Talk:Avebury
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[edit] Page move
Avebury Henge is not a common name for this site (Google count: 603 vs. for example 4,460 for "Avebury stone circle"). Given that the site comprises numerous different features, I suggest it be moved simply to Avebury and the village article merged with it as it is just another description of the monument. adamsan 20:20, 4 Oct 2004 (UTC)
- I'm putting this suggestion on Wikipedia:Requested moves. Please add your thoughts there. adamsan 20:06, 22 Nov 2004 (UTC)
(from WP:RM)
[edit] Avebury Henge → Avebury
- Avebury Henge is not a common name for this site (Google count: 603 vs. (for example) 4,460 for "Avebury stone circle"). Given that the site comprises numerous different features, referring only to the henge in an article that covers the earthworks, several stone circles and a barrow doesn't do the complex justice. Given the rarity of the current name and that the site and the village are synonymous, I request that the archaeological site be moved simply to Avebury and the disambig page that's there now be moved to Avebury (disambiguation). adamsan 20:05, 22 Nov 2004 (UTC)
- I disagree with the suggested merge of the village article with the henge article. They are not synonymous; Avebury, Wiltshire describes a modern village and civil parish (including the adjoining villages of Beckhampton and West Kennett), with details on population, local government, history, etc; the stone circle is only one thing briefly discussed and then largely from the perspective of the recent history of the circle. Avebury Henge discusses the stone circle in much greater detail from an archeological perspective. Any individual reader is unlikely to be interested in both the detailed history of the henge, and the current demographics of the civil parish. No issue with renaming Avebury Henge to Avebury stone circle or such; I agree the name isn't the one that immediately springs to mind for the circle. -- Chris j wood 22:08, 25 Nov 2004 (UTC)
- Fair enough, would you accept the monument moving to Avebury though and the parish remaining at Avebury, Wiltshire? If not, we must put our heads together and come up with a new title for the monument article. adamsan 22:24, 25 Nov 2004 (UTC)
- Ok, obviously provided there is a clear link from Avebury to Avebury, Wiltshire. -- Chris j wood 00:32, 26 Nov 2004 (UTC)
- Definitely agree to this. Most people typing in Avebury as a bare word would expect to see an article on the rather pretty and archeologically significant stone circle; some might want to see something about the nearby village and a link at the top should be enough. You probably need a redirect from the "Avebury stone circle" to "Avebury", too. --Minority Report (entropy rim riot) 00:42, 26 Nov 2004 (UTC)
- Fair enough, would you accept the monument moving to Avebury though and the parish remaining at Avebury, Wiltshire? If not, we must put our heads together and come up with a new title for the monument article. adamsan 22:24, 25 Nov 2004 (UTC)
- I disagree with the suggested merge of the village article with the henge article. They are not synonymous; Avebury, Wiltshire describes a modern village and civil parish (including the adjoining villages of Beckhampton and West Kennett), with details on population, local government, history, etc; the stone circle is only one thing briefly discussed and then largely from the perspective of the recent history of the circle. Avebury Henge discusses the stone circle in much greater detail from an archeological perspective. Any individual reader is unlikely to be interested in both the detailed history of the henge, and the current demographics of the civil parish. No issue with renaming Avebury Henge to Avebury stone circle or such; I agree the name isn't the one that immediately springs to mind for the circle. -- Chris j wood 22:08, 25 Nov 2004 (UTC)
- When these articles are ready, leave a note here with instructions on what goes where and I'll do the moves. - UtherSRG 05:12, 13 Dec 2004 (UTC)
- I agree that the ancient monument should be described at Avebury. Using ", Wiltshire" to distinguish the village seemed totally arbitrary so I have moved the village to Avebury (village). (This is different from what I did to Stanton Drew.) -- RHaworth 14:35, 17 July 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Beautification
The article contains this sentence: "Keiller excavated beneath the stones he righted and dug further during the programme of beautification he forced onto the villagers after buying the site in 1934."
It sounds like this was somehow unpopular. Is this interpretation correct? If so, why was it unpopular? Gwimpey 21:03, Jan 1, 2005 (UTC)
- Avebury was a working agricultural village and it showed. Keiller's description of Avebury before he restored it is quoted in Mike Pitts' Hengeworld:
- 'the tangle of rusty pigwire, the accumulation...of old tins and bottles...[and] the refuse heaps...contributed ungenerously towards rendering the once majestic site...the outstanding archaeological disgrace of Britain' Antiquity 13 (1939) p223.
- Keiller demolished buildings, fences and trees in order to clear/sanitise the site and he and subsequent landowners made efforts to remove the human presence altogether. At the same time though he employed a lot of the locals in his projects and gave it the tourist economy it now has. There's an article from the Telegraph reproduced here that goes into more detail. adamsan 21:58, 1 Jan 2005 (UTC)
[edit] Page layout
Does anyone else now have loads of white space on their browser? Should the page be slightly re-designed? - Ballista 04:18, 28 June 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Defence
"The henge... has no defensive purpose, as the ditch is on the inside." At least one other article (Henge, I think) mentions the possibility of defending the world against something on the inside of the monument, which seems fairly straightforward and not any more unlikely than anything else. Has any work been done on this? Does anyone know of any references? It seems like an interesting idea. Leushenko 00:48, 13 November 2007 (UTC)
Aubrey Burl in "Prehistoric Avebury" argues for a defensive function, postulating that the inner ditch is present to prevent cattle inside the enclosure damaging the bank. Apparently the Mandan practised this type of construction. Not sure I agree with him but the current easy consensus view of the lack of defensive functions needs challengig. Burl's book is excellent and well worth reading. Far better than this article! User:badtypist —Preceding comment was added at 20:38, 6 April 2008 (UTC)
[edit] A4 national route - quoi???
"National route" is not an expression I've ever heard for the A4 and not one that I would want to use unless I wished to be looked at very strangely in the pub. It is not used in the wiki article on the A4 road. I am minded to alter it - any views please? 92.234.10.126 (talk) 23:51, 24 February 2008 (UTC)
[edit] Bad Area Info
"Most of the surviving structure consists of earthworks, known as the dykes. A massive ditch and external bank henge 421 metres (1,381 ft) in diameter and 1.35 kilometres (0.84 mi) in circumference enclose an area of 115,000 square kilometres (44,402 sq mi)." I removed the text following the word "circumference", as it's clearly absurd, then rewrote the text for grammar. The true area seems to be about 12 hectares, but I haven't found a top-quality reference to that effect. 86.137.91.131 (talk) 12:03, 11 March 2008 (UTC)
[edit] The Faces of Avebury
I have moved this newly added section here because it appears to me to be unreferenced nonsense. --Malleus Fatuorum (talk) 04:27, 23 March 2008 (UTC)
- Someone has bought out a book about the faces. [1]. Whether the paragraph should go back is another question, do we publicise every theory? MortimerCat (talk) 12:46, 23 March 2008 (UTC)
[edit] The Faces Of Avebury
There is a theory that a lot of the stones at Avebury have been personified and have had faces added. Many of the stones have 3 or 4 apparently purposefully made faces and appear to be made stronger, perhaps by design at various times in the day/year. Whether the faces were added by the 'Beaker people' who constructed Avebury or whether they were added some time after is unknown but adds an interesting alternate interest in the stones.
