New understandings of the Neolithic monument of Avebury

This is a lecture about the Neolithic monument of Avebury and the exciting new interpretations that are emerging from new campaigns of fieldwork and archive investigation. One of the pre-eminent monumental landscapes of Europe, Avebury has been vexing researchers since its discovery as an object of antiquarian enquiry in the mid 17th century. However, despite nearly 400 years of study, what we don’t know about Avebury still dwarfs what we do. In an attempt to rectify this, the last decade has seen a burst of new studies at the site; investigations that are not only challenging and unsettling accepted stories, but also shedding remarkable new light on the emergence and history of this monumental landscape.

In the course of the lecture we will encounter restless and feckless stones, square circles, time machines and serpentine Avenues. We will look at the surprising origins of the monument  as well as its ultimate fate,…