Avebury is a large henge monument that also contains three separate stone circles. One of these is the largest stone circle in Europe. Built around 2600 BC, the site was all but abandoned in the Iron Age. During Medieval times a village grew up around the stones, destroying some of the stones, which has survived to the present. This well known site is part of a larger prehistoric landscape of Wiltshire that includes Stonehenge and listed as a World Heritage Site. > Read more

Constructed in the Neolithic, around 3000 BC, this particular chambered long barrow is typical of the kind of barrows found along the River Severn. In fact Belas Knap is considered the best of this kind. The barrow seems to be remarkably well preserved, but it was restored following excavations in the 1860s and again in the late 1920s. > Read more

Maumbury Rings is an archaeological site that began as a Neolithic henge. The henge ditch was then modified by the Romans to create an amphitheatre. The oval flat area was the arena and the grass covered banks the foundations of the seating, estimated to be about 13,000. During the Civil War of the seventeenth century the site was used as a defensive fort. > Read more

The settlement and ritual complex at Merrivale is one of the finest examples on Dartmouth Moor, and as the site is close to the road it is easily accessible. The site was occupied from the Neolithic through to the middle of the Bronze Age. There are various archaeological features, including a cluster of round houses, a small stone circle, and two double-stone rows, each with over 150 stones. > Read more

An oval barrow that is about 30 metres from east to west and 25 metres north to south. The internal chambers were exposed when the mound was ploughed over and the roof slabs removed. Originally the barrow was surrounded by a drystone kerb, but this is now covered. > Read more

Comparable in size to the ancient Egyptian pyramids, Silbury Hill is the largest human-made prehistoric structure in Europe. We know very little about its prehistoric significance, other than it was built in the late Neolithic, around 2400 BC, and that it does not appear to have been used for burials. > Read more

The significance of Stonehenge has been a source of fascination and social contest for centuries. In the 12th century the site was attributed to Merlin, while more recently in the 20th century Stonehenge became the focus for a revival of neo-pagan activities. Archaeologically, it is at the centre of the most dense and complex series of structures that date to the Neolithic and Bronze Age. > Read more

Thought to be one of the best preserved of the "Cotswold Severn Group", Uley Long Barrow, also known as Hetty Pegler’s Tump after the 17th century landowner Hester Pegler, is a burial mound overlooking the Severn Valley. The barrow dates to about 3,200 BC, and what we see today results from both excavation and reconstruction. > Read more

West Kennet Long Barrow is the largest, and many say most impressive, Neolithic chambered tomb in Britain that is still freely accessible to the public. The tomb is thought to have been constructed around 3650 BC, and was only used for a relatively short period, about a thousand years, before the chambers were closed. The remains of at least 50 individuals were excavated. > Read more