Charlie is the name given to a

Neolithic The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several part ...

skeleton of a three-year-old child found near the ancient

stone circle A stone circle is a ring of standing stones. Most are found in Northwestern Europe – especially in Britain, Ireland, and Brittany – and typically date from the Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age, with most being built from 3000 BC. The ...

Avebury Avebury () is a Neolithic British Isles, Neolithic henge monument containing three stone circles, around the village of Avebury (village), Avebury in Wiltshire, in southwest England. One of the best known prehistoric sites in Britain, it conta ...

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershir ...

, England. Charlie was excavated from Windmill Hill, Avebury in the 1920s and is currently on display at the

Alexander Keiller Museum Avebury () is a Neolithic henge monument containing three stone circles, around the village of Avebury in Wiltshire, in southwest England. One of the best known prehistoric sites in Britain, it contains the largest megalithic stone circle in ...

at Avebury. There is a certain amount of controversy surrounding the display of the skeleton. The

Council of British Druid Orders The Council of British Druid Orders is a neo-pagan group established in 1989 which was originally formed to facilitate ceremonies at Stonehenge. The Council's founder, Tim Sebastion, used the title "Archdruid of Wiltshire, Chosen Chief of the Secu ...

(CoBDO) demanded that the skeleton be reburied where it was found, or as near as is practically possible, claiming that putting a skeleton in a museum ''as an attraction'' is disrespectful. The archaeological community fear that reburying Charlie will lead to a dangerous precedent being set. Historians have also argued that Charlie's skeleton should be kept in a museum so it is available for research.

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses. The charity states that i ...

and The National Trust held a public consultation on the future of Charlie; in April 2010 the decision was made to keep the skeleton on public view.

External links

BBC News report

Local News report {{DEFAULTSORT:Charlie (Skeleton) Neolithic England Human remains (archaeological) Stone Age sites in England Archaeological sites in Wiltshire Prehistoric burials in England