Published: August 13th 2006July 29th 2006
Stonehenge
Stonehenge is the most important prehistoric monument in the whole of Britain and has attracted visitors from earliest times.
Stonehenge
I think there is not much I need to say about famous Stonehenge. It is one of the worlds and certainly UK's most famous prehistoric site. Archaeologists assume that the stones were erected some 2,300 BC, although parts of the site are actually even older than that.
I think what most people like about Stonehenge is that nobody really knows why it was built, and I think that's probably always going to be the case - it's a bloody great mystery
Geoffrey Wainwright, September 2008
Stonehenge (English Heritage)
Avebury
Avebury features the largest prehistoric stone circle in the world. The impressive site consists of a large henge and several stone circles. This fine Neolithic monuments dates back to around 2800 BC. This makes it older than Stonehenge which is located some 30km away.
The surviving structure includes massive earthworks; a ditch and a henge with a diameter of more than 400m. Within this henge there are several stone circles, the larger one with a diameter of more than 300m. The stones, each weighing up to 40 tonnes, were not dressed as the ones at Stonehenge. Today, only a fraction of the original stones remains. During the last few few hundred years many of the stones were broken up. Still, the remaining and re-erected stones offer an impressive sight.
Originally there were two
Stonehenge
It stands as a timeless monument to the people who built it.
More information on Avebury can be found here.
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Avebury
Avebury consists of a large henge and several stone circles.
Avebury
It is one of the largest Neolithic monuments in Europe and dates back around 5,000 years which makes it older than the megalithic stages of Stonehenge.
Avebury
Most of the surviving structure consists of earthwork, consisting of a massive ditch and external bank henge some 420 metres in diameter.
Avebury
Within the henge is a great Outer Circle constituting prehistory's largest stone circle with a diameter of 330 metres.
Avebury
Nearer the middle of the monument are two other, separate stone circles. The Northern inner ring measures 98 metres in diameter, although only two of its standing stones remain with two further, fallen ones. The Southern inner ring was 108 metres in diameter before its destruction.
Avebury
The North and South Circles were erected around 2800 BC, followed by the Outer Circle and henge around two hundred years later.
Avebury
It has been calculated that the area occupied by the stone circle at Stonehenge would fit into the outer stone circle at Avebury around 130 times.
Avebury
Sadly the Avebury monuments have suffered greatly at the hands of the more recent inhabitants of the area.
Avebury
It is estimated that the henge originally contained in excess of 600 stones but so many have been destroyed that only 76 of them remain.
Silbury Hill
Silbury Hill was built about 4,600 years ago. 40 metres high, it is the largest prehistoric mound in Europe.
Postcard shot
Silbury Hill, Avebury and Stonehenge - all three sites can be found in county Wiltshire, England
Stonehenge
The stonehenge that we see today is the final stage that was completed about 3500 years ago.
Stonehenge
The first Stonehenge was a large earthwork or Henge, comprising a ditch and a bank. It was probably built as early as 3,000 BC.
Stonehenge
The second stage of Stonehenge started around 2,100 BC. More than 80 bluestones - some weighing 4 tonnes - were transported to the site. Once at the site, these stones were set up in the centre to form an incomplete double circle.
Stonehenge
The third stage of Stonehenge, about 2,000 BC, saw the arrival of the Sarsen stones. The largest of the Sarsen stones transported to Stonehenge weigh 50 tonnes. Modern calculations show that it would have taken 500 men using leather ropes to pull one stone, with an extra 100 men needed to lay huge rollers in front of the sledge.
Stonehenge
"I think what most people like about Stonehenge is that nobody really knows why it was built, and I think that's probably always going to be the case - it's a bloody great mystery" Geoffrey Wainwright, September 2008
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