164 



SCIENCE. 



[Vol. XXII. No. 555 



rescue from oblivion of sorae of its forgotten heroes 

 would be not the least reward of the patient inquirer in 

 these unfrequented paths. If what Jules Verne calls la 

 decouverte cle la ferre, that is, the gradual ascertainment of 

 the phj'sical features, extent and habitability of the globe, 

 be worthy of being classed as science (and in what scien- 

 tific society is not geography recognized?), then what 

 the old regime has contributed to the opening up and 

 civilization of this continent is no scanty share. No less 

 than ten states of the Union, and every province in Can- 

 ada, save British Columbia, were first occupied by French 

 pioneers, first described by French writers. And in this 

 record of exploration and colonization, extending from 

 1534 to 1764, we find such names as Cartier, Champlain, 

 La Salle, Duluth, Iberville, Joliette, Marquette, La Mothe, 

 Cadillac and those of many another to whom mankind is 

 deej^ly indebted. This is the merest outline of what, if 

 a history of science in the new world were undertaken, 

 the inquirer would find helpful and more or less val- 

 uable in the records of the northern dominion. On an- 

 other occasion I hope to give some details from these rec- 

 ords as indications of their scientific worth. 



BRITISH STONE CIRCLES— IV. SOMERSETSHIRE 

 AND DORSETSHIRE CIRCLES.* 



BY A. L. LEWIS, PRESIDENT. SHOKTHAND SOCIETY, LONDON, ENGLAND. 



One of the most interesting groups of circles in Eng- 

 land is situated at Stanton Drew, about seven miles south 

 from Bristol. It comprises the remains of three separate 

 circles, two of which have short avenues, a cove, or group 

 of three stones, like those at Abery and Ai-below, a large 

 single stone to the northeast, like the "Friar's Heel" at 

 Stonehenge, and two other stones at a greater distance; 

 and, that these were all parts of one great whole, and were 

 not constructed without reference to each other, is shown 

 by the facts that a line from the "cove" in a direction 

 fifty-four degrees east of north will pass almost exactly 

 through the centre of the great circle to the cen- 

 tre of the smaller circle to the northeast of it, while 

 a line from the centre of the southernmost circle 

 in a direction about twenty degrees east of north will 

 pass almost exactly through the centre of the great circle 

 to an outlying stone called "Hauteville's Quoit." 



This latter stone is the first which is encountered on 

 the road from Bristol, and soon after passing it the re- 

 mains of the great central circle and of the smaller north- 

 eastern circle, with the short avenues attached to them, 

 will be seen in a meadow on the other side of the little 

 river Chew, which is crossed bj^ a bridge near by. The 

 northeastern circle is ninety-seven feet in diameter, and 

 consists of nine stones, and there are, besides fragments, 

 eight other stones in the short avenue which goes from it 

 in a direction a little south of east. On the south of this 

 avenue, but not connected with it, another avenue, of 

 which only five stones remain, leads in a southwesterly 

 direction to the great cii'ole, which was about 368 feet in 

 diameter, and of which only twenty-four stones remain; 

 these are, necessarily, a considerable distance from each 

 other, so that it requires a little care to follow the cir- 

 cumference of this circle. The nearest part of the south- 

 ern circle is 460 feet from the outside of the great circle, 

 and its diameter is 145 feet (which is also about the dis- 

 tance between the circumference of the great circle and 

 that of the northeastern circle) ; twelve stones of the south- 

 ern circle remain, but all fallen, and it is cut through by 

 fences, and is, consequently, more difficult to find, and to 



*I. Abury appeared in No. 529, ilarch 24. 



II. Stonehenge appeared in No. 537, May 19. 



III. Derbyshire Circles appeared in No. 545, July 14. 



trace when found, than either of the others. The "cove" 

 is 470 feet, eight degrees north of west, from the circum- 

 ference of the southern circle, and is not far from the 

 church; it consists of three stones, two upright and one 

 fallen, which form three sides of a square, like the coves 

 of Abery and Ai'below, but it differs from them in facing 

 southeast instead of northeast. Some have thought these 

 stones to have been part of a sepulchral chamber, but 

 they are too thin in i^rojiortion to the height of the tallest 

 one (ten feet), and could only have been covered by a 

 very large mound, of which no traces remain; this, how- 

 ever, is a question respecting which the visitor can form 

 his own opinion. If not covered they might have formed 

 a sanctuary open to the rising sun in winter, while the cir- 

 cles were devoted to his worship in summer. 



The northeastern circle is better preserved, and is 

 formed of larger stones than the rest of the group, some 

 of the stones composing it being nine feet high, and 

 broad and thick in proportion. 



The measurements and compass bearings (true, not 

 magnetic) given here are mostly taken from the beautiful 

 plan made by Mr. Dymond, C.E., F.S.A., and published 

 some years ago in the Journal of the British Archaeologi- 

 cal Association. 



It has been suggested that the avenues are remains of 

 a number of circles concentric with and surrounding the 

 northeastern circle. Mr. Dymond shows jjretty conclu- 

 sively that they were avenues and nothing else, but the 

 visitor may investigate this point for himself. 



At Wellow, seven miles south from Bath, and about ten 

 east from Stanton Drew, there is a large tumulus with a 

 long gallery and six small side chambers, built and vault- 

 ed with small stones uncemented. 



In passing from Somerset to Dorset we find no stone 

 monuments equal to those just described. At Winter- 

 bourne Abbas, four or five miles from Dorchester, is a 

 small circle called the "Nine stones," twenty-eight or 

 thirty feet in diameter (not in height as stated, by the 

 Post Office directory), six stones onlj^ remain, two of which 

 are six feet high, the others half that size or less. Warne, 

 in his " Ancient Dorset," mentions " a tenth stone which 

 the eye detects just peeping through the long grass on 

 the northeast side." 



At Gorwell, on Tennant's Hill, four or five miles beyond 

 Winterbourne Abbas, and about ten southwest from Dor- 

 chester, is a ring consisting of eighteen stones or frag- 

 ments, all prostrate, the largest being eight feet long; the 

 figure which would touch most of them, so far as they are 

 at present uncovered, would be an oval, of which the di- 

 ameters would respectively be eighty-seven and seventy- 

 eight feet, but they are much overgrown with turf, and, 

 if cleared, it might be found that a circle of from eighty 

 to eighty-two feet in diameter would touch most of their 

 original positions. I was not able to find any outlying 

 stone or other remarkable feature to the northeast of this 

 circle, but there is a thick plantation on that side, which 

 shuts out the view of the surrounding hills, and within 

 which a stone or stones may be buried ; there are, how- 

 ever, two outlying stones about 140 feet south from the 

 circle. 



At Gorwell, about half a mile southeast from the circle 

 just described, are the remains of a sepulchral chamber 

 and tumulus, with three other stones called the " Grey 

 Mare and Colts," and at Portisham, two miles from Gror- 

 well, is a dolmen called the " Hellstone," which appears to 

 have been inaccurately " restored." There are also re- 

 mains of a circle or circles at Poswell, six miles south- 

 east from Dorchester, and earthworks nearer that town, 

 known as " Maiden Castle " (a yery fine camp), " Pound- 

 bury" and " Maumbury Ring." 



