Sarsen, or the Wiltshire Dialect

This is a close-up of one of the stones in the Avebury circle. This type of stone is called ‘sarsen’. (Originally the name was ‘Saracen’ but the Wiltshire dialect likes its words short). Sarsen stone is found on Salisbury Plain and Marlborough Downs; at one time it was commonplace on the surface but has been significantly tidied up in modern times, presumably for agricultural purposes.

Sarsen is mighty hard stone and in less enlightened times many of the Avebury stones were broken up by various techniques to provide building material.

Hard as it is, sarsen is not ideal for building houses because it is disagreeably damp in the winter. A scheme for houses built of stone recycled from the Avebury circle bankrupted investors because the houses proved to be unsaleable. For reasons I have not ascertained, they were also prone to burning down. Being indestructable, sarsen is good for steps and kerbs.