Avebury

[rhythmaning]

I first came across Avebury by chance: I was driving from Oxford to Somerset about twenty years ago on a dark, foggy autumn day, and the most direct route to where we were going took us through the village. I hadn’t been expecting it: we came around the corner, and looming out of the dense fog were these large, impressive stones. We stopped and looked around; and it has been one of my favourite places ever since.

Heading between Bristol and Oxford, I took the opportunity to stop at Avebury, and take some pictures. It comprises several different sections of the stone circle – the site is cut through by two roads. Avebury is much less famous than Stonehenge, but it is much better to visit: you can walk amongst the stones, you can touch the stones (and, irritatingly, some people let their children climb on them!) – it is much more personal.

Avebury feels like a very special place; it is very basic, and it feels rooted deeply in the landscape and the land (and I don’t subscribe to any pagan views – it just feels special). I think it is where my fascination with standing stones started – and it is reminiscent a book I read as a child (I can’t remember if I am thinking of The Giant Under the Snow or The Ghost on the Hill - both by John Gordon), where stones – well, they’re not so much standing as moving - it was a very spooky book.

There are a lot of megalithic monuments near Avebury – the stones themselves are part of a large organised structure stretching a couple of miles towards Silbury Hill. On the way there, I passed the White Horse at Calne.

Comments

[anthrokeight.livejournal.com]

I can remember going when I was a kid, and loving it so much more than Stonehenge. The stones at Avebury seem to be doing what they've always done as the world unfolds. Whereas, the stones at Stonehenge feel like they're crowded and jostled and out of their context.

Although, I know some research teams have been doing some neat archaeology around Stonehenge similar to that at Cahokia in S. Illinois (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cahokia). They're looking at the settlements around the site and trying to get a better picture of the cultural context of the area in order to better understand how the henge itself was used...

blahblahanthropologymajorblahblah

the idea being... hopefully Stonehenge won't look so dissociated from the world with new research to help understand it.

[rhythmaning.livejournal.com]

What I really like is that one can actually walk among the stones - it makes the connection feel more concrete.

Should you ever find yourself in Scotland, I couldn't recommend Kilmartin Glen (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kilmartin_Glen#Standing_stones) strongly enough - and if you can make it to Lewis, Callanish (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Callanish_Stones) is just stupendous.

[anthrokeight.livejournal.com]

I've been to Kilmartin Glen many times, and you are right... it's wonderful. Callanish is still on the list...