While the Sarsens usually awake the greatest interest by reason of
their bulk, and the problem of how a primitive people was able to deal
with them, a far greater problem is presented by the small uprights,
or Foreign Stones, the like of which cannot be matched within a
hundred miles of Salisbury Plain, while some can only be found upon
the continent of Europe. Fragments carefully removed and submitted to
mineralogists have made this fact abundantly clear, and consequently
it is possible to arrive at the very definite conclusion that
Stonehenge is certainly not a "Wiltshire" monument, and probably that
it is not even "British" at all.
Where have the stones come from? One school of writers ventures to
suggest Kildare in Ireland. Others suggest Wales, Cornwall, Dartmoor,
Shropshire, or Cumberland, where similar rocks are to be found, though
perhaps not absolutely identical in character. Yet another theory
advanced is that the Foreign Stones were transported to the plain as
boulders of the "glacial drift." It has even been stated that the
gravels of the district contain small pebbles composed of rock similar
to these mysterious Foreign Stones. The statement has indeed been
made, but as yet no Wiltshire geologist has produced one of these
pebbles of which so much is written, and so little seen.
These Glacial Drift theorists, further account for the absence of
these foreign stones elsewhere than at Stonehenge, by yet another
theory, that they, like most of the Sarsens, have all been used up for
millstones, gateposts, and road metal.
There are many millstones and gateposts in Wiltshire, but where is
there one which corresponds in any way to the upright Foreign Stones
at Stonehenge? The production of pebbles from the gravels of Wilts, or
of a specimen gatepost or millstone would at once settle this
question. Unhappily this tangible evidence is wanting, so, alluring as
the Glacial Drift theory may appear, it must reluctantly be set aside
for want of convincing evidence. Finally, there seems every reason to
believe that the small upright stones are "naturalised aliens" from
abroad, and that is why they have been described at the commencement
of this section as "Foreign Stones." It must not be taken for granted
that the small upright stones at present standing represent all the
foreign rocks employed. Probably they are merely the hardest and most
durable of those used in the original structure, the softer and more
friable examples having disappeared entirely, owing to the action of
the weather, and possibly also to the assaults of the unchecked
relic-monger, who until recent years could with his hammer collect
_souvenirs_ with impunity. In this connection, there is a story afoot
that a hammer was kept upon the mantelpiece of a well-known hotel in
Salisbury, which was reserved for the use of those intending to see
Stonehenge, who might be wishful to bring back some convincing
evidence of their visit.
In all probability these foreign stones originally numbered
forty-five. To-day there are but thirty.
A complete lithology of the stones made by the late Professor J.W.
Judd, in 1901, reveals the following rocks as comprising those used in
the construction of Stonehenge.
1. _Sarsens._--Coarse and fine-grained Sandstone similar to the
Woolwich, Reading, or Bagshot beds. This stone is used for
the Trilithons, Hele Stone, a recumbent stone known as the
"Slaughtering Stone," and two small stones set north-west
and south-east of the circle. It is of local origin.