Avebury is arguably the most important pre-historic henge in Britain and was probably the most important ritualistic site in prehistoric Europe. Without doubt Avebury today is the most impressive remaining pre-historic earthworks in Europe. While Stonehenge was dedicated to the worship of the sun and moon, Avebury seems to have been dedicated to more human themes. The strong sexual symbolism, in evidence in the way the triangular and columnar stones were paired together, in conjunction with the elaborate funeral celebrations, show us that the cycle of birth, life and death was very important in Neolithic times.
Some 2000 years after the first farming community on Windmill Hill, the building of Avebury began. It was the descendants of the Windmill Hill people who created the complex at Avebury, their ancestors having created the long barrow at West Kennet.
There are many suggestions as to why that particular site was chosen but it seems likely that it was for a number of reasons. The area was already well populated, was a lowland plain bounded by the Marlborough downs, along the top of which ran the Ridgeway. With Windmill Hill to the north west, water to the south in the form of the rising River Kennet and in addition important burial sites in the surrounding area the most notable of which is West Kennet, it is hardly surprising that it was ideal.

The initial phase of the construction involved the excavation of the ditches or henge. Using the most basic of implements, such as antlers, shoulder blades of cattle and mass human effort, this massive ditch and bank was constructed.
The ditch and bank enclosed an area of nearly 30 acres and has an average diameter of about 350 m. Some 120,000 cubic meters of solid chalk were dug from the ditch, 60 times more spoil than that dug from the ditch at Stonehenge, and just under half of the 250,000 cubic meters of chalk and soil that had to be excavated from Silbury just to the south of Avebury. Thus the two greatest Neolithic earthworks in Europe came to be within 1 mile of each other.

This skeleton was found during excavations, it is unknown whether the skeleton is male or female.
It has been estimated that originally there were 400 standing stones within the henge and forming the great avenues at Avebury, with the heaviest, the Swindon Stone weighing about 65 tonnes. These stones or sarsens were found on the Marlborough Downs where they lie thickly on the ground. To transport and erect these huge stones in 2400BC required enormous effort.
Leather ropes strapped around huge boulders would have been used to drag the stones onto wooden rollers, then the stones were dragged to their destination. It has been estimated that as much as 1.5 million man-hours would have been needed to construct the bank and ditch and to transport the sarsen stones. Once at their site, a small shallow hole was excavated into the chalk where the stone was to stand. Stakes were set into the chalk opposite the stone so that when the stone was raised into position, it would help to stop the stone from falling over. Other stakes would have been driven into the ground to help guide the stone into its correct upright position. Great care was taken to ensure that the centre of gravity was directly over the hole, a wonderful example being the giant Swindon stone which has balanced on one corner with only a fragment of its bulk underground for 4500 years. Once the stone was raised and held in place by wooden props and ropes, packing material such as chalk blocks and smaller sarsen stones were used to keep it secure.

The outer circle around the inside of the henge originally consisted of about 98 stones, while within this circle was constructed two further circles, both with the same diameter, but used for very different ritualistic purposes. At the centre of the southern circle was placed an obelisk with a height of 6.4 m. In 1723, William Stukeley the antiquarian recorded this huge stone in its fallen position as being 21ft long and 8ft 9 inches in diameter. Unfortunately it was smashed up for building purposes some years later along with the 27 stones which circled the obelisk. The northern circle was made up of a ring of 27 stones (of which only 4 survive today) and possibly a smaller circle inside , surrounding the central cove. Originally formed of three stones, it is believed that the cove may have been roughly aligned on the moon's most northerly rising point. These stones were some of the largest at Avebury weighing over 20 tonnes.
The Avebury temple was in active use for about 700 years. Towards the end of this period (c.2000BC) began the mammoth task of collecting the huge sarsen stones which were used for the construction of Stonehenge.
Over the last 1,000 years Christianity, ignorance and the need for building materials have all combined to destroy many of the standing stones in Avebury. Some of the stones were broken up by means of fire and water and some were buried. In 1325, while aiding the destruction, a man was crushed by a falling megalith, coins in his purse buried with him have dated the approximate date of his death. The objects found with him, pointed scissors and a small iron lancet indicate that he was probably a travelling barber surgeon.

to find out more about Avebury and Stonehenge go to www.stonehenge.co.uk

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