The Sanctuary

The Sanctuary was a stone and timber circle near the village of Avebury in the south-western English county of Wiltshire [1]. The ring was part of a tradition of stone circle construction that spread throughout much of Britain, Ireland, and Brittany during the Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age, over a period between 3300 and 900 BCE [1]. The Sanctuary was erected on Overton Hill [1]. It was connected to the Late Neolithic henge and stone circle at Avebury via the West Kennet Avenue of stones [1]. In the early 18th century, the site was recorded by the antiquarian William Stukeley although the stones were destroyed by local farmers in the 1720s [1]. The Sanctuary underwent archaeological excavation by Maud and Ben Cunnington in 1930 [1]. The first stage of activity at the site, some time around 3000 BCE, consisted of a ring of eight wooden posts 4.5 metres across, with a central post, presumed to be a round hut [1]. Neolithic pottery and animal bone were recovered by the Cunningtons, indicating that the site saw some degree of occupation activity [1].