Avebury sheep

More Avebury

The UK is having their fifth heat wave of the summer, and I wish this kind of summer day for all of them, with cool breezes and maybe some much-needed rain. (It was actually quite warm the day I took this picture but it looks more like a classically English summer day than it actually was.)

I love Oxford but I am happy to be back in the land of strong coffee and air-conditioning any time I want it.

Back to Avebury

I was having a bad knee day and walking on the uneven ground was difficult, though I stuck it out for as long as I could. I was just happy to see these remarkable stones again, and this time on a bright sunny (though uncomfortably warm) day.

I am home

And I am recovering from a nasty cold, so I absolutely do not have the energy or inclination to go into my misadventures and misfortunes in London.

I will start posting pictures from the field trip to Cambridge at some point, maybe today, maybe not. But since I definitely feel like the back end of something, these fuzzy sheep butts in Avebury seem appropriate.

The Cove

This is one of the two stones known as “the Cove.” I have a picture of the house framed by both of the stones but I like this one better. Imagine having this in your backyard!

Standing stones

The stones at Avebury were mostly not shaped, unlike the ones at Stonehenge. They were just dragged from the nearby downs and put in place.

We were encouraged to hug the stones and most of us did. Someone told me afterwards that I looked very “dramatic” when I was embracing my stone, but I figure if you're going to take up stone-hugging, you might as well commit to it.

Avebury fields forever

Views of the fields around Avebury from the top of the bank—another very good reason to avoid the ditch.

Chalk

I did know that, geologically, much of England sits on top of a bed of chalk, and I've seen the white cliffs of Dover, but I don't think I ever realized how close to the surface it can come, like a scar across the landscape.

The henge

Taking a walk along the henge to circumnavigate the site was optional. I did it, but it was more of a trek than I'd anticipated. It was hot and a long section of the path was chalk, which is rocky and crunchy underfoot.

Our archaeologist guide told us about one of her students, who had scoffed when she repeated an old saying that “the ditch isn't meant for humans” and insisted on walking around the site through the ditch rather than up on the bank. When he finally emerged, he said it had been one of the worst experiences of his life, though not for any supernatural reasons. The ditch is wet and muddy, full of midges, thorns, and sheep droppings, and so any elemental powers warning you off are actually doing you a favor.

Life inside a monument

The stone circles at Avebury are not as obvious as Stonehenge for several reasons. First, the size of the site is much larger—more than eight square miles, including the henge. And, many of the stones are missing. The outer circle originally consisted of approximately 100 sarsen stones, each 12 to 14 feet tall; only 27 stones remain. Some of them were taken for building materials, and some of them were toppled and buried because they were thought to be the work of the devil.

Finally, part of what's wonderful about the site is that the stones aren't roped off. Village life goes on around the stones and through the circles. I like to imagine the dog walkers yanking their leashes and saying, “No, Flossy, don't pee on the megalith!”

Avebury

This charming village is about twenty minutes from Stonehenge. It was lovely to see green grass and flowers that aren't brown and dying, like most of those in Oxford this dry summer.

And the village sits in the middle of a henge and two stone circles that are much larger than Stonehenge—so large that I needed to look at aerial photographs to make any sense of it.