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Re: what ever has happened to avebury?

Jul 23, 2005, 17:36

>...but again look at the Greek monasteries - many are a very arduous climb, you have to wear cover-up clothing and there is no beer at the end at the end of the journey. You definately leave with a sense of pilgrimage rather than having had a nice day out........<

With respect, comparing Avebury to a Greek monastery is a little like comparing a cathedral to a parish church (where have I heard that before)* or a buzzing metropolis to a sleepy hamlet.

Avebury lies a stone's throw from the Ridgeway - the M4 of Neolithic times and therefore always <i>very accessible</i>. The Avebury circle, Silbury, the Sanctuary and other nearby structures lay at the centre of a vibrant Neolithic culture and were not just places of pilgrimage. Given its position and ease of access Avebury was probably also a place for markets, trials, marriages, funerals, worship, instruction and, last but not least, merrymaking. Avebury never was an isolated place of pilgrimage like a Greek monastery, and though it has slept quietly for the last few millennia perhaps it has now regained something of its original purpose - a place to meet family, friends and like-minded people, learn something new, have a bit of fun, get married, tell a tale or two and marvel at the wonder and the mystery of it all.

* Stukeley also said of Avebury, "Abury in North Wiltshire, the most august work at this day upon the globe of the earth." (and you don't need to wear special clothing or climb into a basket to get there ;-)

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Re: what ever has happened to avebury? (tuesday)

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Re: what ever has happened to avebury? (Ishmael)

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