Avebury Stone Circle in Wiltshire Village

The Wiltshire village of Avebury is home to the largest prehistoric stone circle in Britain and the most popular megalithic site after Stonehenge.

Like its more famous counterpart, the monuments of Avebury were constructed as early as 3000 BC and have been designated a World Heritage Site.

The ditch and stone circles of Avebury were constructed between 2600 and 2400 BC, which is around the same time as the first phase of Stonehenge. Experts think it would have taken as much as 1.5 million man-hours to construct the bank and ditch and place the sarsen stones. Phases of construction are not known, but the outer circle may have been a later addition. The West Kennet Avenue, a ceremonial approach to the site, probably dates from about 2300 BC.

As originally constructed, Avebury Henge consisted of a large stone circle around the inside the bank and ditch, with two smaller inner circles. There were two ceremonial avenues: the West Kennet Avenue (made of 100 pairs of stones), entering on the south side; and the Beckhampton Avenue, entering the west causeway. Inside the Northern Inner Circle was the Cove, which may have been aligned on the moon's northernmost rising point. The Southern Inner Circle had a great Obelisk in the center (now lost).

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