Amesburytown (“parish”parish), administrative and historic county of Wiltshire, Eng.southern England. It is situated in the southern part of the Salisbury Plain, in the valley of the River Avon . It (East, or Hampshire, Avon).

The region is rich in prehistoric remains, including Stonehenge, 1.5 miles (2.5 km) west of Amesbury, the greatest surviving megalithic structure in the British Isles (designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1986). At Amesbury (Ambresbyrig, or Ambresbery) a Witan, or Witenagemot, the Anglo-Saxon kings’ council of wise men, was held in 932. Now a small market town,


it also caters to the needs of tourists visiting Stonehenge and serves such neighbouring army camps as Larkhill. Pop. (2001) 8,907; (2011) 10,724.