128 STONEHENGE A MONUMENT OF THE BRONZE AGE. 



presence of fragments, not only of Sarcen stones, but also of 

 the blue stones which form the inner circle at Stonehenge ; 

 and which do not naturally occur in Wiltshire. Stonehenge 

 then may, I think, be regarded as a monument of the Bronze 

 Age, though apparently it was not all erected at one time, the 

 inner circle of small, unwrought, blue stones being probably 

 older than the rest ;* as regards Abury, since the stones are 

 all in their natural condition, while those of Stonehenge are 

 roughly hewn, it seems reasonable to conclude that Abury is 

 the older of the two, and belongs either to the close of the 

 Stone Age, or to the commencement of that of Bronze. 



Both Abury and Stonehenge were, I believe, used as tem- 

 ples. Some of the stone circles, however, have been proved 

 to be burial-places. In fact, a complete burial-place may be 

 described as a dolmen, covered by a tumulus, and surrounded 

 by a stone circle. Often, however, we have only the tumulus, 

 sometimes only the dolmen, and sometimes again only the 

 stone circle. 



The celebrated monument of Carnac (fig. 138), in Brit- 

 tany, consists of eleven rows of unhewn stones, which differ 

 greatly both in size and height, the largest being 22 feet 

 above ground, while some are quite small. It appears that 

 the avenues originally extended for several miles, but at 

 present they are very imperfect, the stones having been 



* There are, in fact, four kinds of 

 stones in Stonehenge. The great 

 outiT circle and the trilithons are 

 " Sarcen" stones, that is to say, 

 they are formed from the sandstone 

 blocks of the neighbourhood. The 

 majority of the small pillars forming 

 the inner circle cnnn^t of an igneous 

 rock known as Diabase, but four 

 stones of this series are schistoid, 

 and resemble some of the Silurian 

 and Cambrian rocks of North Wales 



and Cumberland. Lastly, the so- 

 called altar stone is grey sandstone, 

 resembling some of the Devonian 

 and Cambrian rocks. Maskelvne. 



V 



Wilts. Arch. Magazine, Oct. 1877. 

 It has been said that some Roman 

 pottery was found under one of the 

 trilithons at Stonehenge. Mr. Cun- 

 nington, however, has pointed out 

 that there is no authority lor this 

 statement. Wilts. Arch. Mag. Dec. 



