A Neolithic tomb near Avebury you can walk right inside, its five chambers sealed shut for four thousand years
Open accessfree to visit at any reasonable time
Standing remainssubstantial fabric survives to stand in front of
A central passage runs in from a curved forecourt at the eastern end, leading into five stone burial chambers inside this Neolithic tomb, raised around 3650 BC on a low hill above the Kennet valley in Wiltshire, within the UNESCO World Heritage landscape around Avebury. At close to 100 metres, it is second in length only to its neighbour, the East Kennet Barrow.
People buried at least 46 men, women and children in the tomb over roughly a thousand years, along with beads, pottery and stone tools including a dagger. The chambers were closed for good around 2000 BC. The passage was packed with earth and rubble, and three huge sarsen stones — tough blocks of sandstone common across the local downs — were raised across the entrance, where they still stand today.
Antiquarians first dug into the mound in 1859, and archaeologists returned for a full excavation in 1955 and 1956, after which the entrance stones and chambers were rebuilt close to their original form. You can walk the length of the passage and into all five chambers today. Climb up onto the mound and you look out over Silbury Hill and, on a clear day, the Sanctuary.
No ticket is needed here, and there are no set hours. Mind your footing near the entrance, where there’s an unguarded drop. The Ridgeway national trail passes within a few hundred metres, and a level path continues north past West Kennet Avenue into Avebury village itself.
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