| I hadn't planned to visit Avebury on the most | | | | In 2003, a geophysical survey by the National Trust |
| auspicious day of its year but there I was, on a sun | | | | made a remarkable discovery. Near stones that were |
| drenched dawn of the Summer Solstice. This very | | | | missing entirely, they found buried megaliths. At least 15 |
| ancient World Heritage Site is older than the more well | | | | of the great stones lay under mounds of earth inside |
| known Stonehenge and, I might add, more accessible. | | | | the circle. Using computer imagery, researchers hope |
| Across the great swath of verdant green and along | | | | to reconstruct just where each stone once stood |
| packed dirt pathways, people wandered freely. They | | | | before it was toppled and left to time. |
| sat in the grass, leaning against Neolithic standing | | | | The construction of Avebury required centuries of |
| stones as sheep grazed, undisturbed by human | | | | labor. With the lifespan of Neolithic peoples estimated |
| company. Many of the guests had spent the night at | | | | at 40 years, the baton of responsibility for the |
| Avebury, awaiting the rising sun and the spark of | | | | enormous project was passed through many |
| imagination that might transport them far back in time. | | | | generations. Over the span of 600 years or so, the |
| Waiting for the moment when the sun would strike the | | | | vision and passion persevered until one day, Avebury |
| standing stones of Avebury and cast shadows as | | | | was Britain's greatest monument - some people |
| they have for more than 4500 years. Imagining they | | | | believe it to be the foremost Neolithic site in all of |
| were the ancient people worshiping the forces of | | | | Europe. |
| nature that framed the sky so perfectly at just this | | | | In its present form, Avebury remains breathtaking and |
| time of year. | | | | mind-bending. Many of the standing stones were |
| As an American, the mostly young people looked quite | | | | moved to the site from more than two miles away. |
| familiar to me. Dressed in tie die cotton shirts and | | | | Each weighing 40 tons and more, it remains a mystery |
| dresses, with flowers in their hair and sandals on their | | | | how the early architects, and their minions, minus the |
| feet these New Age believers would have been | | | | invention of the wheel, moved the stones to the |
| found in Haight Ashbury a few decades ago. The | | | | sacred site. The sarsen stones are estimated to range |
| beauty of their youth was a fitting ode to the sacred | | | | from nine to twenty feet tall. Somehow, over the |
| place they'd come to experience. | | | | centuries, early Britons quarried, chipped, moved and |
| At the same time I was struck by the contrast of this | | | | erected some 200,000 tons of rock. Although there |
| experience. In America our monuments are fenced off, | | | | are several theories about the mechanics of this |
| paths restricted, treasures guarded by the sharp eyes | | | | phenomenal accomplishment, standing in the spell of |
| of security personnel. Here in Avebury a gentleman | | | | Avebury, such academic quandaries seem irrelevant. It |
| who was himself somewhat ancient wore a blue | | | | is simply a tribute to the ingenuity of humankind. |
| blazer and talked modestly about his role as security | | | | Avebury's Real Magic |
| detail - a job he did as he tended to other duties in the | | | | Although much of what was once a central point of |
| village. People strolled unimpeded by barriers | | | | worship for England's earliest inhabitants has been |
| throughout the ancient site, touching, some kissing, the | | | | destroyed, enough remains at Avebury to spark the |
| magnificent standing stones. For such behavior in the | | | | imagination and stir the soul. That was certainly |
| U.S. we would be unceremoniously removed from the | | | | apparent on Summer Solstice as I watched dreamy |
| site. | | | | eyed youngsters roam the wide open site. |
| A Human Triumph of Time | | | | Occasionally, someone played a tune on a flute and |
| Avebury is in the southern part of England, off the | | | | filled the soft air with music. On the top of a knoll, |
| beaten path and near quiet villages that live peacefully | | | | framed by the bright azure sky a man and woman, |
| amid the ghosts of Neolithic man and woman. | | | | both in business attire, embraced. The sheep turned |
| Because these early human groups worshiped the | | | | their backs on them. |
| many forces of nature, it continues to draw the | | | | How the builders and visionaries of Avebury used the |
| attention of people dabbling in the mystical, spiritual and | | | | site continues to be debated. There is a belief (and |
| alternative beliefs. But there is no need to delve in | | | | evidence) of astronomical alignment, although it is not |
| Druidism or Paganism to appreciate the singular | | | | as clear as the alignment of Stonehenge with the sun, |
| experience of roaming this unique World Heritage site. | | | | moon and stars. A small part of the great pleasure of |
| Picture a large circle of 98 stones - about a mile in | | | | spending a few hours at Avebury is pondering such |
| circumference, erected on a mound with a deep ditch | | | | questions and just letting the mind wander where it will. |
| along its inner rim. Today, only 27 stones remain. There | | | | Avebury is just 90 from London, yet scenically and |
| are four openings to the circle at the primary compass | | | | spiritually a world away. There are tours available to |
| points. Inside the circle are two more circles, each had | | | | this Wiltshire County site but I'd suggest that Avebury |
| about 30 standing stones and just a handful remain. | | | | is best enjoyed quietly, perhaps during the off-season |
| The stones were destroyed over time as Christians in | | | | or on weekdays. Time shifts at Avebury and once on |
| about 1100 sought to demolish Pagan worship, and as | | | | that sacred ground there is much to see, to ponder |
| nearby 17th century villages looked for a convenient | | | | and experience. |
| source of building material. | | | | |