering it to be the dwelling of a supernatural entity.<ref name="GroupedRef1">[[#Bur79|Burl 1979]]. p. 30.</ref>

In 43 AD, the [[Roman Empire]] invaded southern Britain, making alliances with certain local monarchs and subsuming the Britons under their own political control. Southern and central Britain would remain a part of the Empire until the early 5th century, in a period now known as [[Roman Britain]] or the Roman Iron Age. It was during this Roman period that tourists came from the nearby towns of [[Marlborough, Wiltshire|Cunetio]], [[Wanborough, Wiltshire|Durocornovium]] and the villas and farms around [[Devizes]] and visited Avebury and its surrounding prehistoric monuments via a newly constructed road.<ref name="GroupedRef1"/> Evidence of visitors at the monument during this period has been found in the form of Roman-era pottery sherds uncovered from the ditch.<ref>[[#Bur79|Burl 1979]]. pp. 31–32.</ref>

=== Early Mediaeval period ===
In the [[Early Middle Ages]], which began in the 5th century following the collapse of Roman rule, [[Anglo-Saxon]] tribes from continental Europe [[Anglo-Saxon migration|migrated to southern Britain]], where they may have come into conflict with the Britons already settled there. Aubrey Burl suggested the possibility that a small group of British warriors may have used Avebury as a fortified site to defend themselves from Anglo-Saxon attack. He gained this idea from etymological evidence, suggesting that the site may have been called ''weala-dic'', meaning "moat of the Britons", in [[Old English]], the language of the Anglo-Saxons.<ref>[[#Bur79|Burl 1979]]. p. 31.</ref>

The early Anglo-Saxon settlers followed [[Anglo-Saxon paganism|their own pagan religion]] which venerated a selection of deities, the most notable of whom were apparently [[Woden]] and [[Thunor]]. It is known from etymological sources that they associated many prehistoric sites in the Wiltshire area with their gods, for instance within a ten-mile of radius of Avebury there are four sites that were apparently named after Woden: [[Wansdyke]] ("Wodin's ditch"), [[Adam's Grave|Wodin's Barrow]], Waden Hill ("Wodin's Hill)" and perhaps Wanborough (also "Woden's Hill").<ref name="GroupedRef4">[[#Bur79|Burl 1979]]. p. 32.</ref> It is not known if they placed any special religious associations with the Avebury monument, but it remains possible.<ref name="GroupedRef4"/>

During the Early Mediaeval period, there were signs of settlement at Avebury, with a ''[[grubenhaus]]'', a type of timber hut with a sunken floor, being constructed just outside the monument's west bank in the 6th century.<ref name="Burl 1979 33">[[#Bur79|Burl 1979]]. p. 33.</ref> Only a few farmers appeared to have inhabited the area at the time, and they left the Avebury monument largely untouched.<ref name="Burl 1979 33"/> In the 7th and 8th centuries, the Anglo-Saxon peoples began gradually converting to Christianity, and during the 10th century a church was built just west of the monument.<ref name="Burl 1979 33"/>

In 939, the earliest known written record of the monument was made in the form of a charter of [[King Athelstan]] which defined the boundaries of [[Overton, Wiltshire|Overton]], a parish adjacent to Avebury.<ref name="Burl 1979 33"/> In the following century, invading [[Viking]] armies from Denmark came into conflict with Anglo-Saxon groups in the area around Avebury, and it may be that they destroyed Avebury village, for the local prehistoric monument of [[Silbury Hill]] was fortified and used as a defensive position, apparently by a local Anglo-Saxon population attempting to protect themselves from Viking aggression.<ref name="Burl 1979 33"/>

=== Late Mediaeval period ===
[[File:Mediaeval Corpse at Avebury.jpg|thumb|right|The skeletal remains of the man, likely a barber-surgeon, who was killed in an accident whilst trying to topple the stones at Avebury in the early 14th century]]
By the [[Late Middle Ages]], England had been entirely converted to Christianity, and Avebury, being an evidently non-Christian monument, began to be associated with the [[Devil]] in the popular imagination of the locals. The largest stone at the southern entrance became known as the Devil's Chair, the three stones that once formed the Beckhampton Cove became known as the Devil's Quoits and the stones inside the North Circle became known as the Devil's Brand-Irons.<ref>[[#Bur79|Burl 1979]]. p. 36.</ref> At some point in the early 14th century, villagers began to demolish the monument by pulling down the large standing stones and burying them in ready-dug pits at the side, presumably because they were seen as having been erected by the Devil and thereby being in opposition to the village's Christian beliefs.<ref>[[#Bur79|Burl 1979]]. pp. 36–37.</ref> Although it is unknown how this situation came about, archaeologist Aubrey Burl suggests that it might have been at the prompting of the local Christian priest, with the likely contenders being either Thomas Mayn (who served in the village from 1298 to 1319), or John de Hoby (who served from 1319 to 1324).<ref>[[#Bur79|Burl 1979]]. p. 37.</ref>

Archaeologists found [[Barber surgeon of Avebury|a man's body]] under one of the toppled stones in 1938. He had been carrying a leather pouch, in which were three silver coins dated to around 1320–25, as well as a pair of iron scissors and a lancet. From these latter two items, the archaeologists surmised that he had probably been a travelling [[barber-surgeon]] who journeyed between market towns offering his services.<ref>[[#Bur79|Burl 1979]]. p. 39.</ref> It appears that the death of the barber-surgeon prevented the locals from pulling down further stones, perhaps fearing that it had in some way been retribution for toppling them in the first place, enacted by a [[vengeful spirit]] or even the Devil himself.<ref name="Burl 1979. pp. 39-40">[[#Bur79|Burl 1979]]. pp. 39–40.</ref> The event appears to have left a significant influence on the minds of the local villagers, for records show that in the 18th and 19th centuries there were still legends being told in the community about a man being crushed by a falling stone.<ref name="Burl 1979. pp. 39-40"/>

Soon after the toppling of many of the stones, the [[Black Death]] hit the village in 1349, almost halving the population. Those who survived focused on their agricultural duties to grow food and stay alive. As a result, they would not have had the time or manpower to once more attempt to demolish any part of the non-Christian monument, even if they had wanted to.<ref>[[#Bur79|Burl 1979]]. p. 40.</ref>

=== Early Modern period ===

{{multiple image
| align             = right
| image1            = John Aubrey.jpg
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| image2            = Stukeley William.jpg
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| footer            = The antiquarians [[John Aubrey]] and [[William Stukeley]] are responsible for initiating modern study of the Avebury monument.
}}

It was in the [[Early modern Britain|Early modern period]] that Avebury was first recognised as an [[antiquities|antiquity]] that warranted investigation. Around 1541, [[John Leland (antiquary)|John Leland]], the librarian and chaplain to King [[Henry VIII]] travelled through Wiltshire and made note of the existence of Avebury and its neighbouring prehistoric monuments.<ref>[[#Bur79|Burl 1979]]. pp. 40–41.</ref> Despite this, Avebury remained relatively unknown to anyone but locals and when the antiquarian [[William Camden]] published his Latin language guide to British antiquities, ''[[Britannia (Camden)|Britannia]]'', in 1586, he made no mention of it. He rectified this for his English language version in 1610, but even in this he only included a fleeting reference to the monument at "Abury", believing it to have been "an old camp".<ref name="Burl 1979. p. 41">[[#Bur79|Burl 1979]]. p. 41.</ref> In 1634, it was once more referenced, this time in [[John Harington (writer)|Sir John Harington]]'s notes to the ''[[Orlando Furioso]]'' opera;<ref name="Burl 1979. p. 41"/> however, further antiquarian investigation was prevented by the outbreak of the [[English Civil War]] (1642–51), which was waged between the [[Roundhead|Parliamentarians]] and [[Cavalier|Royalists]], with one of the battles in the conflict taking place five miles away from Avebury at [[Roundway Down and Covert|Roundway Down]].<ref name="Burl 1979. p. 41"/>

With the war over, a new edition of the ''Britannia'' was published in 1695, which described the monument at "Aubury" in more detail. This entry had been written by the antiquarian and writer [[John Aubrey]], who privately made many notes about Avebury and other prehistoric monuments which remained unpublished. Aubrey had first encountered the site whilst out hunting in 1649 and, in his own words, had been "wonderfully surprised at the sight of those vast stones of which I had never heard before."<ref name="Burl 1979. pp. 41-43">[[#Bur79|Burl 1979]]. pp. 41–43.</ref> Hearing of Avebury and taking an interest in it, [[Charles II of England|King Charles II]] commanded Aubrey to come to him and describe the site, which he did in July 1663. The two subsequently travelled to visit it together on the monarch's trip to [[Bath, Somerset]], a fortnight later, and the site further captivated the king's interest, who commanded Aubrey to dig underneath the stones in search of any human burials. Aubrey, however, never undertook the king's order.<ref name="Burl 1979. pp. 41-43"/> In September 1663, Aubrey began making a more systematic study of the site, producing a plan that has proved invaluable for later archaeologists, for it contained reference to many standing stones that would soon after be destroyed by locals.<ref>[[#Bur79|Burl 1979]]. pp. 43–45.</ref>

In the latter part of the 17th and then the 18th centuries, destruction at Avebury reached its peak, possibly influenced by the rise of [[Puritanism]] in the village, a fundamentalist form of [[Protestant Christianity]] that vehemently denounced things considered to be "pagan", which would have included pre-Christian monuments like Avebury.<ref name="Burl 1979. p. 46">[[#Bur79|Burl 1979]]. p. 46.</ref> The majority of the standing stones that had been a part of the monument for thousands of years were smashed up to be used as building material for the local area. This was achieved by lighting a fire to heat the sarsen, then pouring cold water on it to create weaknesses in the rock, and finally smashing at the [[fire-cracked rock]] with a [[sledgehammer]].<ref name="Burl 1979. p. 46"/>

[[File:Stukeley fire at Avebury.JPG|thumb|left|William Stukeley's drawing of the stones being broken up by fire<ref name="Brown">Brown (2000), p.&nbsp;179.</ref>]]

In 1719, the antiquarian [[William Stukeley]] visited the site, where he witnessed the destruction being undertaken by the local people. Between then and 1724 he visited the village and its monument six times, sometimes staying for two or three weeks at the Catherine Wheel Inn. In this time, he made meticulous plans of the site, considering it to be a "British Temple", and believing it to having been fashioned by the [[druids]], the Iron Age priests of north-western Europe, in the year 1859 BC. He developed the idea that the two Inner Circles were a temple to the moon and to the sun, respectively, and eventually came to believe that Avebury and its surrounding monuments were a landscaped portrayal of the [[Trinity]], thereby backing up his erroneous ideas that the ancient druids had been followers of a religion very much like Christianity.<ref>[[#Bur79|Burl 1979]]. pp. 47–49.</ref>

Stukeley was disgusted by the destruction of the sarsen stones in the monument, and named those local farmers and builders who were responsible.<ref>[[#Bur79|Burl 1979]]. p. 49.</ref> He remarked that "this stupendous fabric, which for some thousands of years, had brav'd the continual assaults of weather, and by the nature of it, when left to itself, like the [[pyramids]] of [[Egypt]], would have lasted as long as the [[globe]], hath fallen a sacrifice to the wretched ignorance and avarice of a little village unluckily plac'd within it."<ref name="present">{{cite web|url=http://www.avebury-web.co.uk/the_shame.html|title=The shame of Avebury|work=Avebury a present from the past|access-date=16 June 2009| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090620164628/http://www.avebury-web.co.uk/the_shame.html| archive-date= 20 June 2009 | url-status= live}}</ref>

Stukeley published his findings and theories in a book, ''Abury, a Temple of the British Druids'' (1743), in which he intentionally falsified some of the measurements he had made of the site to better fit his theories about its design and purpose.<ref>[[#Bur79|Burl 1979]]. p. 51.</ref> Meanwhile, the Reverend Thomas Twining had also published a book about the monument, ''Avebury in Wiltshire, the Remains of a Roman Work'', which had been published in 1723. Whereas Stukeley claimed that Avebury and related prehistoric monuments were the creations of the druids, Twining thought that they had been constructed by the later Romans, justifying his conclusion on the fact that Roman writers like [[Julius Caesar]] and [[Tacitus]] had not referred to stone circles when discussing the Iron Age Britons, whereas Late Mediaeval historians like [[Geoffrey of Monmouth]] and [[Henry of Huntingdon]] had described these megaliths in their works, and that such monuments must have therefore been constructed between the two sets of accounts.<ref>[[#Bur79|Burl 1979]]. p. 51 and 57.</ref>

=== Victorian period and early 20th century ===

By the beginning of the [[Victorian era]] in 1837, the majority of Neolithic standing stones at Avebury had gone, having been either buried by pious locals in the 14th century or broken up for building materials in the 17th and 18th. Meanwhile, the population of Avebury village was rapidly increasing, leading to further housing being built inside the henge. In the 1870s, to prevent further construction on the site, the wealthy politician and archaeologist [[Sir John Lubbock]] (later created [[Baron Avebury]]) purchased much of the available land in the monument, and encouraged other buyers to build their houses outside rather than within the henge.<ref>[[#Bur79|Burl 1979]]. p. 55.</ref><ref name="vch">{{cite web |last1=Baggs |first1=A.P. |last2=Freeman |first2=Jane |last3=Stevenson |first3=Janet H. |year=1983 |editor-last=Crowley |editor-first=D.A. |title=Victoria County History: Wiltshire: Vol 12 pp86-105 – Parishes: Avebury |url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/wilts/vol12/pp86-105 |access-date=15 October 2017 |website=British History Online |publisher=University of London}}</ref>

Archaeologist [[Alexander Keiller (archaeologist)|Alexander Keiller]] developed an interest in Avebury and West Kennet Avenue while conducting excavations at nearby Windmill Hill. Keiller decided that the best way to preserve Avebury was to purchase it in its entirety. Keiller was heir to the [[Keiller's marmalade|James Keiller and Son]] marmalade business and was able to use his wealth to acquire much of the site between 1924 and 1939.<ref name="vch"/> He also acquired [[Windmill Hill, Avebury|Windmill Hill]], as much of the Kennet Avenue as possible, and the nearby [[Avebury Manor]], where he was to live until his death in 1955.<ref>[[#Bur79|Burl 1979]]. pp. 55–56.</ref>

=== Post World War II ===
Keiller sold some of his property to the [[National Trust]] in 1943, and they went on to acquire further farmland in the area. The National Trust had a policy to demolish houses within the circle as they fell vacant, but by 1976, those remaining were allowed to stand.<ref name="vch"/>

The Stonehenge and Avebury landscape became a designated [[UNESCO World Heritage]] site in 1986.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Avebury World Heritage Site |url=https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/avebury/avebury-world-heritage-site/ |access-date=2024-02-29 |website=English Heritage}}</ref>

The question of access to the site at certain times of the year has been controversial and the National Trust, who steward and protect the site, have held discussions with a number of groups.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sacred Sites, Contested Rights/Rites project:Paganisms, Archaeological Monuments, and Access |url=http://www.sacredsites.org.uk/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161013192820/http://www.sacredsites.org.uk/ |archive-date=13 October 2016 |access-date=5 December 2016}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Avebury Sacred Sites Forum |url=http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-vh/w-visits/w-findaplace/w-avebury/w-avebury-guardians.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060518162554/http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-vh/w-visits/w-findaplace/w-avebury/w-avebury-guardians.htm |archive-date=18 May 2006 |access-date=12 April 2006}}</ref> The National Trust have discouraged [[commercialism]] around the site, preventing many souvenir shops from opening up in an attempt to keep the area free from the "customary gaudiness that infiltrates most famous places" in the United Kingdom.<ref>[[Avebury#Bur79|Burl 1979]]. p. 16.</ref> Two shops have been opened in the village catering to the tourist market, one of which is the National Trust's own shop. The other, known as The Henge Shop, focuses on selling [[New Age]] paraphernalia and books.<ref>[[Avebury#Bla07|Blain and Wallis 2007]]. p. 65.</ref>

By the late 1970s the site was being visited by around a quarter of a million visitors annually.<ref>[[Avebury#Bur79|Burl 1979]]. p. 17.</ref>

On 1 April 2014, as part of an [[April Fools' Day]] prank, the [[National Trust]] claimed through social media<ref>{{cite web |date=1 April 2014 |title=Twitter / paultheranger: Just seen National Trust moving |url=https://twitter.com/paulos82/status/450921673156341760 |access-date=20 May 2014 |publisher=Twitter.com}}</ref> and a press release<ref>{{cite web |date=2013-10-17 |title=National Trust's South West Blog – Putting the clock forward at Avebury Stone Circle |url=http://www.ntsouthwest.co.uk/2014/04/putting-the-clock-forward-at-avebury-stone-circle/ |access-date=20 May 2014 |publisher=Ntsouthwest.co.uk}}</ref> that their rangers were moving one of the stones in order to realign the circle with [[British Summer Time]]. The story was picked up by local media<ref>{{cite web |date=1 April 2014 |title=National Trust reacts to clocks changing with stone move at ancient Avebury World Heritage Site |url=http://www.westerngazette.co.uk/National-Trust-reacts-clocks-changing-stone/story-20891725-detail/story.html |access-date=20 May 2014 |work=Western Gazette}}</ref> and ''[[The Guardian]]''{{'}}s "Best of the Web".<ref>{{cite web |date=1 April 2014 |title=April Fools' Day jokes 2014 – the best on the web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2014/apr/01/april-fools-jokes-2014-best-web |access-date=20 May 2014 |work=The Guardian}}</ref>

== Contemporary Paganism and the New Age movement ==
[[File:Avebury, West Kennet Avenue, Wiltshire, UK - Diliff.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|right|West Kennet Avenue]]
Avebury has been adopted as a sacred site by many adherents of [[contemporary Pagan]] religions such as [[Neo-Druidism|Druidry]], [[Wicca]] and [[Germanic neopaganism|Heathenry]]. These worshippers view the monument as a "living temple" which they associate with the ancestors, as well as with [[genii loci]], or spirits of place.<ref>[[Avebury#Bla07|Blain and Wallis 2007]]. pp. 41 and 48.</ref> Typically, such Pagan rites at the site are performed publicly, and attract crowds of curious visitors to witness the event, particularly on major days of Pagan celebration such as the [[summer solstice]].<ref>[[Avebury#Bla07|Blain and Wallis 2007]]. p. 55.</ref>

Druidic rites held at Avebury are commonly known as ''gorseddau'' and involve participants invoking ''[[Awen]]'' (a Druidic concept meaning inspiration), with an [[eisteddfod]] section during which poems, songs and stories are publicly performed. The Druid Prayer composed by [[Iolo Morganwg]] in the 18th century and the later Druid Vow are typically recited. One particular group, known as the Gorsedd of Bards of Caer Abiri, focus almost entirely upon holding their rites at the prehistoric site,<ref>[[Avebury#Bla07|Blain and Wallis 2007]]. p. 48.</ref> referring to it as '''Caer Abiri'''.<ref>{{cite web |last=Greywolf |title=Gorsedd Caer Abiri |url=http://www.druidry.co.uk/bdocaerabiri.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120808075032/http://www.druidry.co.uk/bdocaerabiri.html |archive-date=8 August 2012 |access-date=15 August 2012 |publisher=Druidry.co.uk}}</ref> In their original ceremony, composed by [[Philip Shallcrass]] of the [[British Druid Order]] in 1993, those assembled divide into two groups, one referred to as the God party and the other as the Goddess party. Those with the Goddess party go to the "Devil's Chair" at the southern entrance to the Avebury henge, where a woman representing the spirit guardian of the site and the Goddess who speaks through her sits in the chair-like cove in the southern face of the sarsen stone. Meanwhile, those following the God party process around the outer bank of the henge to the southern entrance, where they are challenged as to their intent and give offerings (often of flowers, fruit, bread or [[mead]]) to the Goddess's representative.<ref>[[Avebury#Bla07|Blain and Wallis 2007]]. pp. 64–65.</ref>

Due to the fact that various Pagan, and in particular Druid groups, perform their ceremonies at the site, a rota has been established, whereby the Loyal Arthurian Warband (LAW), the Secular Order of Druids (SOD) and the Glastonbury Order of Druids (GOD) use it on Saturdays, whilst the [[Druid Network]] and the [[British Druid Order]] (BDO) instead plan their events for Sundays.<ref>[[Avebury#Bla07|Blain and Wallis 2007]]. p. 64.</ref>

Alongside its usage as a sacred site amongst Pagans, the prehistoric monument has become a popular attraction for those holding [[New Age]] beliefs, with some visitors using [[dowsing rods]] around the site in the belief that they might be able to detect [[psychic]] emanations.<ref>[[Avebury#Bur79|Burl 1979]]. p. 18.</ref>

== Alexander Keiller Museum ==<!-- Alexander Keiller Museum, Avebury redirects here -->
[[File:Avebury - Tithe Barn - geograph.org.uk - 723187.jpg|thumb|right|The Barn Gallery of the Alexander Keiller Museum]]
The '''Alexander Keiller Museum''' features [[prehistoric]] and later artefacts collected from across the Avebury landscape. As well as financing excavations at Avebury, Alexander Keiller demolished some newer structures and built the museum now bearing his name. The museum is housed in the 17th-century stables, and is operated by [[English Heritage]] and the [[National Trust]]. The nearby 17th-century [[threshing]] barn houses a permanent exhibit gallery about Avebury and its history.{{Cn|date=July 2022}}

The museum was first built to house Keiller's collection of artefacts from Windmill Hill and Avebury, with artefacts brought to the site from his Charles Street, London, address in 1938. The collections feature artefacts mostly of [[Neolithic]] and [[Early Bronze Age]] date, with other items from the [[History of Anglo-Saxon England|Anglo-Saxon]] and later periods. The museum also features the skeleton of a child nicknamed "[[Charlie (skeleton)|Charlie]]", found in a ditch at [[Windmill Hill, Avebury]]. The [[Council of British Druid Orders]] requested that the skeleton be re-buried in 2006,<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://heritage-key.com/site/alexander-keiller-museum |title=Heritage Key: Alexander Keiller Museum |access-date=19 May 2010 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120712011600/http://heritage-key.com/site/alexander-keiller-museum |archive-date=12 July 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref> but in April 2010 the decision was made to keep it on public view. From the mid 1960s to her death in 1978, Faith Vatcher was the curator of the museum. She was heavily involved in the excavations on the western side of the henge in 1969 and in what is now the modern day visitor car park, in 1976. The museum collections are owned by the [[Department for Culture, Media and Sport]], are managed by English Heritage and are on loan to the National Trust.<ref>{{cite web|title=Alexander Keiller Museum, Avebury|url=http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/avebury-alexander-keiller-museum/|publisher=English Heritage|access-date=18 March 2016}}</ref>

== Controversial theories ==
Various non-archaeologists as well as [[Pseudoarchaeology|pseudoarchaeologists]] have interpreted Avebury and its neighbouring prehistoric monuments differently from academics. These interpretations have been defined by professional archaeologist Aubrey Burl as being "more phony than factual", and in many cases "entirely untenable".<ref>[[Avebury#Bur79|Burl 1979]]. p. 03.</ref> Such inaccurate ideas originated with [[William Stukeley]] in the late 17th century, who believed that Avebury had been built by the [[druids]], priests of the Iron Age peoples of north-western Europe, who were persecuted by Roman invaders. Political events such as the Acts of Union 1707 and the Hanoverian succession of 1714 motivated British nationalism and Stukeley's antiquarian ideals. In the 1720s scholarly opinion was largely based on the idea that the stones were Roman works. Most believed that ancient Britons were "too unsophisticated" to construct an intricate architectural structure. Archaeologists since then have identified the monument as having been constructed two thousand years before the Iron Age, during the Neolithic.<ref>[[Avebury#Bur79|Burl 1979]]. p. 07.</ref>

[[Inigo Jones]] was the first to suggest that the stones were built by Romans in his book ''The Most Notable Antiquity of Great Britain, Vulgarly called Stone-Heng on Salisbury Plain'' (1665). The book consisted of architectonic designs, depicting the broken "Roman" construction. The English diarist [[Thomas Hearne (antiquarian)|Thomas Hearne]] was unsure if the stones had been built by the Romans or the ancient Britons, but Stukeley was confident that the Avebury and associated sites were much older than the Roman period.

Stukeley determined that by gathering a mass of information about all known stone circles and other archaeological sites, one could build a typology and provide an accurate understanding of prehistoric sites. He formed a typology of "Celtic" stone temples, attempting to associate the monuments with the druids. In his book, ''History of the Temples of the Ancient Celts'', he asserted the common characteristics between all stone structures in Britain. In doing so, he wished to advance the Avebury and Stonehenge were developed by ancient inhabitants of Britain.{{Cn|date=July 2022}}

Stukeley most likely shared his theories with his friends within the Antiquarian Society or the Roman Knights. He was motivated in proving that the Druids had formed the stones because he could prove that ancient Britons were well-informed about science, disproving sceptics like Hearne. Stukeley was interested in proving an association with his antiquarian work and the Avebury stones to provide additional information on the holy doctrine of the Trinity. He believed that the snake illustrated on the stones represented the Messiah and the circle meant "divine," a symbol for God. In the remaining part of the trinity, wings, which were not depicted on the stones, represent the holy spirit. He concluded that the absence of wings on the pattern of stones at Avebury was because of the challenge of depicting them on stones. Terence Meaden held the theory that Neolithic inhabitants carved faces in the stones.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Boyd Haycock |first=David |url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/875617235 |title=William Stukeley : science, religion and archaeology in eighteenth-century England |date=2002 |publisher=The Boydell Press |isbn=0-85115-864-1 |oclc=875617235}}</ref>[[File:Panorama of Avebury Henge.jpg|thumb|upright=1.7|Panoramic view of the southern end of the monument]]

Following Stukeley, other writers produced inaccurate theories about how Avebury was built and by whom. The Reverend R. Weaver, in his ''The Pagan Altar'' (1840) argued that both Avebury and Stonehenge were built by [[Phoenicia]]ns, an ancient seafaring people whom many Victorian Britons believed had first brought civilisation to the island.<ref>[[Avebury#Wea40|Weaver 1840]].</ref> [[James Fergusson (architect)|James Fergusson]] disagreed, and in his ''Rude Stone Monuments in All Countries'' (1872) put forward the idea that the megalithic monument had been constructed in the Early Mediaeval period to commemorate the final battle of [[King Arthur]], and that Arthur's slain warriors had been buried there.<ref>[[Avebury#Fer72|Fergusson 1872]].</ref> W. S. Blacket introduced a third idea, arguing in his ''Researches into the Lost Histories of America'' (1883) that it was [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Native Americans]] from the [[Appalachian Mountains]] who, in the ancient period crossed the Atlantic Ocean to build the great megalithic monuments of southern Britain.<ref>[[Avebury#Bla83|Blacket 1883]].</ref>

The prominent modern Druid [[Ross Nichols]], the founder of the [[Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids]], believed that there was an astrological axis connecting Avebury to the later megalithic site at Stonehenge, and that this axis was flanked on one side by [[West Kennet Long Barrow]], which he believed symbolised the Mother Goddess, and [[Silbury Hill]], which he believed to be a symbol of masculinity.<ref>[[Avebury#Nic90|Nichols 1990]]. pp. 21–25.</ref>

[[Alexander Thom]] suggested that Avebury was constructed with a site-to-site alignment with [[Deneb]].<ref name="Thom1967">{{cite book |last=Thom |first=Alexander |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UviAAAAAMAAJ |title=Megalithic Sites in Britain |publisher=Oxford Univ Pr on Demand |year=1967 |isbn=978-0-19-813148-9 |pages=100}}</ref> Researcher and author Paul Devereux deemed the monuments in the Avebury landscape to be associated with one another by "engineered sightlines" towards Silbury Hill. He believed that the terracing towards the top of the mound indicated a connection between the complex constructions in the area. Environmental evidence from buried soil under Silbury Hill showed no evidence of soil [[Disturbance (archaeology)|disturbance]]. This could signify that if the sightline Devereux suggested was used, it was very late in the landscape at Avebury.<ref name="x38"/>

Avebury's association with crop circles invokes the theory of [[ley line]]s. Ley lines are commonly seen as tracks on the land, intersecting at various monuments and landmarks, supposedly connecting "earth energies". They are recalled to be ancient paths that connected sacred spaces. Those who study crop circles claim that the circles are formed by extraterrestrial creatures trying to warn the world about events such as climate change or people trying to communicate from an alternate universe. Others believe in natural methods of explaining the phenomena, such as vortexes or ball lightning. There are a great number of crop circles in Wiltshire, including Stonehenge and Avebury. Crop circle season often begins at the end of May and ends by September, when the harvesting of the crops cuts away the circular patterns.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Stables |first=Daniel |date=2021-08-23 |title=England's crop circle controversy |url=https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20210822-englands-crop-circle-controversy |website=bbc.com |language=en}}</ref>

== See also ==
* ''[[Children of the Stones]]'' – a television series filmed at Avebury
* [[List of largest monoliths]]
* [[Megalith]]
* [[Petrosomatoglyph]] – symbolism of megaliths

== References ==

=== Footnotes ===
{{Reflist|colwidth=30em}}

=== Bibliography ===
Academic books
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite book |last1=Adkins |first1=Roy |last2=Adkins |first2=Lesley |last3=Leitch |first3=Victoria |name-list-style=amp |year=2008 |title=The Handbook of British Archaeology ''(Revised Edition)'' |location=London |publisher=Constable |isbn=978-1-84529-606-3 |ref=Adk08}}
* {{cite book |last=Barrett |first=John C. |year=1994 |title=Fragments from Antiquity: An Archaeology of Social Life in Britain, 2900–1200 BC |location=Oxford, UK and Cambridge, USA |publisher=Blackwell |isbn=978-0-631-18954-1 |ref=Bar94}}
* {{cite book |last1=Blain |first1=Jenny |last2=Wallis |first2=Robert |name-list-style=amp |year=2007 |title=Sacred Sites Contested Rites/Rights: Pagan Engagements with Archaeological Monuments |location=Brighton and Portland |publisher=Sussex Academic Press |isbn=978-1-84519-130-6 |ref=Bla07}}
* {{cite book |last=Burl |first=Aubrey |year=1979 |title=Prehistoric Avebury |location=New Haven and London |publisher=Yale University Press |isbn=0-300-02368-5 |ref=Bur79 |author-link=Aubrey Burl |url=https://archive.org/details/prehistoricavebu00burl}}
* {{cite book |last=Burl |first=Aubrey |year=2002 |author-link=Aubrey Burl |title=Prehistoric Avebury |location=New Haven and London |publisher=Yale University Press |ref=Bur02 |edition=2nd}}
* {{cite book |last=Bramwell |first=Peter |year=2009 |title=[[Pagan Themes in Modern Children's Fiction: Green Man, Shamanism, Earth Mysteries]] |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |location=New York |isbn=978-0-230-21839-0}}
* {{cite book |last1=Gillings |first1=Mark |title=Avebury |last2=Pollard |first2=Joshua |author-link2=Joshua Pollard |publisher=Gerald Duckworth & Co. |year=2004 |isbn=0-7156-3240-X |place=London |ref=Gil04}}
* {{cite book |title=The Pagan Religions of the Ancient British Isles: Their Nature and Legacy |last=Hutton |first=Ronald |year=1991 |publisher=Blackwell |location=Oxford and Cambridge, Massachusetts |isbn=978-0-631-17288-8 |ref=Hut91 |author-link=Ronald Hutton |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780631172888}}
* {{cite book |author-link1=Peter Ucko |title=Avebury Reconsidered: from the 1660s to the 1990s |last1=Ucko |first1=Peter |last2=Hunter |first2=M. |last3=Clark |first3=A.J. |last4=David |first4=A. |year=1991 |publisher=Unwin Hyman |ref=Uck91}}
* {{cite book |last1=Pollard |first1=Joshua |author-link1=Joshua Pollard |last2=Reynolds |first2=Andrew |author-link2=Andrew Reynolds (archaeologist) |year=2002 |title=Avebury: Biography of a Landscape |location=Stroud, Gloucestershire |publisher=The History Press |isbn=978-0-7524-1957-2 |ref=Pol02}}
* {{cite book |last=Malone |first=Caroline |author-link=Caroline Malone |year=1989 |title=Avebury |publisher=B.T. Batsford and English Heritage |location=London |isbn=0-7134-5960-3 |ref=Mal89}}
* {{cite book |first=Michael Parker |author-link=Mike Parker Pearson |title=Bronze Age Britain ''(Revised Edition)'' |last=Pearson |year=2005 |publisher=B.T. Batsford and English Heritage |location=London |isbn=978-0-7134-8849-4 |ref=Par05}}
{{refend}}

Excavation reports
{{Refbegin}}
* {{cite book |last1=Gillings, Mark |last2=Pollard, Joshua |last3=Peterson, Rick |last4=Wheatley, David |year=2008 |title=Landscape of the Megaliths: excavation and fieldwork on the Avebury monuments 1997–2003 |location=Oxford |publisher=Oxford Bows |isbn=978-1-84217-313-8 |ref=Gil08 |author2-link=Joshua Pollard }}
* {{cite book |last=Smith |first=I. |year=1965 |title=Windmill Hill and Avebury: Excavations by Alexander Keiller 1925–1939 |publisher=Clarendon Press |location=Oxford |ref=Smi65}}
{{refend}}

Academic articles

{{refbegin}}
* {{cite journal |last=Holgate |first=Robin |year=1987 |title=Neolithic settlement patterns at Avebury, Wiltshire |url=http://antiquity.ac.uk/ant/061/Ant0610259.htm |journal=Antiquity |volume=61 |issue=232 |pages=259–263 |doi=10.1017/S0003598X0005208X |s2cid=163100367 |ref=Hol87 |access-date=27 March 2011 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20121222213455/http://antiquity.ac.uk/ant/061/Ant0610259.htm |archive-date=22 December 2012 |url-status=dead|url-access=subscription }}
* {{cite journal |last1=Pitts |first1=Michael W. |last2=Whittle |first2=A. |name-list-style=amp |year=1992 |title=Development and date of Avebury |journal=Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society |volume=58 |pages=203–212 |ref=Pit92 |doi=10.1017/s0079497x00004151 |s2cid=163758629}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Pollard |first1=Joshua |author-link1=Joshua Pollard |last2=Gillings |first2=Mark |year=1998 |title=Romancing the stones: towards a virtual and elemental Avebury |journal=Archaeological Dialogues |volume=5 |pages=143–164 |ref=Pol98 |doi=10.1017/s1380203800001276 |s2cid=145291018}}
* {{cite journal |last=Richards |first=Colin |year=1996 |title=Monuments as Landscape: creating the centre of the world in late Neolithic Orkney |jstor=125070 |journal=World Archaeology |volume=28 |pages=190–208 |ref=Ric96 |issue=2 |doi=10.1080/00438243.1996.9980340}}
* {{cite journal |last=Watson |first=Aaron |year=2001 |title=Composing Avebury |jstor=827904 |journal=World Archaeology |volume=33 |pages=296–314 |ref=Wat01 |issue=2 |doi=10.1080/00438240120079307 |s2cid=219609029}}
{{refend}}

Pagan, New Age and alternative archaeological sources

{{refbegin}}
* {{cite book |last=Blacket |first=W.S. |title=Researches into the Lost Histories of America |publisher=Trübner & Co |location=London |year=1883 |ref=Bla83}}
* {{cite book |last=Brown |first=Peter Lancaster |title=Megaliths, Myths and Men |publisher=Courier Dover Publications |year=2000 |edition=illustrated |isbn=978-0-486-41145-3 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bHMV2-ZoUd8C&q=destruction+of+megaliths&pg=PA181}}
* {{cite book |last=Dames |first=Michael |title=The Avebury Cycle ''(second edition)'' |publisher=Thames & Hudson |location=London |year=1996 |isbn=978-0-500-27886-4}}
* {{cite book |last=Fergusson |first=James |title=Rude Stone Monuments in All Countries |publisher=John Murray |location=London |year=1872 |ref=Fer72}}
* {{cite book |last=Weaver |first=R. |title=The Pagan Altar and Jehovah's Temple |publisher=Thomas Ward and Co. |year=1840 |ref=Wea40}}
* {{cite book |last=Nichols |first=Ross |author-link=Ross Nichols |title=The Book of Druidry |publisher=The Aquarian Press |location=Wellingborough, Northamptonshire |year=1990 |isbn=0-85030-900-X |ref=Nic90}}
{{refend}}

== External links ==
{{Commons}}
{{Wikisource1911Enc|Avebury}}
* [https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/avebury Avebury information at the National Trust]
* [https://www.bbc.co.uk/wiltshire/content/articles/2008/08/08/day_out_avebury_marlborough_1982_film_feature.shtml ''Day Out: Avebury and Marlborough''] – A 30-minute BBC TV programme made in 1983 of a day spent exploring Avebury and Marlborough
* [https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/avebury-alexander-keiller-museum/ Alexander Keiller Museum] – English Heritage

{{World Heritage Sites in the United Kingdom}}
{{European Standing Stones}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Megalithic monuments in England]]
[[Category:National Trust properties in Wiltshire]]
[[Category:Stone Age sites in Wiltshire]]
[[Category:Scheduled monuments in Wiltshire]]
[[Category:Archaeological sites in Wiltshire]]
[[Category:Henges in England]]
[[Category:Protected areas of Wiltshire]]
[[Category:World Heritage Sites in England]]
[[Category:Stone circles in Wiltshire]]