The village of Avebury is surrounded by an enormous prehistoric stone circle and at the centre of extraordinary set of Neolithic and Bronze Age sites that apparently represents a vast sacred landscape. These include West Kennet Avenue, West Kennet Long Barrow, The Sanctuary, Windmill Hill, and Silbury Hill. These sites can be reached by foot from Avebury and the Alexander Keiller Museum in the village provides an invaluable introduction to them. The stone circle, or henge, was built and much altered during the Neolithic period, roughly between 2850 BC and 2200 BC. It consists of an enormous circular bank and ditch, with the henge inside that. It is the largest stone circle in Britain – originally of about 100 stones – which in turn encloses two smaller stone circles. Unlike at Stonehenge, less than hour’s drive to the south, it is possible to get up close and personal with the stones at Avebury – although, unlike Stonehenge, the stones are not dressed.
Avebury and its surroundings are part of the same World Heritage Site as Stonehenge.
Avebury henge and stone circles are managed by The National Trust on behalf of English Heritage, and the two organisations share the cost of managing and maintaining the properties.