Toolmarks On the Avebury Monoliths

It always mystifies me how any of the sceptics can assert that the Avebury monoliths remain in their natural state, unsculpted by human hand. Di Pattison has pointed out that as far back as 1936 (in Antiquity) Alexander Keiller was quite clear that "these megaliths have been dressed, and very carefully dressed, although not, it should be noted, to the flat surface obtained at Stonehenge. Moreover there can be no question but that the stones were dressed deliberately to conform to certain required shapes, and to this end were in the first place selected as near to the required form as possible, with a resultant economy in the labour of the final dressing". Just so, (italics and bolding mine).

Below I set out examples of clear toolmarking among the Avebury sarsens, images that prove they were sculpted to produce works of art. Click on each photograph below to learn more about the monolith hosting the toolmarks. Finally, at the end of this page is a short explanatory key for each figure:

Figure A	Figure B
Figure C	Figure D
Figure E	Figure F
Figure G	Figure H

Key to the figure thumbnails above:

A shows a monolith that has been "pecked" at with sharp stones

B This one has been hammered flat leaving an unnatural pockmarked effect - almost "panel beaten"

C The left region of the stone has been very highly smoothed, in sharp relief to the original surface visible to the right

D This almost ethereal face has been carefully chiselled with sharp stones, this has enabled the artist to represent the area from the nose to the chin in astonishing detail

E This wonderful primitive face has been fashioned by brute force mauling leaving distinctive curvy conchoidal surfaces

F The eye panel here has been beaten flat and then marvellously smoothed

G The unnaturally indented mouth has a curiously linear "scooped out" feel to it. Notice the unnatural "definiteness" to the top lip!

H The artist has found a naturally ocurring roothole in the sarsen, and expanded it leaving a "terraced" effect in the outer eye socket