Avebury Henge and Stone Circles

Avebury developed over centuries, with major construction and alteration between about 2850 and 2200 BC. Its great earthwork enclosure and stone circles formed part of a wider ceremonial landscape connected by stone avenues. Surveys suggest that additional timber structures or circles may once have occupied the interior, but the full construction sequence is not settled. The arrangement is commonly interpreted as a setting for ceremony and movement through the landscape; the actual rites remain unknown. During the medieval period, many stones were buried or broken, and later farming and building removed others. Records made by John Aubrey and William Stukeley preserve information about features that subsequently disappeared. In the late 1930s, Alexander Keiller cleared parts of the site and re-erected numerous stones. Its present appearance therefore reflects both Neolithic design and modern restoration. Avebury forms part of the Stonehenge and Avebury World Heritage Site. Period: Neolithic; major building phases approximately 2850–2200 BC Grid reference: SU 10247 69967 Protection: Scheduled monument Source: Historic England, https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1015546 (Open Government Licence). © Historic England 2026. Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Banner photo: "Avebury, Avebury Henge, Outer Stone Circle, North-east sector Wiltshire 1015546 20230817 0115" by Tilman2007, via Wikimedia Commons, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.