In summer 2024, Youth Action Wiltshire visited Avebury to learn about its history, meet a National Trust archaeologist, and learn how to take photos of the famous stone circle.
Avebury is the site of the largest ancient monument in the British Isles. It was constructed during the Neolithic period in about 2850 BC.
A henge is a circular area enclosed by a bank or ditch, used for religious ceremonies in prehistoric times. 4-5,000 years ago there were as many as 200-300 henges in use. The most famous you’ve probably heard of is Stonehenge.
You can read more about the history of Avebury here.
In July 2024, Youth Action Wiltshire visited Avebury and explored the stone circle, the Keiller Museum, and met Laura, an archaeologist for the National Trust, who chatted about the different artefacts that had been found throughout time at Avebury.
Laura had created an interactive timeline with a tape measure which demonstrated to us just how far Avebury’s history stretched, and the sorts of materials that had been found at particular dates across the site. We were able to hold a 6,000 year old spearhead which was incredible!
Laura's timeline
Object handling!
Landscapes like Avebury are not always easy to photograph. We started our session thinking about what we wanted to capture and why, and how you can portray feelings and emotions through images. We also discussed the use of photography as a means of documentation.
As we explored the stone circle, we worked through a series of photography tasks. For instance, we were challenged to capture the intricate texture of the stones in one shot or take a wide-angle photograph of a stone framed beautifully by the surrounding trees.
We found that exploring the site through photography made us think in different ways about it, and it impacted how we perceived it.
