Avebury: The Other Stonehenge

thirty kilometers (18 miles) north of the world famous Stonehenge in Wiltshire, England, his lesser known, but the larger cousin, Avebury.

Built at the same time as the second stage of Stonehenge, about 1600-2000BC, the stone circle at Avebury is the largest in the world.

Neolithic inhabitants of Great Britain, the first phase of Stonehenge was built about 500 years ranije.Druga phase and the Avebury henge is the work of "Beaker" people, immigrants from continental Europe, which may have introduced the idea of ​​the sun or sky worship. They were named after their habit of burying pottery-drinking vessels with their dead.

Beaker people quickly established dominance over the native tribes, partly because of their facility with the metal, the main source who was in Ireland. To maintain a supply of these metals are established trade routes, one of which was followed on the south coast of Wales. It was probably accounts for the Beaker traders' familiarity with the Pembrokeshire Bluestone, which are selected for use at Stonehenge.

stones at Avebury, which, unlike those at Stonehenge, they are not trained in design are very hard sandstone naturally occur on the local downs. They are called Sarsen Stones, probably from the word "Saracen" meaning people.

in its original form the main circle of 98 stones surrounded by two small circles about 30 stones each, and there are still small arrangements of stones and pits tih.Banaka within a circle nearly one mile in opseg.Jaraka, thousands of years ago erosion, is used twice as deep and the banks, which consists of Cretaceous rocks in the trenches, was much larger and deeper. Originally, the henge would be surrounded by stunning white bank and ditch.

People with no machinery or wheel carried a huge task of building Avebury. Ditches were dug with picks and rakes, horn, bone, and wooden shovels alata.Kreda has been moved to the basket.

big stones from Marlborough Downs, five kilometers (three miles) away, probably with skin traction ropes, wooden arms, trunk sled and significant manpower. As many as 100 men would take several days to pull a stone Avebury.

largest stone still stands about 67 weight tona.Vražji Chair, standing along the road to Marlborough, the second largest at about 56 tons.

There is a lot more destruction than the stones at Avebury to Stonehenge. Most of the kills was done in the 18 century, it was clear the ground for cultivation or use of stone as a building materijala.Kamenje smashed the fires beneath them, and then pouring water over them.

In the 14th century some of the stones are buried. In fact one man, a barber or a surgeon, was killed when a stone was trying to demolish or bury fallen to njega.Škare and lancets have been found with his skeleton and stone is now called the Barber Stone.

in the Avebury henge is now a National Trust property and boasts an information center, the National Trust shop, Alexander Keiler Museum and a restaurant. In the village of Avebury itself, surrounded by a henge, good food and beer is available in the local pub. How to get from London, take the M4 west and turn south on the A4361 just past Swindon, a distance of about 140 km (85 miles). Bristol is 50 km (30 miles) west of the old A4.