Wednesday, July 6th. 



299 



the woodwork, the pulpit, and the very nice seats of Elizabethan 

 > work. 



Thence the carriages proceeded up over the down to KNIGHTON 

 LONG BARROW, whereon the company rested for a while enjoying 

 the extensive view over the whole surrounding country, and the 

 splendid air of the high ground of the Plain. Here Mr. Doran 

 Webb again said a few words on long and round barrows, as did 

 also the Rev. W. Dowding. From this point the route lay still 

 over the down to STONEHENGE, where Mr. Edmund Story 

 Maskelyne demonstrated to the party on his theory of the 



: astronomical and Phoenician origin of the structure, his remarks 



I meeting with considerable criticism from those who were unable to 



J accept his arguments. 



On the way home the carriages were left at VESPASIAN'S CAMP, 



| and after the perambulation of the ramparts a walk through the 

 beautiful woods and the vale brought the party back to Amesbury. 



j At the Evening Conversazione Mr. H. Brakspear's paper on 

 recent discoveries on the site of the CHURCH AT LACOCK ABBEY 

 came first, and was illustrated by a large ground-plan. 



Then followed Mr. E. Story Maskelyne's paper on Stonehenge, 



1 promulgating his astronomical theory at length. It was entitled 

 "THE PURPOSE, THE AGE, AND THE BUILDERS OF STONE- 

 HENGE," and has to a great extent been already printed in pamphlet 

 form as read before the Bath Antiquarian Club. The author held 

 that Stonehenge was an observatory erected by the Phoenicians 

 about the year 1000 B.C., and that the position of its stones was 

 governed by the position of certain stars by means of which its 

 date could be accurately fixed. A somewhat animated discussion 

 arose on certain points on which the author of the paper was 

 hardly in agreement with received archaeological opinion. 



A third paper, which had been crowded out the previous evening 

 owing to the premature closing of the meeting, was that by Major 

 Hawley, describing excavations made by himself on the sites of 

 two Eomano-British villages on Rushall Down. 



This was read by Mr. W. Heward Bell, in the unavoidable 

 absenoe of the author, who had been obliged to leave that morning. 



