Tag: Avebury

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The curious case of Mrs St. George Gray and the West Kennet Avenue Axe (Part 1)

Post author By Ben
Post date September 14, 2023
6 Comments on The curious case of Mrs St. George Gray and the West Kennet Avenue Axe (Part 1)

The inspiration for writing this blog came from finding an axe whilst trawling through the archive of weird and wonderful objects held in the Alexander Keiller Museum at Avebury.

Most of the objects in the museum were found during archaeological excavations and are boxed along with crucial information on which excavation they were uncovered by, and the cutting (excavation trench) and context (e.g. stone-hole, ditch, pit etc.) in which they were found. A smaller number are what we often call ‘stray finds’. These are finds that were found by chance, for example in a molehill or on the surface of a ploughed field, and therefore have little contextual information to go with them.

The axe in question was one such find. It was stored by itself in a small cardboard box, and all the contextual information we know about it is written on the object itself. The writing on it simply says:

“FLINT CELT FOUND BY MRS. ST. G. GRAY IN THE KENNETT AVENUE AVEBURY 1911”.

The axe found by Mrs St. George Gray in the West Kennet Avenue

Part of my job on the Avebury Papers Project is to catalogue all of the finds from Avebury that are held by the Keiller Museum. As a result, finding the axe hidden away on a shelf raised a few crucial questions for me. Some were basic ones, such as: what is the object, how old is it, and exactly where was it found. The latter question is essential. To archaeologists context is everything. Individual objects can tell us lots about past societies, but they hold a lot more value when considered as assemblages of objects, particularly if we also know what type of context they came from. An axe found in a midden might mean something quite different to one formally deposited into a pit. Beyond these relatively prosaic questions, there are other interesting questions that we can pose of this particular object, namely, who was Mrs St. George Gray, and how did she come to find the axe. I am going to attempt to answer as many of these questions as I can in the course of this blog.

The easiest of these questions to answer relate to the type and broad age of the artefact. The object is a ground and partly polished flint axe dating to the Neolithic period. This means that the axe was first flaked into a rough shape, and then finished by a combination of grinding and polishing of its surfaces. Sometimes the grinding of an axe’s surface covers the whole of the axe, sometimes it is patchy, covering the ridges between flake scars that stick out the most. Almost always, the grinding and polishing covers the cutting edge where it is used to create a sharp and durable edge suitable for working wood. Along with first appearance of pottery, and the construction of monuments, axes of this type are one of the defining features of the Neolithic in Britain (c. 4000 to 2400BC). Actually, all of these things occur in different parts of Europe in the preceding Mesolithic period (albeit not commonly), but that is a subject for another blog!

Polished flint and stone axes are regular finds on Neolithic sites, occurring from the start of the Neolithic up until the earlier part of the Late Neolithic. They occur most frequently on Early Neolithic sites, such as the Windmill Hill causewayed enclosure located 2km to the northwest of Avebury. Much closer to Avebury, flint axes also occur, albeit in smaller numbers, amongst the predominantly Middle Neolithic (c. 3500-2900 BC) artefact scatter known as the West Kennet Avenue Occupation Site. The occupation site lies on the line of the West Kennet Avenue and was first excavated in 1934 by Keiller and his team (see this blog post for details). The 1934 excavations yielded roughly 15 axes and adzes, with Isobel Smith noting in the excavation’s publication that partly polished and unpolished axes and adzes were the characteristic form of the assemblage (as in the photograph below).

Three axes/adzes found by Keiller’s excavation of the West Kennet Avenue Occupation Site in 1934. From left to right: The butt end of a flaked axe with ground margins; the cutting edge of an adze; a small complete flaked and partly ground adze or chisel.

So, the axe found by Mrs St. George Gray could certainly fit within the assemblage from the West Kennet Avenue Occupation Site. This is significant given that all we know of its find spot is that it was “in the Kennett [sic] Avenue”. It may, therefore, seem likely that it came from the West Kennet Avenue Occupation Site, but given that the Avenue itself is just short of 2.5km long it is worth considering whether it came from somewhere else along its length.

We can safely assume that Mrs St. George Gray is the wife of Harold St. George Gray, who excavated Avebury from 1908-1922. Given that the axe was found in 1911, the axe was most probably found by Mrs St. George Gray whilst her husband was excavating. But that doesn’t make deducing a more exact location of the find any easier.

We know that during the Gray’s excavations at Avebury only 19 of the West Kennet Avenue stones remained visible. The antiquarian William Stukeley had recorded 72 stones in 1722, and the Grays were clearly aware of his description of the course of the West Kennet Avenue. In Mrs St. George Gray’s time, as today, the most visible part of the Avenue was its northernmost third where it reaches Avebury. In 1911, however, even in this stretch, many of the stones were buried, awaiting their re-erection by Keiller’s team in 1934 and 1935.

What we also know, thanks to the recent excavations of Josh Pollard and Mark Gillings, is that this stretch of the West Kennet Avenue was rarely ploughed, with the artefact scatter that makes up the West Kennet Avenue Occupation site lying a good depth under the topsoil. This means that it is unlikely that Mrs Gray would have come across the axe kicking around on the surface, unless it had been fortuitously brought up in a molehill, something that does happen on occasion.

Another possibility is that she found it whilst tracing the route of the Avenue in the field immediately south of the currently reconstructed part of the Avenue, a field which we know has been regularly ploughed in the past. It is also possible that the axe was found further from Avebury as the Avenue winds its way towards the Sanctuary, but this is perhaps less likely given how interrupted the remaining stones of the Avenue are in this part of its route, and therefore how less certain it would be that it was found “in” the Avenue.

Hopefully it is not too anti-climactic, but that is all we can deduce about the find spot of the axe. It is a significant find, but it would be a lot more so if we could be certain about exactly where it was found, and particularly whether it was part of the West Kennet Avenue Occupation Site, or potentially some other concentration of features or artefacts along the route of the Avenue.

We are left with two possibilities. Either it was found, most likely in a molehill, in the extant northern third of the Avenue, or it was found further to the south, probably in a ploughed field in a location where it was still possible to confidently establish where the line of the Avenue was. Either is possible, although I am somewhat in favour of the idea that the axe was part of the West Kennet Avenue Occupation, found by Mrs Gray some 23 years before Keiller’s discovery of the site. Unfortunately we will never know the truth. If nothing else, the story highlights the importance of accurately recording the find spots of stray finds!

Having dealt with the archaeological significance of the find, we can now turn to the finder herself. Up until now she has only be referred to as ‘Mrs St. George Gray’. This has not been to diminish her individuality or personhood, rather it is a simple reflection of the fact that when I started writing this blog that was all that I knew of her. Indeed, that was all that any of the current crop of Avebury archaeologists knew of her. In the literature, she is very much in her husband’s shadow. Even in her husband’s obituary published in the Somerset Archaeological and Natural History Society in 1963 she is only referred to as Mrs Gray. Uncovering the hidden histories of people involved in the Avebury excavations is very much at the heart of the Avebury Papers Project, and so along with investigating the possible find spot of the axe, its discovery in the archive prompted me to find out all that I could of Mrs St. George Gray. For now, though, this blog is getting rather long, so the identity of Mrs St. George Gray will have to wait for the next post…

Tags archaeologist, Archaeology, Archive, Avebury, Avebury Stones, Digitisation, Digitisation; Archive; Alexander Keiller Museum; National Trust; Data; Photography; Photographic archive; mixed media archive, Florence St George Gray, Harold St George Gray, Heritage, National Trust, UNESCO World Heritage Site, WANHS, Wiltshire

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Cool Finds of the Month

During photography in the Stables library attic, we’re continuing to find a lot of interesting drawings, posters, and maps, some are archaeological, and others are a bit different. Here are a select few.

This cartoon was made by Denis Grant King During the 1939 excavation of the South East sector at Avebury. The cartoon has captions describing people and their day-to-day activities on the excavation site. It’s worth zooming in for details.

*Denis Grant King Cartoon of the 1939 Avebury excavation, accession number 20004595.*

Stuart Piggott was well-known for doing quick sketches and cartoons when he had a free five minutes. We have many within our collection here at Avebury. This one below is my personal favourite – a strange creature sneaks into a room, with the caption “a regrettable error has unfortunately crept it”.

Cartoon by Stuart Piggott, Accession number 20004596. showing a creature crawling through a partially open door. Captioned "a regrettable error has unfortunately crept in — *Cartoon by Stuart Piggott, Accession number 20004596*.

After the 1934 and 1935 West Kennet Avenue excavations archaeologist Denis Grant King drew up some of the flints found during the excavations. The flint drawings below show all the worked areas of the flints as well as cross sections of the flint. These drawings are a just few of the ones we have, they are all grouped together under Accession Number: 20004991.

6 drawing of two differnt flints from the 1934/1935 West kennet avenue excavation — Flint drawings by Denis Grant King, 20004991.

9 drawing of two differnt flints from the 1934/1935 West kennet avenue excavation — Flint drawings by Denis Grant King, 20004991.

The graph below, accessioned at 20000573-014-001 was also created by Denis Grant King. The graph shows the distance between the standing stones in the North West and South West sectors of Avebury.

bar graph showing the distance between standing tines in the north west and south west sectors of Avebury — *Graph of stone distances created by Denis Grant King*, *20000573-014-001.*

Whilst we know little about the map below, we do know it was produced in 1935. The map itself shows the path of 32 different historical sea voyages dating between 600 BCE and 1906. It shows everything from Columbus’ voyages to Hudson’s discovery of the Hudson River! It’s not clear why exactly it’s in the Keiller archive, but someone must’ve thought it was of interest at some point in time – perhaps it helps us think about Avebury in context of world history?

Map of the world with sailing journeys taken by famous adventurers and explorers shown — *“The Great Discoveries” Map, accession number 20004686-001.*

Tags Alexander Keiller, archaeological illustration, archaeological plans and drawings, Archaeology, Archive, Avebury, Digitisation, flint drawings, lithics, National Trust, technical drawing, UNESCO World Heritage Site

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A witch visits Avebury?

One of the reasons I got involved with the Avebury project was because I am a Wiccan/Pagan, and the stones are an important spiritual site for those people following a similar spiritual path. I am particularly interested to learn when the site became a popular place for like-minded “Witchy folk” to visit.

*Journal of my visit to Avebury, Book Two, 1939, AKM item reference, 1732623-002.*

I am currently transcribing Denis Grant King’s journals, and it was with great delight that I came across the first reference to someone visiting Avebury for spiritual reasons.

The journal entry is for 21st January 1939 and reads as follows:

Saturday, January 21st 1939

“Went to the work-in-progress room in afternoon to write some letters, but interrupted by two groups of visitors who came thinking the museum would be open. I allowed them in. One gentleman was a Rowntree whom I remembered seeing in August. Also, with the other group, a dark-haired young lady, Mrs [here a space is left to insert her surname] dressed in a vermillion jersey, whom I had met before at Perry’s:- the lady, I fancy, comes to Avebury periodically to commune with the spirits of the stones. I almost thought she was going to fall into my arms, her greeting was so familiar. On leaving she said she did not suppose it would be long before she came again, and she asked for my name!”
Denis Grant King’s ‘Journal of my visit to Avebury’, 1939, Alexander Keiller Museum item reference, 1732623-002, p. 58.

*Journal of my visit to Avebury, Book Two. This spread shows the entry for January 21st 1939. AKM item reference, 1732623-002, p. 58.*

1939 is the year Gerald Gardner, the man widely credited with beginning the modern Wicca religion (this early phase is now commonly known as the Gardnerian tradition), was initiated into the New Forest Coven. However, Gardner did not introduce his Wicca religion to the public until 1954. This makes me wonder if the lady donning the vermillion jersey was from the New Forest coven?

I shall be keep my eyes peeled for any mention of a return visit from this lady and keep you posted.

Michael Boyton

*Journal of my visit to Avebury, Book Two. Here, Grant King’s describes a visit to Silbury Hill, with a drawing of the same. AKM item reference, 1732623-002, p. 60.*

Tags archaeologist, Archaeology, Archive, Avebury, Avebury Stones, Denis Grant King, diaries and records, Digitisation, Digitisation; Archive; Alexander Keiller Museum; National Trust; Data; Photography; Photographic archive; mixed media archive; digitisation challenges, Heritage, National Trust, pagan, UNESCO World Heritage Site, wiccan

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Surveying Avebury’s Stones (with poles!)

Post author By Ben
Post date July 3, 2023
2 Comments on Surveying Avebury’s Stones (with poles!)

Visitors to Avebury recently may have witnessed the odd sight of two people walking around with cameras on the end of long poles. Certainly, many people came up to ask what we were doing, and no, it wasn’t part of a mysterious mid-summer ritual!

The truth is sadly more mundane. Adam Stanford of SUMO GeoSurveys (https://www.sumoservices.com/archaeology-geophysical) and I have been conducting a survey of the Avebury and West Kennet Avenue stones using a technique known as photogrammetry, a technique for generating 3d models of objects.

I should add that our survey happened to coincide with a period of beautiful sunny weather. The brilliant sunshine and strong shadow was far from ideal conditions for stone photography, but it was hard to worry about that as the buttercups were out and the West Kennet Avenue was looking rather magical!

*Adam Stanford using a camera on a pole to photograph the top of a stone on the West Kennet Avenue.*

In order to make the photogrammetric model, we take overlapping photos of the stones from every possible angle (hence the long poles). This involved taking roughly 150 shots for each stone. Once the photographs have been taken, we use software to generate a 3d point cloud by triangulating the positions of individual points on a stone using multiple photographs taken from different angles.

The end result is an accurate 3d model of each stone.

*Screen capture of the construction of the 3d model. The blue rectangles show the location and direction of each photograph the model is being compiled from.*

Those of you that follow the Avebury Papers project will know that the focus of our project is on digitising the archive from Avebury’s 20^th century excavations. Therefore, you are probably wondering why we want to survey the stones. The answer is a little convoluted.

The starting point is that there are lots of photographs of Avebury’s stones in the Keiller archive (we estimate there to be 2000 of them!). Many of these are only partial images of stones taken from odd angles as they were being uncovered, or re-erected, in the 1930s. It is quite difficult to identify which stones appear in the photographs but this is information that we would very much like to add to our catalogue so that ultimately people will be able to search for all the images and written records associated with each individual stone on the site.

Whilst trying to work out how we were going to identify these stones, the opportunity came up to work with some clever people at the University of York involved with machine learning. They have set up a project that aims to teach a computer to identify the stones in the photographs for us. I won’t go into more detail here as this part of the project will be covered in detail in a future blog post. Suffice to say, the first step is to give the computer some images of Avebury’s stones to use as a reference point. These photos need to provide the computer data on what every stone looks like from every possible angle, and so the obvious starting point was to create a 3d model of the stones using photogrammetry. A few examples of what the models look like can be seen below.

3d model of Avebury Stone 9.

AS-09 by SUMO GeoSurveys on Sketchfab

3d model of West Kennet Avenue Stone 35A.

WKAS-35A by SUMO GeoSurveys on Sketchfab

Beyond teaching a computer to recognise a stone, there are many more reasons why the photogrammetric survey is a great idea.

First of all it will provide accurate 3d survey data that will be essential baseline data for the future management of the monument.

Secondly, the survey opens up lots of avenues for further research. For example, it will allow us to conduct a detailed quantified analysis of the surfaces of the stones. Many of the stones at Avebury have evidence of differing amounts of flaking and pecking of their surfaces. This is of interest as, unlike Stonehenge, Avebury’s stones are often thought of as being natural sarsen boulders that have not been dressed. We will use the photogrammetric model to try and work out how much of the surface alteration of the stones relates to the working of them in prehistory, as opposed to natural weathering, or medieval and later attempts to break or bury the stones.

Ultimately, we aim to survey the whole of the monument, including its banks and ditches. Once this has been done the model will also be able to quantify the volume of its earthworks to a higher level of accuracy than has previously been possible.

Alongside an improved understanding of the pecking and flaking of Avebury’s stones, this information will be an essential component in understanding the scale and complexity of the Neolithic construction of the monument.

For now, though, there is more survey work to be done. We estimate that we may need to take 15,000 photographs before we have captured every stone from every possible angle. So you may well see more people wandering around with cameras on poles in the months to come!

Tags 3d, Alexander Keiller, Archaeology, Archive, Avebury, Digitisation, GIS, Mapping, National Trust, Photogrammetry, sketchfab, UNESCO World Heritage Site, virtual avebury

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Cool Finds of the Month

*Content warning: drawings of a human skull at the end of the post*

Whilst organising the stables archive there have been some interesting discoveries, here are some of them:

mounted print of styracosaurus — *AKM accession no. 20004856_002*

mounted print of iguanodon — *AKM accession no. 20004856_002*

These mounted pictures of dinosaurs were used as a museum display piece! From left to right we have a styracosaurus, an iguanodon, and a ceratosaurus.

*Plan drawing of a road accident from 1940, AKM accession number: 20004634.*

During World War 2 Alexander Keiller worked for the local police force. This meant he had to write reports for any incidents that occurred in the area. Here we have one of his plans for a report.

Plan of second floor of 3&4 Charles Street — *AKM accession no. 20004531_002.*

Plan of third floor of 3&4 Charles Street — *AKM accession no. 20004531_002.*

At Stables, we also have Alexander Keiller’s floor plans for his London residence at Charles Street. It is interesting to see how the house was laid out during his time there.

HUMAN REMAINS DRAWINGS AHEAD

Below you can see a select few of Doris Chapman’s pencil drawings of some of the skulls from Alexander Keiller’s 1936 excavation at Lanhill. While not strictly an ‘Avebury paper’, they fall within the wider project’s remit to celebrate all the people who excavated Avebury, and allow more people to access Doris Chapman’s work and realise her contributions to archaeology.

Tags Alexander Keiller, Archaeology, Archive, Avebury, Digitisation, Dinosaur, National Trust, UNESCO World Heritage Site

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Getting the Stables Archive Ready for Photography

Post author By Caitlin
Post date June 26, 2023
No Comments on Getting the Stables Archive Ready for Photography

Here in the archive, we are gearing up for round two of photography. We are moving the photography equipment to the stables archive where we have a lot of our larger maps and plans stored. But before we make the move we have to make sure everything is in order.

the two main plan chests in the stables archive — The two main plan chests in the stables archive

To make sure photography at stables goes as smoothly as possible we have been doing some important prep work. This includes rehousing documents so they all have their own individual wallet and accession number.

rehoused documents in a plan chest drawer — Rehoused documents in a plan chest drawer

This is a super important job as we need to know exactly what we have before photography starts so we can make sure nothing gets missed during the process and so that accession numbers don’t get muddled up!

We’ve also started a more detailed catalogue, as some items were catalogued as a bundle.

A person holding up a large map of Avebury — Volunteer JM holding up a map of Avebury. Accession number: 20004915

Here we have volunteer JM holding up one of the many large maps of Avebury that we have in the collection. The organisation of the stables archive has led to some other interesting finds, stay tuned for a future blog post on these!

Tags Alexander Keiller, Archaeology, Archive, Avebury, Digitisation, National Trust, UNESCO World Heritage Site

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Psychometry and the Giants of Archaeology

Post author By Colleen Morgan and Fran Allfrey
Post date June 13, 2023
2 Comments on Psychometry and the Giants of Archaeology

Crop of letter from V Gordon Childe to Keiller, 10 October 1937, AKM 88051526_081.

“I was glad to note that you made some protest against the vapours that have befouled the ether […] it is monstrous that the only prehistory broadcast should be this nonsense.”
– V Gordon Childe to Alexander Keiller, 10 October 1937

On Friday 17 September, 1937, BBC Radio aired one of a three-part series titled, “The Unchronicled Past” by antiquarian John Foster Forbes. Foster Forbes was dedicated to the idea that megaliths were built by the survivors from Atlantis. He was noted for his opinions on UFOs, giants, and psychometry, which was the practice of feeling and studying vibrations from ancient monuments. The inclusion of his ideas on BBC Radio sparked vociferous protest from contemporary archaeologists: including Alexander Keiller and V Gordon Childe, who was then Abercromby Professor of Archaeology at University of Edinburgh. For an excellent further discussion of BBC Radio and archaeology, see Jan Lewis’ 2021 PhD.

Fran and her team of digitising volunteers at Avebury came across materials in the archive that demonstrate push-back from archaeologists regarding unorthodox ideas about the past, and show how scholarly debate filtered into the mainstream.

A March 1937 clipping in the Daily Telegraph calls Childe a “Controversial Archaeologist” for denouncing the “simple supernaturalism” of physicists Sir Arthur Eddington and Sir James Jeans, and for calling Hitler’s Aryan theory “arrant nonsense”.

*“Controversial archaeologist” clipping from the Daily Telegraph, accessioned at the Alexander Keiller Museum as 88051526_078_001.*

A 10th October letter from Childe to Keiller, containing the assessment of the “befouling vapours” of Foster Forbes’ theories, was sent on stationery from the Fleece Hotel in Richmond, Yorkshire, which is still a going concern. He rails against Foster Forbes’ appearance on BBC Radio, “It is monstrous that the only prehistory broadcast should be this nonsense.” He rallies archaeology’s institutions to protest and to “offer to advise the BBC as to the reliability of proposed talks” and complains about the admission of “any civil servant” to learned archaeology societies.

*Letter from Childe to Keiller, 10 October 1937, AKM 88051526_081, p. 1.*

Howard Cunnington, curator for the Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History Society (WANHS), writes to Keiller on the same topic a couple days later. He attaches a resolution he was to put forth at the WANHS committee meeting, which expresses concern that the BBC had broadcast Foster Forbes’ “highly regrettable discourse on the ‘Stone Age’, which, as he admitted, set forth only his own ideas, which are entirely opposed to the evidence of all recent excavations, and to the opinion of the greater majority of accredited archaeologists”.

*Letter from Cunnington to Keiller, 12 October 1937, AKM 88051527_061, p. 1.*

In Keiller’s reply to Childe (sent two weeks later, as he was suffering with flu), he echoes Childe’s complaint regarding the membership of Foster Forbes to the Royal Anthropological Institute and the Society of Antiquaries, and notes that he has suggested that both societies distance themselves from Foster Forbes’ views. He explains how The Prehistoric Society, WANHS, the Hampshire Field Club, and others have already made “articulate objections”.

Keiller also reveals how Kendrick (T D Kendrick, keeper of British and Medieval Antiquities at the British Museum) had written to him to suggest that “two reputable archaeologists should broadcast talks controverting Foster Forbes’ fantastic statements”. Modestly, Keiller suggests that he might “instantly name half-a-dozen men very much more competent to undertake the job than I. After all I am but an archaeological surveyor and an excavator when all is said and done”. Keiller duly appends a list of archaeological subjects and specialists including Grahame Clarke, “Hawkes” (probably Christopher, perhaps Jacquetta – both had contributed to BBC programming previously), R G Collingwood, O G S Crawford, and Stuart Piggott to propose to the BBC, asking Childe what he thinks to the idea.

*Letter from Keiller to Childe, 24 October 1937, AKM 88051526-083, p. 1.*

There are several more letters back and forth between Keiller and Childe, and others, on Foster Forbes. These clippings and letters in the Avebury archive reveal Keiller and later curators’ interests in preserving discussions about archaeology as much as the physical archaeology. They show how networks of peers could be mobilised to defend – or gatekeep, depending on whose side you are on – archaeological narratives.

Over 80 years later, archaeologists are still mounting campaigns against what is commonly called “pseudoarchaeology”. Graham Hancock’s popular Ancient Apocalypse aired on Netflix in 2022, rehearsing some of the ideas Foster Forbes put forth regarding ancient people, aliens, and Atlantis.

John Hoopes, Flint Dibble, and Carl Feagans responded to this programme in the Society for American Archaeology journal, noting that by addressing pseudoarchaeology, archaeologists are “damned if we do and damned if we don’t” as some people argue that interacting with the theories – even to denounce them – adds legitimacy and visibility. Hoopes, Dibble, and Feagans record the various public-facing, social media, and popular media attempts to refute Hancock. Lobbying for a BBC series on the matter – as per Keiller’s suggestion – just would not reach the same audience as in 1939, as pseudoarchaeologies multiply across global, digital spaces.

Indeed, these theories seemingly hold enormous sway in public imaginaries. Alongside attempting to myth-bust, it is therefore vital to consider why these myths take root. During the recent Radio 4 ‘In our time’ discussion on megaliths, Melvin Bragg was audibly exasperated with the expert response to many questions of ‘we can’t know for sure’: archaeological myths play a powerful role creating and sustaining interest in ancient places, and go far beyond any individual or learned institution’s control.

After speaking about the Avebury Papers on the radio, Colleen received a pamphlet regarding an alternate theory regarding Avebury involving ley lines. She emailed the author back and invited him to come to Avebury, perhaps to volunteer or just to have a chat. He was incredibly lovely, and declined, as he was very elderly and taking care of his partner. We hope he keeps in touch and we will share the online archive with him when it is available.

These enthusiasts are stakeholders in the Avebury Papers, and as a project team we are still trying to understand their interests and needs in our outreach and care of the digital archive. We hesitate to dismiss their attachment to Avebury as unimportant or irrelevant. Can we form an inclusive archive when these divisions have defined archaeology for decades? Or can we conceive of the Avebury Papers digital archive as an opportunity for reconciliation, de-escalation, and an invitation in?

Tags Alexander Keiller, antiquarian, Archaeology, archaeology and mass media, Archive, Avebury, Digitisation, history of archaeology, John Foster Forbes, mass media, myth, pseudoarchaeology, public archaeology, UNESCO World Heritage Site, V Gordon Childe

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Avebury Papers on Outside the Box podcast

Post author By Fran
Post date June 7, 2023
No Comments on Avebury Papers on Outside the Box podcast

Just in time for Volunteers’ Week, 1-7 June in the UK, the Archives and Records Association (ARA) invited us to take part in their Outside the Box podcast!

Ros Cleal (Curator at AKM), Ros Preuss, Bev Stapleton, Prue Saunders (all volunteers with the digitisation project), and I chatted about how the project has been progressing, what it’s like volunteering at Avebury, and the kinds of stories we’ve started to explore.

You can listen to the interview on Spotify or via Libsyn.

Click here to listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/4YAPN9i8IIMKk38dNTyu44?si=o4oYm4YOShup4xG3_qznFw

Click here for Libsyn: https://sites.libsyn.com/448569/website/volunteer-special-the-avebury-papers

A huge thanks to host Deborah for inviting us onto the show!

Outside the Box is a podcast about archives and the wonders they contain. Outside the Box is part of the Archives and Records Association’s Explore Your Archive campaign.

Tags Alexander Keiller, Archaeology, Archive, Avebury, Digitisation, Interview, National Trust, podcast, UNESCO World Heritage Site, Volunteers, Volunteers Week

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Avebury People

Can you help us to identify the people who made the modern Avebury?

The Alexander Keiller Museum archive holds hundreds of photographs of people. The photographs span several archaeological campaigns across the decades, including excavations run by Harold St George Gray in Avebury Henge in the 1900-10s, and the Alexander Keiller-led work at Avebury and West Kennet Avenue in the 1930s.

As we progress through the project, we hope to identify as many people as we can in these photographs. Our volunteers are busy transcribing captions (when they exist), and collecting names from letters and diaries.

Do you recognise any of these excavators? Perhaps older relatives have photographs that show familiar faces?

Workmen during the 1909 excavations led by Harold St George Gray. Alexander Keiller Museum accession number 78510162.

Workers in 1937 at Avebury. Alexander Keiller Museum accession number 20004218-002.

Workers in 1939, erecting stones in Avebury henge. Alexander Keiller Museum accession number 20004243-002.

The fabulous digitisation volunteer team flag whenever a person is mentioned in letters and diaries. I then compile the names into a list, including details about the person’s role, if known. Later down the line, we hope to be able to match up names with photographs, as we work out who excavated which stone, or who was on site on a given week.

Our working list of ‘Avebury People’ is updated almost daily, but this blog post was last updated 19 February 2024. Check back again as we add new names!

If you recognise any names – especially if you have any photographs – we’d love to hear from you . Leave your comments below to be in touch, or email Fran dot Allfrey at York dot ac dot uk.

Avebury ‘Hands’

During the 1930s excavations at Avebury, the hired workmen were known as ‘hands’ in the diaries and other archive documents. These men lived in the surrounding villages and towns, some travelling quite some way to work. Many of them were agricultural labourers, but some of them returned ‘archaeological worker’ on census records.

Surname	Forename(s)	Role	Further details
Alexander		Hand	Assisting George Bates 7 Oct 1939
Ash	A E	Hand	1939, left for RAF Yatesbury job 27 Nov 1939
Ash	Henry	Hand	Hand – 1934, 1935, 1937. Re-excavation of WH 1937 (WEVY 15, 5 Jan). Made Foreman 20 Jul 1938
Ball	Richard / ‘Turnpike’	Hand	Turnpike’ Ball of Turnpike Cottage. Hand 1937
Ball	Arthur George	Hand	Hand, 1934, 35.
Bird	J	Hand	10 Jan 1939, tree-felling under Phil Withal. WEVY diary 22.
Blake	George	Hand	Mentioned in full 7 Jul 1939, 23 Oct 1939 (with Tommy King).Re-excavation of WH 1937 (WEVY 15, 5 Jan)
Blake	Harold J	Hand	Hand 1935, 1937 Absent without leave 25 Sep 1937. Re-excavation of WH 1937 (WEVY 15, 5 Jan)
Blake	Lionel	Hand	20 Sep 1937 Blake H mentioned 25 Sep 1937. Lionel Blake employed 8 Feb 1937 (WEVY 15) Second carter (haymaking) at WH (WEVY 16 p12)
Blake	W	Hand	1938: one of 13 men engaged at start of season
Bowsher	George	Hand	Hand – 1934, 1935. Filling in ‘ganger’ WEVY 9, Jun 7 1934
Brindle	William Henry Joseph	Hand	Hand – 1935. 1937 Entered as Brindel (H) in the diary. Poultry runs, WEVY 12, 24 Oct 1935. Re-excavation of WH 1937 (WEVY 15, 5 Jan)
Buckingham	George	Hand	Hand 1937, 1938 (mistakenly recorded as ‘Buckland’ by NC?
Buckingham	Norman	Hand	Left 20 Oct 1939 due to call up. Stone Erecting gang member
Bull	Arthur William	Hand	Hand – 1934. Hand 1937, 1938
Bull	Bert	Hand	Hand – 1935 Experienced wire fencer of Wint Monkton (WEVY 12, 31 Oct) Re-excavation of WH 1937 (WEVY 15, 5 Jan). Excavation gang Avebury (WEVY 16 p19) Hand 1937 Absent without leave 25 Sep 1937 “Turnpike’ [allotments]
Bull	Lewis Adolphus	Hand	Hand. 1937 (21 June WEVY16). Carter. Grass cutting . 1939 Register next door to Sam Pratt Wint Monkton. b 29Mar1913
Bull	Walter	Hand
Butcher		Hand	Hand 1937
Cable	Albert / Bert. Initials AH.	Hand	23 Aug 1937 Cable and Cable (L) mentioned on tasks: Two of this surname. B is given in 1939 diary, and at Re-excavation of WH 1937 (WEVY 15, 5 Jan). 10 Jan1939: Bert Cable on tree felling (WEVY 22).
Cable	Leonard	Hand	Hand – 1934. Hand 1937, 1938, 1939. Employed 8 Feb 1937 (WEVY 15). Tree-felling 10 Jan 1939 (WEVY 22)
Chivers	Bert (Herbert)	Hand	Hand 1937. Excavation gang
Dobson	William T	Hand	Hand 1935, 1937 Erecting gang 1935 W Dobson WEVY diary 22 10 Jan 1939, tree-felling under P Withil
Fishlock	Frank	Hand	Hand – 1934. Hand 1937, assistant to Mr Van Asch (WEVY 16 p20), Foreman 1938
Gale	R	Hand	Hand – 1934.
Goddard	J	Hand	Hand – 1934, 1935. Separate to S. Goddard. Erecting gang 1935
Goddard	S: H in WEVY diary 9	Hand	Hand – 1934. Former Windmill Hill hand. WEVY diary 9 has H Goddard, Apr 10
Griffiths	A	Hand	Chief assistant to Griffiths, stone erector, from Caernarvon. WEVY 12 Sep 6 1935
Griffiths	G – given as GD in diary, see bio sketch	Hand	Griffiths – ‘drills’ – so D is not part of name. Office of Works foreman WEVY 10 Jun 14 1934 Previously at Stonehenge. Raising stones.
Griffiths	William	Hand	Griffiths in charge of stone erecting, with two assistants. From Caernarvon (WEVY 12, 25 Oct 1935)
Hambidge	Ernest Henry (Hambridge?)	Hand	Hand – 1934. Former Windmill Hill hand. Photo in WEVY diary!
Hancock	G	Hand	Diary 20 p114Jun1938: one of 13 men engaged at start of season
Harper	John	Hand	Hand – 1934.WEVY 9 p157 : John Harper of West Kennet
Head	W	Hand	Hand mentioned 21 Nov 1938, 19 Jun and13 Jul 1939. ‘Footman’ living at AM 1939 — CHECK THIS – – where is this info from? 1939 Register, Avebury Manor. W Head,WEVY diary 22, 10 Jan 1939, Hand
Hillier/Hillyer		Hand	Mentioned September 1938
Horsall	H	Hand	Apr 9 1934 One of six original ‘Hands’ Same as B Horsell in Keiller diary? ‘Herbert’ otherwise ‘Bert’
Horsell	B	Hand	Hand – 1934.
Jock		Hand	1937 – Hand and in charge of concreting gang.
Jones	JC	Hand	Carpenter 1939
King	Tommy’	Hand	Patrolling site 1 August 1937, working 23 Oct 1939 with George Blake
Lanfear	WF	Hand	Hand – 1934. WEVY 9 has WF Lanfear p157 of Avebury
Ligger		Hand	First mentioned with Strange 11 Oct 1937. May not be a Hand.
Lovesey	S	Hand	Hand – 1934. Hand 1937 WEVY 9 has S Lovesey p157 of Wint Monkton. Re-excavation of WH 1937 (WEVY 15, 5 Jan)
Loxton	M	Hand	Excavating with Bert Bull an W Knight 19 Oct 1937. Diary 20 p1 14Jun1938: one of 13 men engaged at start of season
Lush	John	Hand	Foreman for Gray – 1909. ‘From Dorchester’
Mathews / Matthews	W / Bill	Hand	Spelled 2 ways across diaries
Nash	B	Hand	He did two seasons at WH, then 1939 till 27Nov at Avebury. Of Winterbourne Monkton.
Nash	A	Hand	1939 diary. Is this person related to or same as A Nash, perhaps? Probably refers to the same person, AE (Bert) Nash.
Nash	Stanley	Hand	Hand 1937 Excavation gang
Pearce	O	Hand	Hand – 1934. Former Windmill Hill hand. Excavation foreman at least 1937-9. Older than W? [‘snr’ in diary is scratched out].
Pearce	W	Hand	Hand – 1934. Former Windmill Hill hand. Contracted to Bevan Nov 1935 (WEVY 12)
Pratt	Samuel Harold	Hand	Hand – 1934,1938 Former Windmill Hill hand. Allotment holder 1935
Radbourne	Ernest	Hand	Hand – 1934. Older brother of Francis
Radbourne	Francis	Hand	Hand – 1934. Younger brother of Ernest
Randall	Frank	Hand	First mention18 Oct 1938
Rathband / Rathbone	F	Hand	Hand – 1934. F Rathband in WEVY diary 9 p91, replaced O Pearce while ill
Rogers	Donald	Hand	Hand 1937, 1938. D Rogers at Re-excavation of WH 1937 (WEVY 15, 5 Jan) Avebury (WEVY 16 p 19)
Salisbury	John S	Hand	Hand, brought from Wales by Mr Griffiths WEVY 10, 18 Jun 1934
Sanderson	H / ‘Sandy’	Hand
Strange	A M	Hand	Hand 1937 and Re-excavation of WH 1937 (WEVY 15, 5 Jan)
Tuck	A	Hand	Hand – 1934. Hand 1937(?). Also appears WEVY diart
White		Hand
Williams	W.E.	Hand	WEVY diary: 1937 Diary 15 March 8, Jul 9

Staff, Visitors, Correspondents, and more!

The names below have been collected from diaries and letters in the collection. Their roles are varied: some only visited Avebury once, some might have only sent one letter, while others are vital Avebury figures. Each of them occupies a place in the Avebury network, showing how activities here related to archaeological and social goings on further afield. Our volunteers are busy sifting through each name to work out their particular relationship to Avebury.

Surname	Forename(s)	Role	Further details
Acland Hood		Visitor	Visited 14 Aug 1939 with Gertrude Caton Thompson
Allen		Visitor	visitors 14 Jul 1937
Anderson	P	Visitor	Listed on ‘Experts visiting site’, 1936, visited 8 Sep 1937
Anderson		Avebury local	WEVY diary 10, Jul 21 1934. Leased Trusloe Manor to Keiller for 1934 season. With boxing party WEVY 15, 6 Mar 1937. Local person.
Armstrong	John	Visitor	Visitors 25 June 1938, stayed two nights
Ashby Rowe	Mr and Mrs	Visitor	Visitor 27 August 1935
Awdry	Hasvice[?]	Visitor	Visited with Colonel Awdrey 28 Sep 1937
Awdry		Visitor	visitor 29 Jun, 31 Jul, 28 Sep, 20 Oct 1937; 5 Sep 1938; 11, 28 Sep, 11 Nov 1939
Awdry		Visitor	Visited with husband, Colonel Awdry and friend 11 Nov 1939
Bates	George	Supplier/ Contractor	Foreman 1937, 1938, 1939 (stone repair specialist)
Bath		Visitor	Visitor 20 Oct 1937 with Col Awdry
Bell	Mrs	Visitor	Visit July 1935
Bells	Mr	Visitor	Visit July 1935, with members of the Southampton Archaeological Society. Also appears WEVY diary.
Benson	Guy	Visitor	WEVY diary 9: May 5 1934, second husband of Lady Violet Benson “of Avebury Manor”
Benson	Violet	Visitor	Several visits to site with family, 1934.
Betjeman	Penelope	Visitor	Travel writer. Wife of poet John Betjeman. Lived at Uffington from 1934. Visitor on site September 1934, stayed at Lawes’s hotel.
Bevan		Supplier/ Contractor	1 Nov 1935. Contracted to lower road banks, with O Pearce, W Pearce, W Dobson recommended to assist. WEVY diary 12.
Beveridge	William	Visitor	Visit July 1935
Blach	Herbert	Visitor
Boyd Dawkins		Visitor	Visit July 1935
Bradley	Edward	Supplier/ Contractor	1937. Edwin H Bradley and Son, Swindon – photograph of machinery in Album 78510319-020
Bradley	Edwin	Supplier/ Contractor	1937. Discusses plinths with AK 16 Aug 1939
Bradley		Supplier/ Contractor	arranged mechanical excavator 23 Jun 1937
Brailsford	JW (Mr)	Visitor	List of experts, 1935
Brander “of Kent”		Visitor	Visitor, April 1934
Brentnall	HC	Visitor	Archaeologist. Visits 1934 and 19 Dec1939, and with wife in 1935 and July 1937(with wife and then Marlborough College boys. Features in 300 album photograph.
Bright	John	Visitor	21 Oct 1935 vicar of Ebbesborne, with (driver?) Mr Oborn
Brooke-Pophams		Visitor	Visitor, August 13 1935
Brown	Bella	Visitor	Visitor May 14th – May 15th
Bush		Visitor	17 Jun 1937 Archaeologist from Holland, staying with Piggotts
Bushe-Fox	JP	Visitor	Visitor May 3rd, 6th, Jul 12, 1934, 7 Aug 1935. Chief inspector of Ancient Monuments according to 78510467 1934 Diary, name ‘Bushe-Fox’ correct in WEVY Diary no 9 for same dates.
Butler	G	Visitor
Butler	Peter	Visitor	Visitor, 1935
Came		Visitor	Visitor 13 June 1938, of the News Chronicle
Campkin	Percival	Consulted Expert	6 Mar 1937. In party watching Boxing in Devizes. Stayed at Manor to examine teeth and jaws from Lanhill and WKA. From London. (Percival Sidney Campkin 1877-1965)
Carter	EH	Visitor	Visitor, April 1934
Carter		Visitor	Visited 15 Oct 1938
Caton Thompson	Gertrude	Visitor	Archaeologist, suffragette, Egyptologist, pioneering scientific approach. Visited 14 Aug 1939 with Mrs Acland Hood
Challeston		Visitor	Diary notes he is ‘Press’, visits May 1934
Chapman / Keiller / Chalmers	Doris Emerson	Staff	Visitor April 12th – April 19th. Subsequently transferred to staff. Illustrator (1934-5) and part of excavation team (1937-9)
Chief Split and Mrs Chief Split [?!]		Visitor	Visitors 2 Aug 1939
Childe	Vere Gordon	Visitor	Visitor 15 Aug 1938, 30 Aug 1937 with his sister (WEVY 17)
Chitty	Miss Lily Francis “Lal”	Consulted Expert	Petrologist — 20000593_059, appears in this series
Chivers		Supplier/ Contractor	Messrs Chivers of Devizes Supplier of a steam roller for drive through Barn Close
Civil		Keiller family/friend	Jun 17 1934. Friend/contact of WEVY. From Gosport
Clark	Grahame	Visitor	visitors 30 Jul 1937. Archaeologist (1907-1995) Sir John Grahame Douglas Clarke, FSA, CBE, FBA. Marlborough Coll, Peterhouse Cambridge
Clark	Kenneth	Visitor	visitor 9 Aug 1937 THE Kenneth Clark of ‘Civilisation’ fame. With Sir Phillip Sassoon, by air
Clements	F	Consulted Expert	WEVY diary 16, 10, visited by AK et al 25 Jun 1937. Finder of a pot sherd on Overton Ridge. Grandson of Robert Clements, foreman at Silbury and at WH for Dean Merewether, archaeologist, (1779-1850)
Clifton College Archaeological Society		Visitor	Visitors16 June 1938
Coe		Visitor	28 Feb-1 Mar 1939. Two night stay. Dinner, then Boxing event Swindon Baths, Site visit 1 Mar. MIAR financial discussions 2 Mar.
Collingwood		Visitor	Visitors 23 Aug 1937 Archaeologist (Roman specialist)
Colonel Awdrey / Awdry		Visitor	Visitor 28 August 1935, frequent correspondent
Congreve	M	Visitor	18 May 1937 Visited WH re-excavation with AK. Stayed at Manor. Visitor 3 Aug 1937
Conway Film Company representatives		Visitor	Visitors 5 Jul 1939, permission to photograph 6 -16 Jul 1939. 22 Jul
Cook	David	Visitor	Visitor June 1th – June 17th. ‘To see BL’, staying at Perry’s hotel.
Cook	Norman	Staff	Archaeologist, supervisor(?) 1938. Address given 1935 diary as “Maidstone Museum, Kent”
Cook		Visitor	Visitor 20 Aug 1938
Cook		Avebury local	10 Oct 1935 Allotment holder
Cook	W	TBC
Cookson		Visitor	Visitor 21 July 1938
Costin	Fred	Staff	Member of Keiller’s permanent staff
Cotswold Field Club		Visitor	Visited 17 Aug 1939
Crawford	Osbert Guy Stanhope	Visitor	Visited 11 Jul 1934 WEVY diary 10, 23 Jul 1935 WEVY 12.
Cumberland and Westmorland Archaeological Society		Visitor	Visitors 7 Jun 1939, 11am to 5pm. Talks and tours.
Cunnington	Ben	Key character – not Keiller staff etc	Visitor 22 Jul,13 Sep 1935
Cunnington	Maud	Key character – not Keiller staff etc	Visitor 22 Jul,13 Sep 1935 WEVY 12, 8 Sep 1937 WEVY 17
Cunnington	Robert Anthony	Visitor	Visitor, 20 Aug 1937, with father RH Cunnington
Cunnington	Robert Henry	Visitor	WEVY diary 9, Jun 6 1934. Wilts Arch Soc with Cunningtons etc. WEVY diary 17 visitor, 20 Aug 1937 with his son, (Robert A Cunnington), 1 Sep 1937, 8 Sep 1937. Archaeologist. Cousin of Maud Pegge Cunnington and nephew of Ben Cunnington.
Dalgliesh	W	Avebury local	10 Feb 1937 winning boxer, Manton Downs Stable lad
Darling	Fred	Avebury local	10 Feb 1937. Racehorse trainer, Beckhampton Stables. Wikipedia
Darling	H	Visitor	Engineer (constructional). Office of Works, visits 29Jun1934. Wonder if same visitor as Darling (constructional). Also visits 23 Jul 1935 and with wife.
Date	Mr and Dinah	Visitor	Visit July 1935, Mr Date stayed 28 Sep-2 Oct, 21-24, 29-31 Oct 1938. AK visited him in London several times Sep-Oct 1938
Davidson	James	Visitor	Visitor 29 July 1938
Davidson	Mr and Mrs	Visitor	Visitor 20 August 1935
Dayrell Reed	Trelawney	Visitor	Intermittent correspondent. Artist, author, friend of Augustus John and George Pitt-Rivers, curator of Pitt-Rivers Museum in Farnham Dorest. Visitor May 8 1934 (WEVY 9) with Col Drew and Mr Passmore
de la F[?]	Miss	Visitor	Visitor in 1935
Denman	HT	Visitor	Visitor 23, 31 July, 5 Sep 1935, 25 Aug 1937 (WEVY 17)
Dewar		WEVY family/friend	12 Aug 1937. With nephew and niece. Friends of WEVY
Dibble	DL	Supplier/ Contractor	29 Apr 1937. Painter at Manor, died at Savernake hospital after ulcers operation on 28th Apr.
Ditters		Visitor	Visits in 1935, ‘Ordnance Survey’.
Dobson		Visitor	Visitor 16 June 1938
Donovan		Visitor	Visitor 22 Aug 1939 with Father Horne
Drew (and Dorset Field Club)		Visitor	With TDR 8 May 1834 (WEVY 9) and Dorset Field Club, 22 Jun 1939, lunched with AK
Druid		Other – describe in column N	18 Jun 1937. Carthorse owned by AK
Duignan		Visitor	Met AK at Charles St. 23 May 1939, Prehistoric Society.Visited Avebury 26 May 1939 and stayed overnight
Dunbar	George	Visitor	visitor 28 Jun to 6 Jul 1937 (WEVY 16) and WH re-excavation 19 May 1937 (WEVY 15) Author of ‘Other Men’s Lives’ a study of primitive peoples (1938)
Duncan	Kay	Staff	Windmill Hill supervisor; also appears in letters archive as subject
Dunning	GC	Visitor	visitor 22 Jul 1937 (an archaeologist/med pottery expert). WEVY Diary 19, 18 Jan medieval pottery forwarded for dating. WEVY diary 16, p24 dating medieval pottery
Dunning		Consulted Expert	1937 dating medieval pottery
Earle	Lionel	Visitor	Visitor 19 May 1939 from Hilmarton
Earle		Visitor	Visitors 19 May 1939 from Hilmarton
Elcho		Visitor	May 5 1934 (Francis David Charteris 1912-2008) Son of Lady Violet Benson. Visited with Duke of Rutland (her brother, his uncle) and Bensons
Elloway	John R	Visitor	Jun 17 1934. Friend/contact of WEVY. Co-founder of Basingstoke museum (opened 1931, now rehoused as The Willis Museum) with George Willis. Address 1930: 54 Queens Road, Basingstoke (WEVY diary 1 P20).
Ernest Gordon (Mr and Mrs)		Visitor	Visitor 28 August 1935
Ethelbert Horne	Dom	Visitor	Visitor August 15 1935, 10/11 May 1939
Evans	E Estyn	Visitor	Visitor 21 Jul 1939 with Mrs Jones. Stayed in Ebbesbourne about 1927 (WEVY 15, 17 Mar 1937)
Eyres-Monsell	Joan	Visitor	Visitor August 12 1935
Fanshawe		Visitor	Queen’s Boys[?], to apologise for WKA and SE sector damage from troop movements
Fawkes (Fowkes?)	Roger	Visitor	22 April 1939. WEVY friends from 18 years ago.
Fenson	W	Visitor	Visitor August 12 1935
Foster Forbes	John	Visitor	Broadcast 10 Sep 1937 ‘The Stone Age’
Fox	Cyril	Visitor	WEVY diary 12, 4 & 21 Sep 1935 Archaeologist (1882-1967) Dir, Nat Museum Wales, close friend of Mortimer Wheeler
Fox	Honey	Avebury local
Foyle	Enos	WEVY family/friend	21 Apr 1939. Visit to celebrate WEVY’s parents’ Golden Wedding. Full site visit with AK, DGK and NC
Foyle	Lily	WEVY family/friend	21 Apr 1939. Visit to celebrate WEVY’s parents’ Golden Wedding. Full site visit with AK, DGK and NC
Franks (?)	V	Visitor
G?Y?	Not given	Visitor	Visitor July 19th – July 20th and August 25th – August 29th.
Garrons Williams	SC	Visitor	Visitor 12 Sep 1939
George	Reuben	Visitor	Visitor, 1935
Gilbert	Cyril	Staff	Mar 19 1938 “Lad” age 14ish. Working in stores, office & cleaning. 29 Mar, digging flower border in village.
Goddard	EH	Visitor	WEVY diary 9 Visited with Wilts Arch Soc Jun 6 1934, Cunningtons etc
Goddard		Visitor	Unclear if different to other Goddards? Visitor in 1935, August 10.THIS IS CANON EH GODDARD OF WANHS
Goddard		Visitor	Mrs Goddard visits with friends, 1935, August 10. Link to other Goddards?
Graeme		Visitor	visitor 23 Aug 1937
Grant King	Denis	Staff	See also ‘Denis Grant Price’, attached to staff 19 Aug 1938?
Grau (spelling?)	Not given	Visitor	Visitor May 14th – May 15th. Entered as Fraûline G.
Gray	Florence	Key character – not Keiller staff etc
Gray	Harold St George	Key character – not Keiller staff etc
Grayson	Mrs	Visitor
Greader	W	Avebury local	20 May 1937 Landowner selling part of Plough Barrow to AK
Greenwood		Visitor	Visited 16 Aug 1939. 9th Lancers, involved in Army exercises, with Lewin [?]
Greig		Keiller family/friend	5 Apr 1937. AK’s Uncle. Visited WH re-excavation with AK
Greig		Keiller family/friend	5 Apr 1937. AK’s Aunt. Visited WH re-excavation with AK
Greig		Keiller family/friend	5 Apr 1937. AK’s cousin? Visited WH re-excavation with AK
Gwynne	Mrs	Visitor	Visitor August 1934, stayed at Red Lion, stayed Trusloe Manor
Halden	J	Supplier/ Contractor	Feb 22 1938 arrows and pickets sent for enamelling and repair 73B Victoria St, London SW1, returned Mar 22, more sent Mar29
Hale		Other – describe in column N	16 Apr 1937.Boxer. Welterweight champ 4th Hussars.
Hart	J	Other – describe in column N	10 Feb 1937 losing boxer, Beckhampton Stable lad
Hatherel		Avebury local	8 Oct 1935 Allotment holder
Hawkes	Christopher	Visitor	12 Apr 1937. Archaeologist. Visited WH re-excavation with AK. WEVY 22 p70 24 Apr 1939 overnight stay
Hawkes	Jacquetta	Visitor	12 Apr 1937. Archaeologist. Visited WH re-excavation with AK. 24 Apr 1939 overnight stay
Hawley	William	Visitor	May 14 1934. (Wm Hawley 1851-1941) Archaeologist, Stonehenge 1890s, Pokesdown 1926
Heasman		Visitor	Listed on ‘Experts visiting site’, 1934 Office of Works WEVY 9, Jun 3 1934, WEVY 17, 22 Aug 1937
Heath		Avebury local	1937 local landowner and farmer. Owner of ‘Crawford’s Circle”
Heathicote[?]		Visitor	visitor 9 Aug 1937, staying for a week
Hebdon		Staff	6 Mar 1937. In Devizes Boxing trip. WH with AK etc (WEVY 16 p13)
Hemp	WJ and Mrs	Visitor	Visitor, August 13 1935, 23 Aug 1937
Henderson	Winifred	Keiller family/friend	Visitor, 1935. Friend of Keiller, introduced him to Antonia White (Linda Murray, Zest for Life)
Henman [?]		Visitor	visitor 21 Aug 1937, stayed for lunch
Hobden / Hebden	Not given	Visitor	Visitor July 16th – July 17th. Entered as Miss Hobden.
Hogg	AHA	Visitor	Visitor 20 August 1935
Holloway	Teddy	Staff	24 Apr 1937 Avebury schoolboy assisting WEVY in MAIR
Holmes	Miss	Visitor
Holmes		Visitor	Holmeses hoe-ed by DGK 5 May 1939
Horne	Ethelbert	Visitor	Visitor 15 Aug 1935, 22 Aug 1939 with Father Donovan, 26 Sep 1935 with Fr Moody. Downside Abbey. Archaeologist and RC Prior Downside Abbey, Somerset
HTD [?]		Visitor	Visits with friends, 1935. WEVY 17 p28 Mr J Hunt letter 18.1.28 on C16th key.
Hunt	John	Visitor	Visitor 6 July 1938.
Hunt	John	Visitor	Visitors 21 Sep and 29 Oct 1938, 18 Nov 1939
Huth[?]		Visitor	visitor 29 Jun 1937
Jackson	J Wilfred	Consulted Expert	Jan 15 1938 animal bones forward to him for exam and report
Jackson	John Wilfred	Consulted Expert	Osteoarchaeologist (1880-1978), Manchester based Bones identified as young fox
James	Marjorie	Staff	Excavation team 1934-5
Jarman	H	Staff	Mar 5 1938 new garage assistant to Phil Withil. WEVY diary 22, p40, p42 Feb 1939. AK’s driver, of the Marshall (car)
Jenner	Leo	Visitor
Jennings		Visitor	Visited with Mr Date 15 Oct – 17 Oct 1938
Johnson		Visitor	Visits with a friend, April 1934
Johnston	Isobel	Staff	Staff in 1935 – wonder if this is the same person who visits in 1934 (although note differently spelled name). Address in 1935 diary given Balgillo Crescent, Broughty Ferry, Dundee
Jones		Visitor	Visitor 21 Jul 1939 from Kilmundie[?] with Evans
Keiller	Alexander	Staff
Kennard	AS	Consulted Expert
Knight	Thomas
Knight	W	Visitor	1939
Laidler	Barbara	Staff	Excavation team 1934-5
Laurence		Visitor	visitor 12 Jul 1937 with his architect
Lawes	Henry	Avebury local	Field owner (1939)
Lawson	Joseph ‘Joe’	Avebury local	10 Feb 1937. Racehorse trainer, Manton Downs. Wikipedia
Leask		Visitor	visitor 23 Aug 1937
Lewin [?]		Visitor	Visited 16 Aug 1939 after ‘Army scandal’ [exercises on WKA] with Greenwood
Liddell	Dorothy	Visitor	Visitor April 30th – May 2nd. Windmill Hill supervisor who carried out pioneering work on the decoration of prehistoric pottery. IS THIS SAME AS DML?
Liddell	Veronica	Staff	Windmill Hill supervisor. Married Keiller
Ligh [?]		Visitor	Visitors 3 June 1939
Littlecott		Avebury local	Mar 8 1938 previous occupants of (uninhabitable) Old Forge cottage, High St, Avebury, now owned and demolished by AK. Once lodged in by WEVY
Lord	Wilfred	Visitor	visitor 12 Jul 1937
Lowther	AWG	Visitor	visitor 26 Aug, 8 Sep 1937, 13 Jul 1939
Maby		Consulted Expert	Jan 17 1938 soil and charcoal samples forwarded
Magor	Gillian Ione Maud	Staff	14 Jan 1939. With fiance Thurstan Shaw – WEVY’s friends
Mahr		Visitor	Met AK at Charles St. 17and 23 May 1939, Prehistoric Society Council Meeting
Maidment	Ellen	Visitor	WEVY’a aunt. Visitor, 22 Aug 1937, with daughters Barbara and Connie, WEVY’s cousins
Mair		Visitor	Visit July 1935
Martin	Eric	Visitor	Visitor 1934 and 1935
Massingham	Mr and Mrs (and hound)	Visitor	Visitors 25 Jul 1935. Author of ‘Downland Man’ WEVY 12
Matheson		Visitor	visits: 29 June 1937 Mr Matheson of National Trust. With wife 21 Aug 1937
Mattison		Visitor	visitor 29 Jun 1937
McPhail		Visitor	Visitors 14 Aug 1938
Megalith Society		Visitor	Nine members visited afternoon of Sunday 13 Nov 1938
Monteith		Visitor	Visitors 18 June 1938, stayed overnight at Avebury Manor
Montieth	Cynthia	Visitor	Visitor 1-2 Jul 1939, with R Montieth
Montieth	Ronald	Visitor	Visitor 30 Jun – 2 Jul 1939
Moody		Visitor	26 Sep 1935 with Very Rev Prior Horne
Moore	JSH	Visitor
Morris	May	Visitor
Morris		Visitor	2 Jun 1937, WH. With WEVY’s friend Canon O’Farrell
Mr and Mrs Bennet	Mr and Mrs	Visitor	Visitor August 15 1935
Mr Keiller’s cousins		Visitor	May 15 1934 CHECK with Keiller diary
Nash	Paul	Visitor	Visitor 28 June 1938. Important war artist WW2. Well documented
Neilson		Visitor	Visitor 28 June 1938 same day as Paul Nash
Newall	Robert Sterling	Visitor	Visits with Uncle, July 1935. Archaeologist and collector (1884-1974)
Newbigin / Newbiggin	“Nancy”	Visitor	Archaeologist, particularly noted for worked on rock art and Celtic sites in Ireland. Full name Agnes Jane Waugh Newbigin
Newbury Field Club		Visitor	Visitors 20 July 1938
Nicholls		Visitor	1939 – which source?
Nicol / Nichol		Visitor	WEVY Diary Aug 30 1934 page 119
Norman	Grace	Visitor	Visitor in 1935 – 2 July
Norman	Miss E	Visitor	Visitor in 1935 – 4 July Archaeologist, assisted Dorothy Liddell at Hembury Fort (and so knew WEVY)
Norrington	AP	Visitor	Visitor 1 Jul 1939
O’Farrell		Visitor	Jun 1937, WH. From Aldershot. Friend of WEVY with Fr Morris
O’Neil	B.H.StJ.	Visitor	Visitor September 5th – September 6th, stayed at Perry’s
Oborn		Visitor	2 Oct 1935 some time motor bus driver from Ebbesbourne, with Rev and Mrs Bright. (WEVY 12 20 Nov 1935)
Ormsby Gore		Visitor	The ‘First Commissioner of Works’, Office of Works, visits in 1934, 14 Aug 1935
Ottley [?]	FHB	Visitor	Visitor August 12 1935
Paradise	Douglas	Avebury local	Villager. Blacksmith, owner of “Goatacre” 1 Sep 1938. Paradise’s Cottage demolished in 1938 by MIAR
Parrish	Colonel and Mrs	Visitor	Visit in 1935
Parsons	Louis	Consulted Expert	Listed on ‘Experts visiting site’, Visitor June 28th – June 29th, 1934, stayed at Perry’s hotel. Plaster casts of stone fractures to be repaired.
Passmore		Visitor	May 8 1934, with Col Drew and TDR
Peak-Garland	?	Avebury local	Manor Farm, landowner
Peak-Garland		Avebury local
Peake	Harold	Visitor	Visits with two friends, April 1934. Well known – has ADS record?
Perry	CD	Avebury local	Feb 15 1938 Owner, Avebury Private Hotel (“Perry’s”)
Perry		Avebury local	Jun 17 1934. Proprietor of Perry’s Private Hotel, Avebury
Peto		Visitor	Visited and lunched with AK 17 Aug 1939. 9th Lancers, with Thornton re army scandal
Philips	CW	Visitor	Visitor 5 Sep1935, 31 Oct 1939, stayed with Piggots 22 Jun 1937 (WEVY 16 p21)
Piggott	Peggy	Visitor	Visitor 25 June to 5 Jul 1937
Piggott	Stuart	Staff	Archaeologist
Plante/Plant	G	Visitor	Expert plasterer employed by Messrs Turner, Lord and Co., London.Discussion to take plaster casts 21 Sep 1937. Plastering 28 Sep 1937 and casts September 1938, 22 Jul1939
Price		Visitor	Visits May 1934
Pricter		Avebury local	12,14 Oct 1935 Allotment holder
Pritchard		Visitor	Visitors 3 June 1939
Pugh		Visitor	Jun 6 1934. Wilts Arch Soc with Cunningtons etc
Pugsley	Joseph	Supplier/ Contractor	Heavy machinery hire – photograph 78510319-019
Raby	FJE	Visitor	Office of Works. Visitor 26 Aug 1935, 16 Aug 1937 – stayed at Manor (WEVY 17). Frequent correspondent of AK.
Radcliffe	R	Avebury local	Tenant. Inside repairs to her cottage on Swindon Road 30 Nov 1939 by GB
Radford	Ralegh CA	Visitor	22 Aug 1935 Archaeologist (1900-1998)FSA with van Giffen
Rafferty		Visitor	Met AK at Charles St. 23 May 1939, Prehistoric Society. Visited Avebury 26 May 1939 and stayed overnight
Rawlins	Frank	Avebury local	Villager- Garage owner. Drove WEVY to Guildford (WEVY 15, 22 Feb 1937) Worked in Manor garage till 26 Feb 1937
Reed		Other – describe in column N	Mar 12 1938 AK presented bravery award to 13 year old Reed at Netheravon boys boxing contests
Reginald Williamson	Mrs	Visitor	Visit July 1935
Rickards	Margery	Staff	WEVY diary 16 one of two garage assistants MIAR, wages clerk from 26 June 1937
Roberts		Visitor	visitor 14 Jul 1937
Rumbold	Anthony	Visitor	Visitor, August 13 1935
Rutland		Visitor	May 5 1934 (JHM Manners 1888-1940) Brother of Lady Violet Benson. Visited with Lord Elcho (his nephew) and Bensons.
S [?]	Robert	Visitor	Visitors 10 Sep 1938
Sassoon	Philip	Visitor	visitor 9 Aug 1937 with Kenneth Clark, arrived by air. First Commissioner of Works in 1937. Under Secretary of State for Air, managing RAF
Sewell		Visitor	4 May 1937. Visited WH re-excavation. Friend of DC???
Shaw	Charles Thurstan	Consulted Expert	Visitor 30 April 1934, (WEVY 9), August 19 1935 to 23 Aug 1935 excavating (WEVY 12). Visited: NW Sector 12 Jul 1937(WEVY 16), SW sector with WEVY (diary 22) 14 Jan 1939 with fiancee Ione Magor.
Simking [?]	Lance	Visitor	Visitor 18 Sep 1939
Simpson	FJ	Other – describe in column N	16 Apr 1937. Boxer. Amateur lightweight champion GB 1936
Sirl		Visitor	WEVY diary 10, Jul 19 1934. Of Ebbesbourne Wake, lodger at WEVY’s parental home (WEVY diary 13 p16), visited with Mr Street,
Smith	Alan	Visitor	Visited site with Date and Miss Jennings 16 Oct, and 17 Oct , 22-24,29 Oct 1938. Stayed overnight 7 Jun 1939
Smith	Isobel	Key character – not Keiller staff etc	Pioneering prehistorian. Excavated at Avebury and published a synthesis of the Keiller excavations in 1965
Smith	Janet	Visitor	Visitor May 14th – May 15th
Smith	KC	Visitor	List of visitors to Avebury, April 1934, staying at Perry’s Hotel
Smith	Not given – separate to Janet	Visitor	Visitor May 14th – May 15th. Entered as ‘Miss Smith’, separate to Janet Smith.
Smith		Visitor	Visitor to Manor 28 Aug 1938
Smith		Visitor	Aug 4 1935. Family friends of WEVY
Soul	Mr Soul (of Amesbury)	Visitor	Visitor 20 August 1935
Spain	P	Visitor	Jul 7 1935. Sidney Sussex College, Camb pal with Thurstan Shaw
Spence	Hegmat	Keiller family/friend	1939 diary. Ski-ing friend of AK since 1920s, mentioned alongside Guy Nixon, Chris Mackintosh and Colin Wyatt
Stephenson		Visitor	Visitor 20 Oct 1937 with Col Awdry
Stone	JFS	Visitor	Archaeologist. Corresponded with Young, see folder, 20000593 WEVY diary 9. Visitor Jun 6 1934 with Wilts Arch Soc and Cunningtons. see Wikipedia
Strapps	Annie Albertina	WEVY family/friend	WEVY’s aunt. Visitor 19 Aug 1937. With WEVY’s parents. Chauffeur driven by Vickers, at AK’s invitation
Street		Visitor	Jul 19 1934. Of Ebbesbourne Wake WEVY’s friend, with Miss Sirl
Sturdey	Bernard	Staff	Staff 1934, visits 23 Jul 1935
Symington	J	Visitor	Visitor with Date and A Smith 22-24, 29 Oct 1938. Scottish Geologist?
T		Visitor	Visitor 25 June 1937
Taylor		Avebury local	Hosted listening of recording of J Foster-Forbes’s broadcast 17/22 Sep 1937
Taylor / Taylour	Sorel	Staff	10 Sep 1939 Section-Leader ATS [Auxilliary Territorial Service] (1939 diary)
Teischler	Hans	Visitor	visitor 30 Jul 1937.
Thorneycroft	Mr and Mrs	Visitor	Visit 9 July 1935
Thornton		Visitor	Visited and lunched with AK 17 Aug 1939 with Peto re army scandal
Thurloe Leeds	E	Visitor	Visitor August 15 1935
Tibble		Avebury local	Jun 18 1934. Nursed R Gale (Hand) who died that morning
Titcombe	George	Avebury local	Appears WEVY diary 10. Also WEVY diary 12, 24 Oct 1935, measuring for a fence up to the Toll House
Tom of the Grab’	Tom DAMON?	Supplier/ Contractor	Grab operative 26 Sep 1938. WEVY 20 see queries.
Van Asch [?]		Visitor	From New Zealand (WEVY 16 p 20)Blasting tree stumps July 1937, finished 19 July. Visited 13 Oct 1939 with wife
van Giffen	Albert Egges	Visitor	22 Aug 1935 Dutch Archaeologist (1884-1973) with Radford
Vatcher	Faith	Other – describe in column N	Curator of the Alexander Keiller Museum. Excavated Avebury in 1969 and 1976
Vatcher	Lance	Other – describe in column N
Vawlett		Visitor
Vickers	W	Avebury local	1 Mar 1937. A Mechanic? Replaced F Rawlins in Manor garage.
Vickers	Walter	Staff	WEVY 16, 3 Aug 1937 assistant chauffeur at Manor. WEVY 19, Mar 5 1938 now ‘ex’ garage assistant to Phil Withil
Vigor		Visitor	Mr (Captain) and Mrs Vigor visit twice April 1934, Mrs Vigor and Miss Vigor also visit. Visit again in 1935. East Kennett Manor
Violet Pakenham		Visitor	Spelling uncertain. Visitor, August 13 1935
Viveash	Rose	Visitor	Miss Vyvash in diary. Visitor, 1934
W G S		Visitor	Wiltshire Geological Society visit (220 members)
Wagstaffe (perhaps a misspelling? Think this is Barbara Wagstaff		Visitor	Appears as visitor in 1935 – visits on same date as Miss Piggott. Note that Wagstaff later takes photographs at Sutton Hoo (1939), at which the Piggots excavate. Very significant if she also is at Avebury.
Wallis		Visitor	visitor 20 Aug 1937
Wallis		Visitor	Jun 29 1934, landowner, of Cherhill, colleague of Mr Wright, WEVY’s friend
Walters		Visitor	A descendent of Dr William Stukeley, visits 28 August 1935
Watson	WS	Visitor	visitor 3 Jul 1937, staying at the Manor [Avebury]
Wheeler	Mortimer	Consulted Expert
White	F	Avebury local	Tenant. Inside repairs to her cottage on Swindon Road 30 Nov 1939 by GB
Wilde	Jimmy	Other – describe in column N	Referee, 9 Feb 1937. Famous and controversial Welsh boxer (active 1911-23) Wikipedia. Local training stables competition boxing referee with AK in Marlborough.
Wilder	Phyllis	Staff
Williams	Lettice	Visitor	Visitor 4 Aug 1938
Williams	P	Visitor	Visitor 4 Aug 1938
Williams		Other – describe in column N	Appears in undated photographs from Denis Grant King
Williams-Freeman		Visitor	Jun 6 1934. Wilts Arch Soc with Cunningtons etc, 20 Oct 1937
Willis	George W	Visitor	Jun 17 1934. Friend/contact of WEVY. Co-founder of original Basingstoke museum (opened 1931, now rehoused as The Willis Museum) with John R Elloway. Clockmaker and jeweller at 2 Wote Street, Basingstoke. (WEVY 1, P19). Mayor of Basingstoke 1923-4
Wilson		Visitor	Visitor and ‘Medicine Office of Health’, 1934
Withil	Phil	Staff	Member of Keiller’s permanent staff. Chauffeur. PHOTO WEVY 19 p44
Woolley	Leonard	Visitor	visitor 22 Aug 1937, 14Aug1938 Famous archaeologist, Ur, Mesopotam
Woolley		Visitor	visitor 22 Aug 1937 with husband, above
Wright		Visitor	Jun 29 1934 School Inspector, friend of WEVY. With Mr Wallis
Young	Amy	Visitor	WEVY’s sister-in-law. 19 Sep 1937 with husband Bert and WEVY’s mother
Young	Bertram	Visitor	WEVY’s brother. 19 Sep 1937 with wife Amy and WEVY”s mother
Young	Edward Tom	WEVY family/friend	21 Apr 1939. Visit to celebrate WEVY’s parents’ Golden Wedding. Full site visit with AK, DGK and NC. WEVY 17 day visit 19 Aug 1937, chauffeur driven by Vickers, at AK’s invitation
Young	Fanny	WEVY family/friend	21 Apr 1939. Visit to celebrate WEVY’s parents’ Golden Wedding. Full site visit with AK, DGK and NC. WEVY 17 day visit 19 Aug 1937, chauffeur driven by Vickers, at AK’s invitation. Visit 19 Sep 1937 with Bert and Amy.
Young	William	Staff	Site Foreman. Many sources!
Zennor / Zenner	F	Consulted Expert	Jan 17 1938 soil and charcoal samples forwarded

Tags Alexander Keiller, Archaeology, Archive, Avebury, Digitisation, family history, local history, National Trust, research, UNESCO World Heritage Site

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Digitisation in progress: photography

Post author By Fran
Post date May 12, 2023
No Comments on Digitisation in progress: photography

Header image: Denis Grant King’s diary, Accession Number 1732623-002.

In the ‘archive scoping’ blog post I talked about our ambitions for the archive, and how we hope to embed reminders that, behind the digital files we create, there are real objects.

We’ve now been photographing for 4 months, and making good progress. Our wonderful volunteers have been tackling flat papers, photographic prints, and books which require ‘v-scanning’ (the books rest partially open in a cradle, and we use a setting in Tocosa to ‘flatten’ or ‘open up’ the pages). Each different kind of item demands a slightly different approach, whether that’s selecting lighting settings, using a cradle for conservation purposes, and whether we make use of auto crop or rotate, or do one or both adjustments manually.

Below are some of the photographs taken so far, which show a few of the strategies and decisions we’ve made.

Denis Grant King – Journal of my visit to Avebury, 1983

Denis Grant King’s diary, Accession Number 1732623-002.

King was an archaeologist and artist, and he spent many years at Avebury, eventually working with Isabel Smith as she prepared her vitally important synthesis of the 1930s excavations (which she published in 1965 as Windmill Hill and Avebury. Excavations by Alexander Keiller, 1925–1939).

King’s diaries are lavishly illustrated and contain reflections on the personal dynamics of the group as much as the archaeology.

For this diary, we used the v-scan function in Tocosa, as it ‘flattens’ out the ‘v’ shape of the diary. We haven’t done this for all manuscripts, but there were compelling reasons for this one: 1. the double-page spread illustrations, and illustrations throughout, look better with square(ish) edges; 2. The handwriting is clear enough for us to use OCR (Optical Character Recognition) software to semi-automate the transcription process, and straighter lines of text help the OCR along. But more on OCR another time!

This map page is so beautiful I couldn’t resist uploading a version already to King’s existing Wikipedia page. We’ll be doing some more uploading to Wikipedia later in the project, as it’s a great way to get Avebury materials out there in front of many eyes!

Alexander Keiller’s 1934 excavation diary

Keiller kept diaries for each of his excavations. This is the first one for our project: covering the 1934 activity at West Kennet Avenue.

We photograph the fronts of all book-type objects in order to give more of an impression of the physical object.

Keiller’s 1934 diary, accession number 78510467 – front cover.

And here’s a preview of the title page, which gives a hint at Keiller’s handwriting (which is presenting a challenge to our transcription volunteers – more on that in another post!).

Unlike Denis Grant King’s Diary, for these diaries we are not using v-scan correction, so you get those angles edges from where the book is resting in the cradle. It was not so important to have square edges for these diaries, as there are no illustrations and the handwriting is almost impossible for OCR. Keeping these sloping edges keeps that reminder of the physical object properties.

Keiller’s 1934 diary, accession number 78510467 – inside cover page.

Retaining imperfection

Sometimes, letters might be a little creased as we find them in their storage boxes. So long as the crease doesn’t obscure the text, we are not smoothing out all texture. Again, this is to preserve more of an impression of the ‘real’ archive – which I hope will perhaps encourage people to come and see it for themselves. It also, I think, gives more of a sense of these objects as things which have been used – they’re not just digital files that have appeared on the internet, they have their own histories.

This letter is a reply from the museum curator regarding a query about the ‘Mary Tudor’ weight found at Avebury.

When photography goes wrong

And finally… just an example of the kind of human error that can sneak into the photography studio! Below you see the first image which was taken of item 88051525-064. Notice the ghostly hand blurring across the image! Luckily, we noticed this error and the photograph has now been re-taken, hands free.

Photograph of the address side of a postcard. There are two green King Edward stamps in the top right corner. This photo also has an error! There is a blur of an arm across the image. — Ooops… Item 88051525-064 is photographed a little too quickly.

Photograph of the address side of a postcard. There are two green King Edward stamps in the top right corner. — All fixed! 88051525-064 is ready for the archive.

Tags Alexander Keiller, Archaeology, Archive, Avebury, Digitisation, National Trust, photography, UNESCO World Heritage Site, West Kennet Avenue, Wiltshire