748 



STONEHENGE 



STONKS 



and two on opposite aides of the elliptic, are some- 

 what smaller. Only two are now ]K>rfect ; the 

 central one want* the impost, which fell in 1620, 

 one of the pillars lies broken on the great -tone. 

 'the altar stone,' and the other 



I. -.in- over, supported hy one of the smaller stones 

 in front of it. Of the two trilillmns on the west 

 side of the ellijwe, the one next the open end has 

 only one pillar-stone standing, the other has fallen 

 inwards with the impost, and both are broken ; 

 the other trilithon fell outwards in 1797, lint the 

 three stones, though prostrate, are still entire. 



Stonehenge. 



The trilithons of the ellipse are of the same 

 Tertiary sandstone as the pillar-stones and imposts 

 of the exterior circle, and like them are partially 

 tool-dressed. Within this ellipse is a smaller 

 ellipse of the same form, but composed, like the 

 second circle, of irregularly-shaped ' blue stones ' 

 without imposts, varying from 6 to 8 feet in height, 

 and set at intervals of about 5 to 6 feet. 



Though not mentioned by any Roman writer, or 

 noticed by Gildas, Nennius, or Bede, Stonehenge 

 comes into the cycle of British history in the 12th 

 century, when it is chronicled by Henry of Hunt 

 ingdon as one of the four wonders of England, the 

 other three being merely natural phenomena. In 

 the same century Gepfjrey of Monmouth, in his 

 Historin Briton nm, attributes its erection to Aure- 

 lin- Ambrosius, in commemoration of the British 

 nobles treacherously slain by Hengist, and mentions 

 that Aurelius himself WHS buried in it. Again, in 

 recording the death of Constantine about the middle 

 of the Hi h century, he states that he was buried 

 'close by Uther Pcndnigon, within the structure of 

 stones which was net up with wonderful art not far 

 from Salisbury, and called in the English tongue 

 Stonehenge.' Though Geoffrey's narrative is in 

 th>' main mythical, it may lie accepted as the 

 earliest record of what was lielieved to be the 

 purpose of Stonehenge. His story is repeated with 

 little variation by all the medieval writers to the 

 time of Camden. He copied a drawing of it, signed 

 *K K 157-V which (making every allowance for 

 bui I drawing) shows it outer circle much more 

 complete than at present. Inigo Jones, in 1620, 

 lament* the disappearance of stones that were 

 standing when he measured it. Stukely deplores 

 the loss of the fallen stones carried away to make 

 bridges, mill-dams, and the like. Aubrey mentions 

 a large stone carried away within bis remembrance 

 to make a bridge. Though the area within the 

 circle has never been systematically explored, flint 

 flakes, fragments of nide pottery similar to the 

 urns found in the neighlmuring barrows, liones of 

 oxen, and portion* of stags' horns, have been found 



at various times in desultory excavations made in 

 the hope of discovering some clue to the unknown 

 pur|MMc or uses of the structure. The theories pro- 

 pounded in modern times on these points have been 

 many and various. It has been attributed to the 

 riuciiiciuns, the Belgir, the Druids, the Saxons, 

 and the Danes. It has been called a temple of the 

 MID, and of serpent-worship, a shrine of Itnddha, a 

 planetarium, a gigantic gallows on which !.!. -at.'. I 

 British leaders were solemnly hung in honour of 

 \\ (Mien, a Gilgal where the national army met and 

 leaders were buried, and a calendar in stone for 

 measurement of the solar year. 

 The opinion of Sir .lohn Lubboek, 

 expressed in his Prehistoric Times, 

 in that there are satisfactory 

 reasons for assigning it to the 

 bronze age, though apparently it 

 was not all erected at one time, 

 the inner circle of small 1111 wrought 

 ' blue stones ' being probably older 

 than the rest. By most archae- 

 ologists it seems to l>e accepted 

 as an exceptional development 

 from the ordinary type of Stone 

 Circles (q.v. ), used as burial-places 

 by the bronze-age people of 

 Britain, though some regard its 

 exceptional development as due 

 rather to a religious influence 

 than to the mere idea of the com- 

 mon commemoration of simple 

 burial. Whatever its origin, it 

 is the grandest megalithic monu- 

 ment in Britain. See lx>oks by 

 Long ( 1876), Gidley (1877), and E. Barclay (1895). 



Stonehcngc, the pseudonym of JOHN HENRY 

 WALSH (1810-88), a native of Hackney, a surgeon 

 at Worcester, and from 1857 editor of The Held, 

 author and editor of works on dogs and sport. 



Stonchouse. See DEVONPORT. 



Stone River. BwHrarunpOBOGOB. 



Stones, PRECIOUS. In this category are in- 

 cluded numerous mineral substances, and one or 

 two products of organic origin, used in jewellery 

 and for other ornamental purposes on account of 

 their rarity and beauty. The list of stones which 

 may be regarded as precious cannot be definitely 

 limited, as certain substances appear and disappear 

 with the fluctuations of fashion. Some confusion 

 also arises from the commercial application of the 

 same name to several sulwtance* which may have 

 a superficial similarity, although they really Wlong 

 to distinct mineral species. Further, in point of 

 beauty and rarity, the mineral substances used for 

 ornament so merge into the common and abundant 

 that there is no possible dividing line )>etween 

 precious and common stones. Among the sub- 

 stances used ornamentally, however, there are a few 

 which from all times have occupied a foremost 

 place and have been universally prized as precious 

 stones. In such a rank and position may ! placed 

 the diamond, the ruby, the sapphire, the oriental 

 amethyst, and the emerald. These, on account of 

 their rare properties their lustre, their play of 

 light, their brilliance of colour, their great hardness 

 and consequent durability, and especially because, of 

 their extreme rarity, have always been the most 

 esteemed of jewel stones. In the second rank, as 

 well-established precious stones of minor value, 

 may be included the spinel or balaa ruby, the 

 Brazilian topaz (the oriental topaz is a yellow 

 sapphire), the varieties of garnet, the turquoise, 

 the tourmaline, the aquamarine or pale emerald, 

 the chrysoberyl or cat's eye, the zircon or jargoon, 

 the opal, and the varieties of quartz, such as rock- 

 crystal, agate, amethyst, cairngorm or Scotch 



