Day 8: Avebury
-Updated June 18-
On Thursday, we all hopped on the train to Swindon, and from there took the bus to Avebury.
Avebury is a small town with some very significant archaeological sites in and around it, most dating back 5,000 years. Jen and I came here on my last visit, so we tried to see some different sights this time.
The town is just beautiful: the local pub, the Red Lion, has a thatched roof, there is a small visitor centre, and, of course, the best feature is the stone circle which runs through the town. This circle is similar to Stonehenge, but older by about 500 years, the sarcen stones are unshaped, and the circle covers a much broader area, as you will see from the photos below. Also, nice from our viewpoint, Avebury is not the tourist attraction that Stonehenge is, so you can still go touch the sarcen stones, and it is much less crowded.
The Red Lion Pub:
The stones run through the town, and across fields, many of which are populated with sheep. There is also a ditch surrounding the circle of sarcen stones.
Here you can see some of the stones (and sheep):
Next is a close-up picture of one sarcen and a couple of sheep:
Below is a good picture showing the curve of the stones, the ditch, and part of the town.
Here is another good view of the ditch.
Sheep!
Okay, I can't resist, one more picture that shows the sarcen stones, taken near Avebury Manor and Farmhouse, part of a heritage site run by the National Trust.
The real black sheep of the family.
I like this sign. Helpful, isn't it?
Next, we walked out to Windmill Hill. This site is not much to look at, but is of great historical significance, having been the site of the first neolithic community in the area, older even then the sarcen stones, the barrow, and Silbury Hill (which i will tell more about below). There are also a number of unexcavated barrows near Windmill Hill, which were created two or three centuries after the village was abandoned.
As you can see, we went through some interesting terrain getting there.
The approach to Windmill Hill.
And the hill itself. As mentioned, not much to look at.
King of the Castle!
Here is a wacky spire, taken from far away using my zoom. I have no clue of its name/history/purpose.
On my first trip to Avebury, Jen and I got as close as we could to Silbury Hill, but this time we just took pictures from afar. It's pretty easy to make out for miles around, as it is the highest structure in the area. This hill dates back to ~2600 BC, and is a man-made hill approximately 40 m in height, comprised primarily of chalk. There has been speculation as to its purpose, but no definite answers; one popular theory is that it is a burial mound. It represents an estimated 4 million man-hours of work!
A notable omission from this trip was taking in the West Kennet Long Barrow, shown below. This was a burial chamber for many people; fifty bodies have been removed from it, and that from an area that only represents one-sixth of the length of the barrow. It was constructed approximately 5,000 years ago, and was sealed up about a thousand years after that.
On Thursday, we all hopped on the train to Swindon, and from there took the bus to Avebury.
Avebury is a small town with some very significant archaeological sites in and around it, most dating back 5,000 years. Jen and I came here on my last visit, so we tried to see some different sights this time.
The town is just beautiful: the local pub, the Red Lion, has a thatched roof, there is a small visitor centre, and, of course, the best feature is the stone circle which runs through the town. This circle is similar to Stonehenge, but older by about 500 years, the sarcen stones are unshaped, and the circle covers a much broader area, as you will see from the photos below. Also, nice from our viewpoint, Avebury is not the tourist attraction that Stonehenge is, so you can still go touch the sarcen stones, and it is much less crowded.
The Red Lion Pub:
The stones run through the town, and across fields, many of which are populated with sheep. There is also a ditch surrounding the circle of sarcen stones.
Here you can see some of the stones (and sheep):
Next is a close-up picture of one sarcen and a couple of sheep:
Below is a good picture showing the curve of the stones, the ditch, and part of the town.
Here is another good view of the ditch.
Sheep!
Okay, I can't resist, one more picture that shows the sarcen stones, taken near Avebury Manor and Farmhouse, part of a heritage site run by the National Trust.
The real black sheep of the family.
I like this sign. Helpful, isn't it?
Next, we walked out to Windmill Hill. This site is not much to look at, but is of great historical significance, having been the site of the first neolithic community in the area, older even then the sarcen stones, the barrow, and Silbury Hill (which i will tell more about below). There are also a number of unexcavated barrows near Windmill Hill, which were created two or three centuries after the village was abandoned.
As you can see, we went through some interesting terrain getting there.
The approach to Windmill Hill.
And the hill itself. As mentioned, not much to look at.
King of the Castle!
Here is a wacky spire, taken from far away using my zoom. I have no clue of its name/history/purpose.
On my first trip to Avebury, Jen and I got as close as we could to Silbury Hill, but this time we just took pictures from afar. It's pretty easy to make out for miles around, as it is the highest structure in the area. This hill dates back to ~2600 BC, and is a man-made hill approximately 40 m in height, comprised primarily of chalk. There has been speculation as to its purpose, but no definite answers; one popular theory is that it is a burial mound. It represents an estimated 4 million man-hours of work!
A notable omission from this trip was taking in the West Kennet Long Barrow, shown below. This was a burial chamber for many people; fifty bodies have been removed from it, and that from an area that only represents one-sixth of the length of the barrow. It was constructed approximately 5,000 years ago, and was sealed up about a thousand years after that.
posted by Matt at 10:22 p.m.
2 Comments:
I like sheep.
And sheep like you.
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