44 ARBOR LOW EXCAVATIONS IN 1901 AND ig02. 



me that he had seen five stones standing in his boyhood, and 

 had sheltered under them ! On inquiry, however, I ascer- 

 tained that the man had a reputation tor gross exaggeration. 

 The Rev. S. Isaacson, writing in 1845, was of opinion that 

 " these stones were never placed in an erect position." He says 

 further that " the imported stones all appear to be resting on 

 the native rock, the comparatively thin covering of soil having 

 accumulated through the lapse of centuries." Gardner 

 Wilkinson, on the other hand, in i860, says " it is evident that 

 they originally stood upright, as in other sacred circles." 

 Lord Avebury, writing some twenty-five years ago, stated 

 cautiously, " It is doubtful whether they were ever upright."* 

 As recently as 1899, Dr. Brushfield appeared to be of opinion 

 that the stones originally stood upright; and Mr. A. L. Lewis 

 is of the same opinion.! 



The original number of the stones has been variously 

 estimated, and Dr. Brushfield has summarised the opinions of 

 previous writers in the volume for 1900 of the Journal of the 

 British Archceological Association. 



The published plans of Arbor Low are for the most part 

 far from correct, Sir Gardner Wilkinson's plan, figured in 

 two places, being the only exception.! In this small plan the 

 position of the circle of stones is fairly correct, although there 

 are several discrepancies in the proportional size of the stones. 

 Pegge represents the megaliths as forming a true circle, and 

 speaks of his plan as being "sufficiently accurate. "§ Glover 

 includes what is styled " an engraving copied from an accurate^ 

 drawing by Mr. Mitchell."!! It could not well be more 

 inaccurate. 



The area or plateau enclosed by the fosse presents an uneven 

 surface, but the contours across this part of the plan have been 



* The Reliquary, xx. 81-85, with view and woodcuts, 

 t Man (Anthropological Institute), September, 1903, No. 76. 

 X Journal of the British Archceological Association, xvi., plate 9 ; and 

 Fergusson's Rude Stone Monuments, 140. 

 § Archceologia, vii., 148. 

 II The italics are mine. 

 % Stephen Glover, History of the County of Derby, i. 275-6. 



