By William Long, Esq., M.A. 323 



a snake transmitted thro' a circle; this is an hieroglyphic, or sym- 

 bol of highest note and antiquity." 



That the avenues and the circles on Overton (or rather Kennet) 

 Hill existed originally in the form laid down by Stukeley, cannot 

 reasonably be doubted. Fanciful and credulous as he may occa- 

 sionally appear, he evidently aimed at accuracy and^truthfulness. 

 At the period of his frequent sojournings at Abury, much had 

 been done in the way of destruction, but it had been done for 

 the most part within the memory of the existing generation, 

 so that the Doctor was able to satisfy himself respecting;^ the 

 site, the destroyer, and the mode of destruction of almost every 

 missing stone. "The custom of destroying them," he writes, "is 

 so late, that I could easily trace the ohit of every stone ; who did 

 it; for what pui-pose, and when, and by what method, what house 

 or wall was built out of it, and the like. Every year that I fre- 

 quented this country, I found several of them wanting; but the 

 places very apparent whence they were taken. So that I was well 

 able, as then, to make a perfect ground-plot of the whole, and all 

 its parts. This is now 20 years ago. 'Tis to be fear'd, that had 

 it been deferr'd till this time (1740) it would have been impossible."^ 

 He describes with minuteness the particular portions of the temple 

 and avenues which were laid low in his time by Farmers Green 

 and Griffin, and by Tom E,obinson, (whose ugly face with a bird of 

 ill omen hovering over it, and his manner of breaking the stones 

 are commemorated in the vignette to page 53 of his work) ; and 

 does not fail to make honorable mention of Sir Robert Holford, Mr. 

 Charles Tucker, and Reuben Horsall, the Parish Clerk of that day, 

 who all resented these ruthless proceedings, and will be held in 

 grateful remembrance by succeeding generations of English 

 Archaeologists. 



Should any visitor of the antiquities of Abury be sceptical as to 

 the form and extent of them, I would recommend him to walk 

 down the road to Kennet, and observe the remains of the 

 avenue on the right hand side of the road. He could not look 

 upon tliose two stones and nine stumps of stones and feel a doubt 



, ' Page 16. 



