Wiltshire (abbreviated Wilts) is a large southern English county, and is considered as a ceremonial county. The county is characterised by its high downland and wide valleys. Salisbury Plain is famous as the location of Stonehenge and other ancient landmarks. The city of Salisbury is notable for its cathedral.

The county, formerly Wiltonshire or Wiltunscir (9th century), is named after the former county town of Wilton (itself named for the river Wylye, one of eight rivers that drain the county).

Wiltshire is particularly well-known for its pre-Roman archaeology. The mesolithic, neolithic and bronze age Celtic tribes that occupied southern Britain built settlements on the hills and downland that cover Wiltshire. Stonehenge and Avebury are perhaps the most famous neolithic sites in the UK.

In the 6th and 7th centuries Wiltshire was at the western edge of Saxon Britain, as Cranborne Chase and the Somerset Levels prevented the advance to the west. In 878 the Danes invaded the county, and, following the Norman Conquest, large areas of the country fell into the hands of the crown and the church. In the 17th century English Civil War Wiltshire was largely Parliamentarian.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiltshire