The stone temple at Avebury is considered to have been more extensive than Stonehenge. The greater part of the village of Avebury is surrounded by a deep and wide ditch, and a lofty vallum. Within this enclosure there are some large upright stones and others prostrate. At some distance south of the village arc other large upright and prostrate stones, and half a mile west of the former are two more upright. Large masses of these broken stones occur in the houses and walls of the village. For a more minute account of this re markable monument we must refer to our Article A VEDURY, Vol. III. p. 93. • The next piece of antiquity in point of magnitude is the Wansdyke, a vast earth work which is sup posed to have intersected the county. In one place it is still continuous for 10 or 12 miles, being tolerably entire throughout the range of hills to the south and west of Marlborough; upon other places it is visible only in detached spots. This work is supposed to have enclosed the towns of the ancient Britons; others ascribe it to the Belgae, and others to the West Saxons.
Burrows and Tumuli abound in the county, and are most numerous round Stonehenge and Avebury. There are here three Roman stations, besides vari ous Roman roads, Roman pavements, Roman encampments, and entrenched earthen works. Coins, urns, fragments of sculpture, shield;, dag gers and ornaments of British, Roman, Saxon and Norman workmanship have been discovered.
The county returns two members two parliament, besides two members for Salisbury, Chippenham, Caine, Cricklade, Downton, Devizes, Heytesbury, Ilinden, Great Bedwin, Marlborough, Malmsbury, Ludgershall, Wilton, Wotton-Basset, Westbury and Old Sarum.
The chief towns, &c. of Wiltshire are as follow, with the population in 1821.
As the population of the other boroughs is not separated from that of the parish, it is impossible to ascertain their relative importance.
The population of the county in 1821 was, houses, 41,782, families, 47.684, do. in agriculture, 24,972, do. in trade, &e. 16.98'2 total number of inhabitants 222.157. Sec Davis's new of the .figricullure of and the Beauties of England and Wales, vol. xv.
\WlMBORNE-MINSTER, the rindozladia of the Romans, is a market town of England, in Dor setshire, situated between the rivers Stour and Allen, each of which is crossed by a bridge. It consists of several. irregular streets. The principal ornament is its church, which is built in the form of a cross, with two triangular towers, in which arc some old bells with fine tones. It is divided like a cathedral, and is 180 feet long from east to west. Several royal and noble persons were buried here. The other public buildings are the grammar school, and three meeting-houses for presbyterians, methodists and atiabaptists, and a large poors' house. The trade of the town, which is small, consists in the woollen manufacture and knit stock ings. Population of the town and part of the parish in 1821, houses 259, families 307, do. in trade 118, total number of inhabitants 1387.