The Prehistoric Temples of Stonehenge & Avebury [antikvár]

Avebury and Stonehenge, the two most important prehistoric temples in Britain, are sited quite close together, about 28km apart. Why should this be? Although it may not be immediately apparent, they occupy a central position as far as ancient tracks are concerned. Many ridgeways converge on Salisbury Plain, following dry ridges free of natural dense woodland from Cornwall, the south coast, Kent, East Anglia, the Midlands, the North of England, and Wales. Their importance to prehistoric man is confirmed by evidence for long-distance trade along these routes. The most vitai ridgeway of all was the Harroway (Hoar, or Hard, Way) along the Cretaceous chalk ridge of the North Downs from Dover to Stonehenge, because this was the main route for all Britain's immigrants from the continent of Europe - the Dover Straits was still a land-bridge until about 8000 bc. The focus of ridgeways is perhaps why Neolithic man chose the chalk downs of Wiltshire for the temple at Stonehenge, for the massive henge at Avebury, and for Silbury Hill, the largest prehistoric mound in Europe, looming 40m above the Bath road near Avebury. Bronzé Age people built large numbers of barrows around these early sacred sites, as if in homage to the shrines of their predecessors.