88 On the Stone Avenues of Carnac. 
allusion to monuments which are so well known as those of Avebury 
and Stonehenge. And yet I feel almost disposed to do so,—because 
with regard to the latter there is nothing in Britanny with which to 
compare it; and with regard to the former the points of resemblance 
are so few and faint, and the points of dissimilarity so numerous and 
strong, that I do not find, in what I have seen on the continent, any- 
thing that will throw a clear light upon its true plan and destination. 
As regards Stonehenge I think sufficient of it remains for the 
ground plan to be determined with tolerable certainty,—but as 
regards Avebury there is now very little clue to its plan, and we are 
compelled to accept the imperfect and inaccurate drawings of anti- 
quaries of the seventeenth and early part of the eighteenth centuries, 
that is to say, of men whose skill in drawing was of a very humble 
character, and whose knowledge of surveying was of a still lower 
standard. Besides this, the intelligent and observant men of those 
days had received no archeological education; and if, even in the 
present day with our opportunities of travel, and our abundant sources 
of information, many intelligent persons are found to entertain and 
put forth the strangest ideas, and to give the most inaccurate deserip- 
tions of monuments they have beheld for the first time, is it not 
probable that our Aubreys and Stukeleys may have done the same? 
No doubt they all “aimed at accuravy and truthfulness,” but in 
treating of monuments of great dimensions and of unusual and un- 
known forms how easy to be misled and mistaken! I confess that 
for some years I have been sceptical with regard to the ground-plan 
of Avebury, as given by Stukeley, and yet it is perhaps the only an- 
cient plan that has been considered of any value; and my doubt has 
been strengthened by my intimate acquaintance with the Carnac and 
other groups of Stone Lines. I have shown you that these monu- 
ments are distinct and separate works, although they have been 
erroneously described by antiquaries as constituting one great monu- 
ment. ‘The error has arisen from inaccurate plans and descriptions 
in the first instance, succeeded by imperfect observation on the spot. 
Just so I am led to conclude that the concentric circles, and short 
avenue connected therewith, on Overton Hill constituted a monument 
wholly distinct from the greater circles and avenue of Avebury. 
