The interest that has always attached itself to Stonehenge has,
without doubt, been in a great measure due to the mystery as to the
origin of this unique monument of bygone time. But the careful
investigations carried out by the modern school of archæologists, as
instanced in the work of General Pitt Rivers, Mr. Gowland, and others,
every excavation being carried out with great care and scientific
accuracy, have had good results; little by little the history of
Stonehenge has been unravelled; a fact that Mr. Stevens has clearly
demonstrated in the present volume. We now know how, when, and who,
built this remarkable temple. One point, however, still remains a
mystery, viz. whence the so-called foreign stones were obtained?
Clearly, as geology shows, from no spot in Wiltshire.
Amongst the many rude stone circles scattered over Great Britain,
Stonehenge is unique, in the fact of having its sarsen stones
carefully though roughly worked; and also in the introduction of the
horseshoe within the circles, in the design or plan of the building.
As in the present day, our churches, in their design, symbolise the
Cross, so we may fairly infer that the horseshoe at Stonehenge had its
own special meaning, as it still has in the East.
I would advise all interested in the subject, after reading Mr.
Stevens' lucid and comprehensive account, to visit this weird monument
and judge for themselves; take Omar's sound advice, "_To-day_" view
the "_Dead Yesterday_," wait not for the "_Unborn To-morrow_."
H.P. BLACKMORE.
SALISBURY.
_March 1, 1916._