ANTIQUITIES. 
chiefly of Roman monuments, with some 
Moorish remains. In the north is an exten- 
sive series of arches, formerly a Roman 
aqueduct. At Evora are well-preserved 
ruins of a temple of Diana, and an aqueduct 
ascribed to Quintus Sertorius, whose life 
was written by Plutarch. Among the anti- 
quities of the middle ages may be noted the 
monastery of Batalha, in Estremadura, 60 
miles north of Lisbon, which is allowed on 
all hands to be one of the noblest monu- 
ments of what is called the Gothic style of 
architecture. 
From this sketch of the antiquities of 
other nations we turn to those of our 
own ; considering them under three divi- 
sions, as belonging, 1st, to England ; 2d, 
to Scotland; and 3d, to Ireland. English 
antiquities fall into the following divisions, 
viz. those belonging to the primitive Celtic 
inhabitants ; those of the Belgic colonies ; 
those of the Romans ; those of the Saxons ; 
reliques of the Danes; and, lastly, Norman 
monuments. Few of these remains are 
thought to throw much light upon the his- 
tory of the country : but being interesting 
and curious in themselves, they may, in this 
article, which is intended as a guide to the 
study, be briefly noticed. A radical mis- 
take, according to Mr. Pinkerton, in the 
study of English antiquities has arisen from 
the confusion of the Celtic and Belgic lan- 
guages and monuments. The Druids have 
deservedly attracted much curiosity and 
research ; but it would be erroneous to im- 
pute to them, as is usual, the whole of our 
earliest remains. Caesar speaks of Druidism 
as a recent institution, and if that be the 
case, it is not improbable that it originated 
from the Phoenician factories, established in 
wooden fortresses, the usual practice of 
commercial nations when trading with sa- 
vage or barbarous people. The tenets cor- 
respond with what little exists of Phoenician 
mythology, and the missionaries of that re- 
fined people might have some zeal in their 
diffusion. Ancient authors, Who give us all 
our information concerning the Druids, mi- 
nutely describe their religious rites, but are 
totally silent concerning any monuments of 
stone being used among them. On the con- 
trary, they mention gloomy groves and 
spreading oaks as the only scenes of the 
Druidic ceremonies; uevertheless antiqua- 
ries have inferred that Stonehenge is a Drui- 
dic monument, though it be situated in an 
extensive plain, where not a vestige of wood 
appears, and where the very soil is reputed 
to be adverse to its vegetation. It would 
be a vain effort to attempt to discriminate 
the remains of the earliest inhabitants from 
those of the Druidic period, and if the opi- 
nion of the last-mentioned author is to be 
regarded as binding, there is no foundation 
for any sound or real knowledge on the sub- 
ject. The following have been esteemed as 
the monuments of the Druids: — 1. Single 
stones erect. 2. Rock idols and pierced 
stones. 3. Rocking-stones, used as ordeals. 
4. Sepulchres of two, three, or more stones. 
5. Circular temples, or rather circles of 
erect stones. 6. Barrows, or tumuli. 7. 
Cromlechs, or heaps of stones. 8. Rock- 
basons, imagined to have been used in 
Druidic expiations. 9. Caves, used as 
places of retreat in time of war. But as 
most of these relics may also be found in 
Germany and Scandinavia, it is difficult to 
say whether they are Gothic or Celtic ; and 
as the Germans had no Druids, we cannot 
with any degree of certainty bestow the 
name of Druidic upon such monuments. It 
is highly probable, that the earliest inhabi- 
tants, as is ever the practice in the infancy 
of society, made use of wood, not of stone, 
in their religious as well as in their domestic 
erections. If we survey the various savage 
regions of the globe, we shall seldom, if ever, 
perceive the use of stone ; and it is certaihly 
just to infer, that the savages of the west 
were not more skilful than those of the east, 
nor those of the old continents and islands 
than those of the new. But as many of 
these monuments are found in Germany, 
Scandinavia, and Iceland, and as the Icelan- 
dic writers in particular often indicate their 
origin and use, which are unknown in the 
Celtic records, there is every reason to attri- 
bute them to a more advanced stage of so- 
ciety, when the Belgic colonies introduced 
agriculture, and a little further progress in 
the rude arts of barbarism. The nature of 
this work will not admit a formal investiga- 
tion of such topics, but a few remarks may 
be offered on Stonehenge, a stupendous mo- 
nument of barbaric industry. Inigo Jones, 
in attempting to prove that it is Roman, only 
evinces that no talents can avail when science 
is wanting, and that antiquities require a 
severe and peculiar train of study. Doctor 
Stukely, a visionary writer, assigns Stone- 
henge to the Druids ; while Dr. Charlton, 
perceiving that such monuments are found 
in Denmark, ascribed it to the Danes. If 
the latter had considered, that the Belgai 
were a Gothic nation of similar language 
and institutions, he might with more justice 
have extended its antiquity. From the 
