138 Congress of British Archaological Association at Devizes. 



to the vallum or ridge surrounding' the enclosure, and the company- 

 made a circuit of about one-fourth of its circumference ; and then at 

 a convenient spot for a general view of the whole area, they reclined 

 on the slopes of the embankment; and, called on by the President 

 for a description of the " Circles/' the Rev. A. C. Smith declared 

 that they were now looking* at what was, though mutilated, the very 

 finest specimen of a British antiquity in these islands. He first 

 called attention to the stupendous earthworks on which they were 

 assembled, the outer mound 30 feet in height, and the ditch 30 feet 

 in depth, the whole sloping side of the embankment measuring no 

 less than seventy feet. He bade them observe that here, not as at 

 Wansdyke, the ditch was inside, and therefore was not constructed 

 for military purposes ; but the sloping sides of the bank would form 

 most convenient accommodation for spectators who might be wit- 

 nessing anything that was being transacted on the level area within. 

 Enclosing this area, and but a short distance from the ditch, stood 

 a circle of stones, one hundred in number, and beyond stood two 

 large " temples,"" as they were generally considered, each formed of 

 a double circle of stones, and containing in the centre of the south- 

 ernmost circles a single stone, called the " obelisk," and in a similar 

 position in the northern circles, three stones, known as the " cove." 

 Then two avenues, each formed of two hundred stones, and each 

 extending about a mile, conducted, the one towards the south-east, 

 by Kennet to the top of Overton Hill, where it terminated in a small 

 circle of stones, called the " Sanctuary " ; and the other towards the 

 south-west, by Beckhampton. Such is the general outline of Abury, 

 as described by Aubrey (c. 1660), Stukeley (c. 1743), Sir Richard 

 Hoare (c. 1812), and the modern historian of Abury and Stonehenge, 

 to whom archaeologists are so much indebted — Mr. William Long. 

 He would now direct the special attention of his hearers to the size 

 of the two temples within the area. Stukely, who saw them in 

 comparative perfection one hundred and forty years ago, declared 

 that each of them was four times as large as Stonehenge, while 

 Aubrey, who lived above two hundred ago, and saw them in still 

 better preservation, declared that Abury as far exceeded Stonehenge 

 in size as a Cathedral exceeds a parish Church, He had no desire 



