Abury, A Temple of the British Druids, With Some Others, Described

by William Stukeley

View of the Temple of Rowldrich from the South.

Stukeley del.

A. the King Stone, as called. B. the Archdruids barrow. CC. round barrows: or King barrows.

These monuments of the piety of the patriarchs in the eastern parts of the world, were in time desecrated to idolatrous purposes, and at length destroy’d, even by the people of Israel, for that reason: and temples square in form and cover’d at top, were introduc’d at the Mosaic dispensation, in direct opposition to that idolatry. But before then, that first method pass’d all over the western world, and to Britain, where we see them to this day. By the way, we trace some footsteps of them, but there is always a fable annex’d; as generally at this day, in our Druid temples at home. Thus Pausanias in corinthiacis informs us, that near the river Chemarus, is a septum or circle of stones. He says, they have a report there, that this is the place whence Pluto carry’d away Proserpine. By such story we must understand, the mysteries were there celebrated. Pausanias writes, that the Thracians us’d to build their temples round, and open at top, in Bœotic. He speaks of such at Haliartus, by the name of Ναος, equivalent to the Hebrew Beth, which name Jacob gave to his temple. He speaks of several altars dedicate to Pluto, set in the middle of areas fenc’d in with stones: and they are call’d hermionenses. He tells us too, among the Orchomenians, is a most ancient temple of the Graces, but they worship ’em in the form of stones. From the number three, we may easily guess this was a Kist vaen, as our old Britons call it, or Kebla, like that in our great temple of Abury, and elsewhere. Indeed, the stones of these Kebla in time, instead of a direction in worship, became the object of worship; as Clemens Alexandrinus affirms.

That our Druids were so eminently celebrated for their use of groves, shews them to have a more particular relation to Abraham, and more immediately from him deriving the usage: by which way, I pointed at in good measure, in the account of STONEHENGE. Hence the name of Druid imports, priest of the groves; and their verdant cathedrals, as we may call them, are celebrated by all old writers that speak of this people. We all know the awful and solemn pleasure that strikes one upon entering a grove; a kind of religious dread arises from the gloomy majesty of the place, very favourable to the purpose intended by them. Servius upon Æneid III.

Ante urbem in luco falsi Simoëntis ad undam,

observes, Virgil never mentions a grove without a note of religion. Again, Æneid IX. ver. 4. Strabo says, the poets call temples by the name of groves. And this is frequently done in the scripture. But it is natural for our classic writers, when speaking of the Druids and their great attachment to religious rites, so different from what they were acquainted with, to insist much upon their groves; overlooking our monuments, which they would scarce dignify with the name of temples, because not covered like their own. Yet if with some, we would from hence conclude, that they were the only temples of the Druids, and therefore Stonehenge and the works we are upon, were none of theirs, we should err as much, as if we asserted Abraham only made use of groves, and not of the other temples erected on plains and open places.

Thus far I premis’d with brevity, as an introduction to our discourse, shewing the origin of temples among mankind; a necessary provision for that duty we owe to our sovereign author and benefactor. For unless we can prove ourselves self-sufficient and independent, all nature cries aloud for our acknowledgment of this duty. Private and domestic prayer is our duty as private persons and families, that we have life, and subsistence, and the common protection of providence: but the profession and exercise of publick religion is equally necessary as we are a community, a part of the publick, a parish, a city, a nation, link’d together by government, for our common safety and protection; in order to implore at the hands of God almighty the general blessings of life, wanting to us in that capacity. And that person who secludes himself from his share in this duty, is a rebel and traitor to the publick, and is virtually separated from the common blessings of heaven. But time is equally necessary to this publick duty as place, as every one’s reason must dictate. Therefore was the sabbath instituted; the very first command of our maker, even in the happy seat of Paradise, and before our fatal transgression. ’Tis the positive institution of God, and founded upon the strictest reason. So that if we allow the patriarchs to have built these temples, wherein to assemble for publick devotion, and disallow of the sabbath, because not particularly mention’d in the scripture that they did celebrate it, we think absurdly, and err against common sense and reason. The scriptures were given to teach us religion, but not to inform us of common sense and reason.

The duty of the sabbath commences as early as our being, and is included with great propriety in that observation of the divine historian concerning Adam’s grandson, Enos; when it pass’d from a family-ordinance to that of several families united, as then was the case. The particularity of the expression, invoking in the name of Jehovah, dictates to us the form of their religion, founded on the mediatorial scheme, which Mediator was a divine person, to be worshipped; and thro’ our faith and hope in him, or in his Name, we were to invoke God almighty for our pardon and protection. Therefore the same scheme of religion subsists, from the beginning to this day, the Mosaic system intervening chiefly as a remedy against idolatry, till the world was prepar’d for the great advent; and patriarchal religion should be republish’d under the name of christian.