Stonehenge | Page 4

at the monument is sufficient to show that its basic
form is intended to be a circle. The earthwork which girdles the stones
is circular and 300 feet in diameter. Within this stands the remnant of a
circle of 30 upright stones, bearing imposts upon them; within this
again is what was once a circle of smaller stones. Inside these three
outer circular forms are two others, shaped like a horseshoe. The first
consisted of the five large "Trilithons," huge pylons of stone,

comprising two uprights and an impost; standing separate, while in
front of them is the remnant of a horseshoe of small upright stones,
similar to those which comprise the inner circle of the monument.
[Illustration: Upright stones shaded--Prostrate stones in outline.]
At first it may seem difficult to disentangle the chaos of fallen stone
which meets the eye; but when once the original design of the structure
is grasped, it becomes easy to piece together again in imagination a
work which even in the light of modern and scientific engineering
presents very considerable difficulties and problems.
Lying flat within these concentric circles and horseshoes is a single flat
tabular block generally known as the "Altar Stone." From this slab,
now almost buried beneath the remains of a fallen Trilithon, the visitor
may look in a north-easterly direction, and through the arches of the
outer circle observe the "Hele Stone" or "Friar's Heel," which stands at
some considerable distance from the main structure. On the Summer
Solstice (or "Longest Day"), the sun rises immediately over the top of
this monolith, when viewed from the centre of the Altar Stone.
Such, then, are the facts which meet the eye when standing within
Stonehenge. Each minute the stones appear to increase in bulk, and the
problem of their coming grows more inscrutable. Then if wearied with
such vastness, the eye may wander over the surrounding plain, broken
in almost every direction by the sepulchral mounds, or Barrows, which
cluster to the number of two hundred or more about the venerable stone
circle. The connection between Stonehenge and the Barrows, seems
almost irresistible. The hands which raised those huge monoliths must
assuredly have been laid to rest almost within the touch of their shadow.
Stonehenge and the Barrows, each casting light upon the other's origin,
confirming and reconfirming each other's existence, knit together
to-day as yesterday, by a bond of close union which even Time and
speculations cannot sever.
THE LITHOLOGY OF STONEHENGE
Weatherworn and overgrown by lichen, it is not possible at the present

day to see clearly the nature of the stones which go to make up
Stonehenge. For that reason only the barest outline of the monument as
it appears to the unknowing eye has been given, in order that the
original plan may be grasped thoroughly before entering into those
important issues which help to solve the enigma of its origin. Careful
investigation reveals the fact that the stones vary very much in material,
and that, further, just as the stones are placed in systematic order, so,
too, has the same care been exercised in the selection of the material
from which each circle or horseshoe has been built. Moreover, just as
the stones can be divided into groups of uprights and imposts, or
"Trilithons," and "simple uprights," so, too, has it been found that while
all the Trilithons are composed of a "local" stone, known generally as
"Sarsen"; all the "simple uprights" are of "foreign" stone, sometimes
classed together roughly as "Syenite." This latter term must be
understood in a very comprehensive sense since the simple uprights
show considerable variation in quality, but one and all are foreign to
the county of Wiltshire; whereas the larger Sarsen blocks are to be
found in considerable numbers scattered over the Wiltshire Downs.
This difference in material seems to present a considerable difficulty;
and the question naturally arises, How did the foreign stones come to
Salisbury Plain? This point will be considered later, as it is one
involving other matters, such as the ethnology of the builders and the
probable region from which they obtained these unusual materials. But
the Sarsens present no problem, and so may be considered first of all,
for familiar as they are their story is full of interest.
[Illustration: The Lithology of Stonehenge.]
THE STORY OF THE SARSENS
The geologist would probably describe the Sarsen stones of Wiltshire
as "masses of saccharoid sandstone," which in plain English might be
rendered as boulders closely resembling gigantic lumps of coarse sugar.
These huge stones are to be found, though in decreasing numbers,
scattered all over the plain, and particularly along the ridges of the
Marlborough Downs. The country folk, always picturesquely minded,
call them "Grey Wethers," and indeed in North Wilts, it is not hard to

conjure up their