Amesbury (Royaume-Uni)

Amesbury (ˈeɪmzbəri) is a town and civil parish in Wiltshire, England. It is known for the prehistoric monument of Stonehenge which is within the parish. The town is claimed to be the oldest occupied settlement in Great Britain, having been first settled around 8820 BC. The parish includes the hamlets of Ratfyn and West Amesbury, and part of Boscombe Down military airfield. The derivation of the name of the town is uncertain. It may derive from an Anglo-Saxon named Ambre, or from the Old English amore-burh meaning 'fortification frequented by buntings or/and Yellowhammers'. It has also been suggested that the name is derived from Ambrosius Aurelianus, leader of Romano-British resistance to Saxon invasions in the 5th century. Amesbury is located in southern Wiltshire, north-northeast of Salisbury on the A345. It sits in the River Avon valley on the southern fringes of Salisbury Plain and has historically been considered an important river crossing area on the road from London to Warminster and Exeter. This has continued into the present with the building of the A303 across the Avon next to the town. Originally the town developed around the water meadows next to several bends in the river, but in time has spread onto the valley hillsides and absorbed part of the military airfield at Boscombe Down. The land around Amesbury has been settled since prehistoric times, evidenced by the monument of Stonehenge. Other finds in the parish point to large-scale prehistoric structures and settlements in the whole area, including Bluestonehenge at West Amesbury, the numerous other monuments around Stonehenge, and the discovery of a Neolithic village in the neighbouring parish of Durrington by the Stonehenge Riverside Project. Excavations in 2002 and 2003 at Boscombe Down by Wessex Archaeology found the Amesbury Archer and Boscombe Bowmen. During the Iron Age a large hill fort now known as Vespasian's Camp was built alongside the Avenue and overlooking the River Avon.

À propos de ce résultat

Cette page est générée automatiquement et peut contenir des informations qui ne sont pas correctes, complètes, à jour ou pertinentes par rapport à votre recherche. Il en va de même pour toutes les autres pages de ce site. Veillez à vérifier les informations auprès des sources officielles de l'EPFL.

Concepts associés (10)

Amesbury est une petite ville du Wiltshire, en Angleterre ( en 2011). Elle est renommée pour l'ensemble de sites et monuments préhistoriques situés dans son voisinage immédiat, dont Stonehenge et Woodhenge. Amesbury fut aussi le siège d'un prieuré fontevriste appartenant à l’ Ordre de Fontevraud jusqu'à la confiscation de ses biens par Henri VIII. Elle est traversée par le fleuve Avon. L'origine du nom de la ville est incertaine.

Salisbury Plain (Angleterre)

'Salisbury Plain' est un plateau de craie du Sud-Est de l'Angleterre couvrant . Il fait partie de l'ensemble des collines crayeuses du Sud et de l'Est de l'Angleterre. Il se trouve principalement dans le Comté du Wiltshire, une petite partie débordant dans le Hampshire. On y trouve de nombreux vestiges archéologiques, le plus connu étant le site de Stonehenge. À la suite de la mise en place du « Defence Training Estate Salisbury Plain (DTE SP) », Salisbury Plain est peu densément peuplée, elle est le plus grand espace de type plaine calcaire restant en Europe.

Shrewton

Shrewton is a village and civil parish on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, England, around west of Amesbury and north of Salisbury. It lies on the A360 road between Stonehenge and Tilshead. It is close to the source of the River Till, which flows south to Stapleford. The Domesday Book of 1086 recorded three estates held by Edward of Salisbury at Wintreburne, in all with 43 households. The name Shrewton came into use from 1236 and is derived from the Old English scīr-rēfa tūn, meaning 'sheriff's farm or settlement'.