Avebury

November 19, 2018

JimB_Avebury_IMG_3280 (1)

Photographer: Jim Bucko 
Summary Author: Jim Bucko 

Avebury is the lesser known of the two famous stone circles in England. Of course, Stonehenge is world renown as a fairly pristine survivor of 4.5 millennium, though many of Avebury's stones are as large as those at Stonehenge. Both Avebury and Stonehenge were constructed between 3100 and 2600 BCE, but Avebury was probably abandoned in favor of Stonehenge around 2500 BCE., about the same time as the pyramids of Egypt were being built.

JimB_Avebury_IMG_3291 (1)Located approximately 25 mi (40 km) north of Stonehenge, in some ways the Avebury site is actually more impressive than Stonehenge. At one time it was at least a 600-stone complex of three circles (one large, with two smaller circles inside) and parallel lines of stones forming avenues outside the main circle. The image from Google Earth shows this quite well. A ditch and external bank surrounded both Stonehenge and Avebury, but the ditch at Avebury was 33 ft (11 m) deep and the bank was at least 20 ft (6.5 m) high, making at least a 50 ft (15 m) high embankment surrounding the main circle (inset at left). Additionally, the area within this huge circle (ditch and bank) consists of over 28 acres (11 hectares), about 17 times the size of Stonehenge. Furthermore, unlike Stonehenge you're allowed to touch Avebury's stones -- as of now, you can even walk up and put your arms around them if you so choose.

Photo Details: Top - Camera: Canon PowerShot SD1200 IS; Exposure Time: 0.010s (1/100); Aperture: ƒ/8.0; ISO equivalent: 80; Focal Length: 6.2mm; Inset - same except: Exposure Time: 0.0050s (1/200); Aperture: ƒ/2.8.