on the Marlborough Downs. 49 



the " Sanctuary " whioh existed (and was only a short time ago 

 destroyed) on Overton Hill, at the southern end of the ridge called 

 f* riackpen.^ Many of these stones have been broken up and carried 

 away j others have been buried in the ground ; several are fallen, 

 and some are hidden behind hedges and within banks ; but enough 

 remain to show unmistakably where the avenue was. Of the two 

 hundred stones which originally composed it, seventy-two were seen 

 by Stukeley, 1 so that there is no question of its former existence, 

 and the few that remain now, though only fallen relics, are eloquent 

 witnesses of original grandeur. Of the other reputed avenue on the 

 western side of Abury, I make no mention, because not a trace of 

 it remains ; but though it is doubted by many whether such an 

 avenue ever existed, I must declare that, in my opinion, it is im- 

 possible to disbelieve the very positive assertions of Stukeley, 3 when 

 that eminent antiquary records things which his own eyes saw ; for 

 Stukeley was certainly an honest man, however fanciful at times, 

 when, having little data to go upon, he allowed his imagination to 

 wander. 



(3) I come next to the Cromlechs, 3 or more correctly " Kistvaens," 

 in which this neighbourhood (probably from the abundance of suitable 

 stone) was once exceedingly rich : indeed there can be little doubt 

 that at an early period of the history of this district, the Kistvaens 

 of greater or less dimensions, must have been a favorite mode of 

 protecting and commemorating the dead, those at least whom the 

 survivors desired more especially to honour. I ground this opinion 

 upon the fact that, within the memory of those now living, several 

 instances have occurred of such monuments, or parts of such monu- 

 ments, having been destroyed. Moreover the very nature of the 



1 Page 29. 



2 Page 36. See the able defence of the Beckhampton Avenue which the Kev. 

 Bryan King has put forth since I read this paper, published in the last number 

 of the Magazine, vol. xviii., pp. 377 — 383. 



3 Kistvaens vary from one another in the number of supporting stones on which 

 the covering slab is laid : in some cases (but rarely) two supporters alone uphold 

 the superincumbent cap ; but more frequently three or four, or even more pillars 

 are met with. The word " Cromlech " is said to be derived from " crom," bowed 

 or bending, and "lech," a stone. 



VOL. XIX. NO. LV. E 



