AVE 



and tliis mark feem^ to be the chief veftifre of Childianity 

 among them, which rth'gion they not only acknowledge, 

 but boaft that their anceftors pofTtired it. Procopius (I'cll. 

 Vand. 1. ii. c. 13.) mentions the defeat of an army of the 

 Vandal nation near this place, of which thefe are probably 

 remains. They pay no taxes to the Bey, but live in con- 

 ftant defiance of liim. In this mountain is the Lambcfa 

 ef Ptolemy. — Alfo, the name of a fmall port in the eallcrn 

 part of Mauritania Cxfaricnfis, mentioned by Ptolemy, and 

 placed by him jn the promontoiy Jarfath, north-eall of the 

 mouth of the river Nafavah. 



AUE, in Geography, a river of Germany, which runs 

 into the Wefer, three miles fouth of Nicnburg, in the circle 

 of Weftphalia. — Alfo, a river of Germany, in Lower .Sax- 

 ony, which runs into the Fuhfe, two miles S.S.E. <.f ZcU. 

 — Alfo, a town of Germany, in Upper Saxony, and circle 

 of Erzgebirg, five miles north-well of Scluvartzenberg. 



AVE, a river of Portugal, which runs into the fea near 

 Villa de Conde, in the province of Entre Duero e Minho. 



AVEBURY, orAsuP-y, a name given to a village in 

 England, fituated in the county of Wilts, about five miles 

 weft of the town of Marlborough, nineteen north of ^loue- 

 henge, and eighty weft from London. As a village it 

 prefents no particular claims to public notice, but as the 

 fite of the mod remarkable and ftupendous monument of 

 Brit'ifo Ant'iquity in the ifland, it becomes exceedingly in- 

 terefting to the antiquary and hiftorian. 



The Britilh bards and druids have been repeatedly noticed 

 and often defcribed bv our ancient hiftorians ; fome of 

 whom have given very copious accounts of their rehgious 

 and juridical rites and ceremonies ; but none of them have 

 left complete and fatisfaftory information relating to the 

 men, their manners, or monuments. Hence arifes the great 

 difficulty gf giving decifive defcriptions of thofe fubjccfls ; 

 and the repeated wars and invafions that have haraffed this 

 country, have nearly deftroyed all documents and monu- 

 ments of Britifli antiquity. Among the veftiges of for- 

 mer times, we recognize the ftupendous temple at Avebury, 

 which was unqueftiouably the moft confiderable and import- 

 ant in Great Britain, It confiiled of a number of large 

 unhewn ftones placed perpendicularly in the ground, and 

 difpofed in parallel rows and circles. There were four of 

 the latter included within a fifth of larger circumference, 

 and at the end of the fouthern avenue, about one mile 

 diftant from the great circle, were two concentric oval 

 arrangements of ftoues. The number of flones originally 

 employed in the whole work amounted to fix hundred and 

 fifty, and moft of them meafured from ten to nineteen feet 

 in height above the ground, forty feet in circumference, 

 and weighed from foity to fifty- four tons each. The large 

 circle, and the principal part of the temple, were furrounded 

 with a Vei7 confiderable vallum and ditch, which included 

 an area of twenty-two acres of ground, and meafured about 

 1400 feet in a traufverfe diameter. This bank and ditch 

 muft have been produced with immenfe labour, and its 

 peculiarity of formation proves that it was never intended 

 for a fortified place in time of war, as the bank is thrown 

 up on the outer verge of the ditch ; whereas all militaiy 

 encampments have the bank within the ditch, to give an 

 advantageous height of ground to the bcfieged inhabitants-. 

 The vallum meafures about 30 feet in height from the top to 

 the middle of the ditch. Suppofing that it was laifed for 

 fpedators to behold any ceremonies performed m the in- 

 clofed area, it would accommodate above 70,000 pcifons, 

 and allow tv\'o fquare feet to each. This boundary embraced 

 one large, and four fmall circular arrangements of ftones. 

 The firft was about thirty-five feet within the ditch, and 



Vol. IIL 



e« 

 con- 



AVE 



confided of 100 ftones, placed at nearly rcgiilar dillanc 

 from each other. Within this circle were two double coi. 

 centric circles compofcd with eighty-cight ftones, three 

 others called the cove, and one called the central obelific. 

 From the large circle proceeded two avenues, or double 

 rows of large upright ftones, placed at nearly regular dif- 

 tances in each row, and from one row to the other. Thefe 

 confiiled of 200 ftones, extended about one mile in 

 length each way, and were called the Beckhampton and 

 Kcunett avenues. The firft proceeded from the temple in 

 a vv-ellerly direction, and was terminated with a fingle ftone; 

 whilft the other took a fouth-eaftcrn couife, and had two 

 oval rows of ftones at the extremity. The bbjeAs we have 

 already defcribed, are confidcred by fome perfons as the 

 whole of this extraordinary monument ; but.it fecms very 

 probable that Silbury Hill, fome cromlechs, other circles, 

 and numerous rtlics, were originally connecled with it. 

 Silbury Hill is confidcred as the largtll tumulus, or barrow, 

 in England, and its fituation implies that it was intended to 

 mark the meridian line from the centre of the temple. 

 Dr. .Stukcley ftates, that it is direftly fouth of the great 

 circle. It meafures 105 feet diameter at top, 5(^>o feet at 

 the bafe, 240 feet in height, following the ftiiface of its 

 northern fide, and 1680 feet in circun>ferenct at the bot- 

 tom. From the top of this artificial hill a fptctator com- 

 mands a view of the weftcrn avenue, and the whole area of 

 the temple, with a confiderable traft of flat countr)- to the 

 north and weft. This barrow has been dug into by fome 

 perfons, who expefted to make interefting difcoveries ; but 

 for want of perfeverance, or well-direftcd refearch, they 

 difcontinued their operations, without gratifying their 

 curiofity, or rewarding their labour. 



The Goths, Vandals, and Turks, haveoftcnbcenftigmatizcd 

 as the mercilefs deftroyers of every venerable and interefting 

 mouumeat of antiquity; butfurely they are not more reprchen- 

 fible than many of the inhabitants of this highly-civihzed and 

 refined country ; fome of whom have cxercifed much ingenuity 

 and labourinwantonlyanddelibcrately deft roying this lingular 

 monument of ancient culloms. We have already llated that 

 it originally confifted of 650 ftones, but moll of thefi have 

 been broken to pieces, by means of fire and manual labour, 

 and the diftevered fragments appropriated to ihecoiiftrudiion 

 of walls, hovels, and common roads. In 1722, only forty 

 remained of the great circle, of which number fcventeen 

 were Handing ; but thefe are now reduced to nine. The 

 interior circles were alinoft entire in 1716, but in 1723 only 

 two ftones were left erecl belonging to the outward circle 

 of the northern temple. Of the Kcunett avenue, there 

 were feventy-two ftones in 1772, of which only eight or 

 ten remain ; and only two of the Beckhampton avenue. 



The ftoues ufed in forming this temple are called by the 

 inhabitants, BolJerftones and Sarlbns. TItey are ot fill- 

 ceoiis grit, being of the fame Iptcies as tlioie that accom- 

 pany the great ftratum of chalk, which cnjffes England 

 from E. N. E. to W.6.W. Thefe ftones he on the furfacc 

 of the ground in detached mafTes, unconnected with any ftra- 

 tum of rock. 



.Having fliewn what the temple was, and what it is, we will 

 next endeavour to explain its appropriation and ule5; in doing 

 which, we found our deductions principally on the triads and 

 traditions of the Welfh bards, a clafs of people more likely 

 to pivf':rve correct memorials of the ancient Britilh, than 

 will be found in any of the Roman hiftorics. By thefe wnteri 

 we learn that Avebury wa& tlie great national temple, or 

 circle of convention of the Ancient Britons; in which tiicy 

 aifembled from all parts of the illand, on the four grand 

 fcllivals, which were held at the tiiiic of the two folfticci 

 S f aui 



