Was this the first RAS outing to travel by double-decker bus? The front of the bus read “Not in service. Have a nice day” and, when it first pulled up opposite Richmond Station, we thought it was a joke. However, many of us were soon piling upstairs to enjoy panoramic views of the rolling Wessex countryside on the way to Avebury.

Our visit to this World Heritage Site started with a tour conducted by National Trust guides. Rain clouds scudded across the sky as we explored the massive henge and circles of sarsen stones, some weighing up to 60 tons. Avebury is thought to have been constructed between 3,000 BC and 2,700BC and is much larger than Stonehenge. Unlike Stonehenge, its stones are unworked, their shapes possibly symbolizing male and female forces, and many bear scars from attempts to destroy or bury them in medieval and later times. We do not know why Avebury was built, although it clearly had a ritual purpose, nor what drove later inhabitants to seek to destroy the site. Our guide pointed out the Blacksmith’s Stone which had been pieced together after being buried for many years beneath a blacksmith’s forge; the Barber Surgeon’s Stone at the base of which the skeleton of a 14th century man was discovered together with the tools of his trade, possibly a tailor rather than a barber surgeon, and the giant diamond-shaped Swindon Stone which guards the Northern entrance next to the Swindon/Devizes road. The smooth side of another stone near the Southern entrance suggests that it may have been used for grinding axes before being moved to its current position.

The stones were rediscovered in 1649 by John Aubrey, who persuaded King Charles II to visit the site. In the following century the antiquarian William Stukely meticulously recorded the stones, together with other prehistoric Wessex monuments, including West Kennet. Stukely was appalled by the continuing plunder of the Avebury stones as a source of building material for the village.

However, it was not until the early 20th century that serious archaeological investigation took place. Excavations by Harold St George Gray and Alexander Keiller revealed the full extent and complexity of the site. Both men adopted systematic methods and left extensive photographic records. Alexander Keiller, heir to the Dundee marmalade fortune, is largely responsible for preservation of the site as we see it today. He used his wealth to finance his passions for women, cars and archaeology and evidence of all three is show-cased in the museum, including a gleaming silver Sizaire-Berwick car manufactured by the company he funded. Housed in the 17th century stables and threshing barn, the museum contains a wealth of archaeological material, including the remains of a prehistoric child.

After the tour we were free to explore the pretty village of Avebury; to visit the museum and refurbished manor house which featured in a recent BBC programme “The Manor Reborn”. Alexander Keiller had owned much of the land at Avebury, including the manor, stones and adjacent monuments at West Kennet Avenue and Windmill Hill. Running short of money, he sold the Avebury monument to the National Trust in the 1940s but continued to own the manor until his death in1955. In 1966 his widow and fourth wife donated the Keiller Museum to the nation, whilst purchase of the manor by the National Trust in 1991 has finally enabled the site to be united and preserved for future generations.

Our field trip concluded with a visit to West Kennet long barrow, one of the largest Neolithic chambered tombs in Britain. Built of local sarsen stone around 3500BC, it predates Avebury. In its shadowy depths we could still see recesses where the remains of the dead were deposited and a stone which appeared to have been used for grinding prehistoric axes.

The surrounding landscape is dominated by the enigmatic presence of Silbury Hill, the largest prehistoric manmade mound in Europe but, unfortunately, not accessible to the public. The clouds burst as we walked back across the fields to our bus for the journey home, conscious of the many other prehistoric features scattered across this magical landscape … possible locations for future RAS outings?

Jennifer Hunt