The ancient stone circle at Avebury is one of Britain’s greatest archaeological treasures. It is Europe’s largest stone circle and attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors every year.
But an extraordinary set of photographs just released by Historic England reveal a chapter in the site’s history that many aren’t aware of.
The images show a group of men in the 1930s erecting the stones.
The archive images reveal the ‘restoration’ work taking place in the tiny Wiltshire village 90 years ago. With trucks, ropes and pulleys, the workmen are seen transforming an apparent empty grassy space into what we think of as the stone circle today.
The old photos show the team excavating hidden stones, moving them into chosen positions and standing them upright on new concrete plinths, which are then hidden with soil.