Spiritus Mundi: Avebury
Join us on a pilgrimage to the largest megalithic stone circle in the world, as we wander the sarsen monoliths of Avebury, Wiltshire, on a summer's day in the South West of England.
Built and altered over many centuries from about 2850 BC until about 2200 BC, in the Middle Ages it was thought the standing stones of Avebury were associated with pagan and devil worship, with many being buried or destroyed to be later re-erected in the late 1930s.
We walked around the dust bowl listening to the sound of bleating sheep, wondering how many flocks had settled under these stones over the years, and if it were more than the shade that they were drawn to.
One tale from medieval times tells of suspicion for the stones becoming rife amongst the local communities. Whispers circulated that they may have even been erected by the devil himself. Unhappy with their heathen reputation, a travelling barber-surgeon joined with local villagers in an attempt to bring down the ancient beasts, only to be crushed to death as one mighty stone tumbled down upon him. After some time, his smashed skeleton was discovered deep beneath a rock, and it was thought his terrible fate prevented more stones from being toppled by fearful locals who saw his death as retribution from the Dark Lord. The headstone is referred to 'The Barber Stone' to this day, a sarsen tomb in tribute to his legend.
Originally a giant circle of 100 stones, with two smaller stone circles sitting inside, Avebury was thought to be a site of worship, for ceremonies and rituals, feasts and gatherings - offerings given to the gods for protection against natural disasters and plagues.
Thousands of years later, folk still flock to touch the stones - hard grey local sandstone known as sarsen - and wander the old sacred paths around the henge. A fitting mythology as we visited again on an unprecedentedly hot afternoon in July. The manmade disaster of climate change having turned the green grass of England's pleasant land into yellow straw, its rolling plains scorched by a vengeful god.
It is often speculated that the Avebury ring was part of a larger serpent design that passed through a circle to form an alchemical symbol and that the area may have been part of a temple, one known by the local people as 'The Sanctuary'.
Flint tools, animal bones and human remains joining the fragments of pottery found buried in the earth - jewels to be exhumed centuries later, telling tales of a lost time and a lost landscape.
Ancient beech trees also stand on the periphery of the henge, now decorated with ribbons and wishes, or 'clooties', as they're known in Celtic lore - small strips of cloth or rags tied to the branches of trees near sacred springs or holy wells in a prayer for health. The beech is thought of as the Mother of the Woods and consort-queen to the Oak King, its feminine spirit believed to hold great wisdom. The gnarly roots of the trees at Avebury are even rumoured to have inspired Tolkien’s talking Ents in The Lord of the Rings.
Nature's bounty of wood and rock continuing to magnetise and mesmerise centuries later.
Ancient wonders truly eternal.
Image credit: Druidical Temple, Avebury (Engraved by McGahey, 1845) From Knight, Charles: "Old England: A Pictorial Museum"