Avebury

Vast Neolithic henge and stone-circle complex forming a principal component of the Stonehenge and Avebury World Heritage Site. The site is in Avebury, Wiltshire, England. Archaeological evidence places the major monuments in the Neolithic period.

Their precise ritual meanings are not recoverable from written sources. Avebury is one of the largest and most complex Neolithic ceremonial landscapes in Britain. The great henge and stone circles were created and altered over centuries, broadly between the late fourth and third millennia BCE, alongside avenues and other monuments in the surrounding landscape.

Archaeologists interpret the complex as ceremonial, but its precise rites and beliefs are unknown. Avebury is part of the same UNESCO World Heritage Site as Stonehenge and should not be assigned a specific ancient religion without evidence. Its recognised heritage context is: UNESCO World Heritage Site component.

Because there is no contemporary written explanation of the original rites, archaeological evidence should not be turned into a precise theology. Modern spiritual use may be meaningful to present communities, but it is separate from what can be demonstrated about the ancient monument.