Avebury a present from the past
Wikipedia: Avebury is a Neolithic henge monument containing three stone circles which is located around the village of Avebury in Wiltshire, south west England. Unique amongst megalithic monuments, Avebury contains the largest stone circle in Europe, and is one of the best known prehistoric sites in Britain. It is currently used as both a tourist attraction and a place of religious importance to contemporary Pagans.
Constructed around 2600 BCE,[1] during the Neolithic, or 'New Stone Age', the monument comprises a large henge, surrounded by a bank and a ditch. Inside this henge is a large outer stone circle, with two separate smaller stone circles situated inside the centre of the monument. Its original purpose is not known, although archaeologists believe that it was most likely used for some form of ritual or ceremonial usage. The Avebury monument was a part of a larger prehistoric landscape containing several older monuments nearby, including West Kennet Long Barrow and Silbury Hill.
By the Iron Age, the site had been effectively abandoned, with some evidence of human activity on the site during the Roman occupation. During the Early Mediaeval, a village first began to be built around the monument, which eventually extended into it.
More links:
Avebury Stones - The Avebury Ring
Stones of England - Avebury stone circles and earthworks
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