576 



NATURE 



[April ii, 1901 



Stonehenge having been the fall of one of them in January 1797. 

 Outside these was a circle of small stones, and outside these 

 again a circle of larger upright stones, joined at the top by cross 

 stones ; both these circles are so defective, especially towards 

 the south-west, that it has been doubted whether they ever were 

 complete. It is one of the uprights of this outer circle (marked 



Fig. I. — Pian of Stonehenge. a, Stone now fallen, bb, Stones which fell 



in 1797. 



{^Reproduced from '^ Man.") 



A on the plan — No. 22 on Petrie's plan) that has now fallen in- 

 ward, carrying with it the capstone which connected it with the 

 adjoining stone, and which has been broken in two by striking 

 in its fall the remains of the trilithon which fell in 1797. 



" It is, perhaps, fortunate that these stones have fallen instead 

 -of the remaining stone of the central trilithon, the downfall of 



appeared ; but, inasmuch as the exact original position of almost 

 every existing stone is perfectly obvious, and inasmuch as exact 

 surveys have been made and published both by Sir Henry James 

 on behalf of the Ordnance Survey,^ and by Prof. Flinders 

 Petrie,^ there should be no objection to setting the leaning stones 

 upright, so as to prevent them falling and breaking themselves 

 and others, and to setting up those that are quite fallen, except 

 those that are too much broken to be capable of being joined 

 together. Such fragments should be left where they are, as also 

 should any the precise original position of which cannot be 

 ascertained. Next comes the question of keeping the stones in 

 their position when they have been restored to it ; and the best 

 way to do this would be to dig out the whole interior down to 

 the solid chalk, underpinning the stones while the work was 

 going on, and to fill it up with, concrete. In the digging out 

 it might be expected that some relics would be found which 

 might throw light on the date if not on the purpose of the 

 monument ; but the objection will no doubt be made that future 

 generations might think that the concrete was part of the 

 original work. This would be less likely to happen if the con- 

 crete were covered for its better preservation with half an inch 

 of the best asphalte, such as is used in paving the London 

 streets, under which boxes with documents might be buried for 

 the benefit of any future excavators. 



" If it were possible to keep things as they are, it might be 

 preferable from an artistic point of view to do so, but it is not 

 possible. If something be not done to prevent them further 

 falls will happen, and where will be the poetry in a shapeless 

 heap of broken stones ? 



" It must, however, be remembered that Stonehenge, though 

 an object of national concern, is private property." 



A plan of Stonehenge is given in the Times of Tuesday, 

 April 9, with a description of the condition of the monument 

 and the natural and other causes which threaten to do mischief 

 to it. To protect the monument, Sir Edmund Antrobus is 

 prepared to erect around it, at his own cost, a wire fence 1 500 

 yards in total length. 



This course is recommended by the Society of Antiquaries, 

 the Wiltshire Archaeological Society, and the Society for the 

 Protection of Ancient Monuments, and the suggestion has the 



Fig. 2. — View of Stonehenge from the west, a, Stone now fallen. 

 (Reproduced from " Afan.") 



BB, Stones which fell in 1797. 



which has long been expected on account of its leaning position, 

 an occurrence which, if not prevented, will cause much more 

 damage than has been caused for centuries, and the practical 

 question for archaeologists is what is to be done to prevent it ? 

 Of course, no one advocates " restoration " in the sense of 

 adding new stones to supply the places of those which have dis- 



NO. 1 64 1, VOL. 63] 



approval of the county council, the district council, and the 

 parish council of Amesbury. The societies further recommend 



1 " Plans and Photographs of Stonehenge and of Turnsuchan in the 

 Island of Lewis." 410. Ordnance Survey : Southampton, 1867. 



2 "Stonehenge: Plans, Descriptions and Theories." 4to. London! 

 Stanford, 1S80. 



