224 



By the Rev. J. L. Ross, M.A., Oxon. 



Vicar of Avebury and Monkton. 



jN a paper which. I drew up some time since for the Archaeo- 

 ) logical Journal, I endeavoured to shew that the Druidical 

 remains in this county were the work of the Phoenicians, who not 

 merely had a very early commercial intercourse with Cornwall, but 

 subsequently colonized to a considerable extent the South "Western 

 district of England, and to a still greater extent Ireland. It has 

 been observed however by Pinkerton and others, among whom we 

 may mention Barry in his history of the Orkneys, that both in 

 Orkney and other parts of Scotland, stones, pillars, circles, and 

 tumuli are to be found, similar to those which are met with in some 

 of the Southern districts of England, and particularly Stonehenge ; 

 and they would hence infer that neither Stonehenge nor what are 

 usually considered as Druidical circles and stones were erected by 

 the Druids or Phoenicians, but were the works either of a later age, 

 or were the memorials of a Saxon or Scandinavian race. In this 

 view there would appear to be the same jealousy of Stukeley enter- 

 tained by these writers and those who adopt their opinions, which 

 has, I am afraid, not been confined to their country or age. 



Now without assuming Stukeley to be an infallible guide on 

 subjects of antiquarian interest, or subscribing in all particulars 

 either to his views or deductions, many of which are confessedly 

 fanciful and have received little credit, the attention that has been 

 recently paid to such antiquarian remains in this county by several 

 writers, would seem to indicate that the ground plan of the two 

 great temples or circles of Abury and Stonehenge as laid down by 

 Stukeley, namely, in the latter circle, of a mere round open build- 

 ing with approaches, and in the former, of a Dracontic erection, 

 has resulted in a decided disposition in most quarters to receive his 

 statement of the appearance of these circles in his time, as well as 

 their probablo design. That Aubrey the first discoverer of Abury 



