The Secrets of Avebury Stone Circle
We drove past a landscape of green fields and farms , here since the Neolithic age to witness one of the largest ancient Stone Circle of the World created in the 3rd millennium BC or before! We were in village Avebury a chalk-land in the river Kennet valley of South England . Parking our car we walked on a verdant grassy path along green fields towards the Stone circle. I had read that the First Farmers in this area had made their mark on the beautiful scenery almost 6000 years ago! Today its tranquil secrets are not its only key tourist appeal but it is also of religious importance to Pagans .
The Creation
We entered from the Red Lion Pub side in the Avebury Village that offered a mesmerizing green view with many upright Stones that spread to the far end seeming to meet the azure sky, positioned on a vast slightly raised ridge. We crossed the Henge – Bank and Ditch, to reach a large Stone Circle and could see remains of the other 2 smaller Stone circles in the distance. The large circular 1000 meters circumference Ditch around the Stone circle has been carbon dated to be of the 3rd millennium BC. Avebury Stone circle is referred to as a Henge monument whose characteristics are the large deep Ditch and Bank. Historians believe this to be for defensive purpose.
The Serpent Temple Avebury Stone Circle
We caught a distant view of the crossroads that divide the entire area into 4 sectors roughly. The Beckhampton Avenue leads out from the western Entrance and the West Kennet Avenue leads out from the south eastern Entrance of the Stone Circle and today there are black roads here. Some historians suppose that these Avenues were deliberately constructed in juxtaposition to Avebury , Silbury Hill and other ancient monuments to ‘ maximize people’s vision of them.
We started with the walk of over 331 meters along the 3-4 meter high Stones of the Outer Circle , carbon – dated to 2800- 2200 BC ! There are contradictory views about the number of original Sarsen Stones that varies between 136 to 98 , each weighing more than 40 tons . What an engineering feat would it have been in that period to bring them here and put them in upright position ! We noticed some very smooth Stones on which axes were said to be polished!
Then we approached the 2 Inner Circles that were possibly made to produce echo from sound waves inside the circle during a ritual and generate an awe-inspiring effect ! Only 2 stones stand upright today in the 98 meter diameter Northern Inner Ring .The Southern Ring of Stones had a bigger diameter of 108 meters before its more than partial destruction in the 18th century. A 19th century Swedish Encyclopedia shows the original sketch of the Avebury Stone Circles- one large containing the other 2 inside it and is proof of their existence.
Down All the Ages
We settled down on the grass in the shadow of one large tree to read more about the Stone circles in the centuries gone by during the different ages :
Mesolithic and Neolithic ages
The Antiquarians and Archaeologists deem that as Humans settled down into cultivation and farming , by the end of the New Stone Age or Neolithic age – 3500 to 2000 BC the extraordinary yet unique trend of creating Stone or Wooden Structures as Circles started and continued in the coming 1000 years .The Avebury Stone Circle that we were exploring was also constructed at this time.
Roman and Medieval age
Later in the British Iron age : 800 BC to 43 AD visitors almost stopped coming to the Avebury Stone Circles and they were overlooked as a ‘dwelling of Supernatural Entity”. With the coming of Romans – 43 CE to 5th century visitors to Avebury Circles recommenced and even a road was built for them like the Roman road around Silbury Hill . Additional evidence is provided by the Roman era Pottery that has been excavated from the Ditch of the Avebury Stone Circle.
In the early Medieval period following the 5th century , Anglo-Saxon tribes settled around Avebury and worshipped their own Gods but later converted to Christianity and a Church was built on the west of the Avebury Stone Circle.
With the spread of Christianity in the Late Medieval Period the non- Christian monument of Avebury was defamed as a Devil’s abode ! Most of the Stones were given names beginning with the word Devil and the villagers started toppling and destroying the Stone Circle . The procedure was brought to a halt when one person was buried under a Stone while toppling it and his body could nor be recovered for a Christian funeral. This and the fear created by the ‘ Black Deaths- a form of Plague’ suffered by many villagers in the 14th century , saved the Stone Circles.
Rationale
Over the centuries Antiquarians and Archaeologists have hypothesized numerous rationales for the conception and usage of the Avebury Stone Circle but none is unambiguous . Most likely it was used for rituals and ceremonies which pleased the powers of nature to bless their existence and protect them from disease ,death and even cold. Ancestor worshipping on a large scale and Harvesting rituals could also be part of the rationale. The Stone Circles along with the Silbury Hill and few other similar monuments like the West Kennet Long Barrow closeby, could be ‘a Ritual Complex’ of religious ceremonies, ‘singular or interlocked’.
The Ditch ,Bank and the Avebury Stone Circle
As Avebury is a Henge and Stone Circle site the most common explanation relates it to astronomical alignments of the positioning of the Stones . Alexander Thom the19th century Scottish engineer famous for the study of Stone circles believes Avebury stone circle to be in alignment of Deneb- the brightest super giant star of Cynus constellation.
Famous Druid Ross Nichols believes that there was an astrological axis connecting Avebury Stone Circle to the later created famous Stonehenge nearby and that axis was flanked on one side by the ancient monument of West Kennet Long Barrow that symbolizes Mother Goddess and the Silbury Hill on the other side that symbolizes the masculinity !!
Antiquarians and Archaeologists view
In July 1663 writer and Antiquarian John Aubrey managed to arouse the interest of King Charles II regarding the Avebury Stone Circle which he had discovered by chance on a Hunting trip and convinced the King to accompany him to Avebury ! Charles II was impressed by the sight of the Avebury as well as Silbury Hill. Aubrey’s recordings of each Stone later became priceless when the Stone Circle was damaged heavily by the villagers .
Antiquarian William Stukeley put forward the British Temple theory . Between 1719 -1724 he visited the Stone circle 6 times and wrote –‘wretched ignorance’ of the villagers led it to getting destroyed and compared it to the ‘Pyramids of Egypt’.
In the Victorian era the Stone Circle were again saved from destruction when Lord Avebury- John Lubbock convinced the villagers to build their homes outside the Circle and not break Stones to do so.
This and archaeologist Alexander Keiller ‘s vision saved it from complete obliteration when he purchased all the land in Avebury and put an end to more Stone- Circle harm. We were to visit his home Avebury Manor later in the day as well as the Museum named after him.
Avebury Temple Theory
Here i would like to share the theory of the Avebury Temple proposed first in the early 18th century by antiquarian William Stukeley related to the existence of a Temple outline then which was slowly shattered by the local farmers not realizing its prehistoric and cultural importance. For 30 years he unrelentingly made drawings and took careful measurements of the ancient Temple and its complex which are the only record of its existence !!
He was the first person to distinguish the plan of the Temple that Avebury was a representation of the body of a Serpent passing through the Stone Circle and forming a traditional alchemical symbol. The head and tail of the enormous Serpent were demarcated by 50 foot Avenues of standing Stones, each extending 1 and a half mile into the countryside.. He continued mapping and exploring the countryside around the Stone Serpent and found many other Megalithic or prehistoric monuments around.
These revelations were further endorsed revelations by the 18th century philosopher John Michell and recent researchers – writers : Paul Broadhurst and Hamish Miller when they ascertained that Avebury Temple was part of a vast complex of Neolithic Sacred sites arranged along a nearly 200 mile long line- Ley Line in Southern England , perhaps the most significant Sacred site of Britain . The Silbury Hill we had seen earlier also lies on this Ley Line.
Today
After a prolonged session of photography at the Stone Circle we decided to find out about the activities here from a store keeper outside the Stone Circle. Additionally, we were curious to know what had happened the previous day – June 21st , the Summer Solstice day of great significance to the Pagans, Wicca and Heathens. They are people who hold religious beliefs other than those of the major world religions and follow old- Gods and religion , not Christianity .
He added that the Pagans believe Avebury Stone Circle to be a ‘Living Temple’ of their ancestors. God and Goddess parties are formed by the Druids during the ritual. Besides the Summer Solstice Day , the Druids of various Orders use the Stone Circle for ceremonies on Saturday and Sunday .
Tourism has been on a rise due to the efforts of the National Trust that looks after the conservation of the Avebury Stone Circle today. As we walked towards the Village we optimised that one day Science and Archaeology will reveal the Secrets of the Avebury Stone Circle or mused if the Secrets were beyond both !