Alexander Keiller Museum

Alexander Keiller Museum stands inside the Neolithic henge at Avebury, a village in Wiltshire surrounded by chalk downland. The museum occupies a farmhouse that once belonged to the Keiller family, who played a major part in restoring the stone circles. Archaeologists such as Harold St George Gray and Alexander Keiller himself led excavations and reconstructions in the early 20th century. The site is now managed by the National Trust and forms part of the Stonehenge, Avebury and Associated Sites World Heritage Site. The museum holds collections of flint tools, pottery and other artefacts recovered from the henge and nearby monuments. These finds span the Mesolithic, Neolithic and Bronze Age periods, showing how people lived and worked around Avebury. The displays include evidence of early farming, flint working and ceremonial activity on the chalk ridge. Visitors can see how the landscape changed from dense oak woodland to open grassland as agriculture spread. Inside the farmhouse visitors find displays about the Keiller family’s work and the history of the stone circles. Outside, the village of Avebury still contains sections of the original henge and stone circles. Paths lead past the great outer circle and the two smaller inner circles, giving views over the surrounding chalk downland. The museum’s garden area offers a quiet place to reflect on the ancient landscape.