46 ROMAN AMPHITHEATRE AT DORCHESTER. 



he also made a handsome sceleton of an aged cat." On 

 leaving the University he studied medicine and surgery, 

 and went into regular medical practice, first in his own 

 county and then in London. 



When only 30 years old he was elected a Fellow of the 

 Royal Society, and shortly afterwards took part in 

 establishing the Society of Antiquaries. In the year 1729, 

 at the age of 42, he gave up his medical profession, took 

 Holy Orders, and held the living of Stamford for some years 

 until presented to St. George's, Queen Square, in London. 



In addition to his enthusiasm as an antiquary, he was 

 an ardent student of astronomy, saying that he congratulated 

 himself on living in an age fruitful of the grand phenomena 

 of the celestial bodies, and was pleased that besides the 

 total eclipse of the sun he had seen in the space of two 

 years the great conjunction of the five planets, a transit 

 of Mercury across the sun, and a comet. It is even related 

 that on one occasion he postponed his church service that 

 the congregation might see an eclipse ! He was described by 

 one of his oldest friends as "a learned and honest man, 

 but a strange compound of simplicity, drollery, ingenuity, 

 superstition, and antiquarianism." He died in 1765. 



Stukeley was the author of many works on medical and 

 antiquarian subjects, that which we are now considering 

 being entitled " Itinerarium Curiosum," or " An Account of 

 the Antiquities and Remarkable Curiosities in Nature or 

 Art, observed in travels through Great Britain." 



Dorchester was included in his tour of the year 1723, and 

 he devotes 12 folio pages to the description of The Amphi- 

 theatre, accompanied by five illustrations, or plans. Before 

 dealing with his account I will remind members of the Field 

 Club of the discoveries made on the site by the recent 

 excavations, that they may realise how accurate Dr. Stukeley 

 was in his observations, a result partly due (no doubt) to 

 local tradition heard on the spot, for, notwithstanding the 

 incredulity of modern critics, " local traditions " are generally 

 proved to be very near the truth. 



