[Larger chart]

Fig. 60.—Showing azimuths in Lat. N. 50° for the summer solstice sunrise, with different heights of hills for 1905 A.D. and 1680 B.C.

Vertical axis from bottom: Sea Level, 1⁄2°, 1°, 11⁄2°, 2°.

Horizontal axis, top, from left: 1905 A.D., 49° 20′-54° 20′.

Horizontal axis, bottom, from left: 1680 B.C. (Date of Stonehenge), 48° 40′-53° 40′.

I gather from a report which Mr. H. Bolitho has been good enough to send me that modern hedges and farming operations have changed the conditions of the sight-lines, so that 1 and 3 are just invisible from the circle. This is by no means the only case in which the sighting stone has just been hidden over the brow of a hill and in which signals from an observer on the brow itself have been suggested, or a via sacra to the brow from the circle; there are many monoliths in this direction which certainly never belonged to the circle.

From the menhir P (No. 2) a fine view is obtained from N. to S. through E., so that the Blind Fiddler and the two large menhirs, and almost the circle, are visible. The curious shapes of 1 and 2 are noted, the east face vertical and the west boundary curved, like several sighting stones on Dartmoor.

The circle itself has several peculiarities. In the first place, as shown by Lukis, it is not circular, the diameters being about 85 and 65 feet; the minor axis runs through the pillar stone in the centre and the “fallen stones” of Dr. Borlase towards the “stone cross” (which is no cross but a fine menhir) in Az. N. 43° 15′ E. This would suggest that this was the original alignment in 2250 B.C., but against this is the fact that the two stones of the circle between which the “fallen stones” lie are more carefully squared than the rest. It is true, however, that this might have been done afterwards, and this seems probable, for they are closer together than the other circle stones.

The one quartz stone occupies an azimuth S. 66° W. It was obviously placed in a post of honour. As a matter of fact, from it the May sun was seen to rise over the centre of the circle.

As there are both at Tregaseal and Boscawen-un alignments suggesting the observation of the summer solstice sunrise, it is desirable here to refer to the azimuths as calculated. For this purpose [Fig. 60] has been prepared, which shows these for lat. 50° both at the present day and at the date of the restoration at Stonehenge.