Devonshire's East Devon magazine September October 2018

This scepter'd isle
ENGLAND
AVEBURY
The largest megalithic stone circle in the world
Avebury is an historic site that
more than deserves its UNESCO
world heritage status, it's an absolute
gem that's worthy of a slice of
your precious time.
I suppose the creators of this
Neolithic henge site would be flattered
that some 5,000 plus years
later, their creation would still be
attracting visitors from far and wide.
Avebury comprises of three stone
rings with the outer ring having
a diameter of over 1,000ft. The
Avebury site is part of a larger prehistoric
landscape with Windmill
and Silbury hills and West Kennet
Long Barrow included.
The original purpose of the site
remains unknown, it is supposed
it was a religious site that would be
used for various pagan ceremonial
purposes.
Roll back to the Mesolithic period
some 10-14,000 years ago and
Britain was still connected to
Europe via Doggerland, (the name
given to this land bridge that now
lies under the sea). Britain was
heavily forested and hunter gatherers
roamed the landscape, moving
around in small groups. Archeologists
have found evidence that
there was human activity around
Avebury in the late Mesolithic
period. Abundant flint workings
have been found to the west of
© Detmar Owen
Avebury, confirming that humans
had settled for a long period of
time. Then came the introduction
of pottery in the Neolithic period
(4th century BC), along with the
domestication of various species
of animals. Plants were also being
cultivated, so forests were cleared
and the nature of the land changed
from damp heavy soils to grassland
as grazing animals kept the landscape
open following slash and burn
clearance. The hunter gatherers
settled permanently in areas of the
countryside and gradually by the
end of the Neolithic period farming
was firmly established.
Archaeologists have dated the
construction of Avebury's stone
circles at between 3,000BC and
2,400BC. The amount of effort and
time involved in constructing the
Avebury site proves that a stable
agrarian society existed in order
for there to be sufficient spare time
after carrying out farming activity,
to be able to undertake projects
of this scale. Avebury is actually
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