Editing Avebury (village) (section)

==Prehistory==

=== Stone circles ===
{{main|Avebury}}
The Avebury monument is vast, and consists of several smaller sites of varying dates. The earliest of these, the [[Earthworks (art)|earthworks]], dates to between 3400 and 2625 BC. Later additions include a [[henge]] and several [[stone circle]]s. Starting in around the 14th century, locals began dismantling the stone circles for one reason or another: to clear land, to provide material for other building projects, or simply to efface a pagan monument. In 1648 [[John Aubrey]] visited the site and found most of the stones still standing or lying nearby:

<blockquote>These Downes looke as if they were Sown with great Stones, very thicke; and in a dusky evening they looke like a flock of Sheep: from whence it takes its name. One might fancy it to have been the Scene where the Giants fought with stones against the Gods... I was wonderfully surprised at the sight of those vast stones, of which I had never heard before; as also at the mighty Banke and Graffe [ditch] about it. I observed in the Inclosures some segments of rude circles, made with these stones, whence I concluded, they had been in old time complete.<ref>{{cite news|last=Stecklein|first=Janelle|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/englands-touchable-stone-circle/article20429661/|title=England's touchable stone circle|work=The Globe and Mail|location=Toronto|orig-year=22 October 2005|date=22 April 2018|access-date=11 November 2019}} Cuts and amendment are in this source.</ref>
</blockquote>

In the 18th century, [[William Stukeley]] visited the site and chronicled the further damage that had been done. In 1872, the banker and Liberal MP, [[John Lubbock, 1st Baron Avebury|Sir John Lubbock]], bought part of the village and protected the monuments.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0-tMffWnDXoC&pg=PA59|title=Prehistoric Avebury|last=Burl|first=Aubrey|date=2002|publisher=Yale University Press|isbn=0300090870|language=en}}</ref> He later promoted the [[Ancient Monuments Protection Act 1882]] to ensure the British government protected ancient monuments.

In the 1930s, the archaeologist [[Alexander Keiller (archaeologist)|Alexander Keiller]] re-erected many of the fallen stones, partially restoring the circle to its original condition. In 1943 the government took possession of the monument and the village; they are currently administered by the [[National Trust]]. In 1986 [[United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization|UNESCO]] added Avebury, along with [[Stonehenge]], [[Silbury Hill]], and associated local sites, to its [[World Heritage List]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Stonehenge & Avebury World Heritage Site|url=http://www.stonehengeandaveburywhs.org/|url-status=live|access-date=2021-07-27|website=Stonehenge & Avebury|language=en-GB|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130904023111/http://www.stonehengeandaveburywhs.org/ |archive-date=4 September 2013 }}</ref>

=== Other sites ===
The earliest occupied site in the area is on [[Windmill Hill, Avebury|Windmill Hill]] in the north-west of the parish, where a [[causewayed enclosure]] with three concentric ditches was built c.3700 BC on an earlier field system.<ref>{{Historic England research records|mnumber=19191|desc=Windmill Hill Causewayed Enclosure|access-date=29 July 2021}}</ref><ref>{{National Heritage List for England|num=1008446|desc=A causewayed enclosure, the core of a round barrow cemetery, part of a prehistoric field system and an associated mortuary enclosure on Windmill Hill|access-date=29 July 2021|fewer-links=yes}}</ref>

Two avenues of [[standing stone]]s radiate from Avebury henge. [[Kennet Avenue]] runs south-east for about {{convert|2.3|km|mi}} from the south entrance of the henge to [[Overton Hill]], just beyond West Kennett hamlet. Originally there were around 100 pairs of stones, and many survive although some are buried or have been re-erected. On the hill stood a [[Stone circle|stone]] and [[timber circle]], destroyed in the 18th century, known as [[The Sanctuary]]. The second avenue, known as Beckhampton Avenue, consisted of pairs of stones running south-west for about {{convert|1.2|km|mi}} from the west entrance of the henge to a [[Cove (standing stones)|cove]] known as [[The Longstones]] near Beckhampton. Of this avenue, only one stone remains (one of the Longstones); the rest are either buried or missing.{{sfn|Orbach|Pevsner|Cherry|2021|pp=121-122}}

Other prehistoric sites in the parish include [[Silbury Hill]], south of the henge, a chalk and earth mound about {{convert|40|m}} high. Further south (on the other side of the A4) is [[West Kennet Long Barrow]], a [[chambered long barrow]]. [[Falkner's Circle]], {{convert|750|m|yd|abbr=off}} south-east of the henge, was a stone circle of which one stone remains.{{sfn|Orbach|Pevsner|Cherry|2021|pp=121-122}}