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Avebury in the beginning

When visiting Avebury today the size of some of the stones is the feature that leaves a lasting impression on me,as it probably does with most visitors,but when the circle was first constructed the most awesome feature must have been the ditch and bank which had been dug from the solid chalk of the Wiltshire landscape. Excavations have revealed that, due to erosion and silting, the ditch today is now only one third of its original depth and the bank much reduced in height. Not having access to a time-machine the only way to see what a spectacle Avebury must once have presented is through the minds-eye. Based on the evidence of excavation this is my own impression of how the south-west quadrant of the henge might appear to a time-traveller.
When visiting Avebury today the size of some of the stones is the feature that leaves a lasting impression on me,as it probably does with most visitors,but when the circle was first constructed the most awesome feature must have been the ditch and bank which had been dug from the solid chalk of the Wiltshire landscape. Excavations have revealed that, due to erosion and silting, the ditch today is now only one third of its original depth and the bank much reduced in height. Not having access to a time-machine the only way to see what a spectacle Avebury must once have presented is through the minds-eye. Based on the evidence of excavation this is my own impression of how the south-west quadrant of the henge might appear to a time-traveller.

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