204 THE EXETER ROAD 



use, they either saw in the upright stones and the 

 imposts they carried a resemblance to a gallows, or 

 else, not being themselves expert builders, marvelled 

 that the great imposts should remain suspended in 

 the air. 



Much of the legitimate wonderment in respect of 

 Stonehenge lies in the mystery of how the forgotten 

 builders could have c[uarried and shaped these stones, 

 and could have cut the tenons and mortice-holes that 

 held the tall columns, and the flat stones above them, 

 together. Camden, the old chronicler, has a ready 

 way out of this puzzling c[uestion. Beginning with 

 a description of this ' huge and monstrous piece of 

 work,' lie goes on to say that ' some there are that 

 think them to be no natural stones, hewn out of the 

 rock, but artificially made out of pure sand, and, by 

 some glue or unctuous matter, knit and incorporate 

 too'ether.' 



o 



Stonehenge is considered to have consisted, when 

 perfect, of an outer circle of thirty tall stones, three 

 and a half feet apart, and connected together by a 

 line of imposts, in whose extremities mortice-holes 

 were cut, fitting into corresponding tenons projecting 

 from the upright stones. The height of this circular 

 screen w^as sixteen feet. A second and inner circle 

 consisted of smaller and rougher stones, some forty 

 in number, and six feet in height. Within this circle, 

 again, rose five tall groups of stone placed in an 

 ellipse, each group consisting of two uprights, with an 

 impost above. These stones were the largest of all, 

 the tallest reaching to a height of twenty-five feet. 

 They were named by Dr. Stukeley, impressively 



