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Excavations at Avebury. 213 
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us: for in the exact centre, we found large quantities of burnt 
sarsens, including chips, flakes, and much charred matter, proof 
positive that this was the site of the large central stone, and the 
scene of its destruction. And now starting from this centre we 
cut a long trench very nearly due west, in a straight line towards 
the westernmost of the great stones still standing in the outer 
circle. This was a work of considerable time, for the trench was 
extended to a distance of sixty feet from the centre, as we thought 
thus to ascertain the possible existence of any inner circle, but 
nothing was found. Subsequently we cut other short trenches 
from the centre: one towards the north, another towards the south, 
and a third towards the east; in all of which large quantities of 
burnt sarsens, flakes, chips, and burnt matter were exhumed, and 
all doubtless belonging to the ponderous mass which once occupied 
the centre of this southern sanctuary. 
EXcaVATIONS IN THE SURROUNDING AGGER. 
Hitherto we had confined our attention almost exclusively 1o the 
two inner circles, which were probably the great centres of attrac- 
tion and of devotion, when this famous temple was in use: but now 
we resolved to examine carefully the great mound which encloses 
the sacred area. With this end in view we first dug several minor 
trenches, tapping it in various places, and always running our 
trench down to the original undisturbed soil. Thus E.N.E. 
and within the mound, or on its western face, we made a deep 
trench, but found nothing. Then on the south-western end of the 
mound, where a considerable gap had been cut, the material having 
been removed, and the ground levelled for the convenience of the 
modern village, we selected the centre of the section as the point 
from which to run our trench, and then dug a large and deep 
cutting into the very middle and down to the undisturbed chalk ; 
but the only reward of our labours was one fragment of pottery. 
Farther to the east, and on the outside or southern face of the 
“mound, we dug a small perpendicular hole down to the original 
soil, but again found nothing. These were comparatively trifling 
probings of the great mound, only slight and random tappings in 
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