Figures in the Rock? Experiencing the Avebury Cove at the Midsummer Sunrise

Abstract

Despite published accounts suggesting the absence of solstitial alignments built into the architecture of the stone circle complex within the classic henge at Avebury, north Wiltshire, UK, empirical observations show that the group of stones and the space between them known as the Cove opens towards the midsummer sunrise. Although the window of visibility looking out from the Cove is broad, the sunrise position, on Monkton Down, is central to the field of view. A dip in the henge bank and the presence of a round barrow on the skyline serve to emphasise the point on the horizon where the Sun first appears. Looking inwards, the Cove provides a defined stage-like setting with the shadows of anyone performing there cast sharply onto the massive backstone for a period of about 30 minutes after sunrise. Comparisons are drawn with practices linked to animistic ontologies where rock surfaces become porous doorways into other realms during defined ceremonial observances.