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Avebury with Silbury Hill, Wiltshire, 1985. Avebury’s great earthwork and stone circles were constructed by Neolithic and Bronze Age Britons, probably in four stages between 3000 and 1500 BC. The larger outer trench and Great Circle of stones (once numbering about 100, with some stones weighing up to 60 tons) has a diameter of over 1200 feet. The diameter of the inner circles (now largely destroyed) is some 320 feet. Modern roads now run through its four entrances. Much of the destruction of Avebury’s symmetry occurred in the 18th century when stones were removed or crushed to clear the land for cultivation. Although some stones appear to have been aligned for lunar and solar observance, the main purpose of the complex is thought to have been ceremonial, perhaps for community seasonal rituals.
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