Cappadox[204], +Pomponius Mela+[205], &c. eam triquetræ vel triquadræ
dixere similem; quod licet non omnino stricte satis congruat,
attamen optime hac figura geometrica complexam dixeris. Linea a
Cantio ad Antivestæum ducta est basis 367 milliarium, duplum hujus
longitudinis detur utrique cruri in _Ferro Head_ promontorio, sive
_Cape Wreath_ terminato, △ isosceles 1835 milliarium mensuratorum in
circuitu complectens habes, monstrans geometricum circuitum Magnæ
Britanniæ, tantum ad unum milliare a celeberrimi +Cambdeni+ computo
aliis operationibus nixo[206], differentem, quod ipsum notatu est
dignissimum. Palam est figuram hanc totam superficiem insulæ continere
134689 milliaribus quadratis, cum, quæ in mari exstant, partes cum iis
quæ mari ingressum permittunt, accuratissime mire congruant. Additur
jam superficies unius cruris, propter crenatas orarum incisiones,
quod, experientia teste, nimium non est, integer circuitus Albionis
geographicus prodibit æqualis 2569 milliaribus Regiis: sive vicies
octies centenis novem millibus passuum, id est 2809 milliaribus
Romanis, quod mihi cogitandi ansam præbet, +Plinii+ tricies octies
vigintiquinque M. P. corrigenda esse[207], ut sint vicies octies
vigintiquinque, tuncque remanet tantum differentia XVI. M. P. quam pro
nihilo omnino reputare licet.
V. _Si Ptolemæo_, &c.] +Claudius Ptolemæus+ Astronomus & Geographus
celeberrimus, (Patriæ Pelusiota), qui & Alexandrini nomen fert, non
quod Alexandriæ natus sit, sed quia observationes suas ibi instituit.
+Ricardus+ noster simul cum aliis Monachis eum Regem Ægypti facit[208].
scripsit ille IIX libros Geographiæ, quibus aliorum sui temporis
errores correxit. Liber II. III. IV. V. & VI. si non integrum opus,
videntur non esse nisi corrupta & jejuna epitome, rationes, quæ huc
faciunt, non sunt hujus loci, innituntur vero, iis, quæ occurrunt in
+Marciano Jornande+[209], +Ravennate+, &c.
_Litteram Z sed inversam_, &c.] Hoc ipsissimum illud videtur, quod
+Tacitus+ supra, per immensum & enorme spatium indigitat, +Cæsar+que
innuit, dicens, lateris orientis angulum maxime ad Germaniam
spectare[210], quæ opinio in tantum invaluit, ut etiam ad seculum
XLV tum firma manserit. Apparet hoc ex illo +Gemmæ Frysii+, de Orbis
divisione cap. IV. ‘Contendunt, inquit, hic multi, præcipue nostri
sæculi, Geographi, superiorem angulum Scotiæ non eo modo in ortum
prominere quemadmodum Ptolemæus ac nostri Globi descriptio habet. Verum
his (quam nihil habeant, quo id edocere possint) temere fides adhibenda
non est, imo ipsimet Scoti, nobis inquirentibus, in orientem solem
latus extare, fessi sunt.’ Hi e Scylla Charybdin incidentes, polos
mutatos esse supponunt[211], unde iis ceu melius fundamentum cum super
ædificent suam Theoriam, notam meam pag. 154. N. 67. commendatam volo.
_Mapparum inspectio._] Propriam verosimiliter putat auctor, sed aliter
sentiunt nostri ævi eruditi[212].
Ut caput hoc completum reddamus in describendis oris Albionis
subsistimus, ut jam a +Ptolemæo+ descriptæ sunt[213], ad minimum
in iis, quæ nomen ejus habent, libris, partes interiores, notasque
reservaturi donec ad loca, quorsum pertinent, pervenerimus.
ALBIONIS INSULÆ BRITANNIÆ SITUS.
Septentrionalis lateris descriptio, quod
alluit Oceanus, qui vocatur Deucaledonius.
Novantum Chersonesus, & ejusdem nominis
promontorium habet
Longit. 21 00 Lat. 61 40 _Mull of Galloway_
Rerigonius Sinus 20 30 60 45 _Loch Rian_
Vidotara Sinus 21 20 60 30 _Air Bay_
Clota æstuarium 22 15 59 40 _Clyd Mouth_
Lelannonius Sinus 24 00 60 40 _Loch Fyn_
Epidium promont. 23 00 60 40 _Mull of Cantyr_
*Longi fluv. ostia 24 00 60 40 _Loch Long_
Itys fluv. ostia 27 00 60 00 _Loch Etyf_
Volsas Sinus 29 00 60 30 _Loch Yoll_
Nabæi fluv. ostia 30 00 60 30 _Navern River_
Tarvedum, quod Orcas promontorium
31 20 60 15 _Dungsby Head_
Occidentalis lateris descriptio, quod
Ibernicus ac Vergivius alluit Oceanus. Post
Novantum Chersonesum quæ habet
21 00 61 40 _Mull of Galloway_
Abravanni fluv. ost. 19 20 61 00 _Glenluce Bay_
Jenæ æstuarium 19 00 60 30 _Wigtown Bay_
Devæ fluv. ostia 18 00 60 00 _Dee River_
Novii fluv. ostia 18 20 59 30 _Nith River_
Ituna æstuarium 18 30 58 45 _Eden Mouth, or Solway Fyrth_
Moricambe æstuar. 17 30 58 20 _Can River Mouth._
Setantiorum portus 17 20 57 45 _Lancaster._
° ´ ° ´
Belisama æstuarium 17 30 57 20 _Ribble River_
Seteia æstuarium 17 00 57 00 _Mersey River_
Toisobii fluv. ost. 15 40 56 20 _Conwey River_
Cancanorum prom. 15 00 56 00 _Brachypult Point_
Stuciæ fluv. ostia 15 20 55 30 _Dovye River_
Tuerobii fluv. ost. 15 00 55 00 _Tyvi River_
Octapitarum prom. 14 20 54 30 _The Bishop and Clarks_
Tobii fluv. ostia 15 30 54 30 _Tovy River_
Ratostathybii fluv. ost. 16 30 54 30 _Wye River_
Sabriani æstuar. 17 20 54 30 _Severn Sea_
Vexala æstuar. 16 00 53 30 _Huntspil Water_
Herculis promont. 14 00 53 00 _Hartland Point_
Antivestæum promont, quod etiam dicitur
Bolerium 11 00 52 30 _Land’s End_
Damnonium quod etiam dicitur Ocrinum
promontor. 12 00 51 30 _Lizard Point_
Reliqui Meridionalis lateris descriptio, quod
Britannicus Oceanus alluit. Post Ocrinum
promontorium Cenionis fluv. ostia
14 00 51 45 _Valle River_
Tamari fluv. ost. 15 40 52 10 _Tamar River_
Isacæ fluv. ost. 17 00 52 20 _Ex River_
Alaini fluv. ost. 17 40 52 40 _Christ Church Bay_
Magnus Portus 19 00 53 00 _Portsmouth_
Trisantonis fluv. ost. 20 20 53 00 _Arundel River_
Novus Portus 21 00 53 30 _At Eastborne_
Cantium promontor. 22 00 54 00 _North Foreland_
Orientalis deinde ac australis plagæ
latera, quæ Germanico alluuntur Oceano,
describuntur. Post Tarvedum, quod & Orcas
prom. quod dictum est Virvedrum promontorium
31 00 60 00 _Noss Head_
Berubium promontor. 30 30 59 40 _Ord Head_
Ilæ fluv. ost. 30 00 59 40 _Fyrth of Dornogh, or Tayne_
Ripa alta prom. 29 00 59 40 _Terbaert Ness_
Loxæ fluv. ost. 28 30 59 40 _Fyrth of Cromartie_
Vara æstuar. 27 30 59 40 _Fyrth of Inverness_
Tuæsis æstuar. 27 00 59 00 _Spey River_
Celnii fluv. ost. 27 00 58 45 _Dovern River_
Taizalum promontor. 27 30 58 30 _Kynaird’s Head_
Divæ fluv. ost. 26 00 58 30 _Dee River_
Tava æstuar. 25 00 58 30 _Tay River_
Tinnæ fluv. ost. 24 30 58 45 _Edin River_
Boderia æstuar. 22 30 58 45 _Fyrth of Forth_
Alauni fluv. ost. 21 40 58 30 _Alne River_
Vedræ fluv. ost. 20 10 58 30 _Were River_
Dunum Sinus 20 15 57 30 _Tees Mouth_
Gabrantuicorum portuosus sinus
21 00 57 00 _Bridlington Bay_
Ocellum promontor. 21 15 56 40 _Spurn Head_
Abi fluv. ost. 21 00 56 30 _Humber River_
Metaris æstuar. 20 30 55 40 _The Washes_
Garryeni fluv. ostia 21 00 55 20 _Yare River_
..... Extensio, _sive_
..... extrema 21 15 55 05 _Easton Ness_
Idumanii fluv. ost 20 10 55 10 _Bay near Maldon_
Jamissa æstuarium 20 30 54 30 _Thames Mouth_
Post quam Cantium est promontorium
22 00 54 00 _North Foreland_
PLURA ALIBI.
THE WEDDINGS.
There is an old proverb common in Somersetshire, “Stanton Drew, _a
mile from_ Pensford, _another from_ Chue;” which should denote some
peculiar regard and excellence in that town, and direction for the
ready finding it: and in fact it highly deserves to be celebrated, upon
account of that remarkable monument, vulgarly called the Weddings,
whose name only is but just known to the curious and learned world. To
redeem it from further obscurity, I took a journey thither from the
Bath in July 1723, where calling on my friend Mr. Strachey, a worthy
fellow of the Royal Society, and who has shewn his knowledge in his
nice remarks upon the neighbouring coal-mines, we made mensurations of
this notable work together. I find it is the most considerable remnant
of the ancient Celts which I yet know, next to Stonehenge and Abury.
Mr. Aubrey, that indefatigable searcher-out of antiquities, is the
first that has observed it; and I believe Mr. Strachey, living near the
place, is the first that measured it, since the original ground-line
was stretched upon the spot. To open a more exact view of this noble
antiquity, observe we that there is a little stream runs into the
Avon between Bath and Bristol, called Chue, arising near here at a
synonymous town, and first passes under a stone bridge at Stanton Drue,
where making a pretty turn, as it were, half inclosing our monument, a
little further it comes to Pensford; which is an old British name, for
it is written Pennis-ford, _Pen isc_ signifying the head of the river.
It was a common usage among all ancient nations, so with our ancestors,
to pay a sacred reverence to the fountains of rivers, and frequently
were they sought for upon religious occasions, judging a divinity must
needs reside where so beneficial an element takes its rise. The road
from Pensford to Chue goes along the north side of the river; and
there, half a mile above, and half a mile below the bridge, lie two
great stones, called Hautvil’s Coyts, according to the apprehension of
the common people, said to be pitched there by Sir John Hautvil, of
these parts, a famous champion, of whom legends are printed under the
name of Sir John Hawkwell, as vulgarly pronounced. These stones now lie
flat upon the ground by the road side, but said to have been standing,
and much larger than they are at present; for some pieces have been
knocked off. We measured that toward Pensford 13 foot long, 8 broad,
and 4 thick, being a hard reddish stone. Stanton Drue church bears
here south-west. What regard this has to the temple which it overlooks
on the other side the river, and from higher ground, I cannot say;
whether it is the remnant (together with the former) of some avenue,
or whether it was carried thither, or laid for some direction to those
that lived on that side the river. Repassing the bridge, and entering
the inclosures east of the church which belong to a farm there, we come
to the Weddings. Here is an old manor-house adjacent, which has been a
castle; for the walls are crenated, and some half-moons built to it.
The farm-house is an old stone building, said to have been a nunnery,
probably founded by some pious lady of the manor. There is a great
hall in it, open to the cieling, handsomely made of timber work, and
two arched windows with mullions on each side; and all the windows of
the house are arched in the same manner: at the east end is a winding
stone stair-case, and near it, in the yard, an elegant stone dove-cote,
round, with six buttresses. This house, with the church and that part
of the grounds which is the site of our monument, is a knoll of rising
ground, of an oval form, stretched out with a whole broad side against
the river, half embracing it with a circular sweep, and but little
space between it and the river; and that side from the river has a
delicate acclivity or valley winding round it, answerable to the river.
The longer _axis_ of this knoll is from north-east to south-west:
the major part of it declines manifestly gently toward the river, or
northward, and is finely guarded from the north winds by a ridge of
hills adjacent; upon the summit of which is an ancient fortification,
called Miz knoll, in the road to Bristol: this is a pleasant place,
full of hedges and trees growing very tall, especially elms. The
country is stoney, covered over with a reasonable _stratum_ of sandy
ground, mixed with clay, which is rich enough. One would imagine this
knoll was pitched upon by the founders for the sake of its figure,
and because capable of giving a sufficient liability to their work:
its declivity carries off the rain, always regarded in this manner of
building; for that would loosen the foundations. Here is a fine large
_area_ between the temples, for the rites of sacrifice, &c.
I wondered that I observed no _tumuli_, or barrows, the burying-places
of the people about it, as in other cases, but suppose it owing to the
goodness of the soil; for they wisely pitched upon barren ground to
repose their ashes, where they could only hope to lie undisturbed: and
on Mendip hills, not far off, they are very numerous. This particularly
I am told of seven that are remarkable. This monument about ten years
ago must have made a most noble appearance, because then perfect. It
seems the nuns, and all the possessors of the estate, had left it
untouched till a late tenant, for covetousness of the little space of
ground they stood upon, buried them for the most part in the ground:
he was justly punished, for the grass at this time will not grow over
them, but withers, because there is not a sufficient depth of earth:
however, for the pleasure of the curious, it is not difficult to
retrieve its original figure from what remains. It is the general case
of fine monuments, in their perfect state disregarded and obscure, but
their ruins are caressed and adored: and this was really an elegant
monument, and highly worth visiting, and claims an eminent place in the
history of Celtic temples.
The monument consists of four distinct parts, three distant circles,
and a cove. The stone it is composed of, is of such a kind as I have
not elsewhere seen; certainly intirely different from that of the
country, which is a slab kind. If any stone ever was, this would tempt
one to think it factitious, though I think nothing less: it looks like
a paste of flints, shells, crystals, and the like solid corpuscles
crowded together and cemented, but infallibly by Nature’s artifice.
The long current of years passing over it, and its most perishable
parts being wasted away, leaves the rest much corroded externally,
and as it were worm-eaten by dint of time: yet of itself it will
stand for ever; for its texture is extremely hard, and beyond that of
marble, at least those of Marlborough downs. If I have any judgement,
by oft surveying these kind of works, and with a nice eye, I guess by
its present appearance, and consideration of its wear, to be older
than Abury and Stonehenge. One would think, from its dusky and rusty
colour, that it is a kind of iron stone: it is very full of fluors and
transparent crystallisations, like Bristol stones, large, and in great
lumps; so that it shines eminently, and reflects the sun-beams with
great lustre. I cannot but think that it is brought from St. Vincent’s
rock, near the mouth of Bristol river, as Mr. Aubrey says expresly;
though Mr. Strachey, who has curiously observed every thing of this
kind, cannot affirm it: and if its comes no further, we may well admire
at the strength and manner requisite to convey them hither over that
rocky country, wholly consisting of hills, and dales, and woods: but
the notion of religion fully answers all difficulties; and the founders
well provided for the perpetuity of their work, in the election of
their materials. I found some stone like this by the sea side, this
Summer, at Southampton; and the walls of the town are mostly built of
it. The stones in our work are apparently very shapely, and squared,
though with no mathematical exactness, that is, not hewn with a tool,
but rather, as we may suppose, broke by flints, and a great strength
of hand, in those early ages, when iron tools were not found out:
the greatest number of the stones are now visible, either standing,
fallen, or buried in the ground by the person before mentioned; the
places of such for the most part are apparent enough, the grass growing
but poorly above, as we said before, so that the purpose of interring
them is defeated, and more grass lost by their lying than when they
stood in their places. Many may be found by knocking with one’s heel
upon the spot, whence there is a sound; others, by thrusting an iron
rod into the earth. The species of the stone renders it useless to be
wrought up in building, especially in this country, that abounds with
more manageable stone for the purpose. From the regular figures of the
stones, as well as their order of positure, the eyes of a spectator
would have been charmed with the sight of this work when in perfection,
and the whole plain open to the view: at present they are separated by
hedge-rows, yards, orchards, and the like; and the persons that laid
them out have aukwardly cut them off by the middle, or by segments: the
great single circle now stands in no less than three fields, and the
other great concentric circles have a ditch and quickset hedge running
across one side: the lesser circle is divided in the middle, one half
remaining in a pasture, the other among the apple-trees in an orchard.
The cove stands in the middle of another orchard by the church and
farm-house, which we said was a nunnery, as tradition goes.
The idea upon which some of these stones are formed, is different from
any I have observed elsewhere. Abury and Stonehenge, and all others yet
come to my knowledge, are broad stones: these are square, or what we
may call pilasters; I mean those of the innermost circle, or cell, of
what I name the Planetary temple: the rest are all of equal dimensions,
being six foot broad, nine high, and three thick; so that their base is
a double cube, their length a cube and a half, which shows sufficiently
that the builders of this work, as in all others of the like, studied
proportion, whence beauty flows. The stones of the outer circle at
Stonehenge are of the same model as to the base, but higher upon the
breadth, being likewise a double cube. I understand all the while in
our monument, that these are Celtic feet, for such I found them, and by
that scale is the construction of the whole: also what I speak of is
their measure above ground; for I did not desire to indulge a dangerous
curiosity in searching how deep they are set in the ground, which has
been too fatal already in these antiquities.
[Sidenote: TAB. LXXVIII.]
The four parts which make up this monument, as we said, are the cove,
two single circles, and a quincuple circle. The cove, as most commonly,
consists of three stones, set in a half-moon figure, or, to be more
exact, upon the end of an _ellipsis_, whose _focus_, I suppose, would
be in a line upon the foremost edges of the two wings. This is situate
in the south-west part of the oval knoll of ground that contains the
whole; at present in an orchard south of the church, and west of the
nunnery before mentioned. The wings are standing, but much diminished
by age or violence; some great pieces being broke off: the stone on
the back is fallen down, being a larger one: it is 13 foot long, and
8 broad; therefore of the same dimensions with Hautvil’s Coyt, before
spoken of. This cove opens to the south-east. Four hundred foot from
this, going eastward, and with an angle of 20 degrees southward, in
another orchard east of the dove-cote, is a lesser single circle,
which is 120 foot diameter: this stands upon the southern side of the
knoll, and consists of 12 stones, consequently set at the interval
of 30 foot, the same as those of the circles at Abury. Here are all
the stones left upon the spot, but prostrate, half being within the
hedge, half without. This I call the Lunar Temple. This circle is the
same diameter and number of stones with the inner circles of the two
temples in the work at Abury. Five hundred foot distant from this,
going north-easterly, viz. with an angle of 20 degrees northerly from
the east, and across the orchard, and a pasture, is the circumference
of the greater single circle: the centre of it is in the next pasture
to the north-east: it is 300 foot in diameter, and composed of 30
stones, set at the distance of 30 foot, as before: about 20 of the
stones are remaining, but of that number only three standing. The whole
circle is contained in three pastures: the plain on which it stands
descends gently toward the river, and keeps it constantly dry. But 30
foot from this circle is the circumference of the outer circle of the
quincuple one, or five concentric circles, the centre whereof is in
an angle of 20 degrees more southerly from the line that connects the
centres of the two single circles; so that it bears a little northerly
of the east from the solar circle. The manner of thus conjoining five
circles in one is very extraordinary, and what I have no where else met
withal; and its primitive aspect must have had as remarkable an effect,
by the crebrity of the stones, as their intervals: and, upon moving
towards them, or sideways, they must have created the same beautiful
and surprising appearance to the eye, as the more learned architects
have endeavoured by the multiplicity of columns in their portico’s,
_forums_, and the like, of which Vitruvius speaks: yet I think, in
my judgement, this circular work must needs vastly have exceeded, in
this particular, those most celebrated works of the Greeks and Romans;
because in a strait walk there is but always the same variety (if we
may talk so) presented to the eye; whereas in ours, the circles not
being exactly at the same distance from one another as the stones are,
and therefore not confining themselves to so strict a regularity,
it must have heightened that agreeable diversification. It is very
obvious, that the compilers used art and consideration in adjusting the
diameters with the number of the stones, and that one circle should
not be vastly disproportionate to another: thus the outermost circle
is 310 foot in diameter; therefore it receives 32 stones at 30 foot
interval: the next is 250 in diameter, with 28 stones: the
next, 230; consequently requires 22 stones to complete it: the next is
150 foot in diameter, consisting of 16 stones: the innermost is 90,
therefore has 9 stones; but then two of them are crowded together, and
set at an angle a little obtuse, so that they form a sort of niche, or
cove, of a different manner from any other. Several of these stones
are fallen, several stand; which may be better understood by surveying
the drawings, than by a tedious recapitulation: therefore I took
different views of the work hereabouts, where it is most intire, that
in after-times, by comparing the prints with the life, the difference
may appear, if any shall be; but I hope they ever will be useless to
those that view the place itself, and that the owners of the estate
will preserve the monument for the glory of their country.
[Illustration: 78·2ᵈ.
_The_ Cove _at_ Stanton Drew
_Stukeley del._]
[Illustration: 83·2ᵈ.
+Celtic+ Temples
Biscaw wn _in Cornwal_
Meineir gwyr _Carmardynshire_.
Maen yu daus _In Maddern Parish in Cornwall_]
[Illustration: 82·2ᵈ.
_A perspective Section of the Giants Castle in the vale of Glenbegg
Scotland._]
[Illustration: 81·2ᵈ.
_The_ Celtic Temple _at Classerness on the Isle of Lewis in_
Scotland.]
[Illustration: 80·2ᵈ.
_On a Mountain near the famous Fortification At Dynegeguill near
Bellenrope in the County of Mayow, but in Inys-Kynhairn Parish,
’tis 29 Paces diameter._
Karrachan _by Lochbury in Mull_
_A_ Druid Temple _at Mynydh Garreg, in the Parish of lhan Gyndeyrn.
The Circle about 10 yᵈˢ. diam., the highest stone not 3 foot._
_By Mawnog Grigog in Penmorva Parish Carnarvonshʳ_]