Wiltshire SMR

.kmz file

Sanctuary SMR Details

Two concentric circles of stones & 4 circles of postholes with a common centre, excavated in 1930 by Maud Cunnington. Although these features are no longer visible in their original form, their locations are marked by concrete blocks. Beaker & Peterborough Ware sherds, flint petit tranchet derivatives and lava. The outer stone circle had a diameter of 40m and originally included 42 sarsen stones. The inner stone circle was 15m across and contained 15 or 16 stones. The four timber circles varied in size from between 5m and 21m across and contained between seven and thirty-three posts.

Excavation demonstrated that construction of the site was in four phases, :

Phase 1- a 5m diameter circle with seven posts forming a circle around a central post;

Phase 2 - a 6m diameter circle of eight post surrounded by a second circle of 11m in diameter, consisting of 12 posts;

Phase 3 - an additional circle of 21m in diameter consisting of 33 posts. It was during this third phase that the smaller stone circle was constructed and an entrance to the structure was built on the south-eastern side of the monument;

Phase 4 - the outer stone circle and the Avenue from Avebury were built, replacing the timber structures.

This and the fact that the entrance to the Avenue was to the north west, indicate that the Sanctuary was an important monument before Avebury was built and that it continued to play an import role even after the henge's completion. Excavation by Mike Pitts in 1999 indicates the structure did not have a heavy roof as the last post was left to rot and the pits were dug and refilled in rapid succession. Nine arrowheads, and a further 68 retouched pieces of worked flint, 1058 pieces of identifiable worked flint, and 60 pieces of burnt flint, 14 sherds and an awl were recovered in 1999.

Data supplied by the Wiltshire SMR