———- 
B57 
all directions, the first tumulus on the right came into view ; and 
one after the other they rose to sight until Silbury Hill, the great 
father of all the tumuli, showed his head above the rising ground 
throwing all his pigmy offspring into insignificance by his mighty 
proportions. Turning to the left off the main road we see the 
first indications of the neighbourhood of antiquities (‘so exceed- 
ingly old,” as Aubrey says, “that no bookes doe reach them”) in 
the shape of two large stones, a portion of the now nearly 
destroyed Beckhampton Avenue. Right and left as the village is 
entered we see the walls composed, and the houses entirely built, 
of eyclopean work ; sufficient evidence if history were silent that 
other spoilers besides farmers Green, Griffin, and Fowler had a 
hand in the destruction of Avenue and Circle. Leaving the 
“break” at the Red Lion Inn, we first of all ascended the Vallum 
at the N.E. corner and obtained a general view of the plan of the 
stones. The Secretary here stated that the lofty Vallum on which 
they were standing, with its ditch on the inside, enclosed a large 
circle or oval of stones which surrounded two other similar but 
smaller ovals at the N. and S. sides. From their centre issued, 
about S. and W., two Avenues leading to Beckhampton in one 
direction and Kennet in another. The stones of which these 
remains were composed were obtained from the immediate 
neighbourhood and are called ‘ Sarsen stones ;’ a silicious sandstone 
of Tertiary formation, which might still be seen scattered over the 
neighbouring valleys. Their position here was accounted for by 
their consistency being sufficiently hard to resist the denuding 
power which had swept away the surrounding matrix of Bagshot 
sand, and left these large masses stranded on the chalk floor; that 
they had been subject to the wearing action of water might be 
seen in their generally rounded edges and smooth exterior. 
Walking along the top of the Vallum to the Church lying 
immediately outside it to the W. the members were conducted 
through the fine Norman S. porch by the Vicar, the Rev. Bryan 
King. Before entering, however, a plain iron cross in the church- 
