Avebury is a Neolithic henge monument
containing three stone circles, around the village of Avebury in
Wiltshire, in southwest England. Unique amongst megalithic monuments,
Avebury contains the largest stone circle in Europe, and is one of
the best known prehistoric sites in Britain. It is both a tourist
attraction and a place of religious importance to contemporary
Pagans.
Constructed around 2600 BC, during the
Neolithic, or 'New Stone Age', the monument comprises a large henge
that is, a bank and a ditch. Inside this henge is a large outer stone
circle, with two separate smaller stone circles situated inside the
centre of the monument. Its original purpose is unknown, although
archaeologists believe that it was most likely used for some form of
ritual or ceremony.
