Avebury Henge - the history books are wrong 

Yet another brilliant professional video (with even more VR animations) well done my friend) 😊

I’ve always preferred to visit Avebury than Stonehenge as it more visitor friendly. It has a better atmosphere too.

I think it is crazy that at some time in the distant past, someone thought it was a good idea to put roads and buildings inside a prehistoric monument.

The houses were built from some of the missing stones marked by an oblisk. The stones were heated up and then rapidly cooled and shattered. You can see the fire marks on the stones of the houses built inside the circle.

The flooded landscape theory is a new one on me. That's a lot of water for a plateau elevated at hundreds of feet above sea level. I am also unaware of evidence for huts inside the site, especially in the centre of the solar circle where there was a very tall phallic needle stone several metres high. Also, the Swindon stone is not the biggest. It may be the biggest in the main circle, but the biggest on site is one of the Cove stones, which is potentially the largest megalith in Europe. Its the big one across the road from the pub as the road turns towards Swindon. Whereas the Swindon stone is the nearest stone to Swindon tens of metres further north. But despite a few moments I did enjoy this video. Water certainly plays its part as the flooding around Silbury Hill shows.

Chris has truly outdone himself with his latest work, Avebury Henge. This remarkable piece of content showcases his exceptional professionalism, evident in the meticulous topic selection and thoughtful planning. The level of detail and research put into the subject matter is commendable, making it an engaging and informative experience. Avebury, a place steeped in history and mystery, is brilliantly brought to life through Chris's video. From the very beginning, it becomes clear that no stone was left unturned in capturing the essence of this ancient site. The visuals are captivating, offering breathtaking shots that showcase the grandeur and significance of Avebury. The accompanying music further enhances the overall experience. Carefully selected and masterfully integrated, the soundtrack beautifully complements the visuals, creating an atmosphere that draws the audience deeper into the narrative. The choice of music perfectly aligns with the historical significance of Avebury, establishing an emotional connection with viewers. Furthermore, the editing work in this video is nothing short of impressive. The seamless transitions between scenes, the well-paced progression, and the expertly crafted storytelling all contribute to the overall success of the video. Chris's attention to detail is evident throughout, as he skillfully weaves together the various elements to deliver a cohesive and engaging viewing experience. Overall, Chris's Avebury Henge stands as a testament to his talents as a content creator. The professionalism exhibited in every aspect, from topic selection to video production, is commendable. The extensive research, combined with the brilliant video, music, and editing, results in an outstanding final product. Chris's efforts are truly praiseworthy, and this video is a must-watch for anyone interested in history, archaeology, or simply seeking an enlightening and visually stunning experience. Well done, Chris!

This video and commentary were fantastic! I went to Avebury in the summer of 2022. I loved it. But, I’m so pleased to see the overhead views. It’s a completely different perspective and I wish I had viewed your video before visiting Avebury.

Very interesting. I have never considered before the ditch could have been a moat. Great video, Thanks:)

Hi. You should fly your drone from Uffcott past Broad Hinton where the fields are flooded and showing so well. There is even flood to the north west of the henge itself. It’s amazing right now

Amazing video mate..Researching myself St Catherine’s hill in Christchurch where the Avon is on one side and the stour on the other..But near St.Catherines is Ramsdown,which is a smaller hill in the shadow of St.Catherines..By Ramdowns are two Bronze Age burial mounds on which one is situated on a man made ridge and slope dating back to the Neolithic..I think all three are connected and St.Catherines with the two rivers beside her was an important site in history of the area and the U.K.. Thank you again and all the best

Been there, done that 30 years ago. I still have goosebumps! Breath taking, awe inspiring, completely amazing.

Very slick, professional video. However, I really think you need to give more explanation of your 'wide river' claim. Is this generally accepted? I had not heard it before, and I've been reading about and visiting the site for 50 years. Wouldn't that put many sites underwater at the time of their construction?

I've just discovered your channel - thank you RU-vid algorithm (for once)! Fantastic shots and reconstructions of the historical landscape. Having said all that I'm not convinced about the trading centre theory - Avebury would have been on an island and that makes little sense to me. Also I'm not sure where that leaves other structures like Silbury Hill which looks like it would have been built in the water. However, what struck me in your initial LIDAR reconstruction is that there is plenty of high land around and, so far as I could see, none of the structures where positioned on it - so water would appear to be a definite factor in whatever was going on (but, as I said, not specifically for trading). Thanks again. Now to look at your other videos!

Could the ditch have been used as a water source ??

Probably the best documentary on Avebury I have ever watched ! I also live in Wiltshire and have traveled that main road many times. Such a mysterious place. Thank you for this video just brilliant 👏🏻

Should be realised that, being on chalk, when first built the bank was a gigantic shining white ring, and possibly regularly "scoured" to keep it white.

The most informative and watchable film about Avebury I've ever seen.

Canals have to accurately follow the contours of land so the level of the water remains the same. Navigators will set the canal to specific number of feet above sea level for longer stretches. If they detour from the contour of the land they have to build tunnels, locks or viaducts.

When you look at the circle it almost represents an ox bow lake. Now suppose that the waters weren't so high and inside the ox box lake there was a mound. someone worked out that the mound could accomodate a village and offer protection. You ask why throw the land out of the ditch, perhaps to ensure that the rising waters of a high tide were kept at bay and didn't sink the village. As the land around it sank under water it became a trading post out of necessity. Perhaps because more people came to live on the mound. As for the long barrows, they were for the dead. Depending on what time of year people died, they were buried to the east or the west. I have second idea on this - Perhaps they were always buried to the west but a great illness befell the village and those were left wouldn't desecrate the western barrow, so they built an eastern barrow instead. As for Silbury Hill, suppose it was a watch tower. I enjoyed your video, thanks for the ideas.

Why does the presence of water negate the ceremonial use? What is the margin of error, in feet, of the height of the water in the simulations?

Same at Stanton Drew... neighbouring fields have steep ditches surrounding the stones. 1952/ Chew Valley Lake- Ancient Bronze Age site... Moreton & Stanton Drew both mentioned in Domesday Book. Artifacts removed during excavations & never available for public view. Church in Pensford on an Island beneath the viaduct. The Tump- Iron Age fort. Stone Henge- Avebury- Stanton Drew. Ace vid. Yes- all waterway canals.

Brilliant Chris, love the excellent photography and the aerial shots are super. Great use of lidar to explain the theory of an "inland port". i can only imagine the time took to edit it all. Well done and thank you.

What a beautiful video, rich in history of the land. I really liked and enjoyed the reconstruction of how the landscape would have looked when the henge was in use. Thankyou.

I'm not familiar with the notion of the ditch being filled with water. It raises some interesting questions. If it filled from a local river, why does the ditch need to be so deep? If the river was at that level, the ditch would be below the water table making the digging difficult and probably needing some form of water management not well known amongst neolithic people. Slope stability in saturated ground would be different than in dry. The banks at Avebury are pretty steep... Rivers have a tendency to flood. I wonder why the excavated spoil was used to form a bank, blocking external views rather than spread in the inner area to improve flood resistance.

Last year a huge monunent was discovered near Huelva in S Spain. Over 500 megaliths arranged in a concentric arc (maybe there were more?)

Absolutely breathtaking photography. ❤

Nice to meet you. Bro. I think it's a special place that deserves to be deserved. Thank you for the video today.

Chris, a shout out to youtube for dropping this into my video feed! Happy to have discovered your site. I live in the US and due to physical and financial constraints, I'll never get to see these wonderful sites in person. As an ardent anglophile and lover of history, I've read several books about Avebury and the surrounding area. It is very helpful seeing this from above as it shows a completely different perspective as opposed to filming totally on tne ground. I've subscribed to your site and am looking forward to watching the other videos.

i would have liked a closer look at the lidar images. I've been working with the National Trust looking for archaeological features on lidar images, and am wondering if there are some additional features in the lidar images that could shed further light on things. There is a very high possibility that it's already been done by archaeologists, but I'd still have liked to have seen them. While I could pause the video to look at them, you can't see much without zooming in for a closer look unfortunately.

Years ago I fell in love with the energy of the Avebury complex, and what I remember is this… The Kennet doesn’t flow year round. The flat top of silbury is visible from inside Avebury circle, so it could have functioned as a beacon, the start of a procession to Avebury from the hill. If you stand at the top of silbury hill to see the summer solstice sunrise then proceed down to earth, you will see a second sunrise over the hills to the east. Male female? Male female stones form the avenue in pairs, diamond shapes and phallus shapes. Swallowhead spring starts to flow around march each year, a significant cycle in any calendar, a signifier of spring and the return of fertility after the dark winter months. Even today silbury is often bound by water like a pregnant bulge. I think fertility rites and coupling were ceremonies performed in spring. I think games and rites of passage took place within the bank and ditch, young men showing hunting prowess, mock battles, and strength watched by the people celebrating, it was a massive stadium, a holding pen for livestock, a centre for the new people of agriculture, the beaker people. These people blocked off the entrance to west Kenneth longbarrow, declaring a new age and power centred around the celestial calendar and agriculture……..oops there I go wibbling on…..oh yeah the sanctuary was a woodhenge at the western end of the ridgeway, an important route in use for countless millennia…..

Great video and content. So according to your timeline during the construction of the bank and ditch phase of Avebury, the water table was so high that it swelled rivers to the height of the inner flat centre ground of the Henge?, only Avebury at present is 161m or 528 feet above sea level and Dogger Bank which disappeared around 5000BCE is at it's shallowest today 14m or 43 feet below sea level - what would stop the water flowing with gravity to the lower land first which would surely mean that Dogger Bank would have been flooded a lot sooner than the evidence dredged from the North Sea shows?, apologies for asking but it doesn't quite add up to me.

Great combination of geology and ancient building practices. Could do without some of the loud, dramatic music. The graphics and narrative speak for themselves. Thank you.

I enjoyed this and got more feel for it's original purpose than from any other description as yet. Thank you 🙏

the stones were already there for a long time and the folks back in time just settled around to worship what was lost…..

It think it looks like a draining and a retainer wall. Keep the outside out and the inside separated. Any chance there is fresh water inside ?

As with all these prehistoric circles I feel that too much emphasis is placed on the ditch rather than the bank. It is the bank which was the important thing to the builders, the ditch being merely the supplier of the material to build the bank. The evidence for this must of course the Mayburgh henge in Cumbria where there is no ditch but a huge bank made of small stones collected from the river.

I thought it rang bells with Robert Langdon's book 'Prehistoric Britain - the Stonehenge Enigma'! Could there have been a fiery beacon on top of Silbury Hill to guide boats to the moat/trading harbour?

The wet, marshy period went from (approx) 4,000BC to 3,500BC. The henge was dug BEFORE this period, and the stones were brought in AFTER this wet period. You are correct to say there was a wet period during the time of Avebury, but the story is a little bit more complex that your description here. ALSO the henge was never filled with water. Great video, however.

February half term 1990 I joined an NT volunteer archaeology finds search around Avebury it was fascinating we were put up in a property that literally looked out onto the henge amazing time ❤

Great video. Well made, very informative and interesting. I went to Avebury once, years ago and have to admit, I think it's more impressive than Stonehenge. I love how there's a village in the middle of it. I think it's time for me to head down there again.

An implication of the bank/ditch being the wrong way round is that it was not designed to keep people out - but to keep someone/something IN. Either real people, or in a spiritual or religious sense?

Incredible video with great filming. Fantastic to see how it might have looked and I never thought of it being like a moat. I uploaded a couple of videos one on Avebury and one on West Kennet barrow just with music, nothing as good as yours..lol..I climbed Silbury Hill years ago (now you are not allowed to) but couldn't believe how steep it was when you actually climb it but it makes for a great lookout over the surrounding area. Thanks for your work, a great watch, will have to catch up with your other vids!🌳🌾🦣 Edit : just to let you know the Wiltshire Womble recommended your video.

Avebury circle is on the Ley line, or Michael and Mary currents. Starts in Norfolk and travels all the way to St. Michael's Mount, Cornwall and beyond to the French St Michael's Mount and carrying on.

Such a great video my friend… Avebury is my local walking venue where i have also created some footage on. What i also love about your video is your simulation of the water levels which will now make me look at Avebury very differently from now on…. Some great drone footage also over and through the avebury stones. Thank you so much for sharing. Enjoy the rest of your weekend.. Mark 👍

Another great video Chris. This is really well put together and totally immersive from start to finish. A fantastic mix of video, drone footage and VR giving us all a modern day view of an amazing site together with a very informative narration are the obvious highlights. However, this production involves much more - research, video editing, sound editing, drone pilot skills etc etc - making it truly a "one-man-band" masterpiece. Looking forward to the next one already.

If you use the stones as anchors to place logs/branches/rope, etc in there, you end up with a pretty secure way to manage livestock

wow, fantastic video. I love that area and have explored a few times, how the hell did they do that under water, particularly silbury hill...and yet your interpretation makes a lot more sense to me having seen it all.

Interesting, but I have a question or two. Was that River an estuary or flooded valley in the late neolithic/early Bronze age ? If it wasn't. the geological map will only be showing the extent of the flood plain of the river. This may well have resulted in the ditch around the Avebury site becoming flooded as the River flooded (not necessarily on a 100 % basis as the volume of flood water would vary). you would also need to measure the depth of the flood plain deposits in the river valley and in the opening to the ditch to check the actual flood plain depth some 4,000 years ago. It should be easy enough to prove with an auger (permission/approvals etc).

Excellent video Chris. I like the way you went through everything and your use of graphics really helped. Using the river to flood the area would provide security, ease of travel and food. I would never have considered the area as being a waterscape. As for Silbury hill, I guess they had to dump all the spoil from the ditches somewhere.

Always love coming here! My wife’s family are from the area. Cheers 👋

Guess the question i have is as Silbury has been dated to circa 2400BCE how would it have been built given the predicted water levels at that time?

Great video just a pity the raucous music spoils it.

You should not assume that the ditch was ever 9m deep relative to the surrounding land. Over the centuries the bank would have eroded and new layers dug out to raise the height again above the relative height of the surrounding land. Modern ditches are cleaned out, but very rarely do people make an effort to clean out right to the bottom of the original cut.

Thats really interesting and when you see Silbury Hill in flood its shows how possible this would have been.

Thought provoking especially the watery map of the landscape 2,000 odd years bc just before your conclusion........ reminded me other watery places and that boats were the easiest form of transport back then... Think of the travel between Ireland and Scotland and Scotland and Norway etc.,

So what was the hydrology at the Valley of Stones, and between there and Avebury? Could the stones have been rafted to the site?

I have just found your channel! Excellent professional videos. Please keep them coming!

Really well done. Thank you. I had no idea about the water surrounding this area to this extent. I subscribed : )

The outer barrier suggests that people were shut in, as with modern religious and similar ceremonies. Was there an understanding of ownership, like with sheep and cattle, with ceremonial dipping and washing, still widely practised today? Was there a marriage type of cermony, helping to retain a following over many generations? Avebury; Ave; Avenue; also suggested by, Ave Maria, in more recent traditions. Did the flooded area represent feminine anatomy for some time during the site's development? Did the name known today stem from that place and era? Similarly in Yorkshire, the name, Thornborough -- The Orion Borough? Does the Whitsun Weddings tradition stem from Avebury in its era, related to the May blossom? The Orion Henges, near Ripon, had a white covering, likely to have represented the snow-covered mountains, where those in Scandinavia showed signs of having risen somehow because of landing stages being far above the waterline. An idea could have arisen about being able to influence the rising of land to gain protection against the flooding at the edge of the North Sea. In time, the flooding declined, Silbury Hill could have been used to test the idea that the setting of the Three Line Stars, represented at Thornborough, could influence the height of the land, even though refraction in the atmosphere, causing the apparent rise of the middle of the three stars relative to the other two, probably had no alternative type of explanation. A new tradition quite likely developed, repurposing the association with whiteness that was used at Thornborough and with the Orion pyramids in Egypt, to symbolise purity at the time of marriage. Why was this video, posted to RU-vid 10 months ago, in the list of recommendations for me this day, May 14th, with Whitsun being 4 days away on Sunday May 19th this year? I hadn't thought of this connection to Avebury before!

Bloody 'ell. Now THAT is impressive. Did you just rock my world? Hasn't archaeology, and science, come forward a bit these days. And your visuals are superlative, as usual. I doff my hat to you, sir. Thank you for the eye, and mind, opener.

It is an interesting hypothesis and could make some sense. Visualisations and drone shots in the video are good. I guess my initial thoughts on seeing this are what else would the water levels affect. Like how was Silbury built around the same time in the middle of a flowing river and why? How did they get the stones to Avebury? Were watercraft back then big and robust enough to handle 30-70 ton stones? And lastly I wonder why bother to build the little island of Avebury and all the effort of the ditches if as the water levels show the whole site was on the tip of a natural island anyway. Guess it makes a more secure village / trading post but as you say it wasn’t intended as a defensive structure. I might have to read into it more as all that may have been answered by others

Thanks for that amazing 3d reconstruction of the site. Such a revelation to see the water restored. The problem for me is that the Beckhampton Ave and part of the WK Ave would have been underwater according to this. I think ceremonial still makes more sense as why build such huge ditches and banks for a port?

Rainfall at that time (3k to 3.5k years ago) must have been phenomenal if the width and depth of the river Kennet proposed is to be believed, especially at that elevation.

Interesting but what about the avenues? Would they have been underwater or added at a later time?

It would be interesting to see a video showing how you filmed this video. I have been to Avebury many times (at first with my dad), but there is always something to learn.

The stone you mentioned where a skeleton was buried with it. Do you know if the stone was on top of any of the skeleton? If it was, then it could be a particular type of burial where the stone is supposed to prevent the person from ever returning. They are called revenants.

This is excellent, and your theory of an inland port makes so much sense ! I love your videos.

As green as that grass is and you're bundled like it was January.

the cars coming in at the wrong side of the road shook me up time for a coffee

they thought we will bury this guy under this giant rock so we never have to worry about anyone digging him up and then..........

Definitely puts an interesting twist on things but still trying to get head around the concept of moat inside the wall.

I've watched and read plenty on Avebury over the years, but this is excellent.

Avebury is an old harbour with 270 mooting off the stones as posts to tie off, Silbury is a lighthouse Looks just a feasible as its a giant place of worship

Very interesting idea. Nice work.

So, could there have been access to the circle by boat? Would post glacial flooding have still existed (full-time or seasonally)? If it was a trading centre, how far afield did the trading extend? Would there be navigable access to the sea?

What a great video! Very well done and informative

*Interesting hypothesis and history lesson on Avebury Henge and the surrounding monuments. 👍*

I was expecting it to be snowing until you went outside

If the area was flooded , how did they dig the ditch ?

You have a lovely open mind. Great film, fascinating story. Thanks.

Interesting theory, however, the assumed high groundwater level would have caused quite some problems with digging a 9m deep ditch. Water would certainly seeped in, and there were no pumps available. The ditch must have been dug at lower groundwater level. A ditch filled with water for a significant time should show layers of silt. Cheers, Michael

The idea of a trading centre seems to come out of nowhere. The 9m-deep ditch, the installation of 100 massive stones, all seem a lot of unnecessary effort just for trade to occur. Trade would have been happening all over the countryside, yet here it needs a ditch and stones henge, the biggest in Europe? What the megalithic landscape around Avebury tells me is that the people living on this landscape 5,000 years ago were successful. They were not just existing. They chose to build these monuments. They had the capacity and will to divert communal effort to build these structures. Therefore, they must have had great meaning, great symbolism. Not one of these structures helped put food in mouths, or clothe, or shelter. Their purpose was bigger than everyday living. Their purpose may have been in governance or 'higher power' beliefs, and possibly a combination of both.

It's an arena, like a giant bullring. The hunters turned farmers would think our modern way of killing animals is disrespectful The academics won't consider this because they don't like to think their ancestors might be 'savages'. So snobby.

For us older Americans: 9 meters is 29 feet... so yes that ditch was plenty deep.

That was freaky with what I know, if your proposal is correct, the real message in symbolism would be the comet serpent passing through the Sun/Planet, where-in the cosmic snake would come from the Sea (sky & space) crossing the circle, also surrounded by water, and back into infinity. Check out Cintos LiDAR and colorize, that is kind of what I was expecting and to see the serpent that was there. I'm keenly interested if one would be able to see a bon fire at the top of Silbury Hill from Stonehenge? Also, how far off are the two from Celestial North? Had a dream long ago about being on a tiny planet alike the fish eyed lens scene. Subscribed just for the imagery I got, thanks!

What struck me, is the extreme flatness of the ground. I am English so I innately know what is 'normal' in English landscape... rolling hills. It looks abnormally flat, to me. It's totally flat! And could the stones that 'were buried'. 'with a skeleton'. Have been buried... by mud? Could the whole landscape have been enveloped by a mud flood? and the skeleton be a human who was swept away in it? (Look up Tartaria and mood flood if unfamiliar - the idea that the whole planet was engulfed in a mud flood - basically, to wipe out humans, to repurify the slave race, and leading to many partly submerged basement windows in castles and houses - potentially also, in my view, why Gobekli Tepi was 'deliberately buried' - by a mud flood? And those giant heads in New Zealand... Are submerged full figures. Global mud flood?). Could the mounds/ditches have been a clearing, of mud, from a mud flood? Which would also explain the submergence of stones. Also, it could explain why the ditch is much less than the original 9 metres (mud flood?) Not ceremonial, but protection against, or clearing of, mud flood. Trenches to clear and protect mud. Mounds of cleared earth. They had to put it somewhere. Wonderful video, by the way. I could see lots of patterns and shapes in the landscape. More circles than were mentioned. Could you make a simplified drawing? Without the land? Might reveal more sense in how it all fits together. Wonderful thoughtful content. Thanks.

Anyone made a connection with this Avebury and the Martain Cydonia map?

The ditch is always dry because chalk is porous, would it have held water.

Beautifully done. Food for thought. Thank you.

The arial view of the circle is ver similar to what an ancient meteor strike looks like...has this possibility been investigated ???

Fascinating place. Visited it twice in the 1970s

Love your work!, ... smiled when I saw you put on your coat r car when you started the trip, lol. Seriously, great work, thank you!

Great diea to crunch over, and my only addition would be to question why there? And would building it on that small island be manageable? I would be suprised if that island had all the natural resources to build it, meaning a connection to the mainland in some way. Surely buidling this type pf construction would be better suited to the peninsular to the left of it, giving access to both the island if ceremonialy important, and much better access to natural resources or even inland trade routes. I am probably missing something here and this may be a silly question though.

The stone came from West Woods. I've been to investigate. I dug under one and found a large concentration of flint, which was not in evidence elsewhere. The stone once stood in this position. I think that West Woods was a site of great significance before Avebury. There is still one standing stone and a barrow.

how could prehistoric dig that ditches when there was water all around and it was slushy?

Could have been used as a village to protect from packs of cave lions, in the winter time. The lions are gone, so it no longer makes sense to people.

11:11 now that's trippy.

Thinking about the ditch if the spoils is on the outside is the ditch is not for defence from the outside but it could be defence from the inside where they trying to keep something or someone in

It is common that when we do not know the answer, we fall back on the ritual use as an answer.

Absolutely fascinating thank you for sharing your thoughts.