Avebury: Monuments and Landscape

Author: Rosamund Cleal
Year: 2008
Source type: Guidebook + archaeological synthesis

Core Argument

Avebury complex shows phase-based architectural development reflecting changing social and ceremonial needs through Neolithic period. Chronology and dating of phases (Windmill Hill causewayed enclosure → West Kennet Long Barrow → Avebury henge → Silbury Hill) demonstrates adaptive construction responding to settlement evolution.

Relationship to Kelly's Work

Evidence for Kelly's transition hypothesis: each phase encodes different knowledge priorities as settlement deepened. Windmill Hill shows early gathering sites; later phases show increasing monumentality and restriction.

Key Phases

• Windmill Hill (3700–3400 BCE): causewayed enclosure, early aggregation
• West Kennet Long Barrow (3600–3500 BCE): passage cairn, genealogical focus
• Avebury henge (3000–2500 BCE): largest stone circle in Britain
• Silbury Hill (2750 BCE): largest artificial mound in Europe