The Longstones

The Longstones are two standing stones, one of which is the remains of a prehistoric 'cove' of standing stones, at grid reference SU089693, close to Beckhampton in Avebury parish [1]. Two stones are visible, known as 'Adam' and 'Eve', although the latter is more likely to have been a stone that formed part of the Beckhampton Avenue that connected with Avebury [1]. Adam is the larger of the two stones, weighing an estimated 62 tons, and along with three others formed a four-sided cove [1]. Excavations carried out jointly by the Universities of Leicester, Newport and Southampton in 2000 revealed the socket holes for the other stones which were tightly placed close to Adam [1]. The cove had been open on its south-eastern side which faced towards the nearby South Street barrow, 130m away [1]. The other stones were removed in the post-medieval period by a local landowner [1]. Adam fell over in 1911 and was re-erected by Maud Cunnington in 1912, at the direction of the Wiltshire Archaeological Society [1]. She also found a Beaker inhumation of a middle-aged man buried close by the stone [1].